December’s Sephora Play! arrived before the holidays, but you know how crazy things get with travel and such, so this is just going up on the blog now. The theme was, “The Partygoers,” and featured items that were must haves for the party season. I was expecting a little more glitz and glam, maybe a glittery eye shadow or something like that, so this one didn’t really live up to my expectations. The black bag with gold lettering was a nice change of pace though!
- Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara – .2 oz / $30 – (Product is .1 oz, value of $15 by volume) So, it’s black mascara. Really basic, not so much party themed. I’m.. just not excited. I would’ve liked something different like a glitter eyeliner or I don’t know, something else. We did just get a black mascara in the August box as well, so.. meh? I feel like I have SO much black mascara at this point, unless it’s some new brand that’s cruelty free, I really am just neutral on this. I’ll use it, but.. eh.
- Make Up For Ever Step 1 Smoothing Primer – 1 oz / $37 – (Product is .16 oz, value of $5.92 by volume) This is in the Natural finish, “Base Lissante,” and is basically a lightly tinted silicone based primer. Again, nothing really earth shattering here, it goes on matte, but I didn’t feel like it did anything spectacular or fill in lines or improve texture like it says it’s supposed to.
- Sephora Cream Lip Stain – 5 mL / $14 – (Product is 1.3 mL, value of $3.64 by volume) I received the color, “01 Always Red,” which is labelled as a matte bold classic red. It’s definitely as advertised! The red is stunningly perfect and goes on like a matte lip cream and stays put. So far, I’m pretty impressed with this and love that it’s matte without feeling too drying.
- Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray – 4 oz / $31 – (Product is .5 oz, value of $3.88 by volume) This is a product I already know and love and actually fits the theme pretty well since it keeps your makeup right where you put it, easily keeping your makeup perfect all night. It’s nice to have this as a sample size to tote along with me!
- Drybar Bay Breeze Hydrating Shot – 4 x .5 oz – $38 – (Product is .5 oz, value of $9.50) This is a nope for my curly hair. It contains silicones – in fact, the 3rd ingredient is a silicone – so for a low to no shampoo regimen, this is a nope. This specific silicone, amodimethicone, builds up on hair and won’t wash out without using a harsh sulfated shampoo that I won’t use, so this is going to the trade/share pile.
- Elizabeth James Nirvana Bourbon – 1.7 oz / $85 – (Product is .07 oz, value of $3.50) I’ve gotten a couple of samples of this, but I do really like it. It’s a warm, woody scent that’s right up my alley with a blend of vanilla bourbon, oakwood and a nearly unnoticeable hint of tuberose. It’s not overwhelming or too sticky sweet, but it makes for a nice twist on plain old vanilla that’s got a great warmth and richness to it.
The total value comes to $41.44 for a box that only cost me $10.60 including tax. I’m super disappointed with the hair product, but I generally will be disappointed with hair products since I’m so picky about what I put in my hair. The winner out of the box for me was the cream lip stain with the setting spray a close second, but the two together really don’t quite cover the cost of the box. This one just kind of fell flat for me – I really did expect more glitz and glam for a party themed box. Oh well, looking forward to the next one!