My December Sephora Beauty Samples
It’s time for another belated post! My December Play! by Sephora box arrived about two weeks ago and I totally dragged my feet on taking photos because of the weather. I skipped making an unboxing video this month because I have to be in the right mood to go on camera, and that mood was hard to come by in the days after my box arrived. If I’m being honest, making the videos is a lot of effort to have like 10 people watch them (it’s fine if I’m in the mood). Soooooooo, yeah. 😛
Cheers to Beauty
The December theme is Cheers to Beauty, and the box includes some of Sephora’s favorite products from 2018. You know I love a year-end round-up!
The little plastic baggie housing my samples had a cute holiday sweater design comprised of beauty icons. My December box included five makeup samples (one of them being a surprise bonus sample) and one hair care sample. No skin care samples in sight, though primer and lip balm do kind of straddle the makeup and skin care categories.
The Hair Care
The first sample I pulled out was the Bumble and bumble Thickening Dryspun Volume Texture Spray (full-size, $31). I’ve used a number of Bumble and bumble products in the past and liked them. I even got three free haircuts at their teaching salon in NYC, though the third time I went one of the instructors was super bitchy and rude about how fine my hair is. I’m still pissed about the experience. Anyway, the brand does make great products so I was a little more excited about this sample than I typically am about hair care samples. This product isn’t exactly a dry shampoo because it doesn’t claim to clean hair, but it is a powder that you spray on.
In my opinion, this product is ok. It does add volume, but I don’t feel like it’s long-lasting. I’ll use this sample some, but I just don’t like the powdery scent. I know that dry shampoos and texture sprays usually contain powder so of course they’ll smell powdery, but I just can’t get past that smell in my hair. Bleh.
The Makeup
First up is Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara (full-size, $23). While I do really like this mascara—I’ve purchased it full-sized more than once and have recieved multiple minis—I wasn’t too excited because it’s nothing new to me. I prefer to discover new products and brands in this box. Looks like Tarte has started saving money on this mini’s packaging; it used to come in the same faux reptilian leather type of tube as the full size. I’ll at least use this mini for travel.
My mystery sample this month is the Touch in Sol Metallist Liquid Foil & Glitter Eye Shadow Duo in Titiana (full-size, $12.50 on sale). I received a sample of this product in gold back in September 2017 and gave it to my nieces; I knew I wasn’t going to use it because of the loose glitter on one end. This sample’s rosy gold shimmer shade is very pretty, but I just can’t with loose glitter. This time I’ll at least try the liquid eyeshadow end of it and see how I like it.
My third makeup sample is the Sephora Collection Rouge Gel Lip Liner in Nothin’ but Nude (full-size, $12). You know what…I’ve been enjoying many of my Sephora Collection samples lately. This lip liner is super soft and creamy, and it’s a very good nude shade for me. I would totally buy this lip liner full sized, especially considering the great price. I also really liked the Lashcraft Big Volume mascara that I received this year, and I’m still loving the Ultra Shine Lip Gel that I received last year.Their matte lipsticks are supposed to be good too.
The Category Straddlers
I was excited to receive the Too Faced Primed & Peachy Cooling Matte Perfecting Primer (full-size, $34) in my box. I hear so much about Too Faced primers, particularly the Hangover Replenishing Face Primer, but I had yet to try any of them. So far I’ve tried this primer once and it it smelled great and felt very cooling going on. However, it pilled with the skin care products I was wearing underneath. Pilling is a complete dealbreaker for me. I do mix up my skin care products occasionally so I’ll test this again when I’ve used something different. But I wouldn’t buy a primer that doesn’t mix well with my regular skin care. This is yet another Too Faced product that is disappointing for me. The brand has such a huge following but aside from the cute packaging, I don’t really get it. I haven’t been impressed by the quality of Too Faced products I’ve tried.
Last but not least is the Fresh Sugar Lip Caramel Hydrating Balm (full-size, $18). I absolutely love the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments but hadn’t tried their balm before. I will use up every last bit of this adorable little pot. The balm does smell just like caramel and has a hint of a caramel tint to it. It leaves a shine on the lips and feels ultra moisturizing without any stickiness. Oh, how I hated wrecking the smooth surface of this balm for the first time. At least I can always look back at this photo and admire its perfection. 😛
Behold: the lip product swatches. The Fresh balm would actually be perfect layered over the Sephora Collection lip liner!
Final Thoughts
My final Play! by Sephora box of 2018 turned out to be decent, but not the best. I’m very happy with both of the lip samples, so those do make the whole thing worthwhile. The Too Faced primer could have been great, but…pilling. The Tarte mascara was nothing new, and I’m starting to feel like throwing hair care samples out the window. The bonus Touch in Sol sample was not very exciting for me, particularly because I received one before and gave it away without even trying it. At least I have two lip samples that I love!
Did you discover any new favorites in your December Play box? Cheers to closing out 2018 beauty and welcoming all the fun new products to come in 2019!
Read my previous Play! by Sephora posts here.
What is Play! by Sephora?
Play! by Sephora is a $10 per month beauty subscription that includes five deluxe samples. The product samples are curated based on your Sephora beauty profile (hair color, eye color, skin tone, skin type, skin and hair concerns, etc.). And of course, you can purchase full-sized versions of any samples from Sephora and earn VIB points if you’re a part of the Beauty Insider program—which I highly recommend signing up for. This subscription also offers a “Play! Date” each month, which allows you and a friend to attend an in-store event to learn how to use the products in that month’s box (RSVP is required). Click here for more information on the subscription.
