Summer Nights Unboxing

I’m a little behind on posting my June 2018 Play! by Sephora review. It’s been a busy month and I’m in the midst of getting ready to head to St. Louis for a joint birthday party with my dad! Plus, the weather was rainy and overcast for a couple days after my box arrived, which didn’t make for great photo lighting. I finally managed to snap some pics, and I filmed an unboxing video as well:

TBH I’m not super thrilled with my unboxing video. But I decided to share it anyway because guess what…I’m not perfect and I don’t want to pretend to be.

June’s theme (which I erroneously said in the video was Beauty Boardwalk) is Summer Nights: samples meant to keep you looking and feeling fresh in the heat. When the mercury hits 80 degrees I try to stay in the AC as much as possible, but I appreciate anything that helps keep me from feeling like a gross puddle while outdoors.

Play! by Sephora June 2018: Summer Nights
I’m not sad about the lack of fragrance sample.

This month I received two makeup samples, two skin care samples, and two hair care samples (one of which was a bonus packet duo):

Play! by Sephora Samples June 2018

The Skin Care

First up is Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes & Lips (full-size, $19). I do love makeup remover samples because they’re great for travel. This formula claims to remove even waterproof makeup. I’ve tried my sample a couple times so far and it’s just okay. I don’t feel like it does the best job removing all of my eyeliner; I think micellar water is more effective for that. I’ll certainly use this sample while traveling, but don’t think I’d purchase it full sized.

Clinique Take the Day Off Makeup Remover for Lids, Lashes & Lips | Play! by Sephora

The next sample is something I keep seeing on social media: Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream (full-size, $45). This body cream supposedly tightens and smooths skin while giving it a hint of radiance “fit for the beaches of Rio.” As I said in my video, I believe you’re supposed to slather it on your butt (and thighs, too) for some firming action. The skin on my body is super sensitive so I’m very picky about the creams, lotions, and cleansers I use. When I first gave this sample a whiff in the video I thought it smelled amazing—very coconutty and beachy.

Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream | Play! by Sephora

However, I’ve used this on my thighs a couple times now and I REALLY dislike the scent on my body. It comes off as perfume-y and does not go away until I shower. I can smell it on myself all day, which is quite irritating. I’m sure some people would love the scent, but it’s 100% not for me. My skin itself didn’t react to the cream, so that’s good, but I won’t be using this sample anymore.

The Hair Care

Next up is the bonus sample this month—which, amazingly, is not a fragrance! Sephora sent me a shampoo and conditioner duo: MARAJĂ“ Nourishing Cleansing Crème and Deep Treatment Butter (each full-size, $29). This new-to-me brand is named after an island in the Brazilian Amazon. These products contain pracaxi oil, which is pressed from seeds from trees found on MarajĂł Island. The oil is believed to have healing and soothing properties. Sounds intriguing! I’m curious to test these samples out on my hair.

MARAJÓ Nourishing Cleansing Crème and Deep Treatment Butter | Play! by Sephora

My other hair care sample this month is Living proof No Frizz Nourishing Styling Cream (full-size, $38). I’ve received a couple Living proof samples in the past but they haven’t wowed me. This cream claims to block humidity from your hair without weighing it down. How it blocks humidity, I have no idea!

Living proof No Frizz Nourishing Styling Cream | Play! by Sephora

DC gets SUPER humid in the summer (it’s not just a figurative swamp). Fortunately, my hair doesn’t tend to get too frizzy unless it’s rainy, but I’ve tried this a couple times so far and it does make my hair feel quite soft. Because my hair is so fine I only use a small amount of the cream, and it doesn’t weigh my hair down. The product smells just okay—I’m not in love with the scent, but I don’t mind it, either. I don’t think I’d buy this product full sized because I just don’t use hair styling products very often.

The Makeup

My first June makeup sample is Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick in Queen B (full-size, $21), a really pretty rosy mauve. I mentioned in my video that I’m kind of coming around to matte liquid lipsticks, as I’ve tried a couple recently that are pretty comfortable (Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit, for one!). So I was definitely more excited about this sample than I would have been in the past. I also thought I might have tried this lipstick before, and I was half right. I did try a regular, non-matte version (shade: Fuschia) from a Sephora lip sample kit way back in the day.

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick in Queen B | Play! by Sephora

Here’s a swatch of this lovely lip shade on my arm:

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick in Queen B swatch

And here’s how the lip color looks on me:

Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Long Wear Matte Lipstick in Queen B on lips

The lipstick is actually pretty comfortable and didn’t send me running for lip balm after two minutes. However! The color cracked on my lips like crazy after about an hour, so it’s really not great for long wear. I’ve tried several different Too Faced products now and have been pretty disappointed with most of them. I know the brand is super popular but I don’t plan to buy more Too Faced products anytime soon. WOMP WOMP.

My final sample this month is Cover FX Perfect Setting Powder in Light Translucent (full-size, $35). I was excited to see this in my box because I’m running out of my current powder (Laura Mercier Invisible Pressed Setting Powder) and had been starting to research other options. This oh-so-cute sample is teeny tiny! But there’s still enough product in it for me to get a sense of whether I like it. And, so far so good. I’m not a heavy powder user but I do lightly dust the concealer under my eyes to prevent creasing. I also use powder to knock down the shine left by my SPF. The Cover FX sample seems to do a good job, so I ordered it full sized.

Cover FX Perfect Setting Powder in Light Translucent | Play! by Sephora

Final Thoughts

Thus concludes my June 2018 Play! by Sephora review! My overall feeling about my June box is so-so. I was more excited about the samples upon unboxing, but as I’ve started to use them there’s nothing I’m super in love with. I did end up ordering the powder full sized, but powder’s not that exciting to me—it’s more functional than fun. You can’t win ’em all!

Did you get any of these samples in your June Play! box? Which sample are you most excited about this month?

 

What is Play! by Sephora?

Play! by Sephora is a $10 per month beauty subscription that includes five deluxe samples plus one fragrance sample; the samples are curated based on your Sephora beauty profile (hair color, eye color, skin tone, skin type, skincare concerns, haircare 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 if you ever shop at Sephora. This subscription also offers subscribers a “Play! Date” each month, which gives you and a friend the opportunity to attend an in-store event to learn how to use the products in that month’s box (RSVP is required).