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Play! by Sephora Subscription Box Review – October 2016

Haley Faye
ByHaley FayeOct 20, 2016 | 148 comments

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Play! by Sephora
3.8 overall rating
564 Ratings | 55 Reviews

Play! by Sephora is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription. Each month they send you six samples, a PLAY! BOOK of tips and tricks, and a PLAY! PASS for in-store learning.

I used to work at Sephora so I naturally couldn’t resist this subscription!

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My Subscription Addiction paid for this box.(Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

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Every month they included all of the samples an adorable drawstring bag with a different design.

(FYI – there were different variations of this box sent out this month. Click here to see what the different possible boxes were.)

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The Subscription Box: Play! by Sephora

The Cost: $10

The Products: Five deluxe samples plus a fragrance sample, a PLAY! BOOK of tips and tricks, and a PLAY! PASS for in-store learning.

Ships to: US

Check out all of our Play! by Sephora reviews and all of our reviews of Cheap Subscription Boxes for other similarly priced boxes!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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Each box comes with a Play! Pass, which is a card you can use at Sephora (in-store) to get 50 extra rewards points, and you can also get one-on-one tutorials and tips of products from a Sephora consultant.

Although I do have to mention, you can walk in and get shown any tips and even a “mini makeover” (which is where a consultant will do a small demo on you like a certain eye look, how to do your brows, how to contour, matching you with a foundation, etc) anytime! So if you don’t have this subscription (or can’t get off the waitlist), you can still go to your local Sephora and try out all the products featured, or any other products you’ve had your eye on.

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Christophe Robin Regenerating Mask with Rare Prickly Pear Seed Oil – 1.7 oz, value: $14.50

I just tried this hair mask this morning, and I like it alright. The fragrance feels a little mature for me. I do love the application, though – after shampooing, massage this in from roots to tips, slowly add water to lather, and then let it sit for 2-3 minutes. I love a quick hair mask, and especially one I just use while in the shower since it’s more convenient! I like the results – my hair felt very hydrated after rinsing and my hair combed through super easily. After heat styling, my hair has a nice, strong feel to it. A little more weight to it, but not in a weighed-down way. Also, I can get at least three uses out of this jar.

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Erborian Bamboo Crème Frappée Skin Reviving Fresh Gel - 0.17 fl oz, value: $4.30

This moisturizer is a whipped gel-cream made with bamboo! It actually uses both the sap and fibers from bamboo. This felt refreshing and light when I applied and absorbed quickly. Unfortunately, I have dry skin and just a few minutes later, my face felt like I hadn’t moisturized yet and needed something more hydrating. This is probably good for oily or normal skin, but if you know your skin tends to run dry then I probably wouldn’t recommend this based on my experience.

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Farmacy Skin Dew Hydrating Essence Mist & Setting Spray - 0.68 fl oz, value: $9.07

I know Liz has recently discovered and fallen in love with Farmacy products so I was so excited to try one myself! I really love this product, but not the sample packaging. The liquid itself is fantastic – it feels cooling, refreshing, and smells uplifting. I love the Echinacea in it and this might just be my favorite facial spray ever. The sample packaging, however, doesn’t have a fine enough spray to make this perfect. It sprays a little heavy, but if you hold it far enough away you can totally make it work.

I’m totally keeping this spray in my purse… and tempted to buy the full-size.

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Smashbox Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick, Driver's Seat – 0.043 oz? value: $8

I basically live in liquid lipsticks, and I’ve tried a lot. I love this one from Smashbox! The pigment is great, the formula doesn’t feather and wears for quite a long time (it says 8+ hours, and I’ve been wearing it for about 5 now with eating and drinking and it still looks great so I’d say that’s probably accurate).

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Here’s a swatch. This color is described as a warm pink and it almost leans a smidge neutral-orangey, too. This color is so me, and I love it.

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The Estée Edit Flash Photo Gloss – 0.1 fl oz, value: $7.40

This lip gloss has an iridescent blue to the formula, designed to make your teeth look whiter in photos. You can wear it alone or over any color lipstick.

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Here’s what it looks like. Personally, I don’t care for the formula. It’s very thick and sticky, and I honestly didn’t notice any kind of dramatic difference in the way my teeth looked in selfies.

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Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris – sample spray

I actually really like this fragrance! It’s a new one from YSL, inspired by Paris. The notes include strawberry, raspberry, bergamot, calone, orange flower, pear, jasmin, white peony, patchouli, white musk, cedarwood, and crystal moss. All the fruits and florals make this right up my alley.

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It’s sweet but not young-sweet. It still feels sophisticated and grown-up but romantic too.

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Here’s what the Smashbox liquid lipstick looks like on – I love it and will be wearing a lot of it this Fall!

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Here’s the Estee Edit lip gloss I like the natural shine it gives my lips, but if it does make my teeth look whiter I’m not sure it’s enough to make me feel like buying the full size is worth it. I’d rather spend money on actually whitening my teeth, you know?

Verdict: I liked my October Play! by Sephora box and I’m happy I received the variation I did (click here to see what the different variations sent out this month were). I was happy to try some different new items, including some that are new and I had been curious about (like the two lip products). The value also comes out to about $43 so I’m happy with that, too.

What do you think about the October Play! by Sephora? What variation did you get?

Starting at $10.00
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PLAY! by Sephora is a monthly beauty and makeup subscription box. Each month, Sephora sends you a mix of six samples (including cosmetics, haircare, skincare, fragrances, and other beauty products) personalized to match your preferences and a PLAY! BOOK of tips and tricks.
Haley Faye
Haley Faye
Haley Faye first discovered the wonderful world of subscription boxes in 2012 and began writing for MSA in 2014. Over the years, she has found many subscriptions to love. Now a mom of three, her favorite boxes are ones that dress her kids, help her get organized, feed her family, send her snacks, and offer educational fun for her children.

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148 comments

Emmy

That Erborian Bamboo Crème Frappée Skin Reviving Fresh Gel didn’t do anything for me, and even though I follow up with my normal moisturizer, it still seems to make my skin drier. And sorry, but that lipstick color-ugh. Maybe if it had been glossier? Or a little more on the brown-side?

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Caroline

Pretty bummed….my box got lost and CS just issued me a refund. I was supposed to get #122 and was really looking forward to trying everything. 🙁

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Amy

Me too! I tried to alert them days ago (UPS tracking said they transferred it to the post office on the 19th – and USPS tracking still says they are “awaiting item”) and they told me to wait. Now they say they agree that it’s missing and all they can do is refund me. 🙁 (I was supposed to get 106.)

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Amy

Caroline, how disappointing. I canceled ipsy and subscribed to Sephora Play. I hope it’s worth it.

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Caroline

I’ve been happy with it so far and this was the first time I’ve had a problem. It sounds like quite a few people had shipping problems this time around. That’s usually not the case. I’m sure you’ll love it!

Amy

I subscribed to Sephora Play on October 13, and thought I would get October’s box, but when I called, they said those had sold out, and I would be receiving November’s. Did this happen to anyone else?

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Caroline

I subscribed in the middle of June and didn’t get a box until July. I think that’s the norm.

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Lola EB

For the most part I love my Play box. I finally put the lip colors on. The Belle cheek and lip tint is a nude pink on me and the Smashbox lip is a nude peachy pink. So both are nudes for me. A darker liner under the Smashbox and the color works. A dark gloss on the pencil and that works. Don’t care for the nudes for fall but at least they pull more pink nude than orange for me. Glad for that.

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Julie B.

I actually canceled too (2 reviewers above me just canceled)…I just don’t feel very excited anymore about getting mascara, moisturizer, hair products just because they are expensive brands. Some of these products are sounding ridiculously fancy. I am thinking of migrating to Boxycharm (love the palettes they give), or So Choix, where you choose your samples.

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R

I received mine yesterday, and it was basically a perfect assortment for me. I only use skin care and lip products, and loved the brands featured this month (especially Farmacy – I’m in love with the night balm from Popsugar and had been dying to try other products from them)! With that said, I just cancelled because I don’t think the theme for next month is a good fit for me …

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dia

Thanks for the review! I got the same box, and feel pretty much the same way about all the products. I’m surprised by how good the lipstick looks on me since I’m a bit warmer- and darker-complexioned than you. I was worried it would be too pink.

Alas, this is the end of the line for me. No hard feelings, Sephora, it’s just not worth it anymore. I realized that the $50 I spent over these past few months could have been used towards a really great foundation or two, and I think that would be a better use of my money.

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Rebecca

Disappointed with Sephora this month. I got box 114. Have loved all my boxes until this one. Two lip products in colors I don’t wear, and really only have interest in one of the items I got. I could of sworn it initially said in my account that I was getting box 072 and it changed at some point to 114. At least I was interested in a few items in that one. Oh well, giving almost all of it to my niece. Here’s to hoping next month goes better – I do think this is usually a great subscription to get.

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Samantha

This might be a silly question but I dont normally shop at sephora. The only one thats near me in one is JC Penny. If I were to get sephora play Can I use the play points in a jc penny sephora or only in an actual sephora store? I am only wondering because I just saw that post about the jc penny sephora boxes (like the lip one and face one) that I thought have been out for awhile. Were those only available online or at an actual sephora and now they are available at jcp sephoras? Anyways Im straying away from my more important question. Lol. So can I use play points at jcp sephora? And get the demos and samples or whatever there? There is no actual sephora near me at all. Closest one is probably 3 hours away.

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dia

Yep! They function just like a regular Sephora, but smaller.

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Samantha

Awesome! Thank you for letting me know!

Khaleesi

Yeah, it seems like the boxes are all over the place lol! I did end up liking my box #122, except the Aquabomb (it’s not bad, its just an OLD item I’ve received many times).

The Skin Inc was nice and totally loved the YSL! It’s my new favorite scent! I do like the perfume samples we get from Sephora-much better than anything BB ever sent lol!

So, keep it to one variation or item variation, Sephora! You’re doing too much!

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Rose J.

This was my first box from Sephora and I have to say I am very happy with it. I also got box 122 and it was the one I was most interested in from the spoiler page. After 6 months, I cancelled ipsy and am surprisingly pleased with Sephora’s offerings. Hopefully it will stay strong.

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Amanda Vela

I got box #114 and I won’t use face peels…would you like to swap your aqua bomb for it…been wanting to try it.

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Kandi

I got 106 and this was my first box

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stefanie

i really liked what i received this month it does vary from what you reviewed but I’m totally okay with that. the only thing I’m not too sure about is the lip stick and the gloss. The lip color is a little on the orange side and i’m not sure if that will work with my tone. The other thing is the gloss it’s a bit thick in texture. A little will go a long way but i do have to say it came at the right time i just throw away some other glosses that has been around a bit too long, at least i don’t have to purchase one now. that’s a win to 10$. I looking forward in trying the skin dew, and the perfume smells pretty.

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Samantha

I agree that the Smashbox lipstick is too orange for most skin tones. It looks like a good color for redheads, and maybe only redheads. I wish they went for something more universal, cause I like the formula.

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Mary K

Just because it can’t be said enough: I hate box variations.

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Kathryn Parnell

Another update: I received a response from customer service. They basically said that the Play Profile is responsible for the variations in boxes. It seems like several of us have the same answers and different boxes though. I don’t think customer service actually knows. It’s clear that Sephora is experimenting with something new in the way they do things. Most of us didn’t recieve a tracking email, a lot of us had delays in receiving our boxes, the website shows discrepancies in the products we are supposed to get (if shown st all), and there are several variations on the box. They gave me 200 points for inconvenience, which I appreciate, but it doesn’t resolve the issue that I want the box that’s shown on Sephora each month and not a variant of it. If it is the Play Profile, o wish someone would tell me how to answer the questions to ensure I get the box I want–the box I’m paying for.

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Ann

I got the same box as the review. I am leery of bamboo products after using the bamboo shampoo/conditioner from OGX. Made my hair feel like straw. I love their coconut and argon oil products but the Bamboo-Full was so bad. I gave away the full size set. I don’t think bamboo type products do well on dry skin like mine.

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Shelley B

I just cancelled my subscription after receiving another box of stuff I can’t use – two lip items in nearly similar colors (earthy oranges, which make me look like a clown), an old-lady-smelling perfume sample, and two overly-scented hair and skin products. I can play with ONE item – and that’s not worth ten bucks. This isn’t the first month where I’ve tossed most of the products into my giveaway bag – I was really excited to try this sub, but it’s been a bust for me.

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Arianna Woznak

I agree. I cancelled too, I had the 106 box.

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Kay

I got 122 variation. I would have been happy with one other variation with Pharmacy mist and Drunk Elephant serum, but I am ok with not receiving two lip products. A couple of days ago when I was tracking my box, my Play! page showed default 072 products. I logged in today and now it is showing all of my variety with the short video. Now I am more excited about trying the Peel. I love Skin Inc’s leave sleeping masks which I used during the long haul flight and it kept my skin moisturized. So, I hope the peel is great.

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Tamara D

Still haven’t received my box. The estimated delivery date was 10-20. It was transferred from ups to USPS on 10-18 and still nothing! Ups can’t help me and neither can USPS. This is crazy I get packages all the time here and I’ve never had this issue. Any suggestions on what to do? Thanks

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Caroline

Did your box ever come? The last time I heard from mine was that it made it to my city and was transferred to USPS. That was a week ago. Wondering how long I should wait until I contact CS.

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Sarah

The same thing happened to me for the September box. I called several times to UPS and to USPS. They both basically blamed each other. I finally did call my regional post office and they told me, that what happens is, everything gets put on a palette and delivered from UPS to USPS. It never got scanned into USPS system though and they said that happens all the time. It’s supposed to be on the palette, but ends up not being on it. So USPS never gets it from UPS. I hate they send these boxes that way. They need to send with one carrier.

Glimmer

Had a similar problem this month except ups still awaits my box. Mine looked super cool too! I’m waiting to hear back from them.

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Kate

One time I had my box sitting in UPS facility for a week. I do not know what can cause this but I finally received my box a week later original delivery date. Good luck!

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AH

I’m in the same boat. There isn’t much we can do unfortunately, just send good vibes that it will show up. This is the second month I’ve had this issue out of 5 or 6 months. The other month they offered a refund, but no replacement box. I’m hoping it will be like the other month and just show up but since I never got a shipping email and I did the other month, I’m not as confident.

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Lindsay

I received my box today (122), and I think it’s pretty great! I am excited to try everything. The liquid lip is a little bold for me, but sometimes it’s good to step outside of the ol’ comfort zone. One thing that surprised me was the YSL perfume. I am not a big perfume person, but this one smelled SO GOOD to me. I love it. I would totally buy it if it was more affordable.

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Jen

This is the box I got, and it’s the box I wanted (tied with the verb, nudestix, egg brand box). I’m most excited to try the hair mask and face spray – two of my favorite things. I’m not on the liquid lipstick hype train, but at least it’s a wearable color I can try!

I’m not sure how much I like that there are so many variations in boxes now. One thing that made me unsub from Ipsy was being so jealous of what other people got.
But I guess since the brand recognition is there for every item in every box with this sub, I guess it’s not the worst thing.

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Amanda Vela

#114 you gotta read
No way…I just did the math for box 114 and you’ll never believe the value…it’s actually $47-$48 when somebody said it has the lowest value…nope.
The Nudestix is FULL SIZE….Whattttttt… .088 is the size I got and it’s the same size on Sephora for $24 out of stock for belle.
We also got (we all did) an $8 or so Smashbox matte liquid lipstick
Like $3.50 for a 1 oz Verb spray (Christopher Robin is 1.7 oz and $14…so I’m jealous)
Like $4 for a small .21 oz Egg Mellow Cream
Like $4 for a small .17 oz Skin Inc peel (not into peeling)
and Last and very least like 4 for a horrific smelling .05 oz Tom Ford Orchid Soleil perfume

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Amanda Vela

So I also did the math for the box I also wanted which was box #122 and that has a value of about $39 Not including the Blinc mascara because idk if it is full size or not. Full size is .3 oz for $26…if it is full, half, 1/3, or a 1/4…just add that to the $39 and you get the total…if it’s full size I would like to know because $65 is way over my $48ish dollar #114 box.

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Amanda Vela

Nevermind Blinc mascara is 1/3 of the full so almost $9…so like $39 + $9 = $48 just like my #114 box because of the full size Nudestix that costs $24. I still want 3 items from box #122 so I still want to swap. let me know.

Jraewebb

How do you tell which number of box you got? I’ve been receiving PLAY! For about 5 months now and I wasn’t sure about it at first but now that I cancelled birchbox I’m much happier with this sub. It’s gotten better. But this month has thrown me off bc it seems there were so many different boxes ppl are getting. In my box I received:
Smashbox lipstick
Skin inc. revival peel
Belief aqua bomb (already sampled and love)
Christophe Robin hair mask
Blinc mascara amplified (already sampled & not a fan)
Yves saint laurent mon Paris
Did anyone else receive this box variation??

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vane

that’s box 122! it shows the last 3 numbers on the bottom sticker of the play box!

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Haley Faye

Jraewebb, you can tell what number box you have by logging into your sephora account on a computer, going to your account, and looking at your order history. If you click the $10 charge for the October Play! box then you can view the item number, and the last 3 digits are what everyone is referring to their box variation as.

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Jraewebb

Thank you Haley! I looked it up and I wasn’t even supposed to receive 3 of the 5 items I got! So I emailed customer service to see what was going on. Who knows? First time I’ve had a problem with PLAY!

MzBev

Yep! I got the same one. I’ve had a full size of that Blinc mascara for months, from Boxycharm and haven’t used it with the tubes that it creates on your lashes. I think that will freak me out when taking it off. lol. I was hesitant to use the lippie, due to the color, but after seeing this review I tried it and really like it!

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Mel

I’ve used the blind mascara and it makes your lashes so long or at least it made mine ridiculously long. Taking it off though makes it look like your loosing your eyelashes. The only problem I had was it seemed to make my eyelashes thinner. I thought I was imagining things but then I read reviews and people were saying the same thing. Watch out for that!

Adele

I received box 106 and it matches in my Play account. I have tried the CJ Walker coconut oil before and I didn’t like it so it goes to my niece. That Smashbox color on me is awful! I wish they would quit sending colors with pinks in them, especially now that it’s fall. If they can send out boxes based on skin/hair, why can’t they do it for makeup colors? It will be going to my niece as well. Love the Derek Lam and looking forward to trying the Farmacy and Drunk Elephant. I sprayed the Farmacy on my arm to see what it smelled like and like others have said, it shoots out, not sprays. Much better box for me than last months.

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Samantha

Is there still a waitlist? If there is when will it be open again?!!

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Debbie

This was my first box, and I got the Drunk Elephant, Flash Photo gloss, coconut oil, Farmacy skin dew, and the Smashbox liquid lipstick, Derek Lam perfume.
I hated the Smashbox liquid lipstick, it was a horrible orange on me, I’m not sure which item shot super hard out of the bottle like a gun, it might have been the Drunk Elephant. One of them was super sticky when I put it on at bed time and was still sticky when I went to get in the shower this morning. Was this a good box? IDK…you ladies tell me since it was my first.

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Krista

When I was first looking through the confirmed spoiler posts, I was having some FOMO and wasn’t happy with which box I was getting (106). BUT when it arrived yesterday I was actually pretty happy with it (although I’m still meh on 2 lip products in 1 box, but at least I’ll use them). I got the Derek Lam perfume (I was surprised not to hate it, although I’m not sure I’d need a full size), Estee Edit, Smashbox liquid lipstick, Farmacy mist (yay, excited to try this one), coconut oil (pretty sophisticated packaging for a sample, and at least I’ll use this), and the Drunk Elephant night serum (excited to try this one too).

The “shop full size products” section of my Sephora Play page is not accurate as to what samples I actually got.

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