Play! by Sephora: 5 Alternative Beauty Subscription Boxes to Try

ByLiz CadmanApr 24, 2020 | 9 comments

group shot of all products from play by sephora

In case you missed it, April is the last month of Play! by Sephora. It was the last $10-a-month beauty subscription box, and while we're sad to see it go, the good news is that there are several great beauty boxes that are $15 or less and would be a great option to try if you're looking to replace your Play! by Sephora subscription.

Here are our top 5 recommendations:

Ipsy Glam Bag

bag and all items group shot from Ipsy

The Cost: $12 per month. Subscribe here!

How it compares to Play! by Sephora: This is one of the best alternatives, in my opinion. First, it's a great alternative because of the price point (only $2 more a month). You're getting 5 beauty products each month compared to Sephora's 6 samples, but IPSY samples are usually larger sized than Sephora's. (Think deluxe or travel size, with an occasional full-size item, makeup brush, etc.) And, if there's a fragrance sample, it will be larger than the vial size Sephora would send. And just like with Sephora, you get a bag each month. IPSY sends a makeup bag (not the plastic bag like Sephora) and there's a new design each month.

Two other great features to call out:

You can customize your profile with your preferences, and those will be factored into which items you receive
You get to pick one of the items each month. (Check out the choices subscribers had for April to get a better sense of what you can expect.)

FYI - the brands they feature include some overlap with brands you'd find in a Sephora box. To get a good idea of what brands to expect, check out all of the products that were featured in the April Glam Bag.

Check out our Ipsy reviews and Ipsy spoilers to learn more! Ships to US and Canada.

Allure Beauty Box

Allure Beauty Box showing highlighter palette and other beauty items.

The Cost: $15.00 per month. Subscribe here!

How it compares to Play! by Sephora: This is another great alternative based on brands and sample sizes. This box is curated by Allure editors, so you'll see some high-end brands you'll find in Sephora. Most months, there's at least one full-size item. (This month, new subscribers get 3 full-size items. Click here + scroll down the page to see everything in the April box.) You will receive at least 5 items each month, but often Allure sends more than that. Expect an item count in the range of 5-8.

And there's almost always a free gift for new subscribers. Click here to see the current deal.

Check out all of our Allure Beauty Box reviews and Allure Beauty Box info to learn more. Ships to US.

Walmart Beauty Box

The Cost: $5 per quarter. Subscribe here!

How it compares to Play! by Sephora: You're not going to see any overlap in brands between this box and Play! by Sephora, but I included it in this list because it is so inexpensive. If your favorite thing about Play! by Sephora was the price tag, then you should consider Walmart Beauty Box. It's only $5 a box, ships once a quarter. Expect 5-6 samples every quarter, with beauty brands you can find at drugstores/Walmart, etc.

Check out our Walmart Beauty Box reviews and Walmart Beauty Box spoilers to learn more! Ships to US.

Birchbox

The Cost: $15 a month + free US shipping. (Note: Cost was $10 per month + free US shipping at the time of voting.) Subscribe here!

How it compares to Play! by Sephora: Birchbox has some brand overlap with Play! by Sephora (Benefit cosmetics and Sunday Riley have been featured in past boxes.) I'd recommend this subscription if you want full control over what you're getting each month. If you aren't familiar, subscribers get to pick one of their samples each month, OR they can pick a pre-curated box. So you'll see every single item you'll be receiving if you pick one of those curated boxes. Click here to see the sample choice options and curated box options for April.

The sample sizes from Birchbox are very similar to the sizes you've received from Play! by Sephora. Expect 5-7 samples on average.

Check out all of our Birchbox reviews and our Birchbox info to learn more. Ships to US, France, Spain, and the UK.

Facetory 4 Ever Fresh

The Cost: $8.90 per month with FREE US shipping for the FOUR-Ever Fresh subscription (4 masks per month) Subscribe here!

COUPON: Use code MSA20 to save 20% off your first box!

How it compares to Play! by Sephora: This is on the list because it's a beauty box and it's under $10! If your favorite part about the Play! by Sephora subscription was the skincare, this might be the right next box to try. It's only $8.90 with free shipping, and you'll get 4 sheet masks every month.

Check out our Facetory 4 Ever Fresh review. Ships to: US and Worldwide

And that wraps up the list of my Play! by Sephora alternative recommendations! What do you think? Are you looking for a replacement beauty subscription?

Posted in Subscription Box News

Liz Cadman

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She's been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 100 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, FabFitFun, and any box that features natural beauty products!

Read More By Liz Cadman >

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9 comments

Bonnie

Liz Cadman,

I signed up for Birchbox after a few years’ absence, and was offered a Lipstick Queen lipstick just for the first and only box. ( I am so sorry I do not remember the code, it was middle of the night when I read this post and just DID IT, LOL).

I used a new email and all was just fine. They have incentives for just about everything on Birchbox. 🙂

Tiffany Pree

Well, Sephora said they were making something better and upgrading. So just going to wait & see how that plays out.

spoon baby

Thanks for compiling this list, Liz. At the risk of sounding totally stupid (a risk I take often), play ending for me was like a comfortable relationship that maybe wasn’t the best for either of us, but you really just didn’t want it to end. 🤣🤣 BUT NOW IT’S GONE and we must all pick up the tiny, plastic, glitter-smeared pieces and move on with our lives.

Personally for the time being I think I am going to work through the abundance of products I’ve acquired in my time in the subscription box world and whittle my collection down a bit before I go thinking about joining any new box services. Birchbox is looking pretty good right now though!

I subscribed to ipsy years ago and after getting ten bags, I did the math and figured out that after having spent $100 on ipsy bags, $65 of that went to products that I straight up hated. I tried to fine tune their recommendations so that it wasn’t a total waste of money sooo many times, but to use the relationship metaphor again, they simply would not listen and remained steadfast in their need to keep giving me crap. Maybe they are better about that stuff now but honestly it left such a bad taste in my mouth that I really don’t care to find out. And, it’s more expensive now than it was then.

If there’s a box that can guarantee, in writing, that they will never send me a ciate london product, or at least limit it to one annually, I’d be all ears.

Sorry about the blog post y’all, best of luck in your hunt for the perfect sub box. Personally I’m gonna keep looking at spoilers and silently hating on all the boxes, except for the henny and roo posts, which I love dearly & which make me desperately long for chickens.

Randie

Even though it’s not a subscription box, I think Target beauty boxes should also be on this list. For $7, they offer an incredible deal and are always packaged beautifully. And, because they’re not a subscription, you can choose to only the order the ones you want.

akelso

I agree… Target beauty boxes are generally my favorites & I get several monthly boxes.

Bonnie

Liz,
THANK YOU for the recommendations for alternatives to Sephora Play!

We’re losing several lower priced boxes. I think I’m worried most about Macy’s, and everything connected to Macy’s right now.
( Neiman Marcus, which does a PSMH SE box has shutterred their Dallas doors in bankruptcy. I truly can’t believe it). So, I don’t expect the tradition of the boxes from N-M will continue unless a mega entity like LVMH ( which could have a new name by now) buys them.

Sandy

I will be shocked if Macys beauty box comes back.

Jessica J Carter

Macy’s beauty box is a good one also. 15 plus tax and shipping but they always have higher end brands and usually a full size and a bonus product

Anna

Liz,
There’s a changes coming to British beauty box.

The email about how I’d like to proceed had this information:

1) We’re offering 2 new subscription options to replace our original subscriptions. Quarterly: $45.00 every 3 months (with an added shipping charge payment of $24.99 at the time of subscription payment), or Annually: $156.00 a year (plus a one time payment of $75.00 for delivery of all boxes throughout the year).

2) Instead of our usual 5+ products per box, we’re offering 3+ products per box. This means that our beauties can concentrate on the products they receive and have the time to get to know them, and how they can benefit their skin.

Here’s the other email I was sent :
Hello British Beauty Box family.

We asked for your views and we listened. You told us that you loved the high-quality full size ‘high end’ beauty products that you receive in your British Beauty Box. You also told us that you don’t always manage to use all of the products before you receive the next box. Lastly, you told us that you would appreciate a lower-cost subscription offering.

Thank you for taking the time to provide invaluable feedback. In response to your feedback, we will be simplifying and re-launching our subscription service, as British Beauty Box Lite.

The revised service will be live with effect from June 2020. The subscription will be reduced from £50 down to £35 per quarter starting from the June payment and there will be 3 full-size products in each box rather than the current 5+.

We are discontinuing the annual and monthly subscription options, but don’t worry if you have already paid for an annual subscription you will be refunded for any of the four boxes that you have yet to receive.

If you are a current monthly subscriber, from your next payment in June, you will be charged £35.00 and then only charged every 3 months after this (rather than your current monthly).

Thank you for your continuing support and we look forward to serving you throughout the current troubling times. If you have any further questions, please do get in touch!

Kindest regards from the BBB team.

Georgia Barningham

Marketing Manager

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