Sephora Play May 2018 Subscription Box 719 Review

Sephora Play! is a subscription box that offers five deluxe beauty samples and a bonus foil packet or perfume vial for $10 a month plus tax. Shipping is free. Only items sold at Sephora come inside the box so most items are from well-known, high-end brands. While Sephora does carry a few low-end and luxury brands, they do not really appear in the subscription boxes. There is not a traditional rewards program with this box so you cannot get points for referring friends or writing reviews. It does award 10 Beauty Insider points and applies $10 toward your purchase minimum to maintain your Beauty Insider status. Visit my Sephora page for descriptions on points and status. The $10 charge processes immediately for new subscribers and from the 1st through the 4th for succeeding months. Boxes usually ship from the 11th through the 15th.

The Beauty Bag was the only place to see complete sample history. Although it worked when I wrote the article for the January 2018 box, it is not working now. In case the link is ever recovered, I will leave it here for now. It does remove items Sephora no longer carries. You can view contents on one box at a time accessing the links through your Sephora order history. There are times when I can see all my Sephora history from that link and other times where it cuts older orders off. The past boxes link does give complete details on the last six boxes.

Boxes get customized based on your profile. Make sure you update your Play! Profile, because they do not use the Sephora profile for this box. There is not a lot of variety in the boxes, but there is enough to justify updating your profile. If you received a box that does not suit you, update your profile. You can continue to play with your settings until you are happy with what you’re receiving. If no adjustments help, cancel your subscription. You can view all samples that were available this month through shop the products link. There are 25 items listed for May 2018. My box is version 2057719.

Each box comes with a Play! Book. This is a booklet that unfolds into a large sheet of photo paper to show info about all the items inside the box.

It also goes over the theme for the box and shows how the products tie into the theme. The theme for May box is Beauty Goals.

Each box comes with a Play! Pass. The Play! Pass is only valid in store though the end of the following month. It is redeemable with any purchase (even items not received in the box) for 50 Beauty Insider points. Only one 50 point pass is valid per day, so using two in a single trip will not work. These points may take up to 24 hours to apply. You can also use the Play! Pass for a one-on-one consolation with a beauty expert.

It takes 100 points to receive a deluxe perk, but online orders $25 and over can use a promo code, which is usually deluxe perk. While this is wonderful for those trips you have to make in store or when you are spending less than $25, it will generally be a better deal to order online and redeem a deluxe perk.

Items come inside a collectible makeup bag. The design is different each month. This is a small drawstring thick cotton bag that is very cute but not practical for holding makeup. It does help keep the contents inside from shifting too much during shipping. I really like the bag for this month, because both the design and feel of the bag are nicer than usual.

The 0.2oz Buxom Lash Mascara is worth $10.81. Even though I have received this mascara a lot, I have yet to try it. My sister was just raving about how much she loved this mascara days before it arrived in my box. That means I know who will receive this duplicate.

The bareMinerals Mineral Veil Setting Powder is probably 0.05oz. If my size guess is correct, this is worth $3.83. I do like this setting powder. It is not my favorite but it does the job nicely. It never looks cakey, but it does not stop creasing as much as some of my other loose setting powders. Since I already own multiples of this, I will probably not keep it. My niece loves this stuff so she will probably be the lucky recipient.

The 0.85oz Benefit Cosmetics the POREfessional is worth $4.80. I really like this primer. It really does minimize pores and leaves the surrounding area looking very smooth. It is too drying to use on my already dry skin so I only use it around my pores. This is a sample I receive a lot so there is a good chance this particular one will not stay with me.

The 0.33oz Sephora Collection Mud Mask Purifying & Mattifying is worth $3.25. As I get older and my skin gets even more dry, I do not purchase as many mud masks as I once did. That makes this the one item in the box I did not already own. When I apply a mud mask, I stick to my pores. They tend to dry out the rest of my face. Sephora Play knows I have dry skin so this sample along with the POREfessional surprise me. This is not a box for someone with dry skin as evidenced by the lack of key words by the products that say things like “selected for your skin type.” It is a favorites box so I understand they did not take skin types into account, but they could have still put these two products in the oily box instead.

The 0.85oz Alterna Caviar CC Cream for Hair 10-in-1 Complete Correction is worth $8.84. This is another sample I’ve received so many times but have yet to try. Every time I plan on using it next, I change my mind at the last-minute. In case I love this, I will hold into it until I’ve tried the one I still have left in my stash.

The 0.04oz Atelier Cologne Clémentine California Cologne Absolue Pure Perfume is worth $3.06. This is another sample I’ve received before but have yet to try. I am not super into perfume so I doubt I will keep this duplicate even if I love it.

The box has a $34.59 value. This brings the average box value for the year to $35.98. My personal value is at least $3.25, because I will definitely keep and try the only sample that is new to me. I do not have anything against the others whether I’ve tried them or not so I may keep more of them. If I choose to gift them all away, my personal value will dip below the $10 plus tax I paid for the box. That makes this my least favorite box so far this year, but I know people in my life who will benefit. It softens the blow a little. If you have any questions I did not cover, please visit the FAQ section. I will answer any posted here if I know the answer.

Sephora does not inform a single Beauty Insider of all deal details. Certain offers are targeted and others have different purchase minimums based on the code. Remember to check New Offers and/or Recycled Offers before placing an online order for items you loved from the box. Visit my Sephora! Play Page for more information and other box reviews. See all Sephora Play! articles. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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