Sephora Play! April 2019 Review – Winning Beauty Subscription Box

 

It’s time for my Sephora Play April 2019 review. Play! by Sephora 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 Play! 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 to Beauty Insiders, 12.5 points to VIB members, and 15 points to VIB Rouge members. This Play! box also 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.

Annual Play by Sephora Review

This article covers my April 2019 Sephora Play Box review, but you can see a synopsis of a year of Play! by Sephora Box reviews vs a year of Birchbox reviews. Every year, I review my $10 boxes against each other, so I can declare the annual winner. This is also helpful for those who would like to see a year of reviews for either box in one place. Birchbox did raise its prices for select members, but it is still $10 for me. For those who are not ACES on the $10 plan, I will consider that when I do the annual comparison for 2019.

About the Play! by Sephora Subscription

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 it does 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 8 samples that were available this month through shop the products link. My Sephora Play April 2019 review is from box version is 2198109.

Sephora Play April 2019 Box Theme

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 April 2019 Sephora Play box is Winning Beauty. This wants us to step into spring with tips and tricks that are perfect for this season’s budding beauty.

Getting More from Your Play! By Sephora Box

Each box comes with a Play! Pass. The Play! Pass is 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.

Using promo code PLAYAPR19 online with a $20 purchase will also award 50-points. That code from the April 2019 Sephora Play Box is valid from 04/15/19 through 05/31/19. Getting 50-points for an online order is not ideal unless you have free shipping and are only spending $20 or really have no interest in any of the active promo codes. At $25 spent, there are always a number of promo codes you qualify for. Considering it takes 100-points to redeem one perk and the perks are usually about the same as the free product in a promo code, you’d pass on a promo worth 100-points to redeem the promo code for 50-points.

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 thick ziplock bag. You can reuse these bags. It is usually a red bag. This is the first time it was purple.

My April 2019 Sephora Play Box Review

The 0.84oz Sephora Collection Waterproof Triple Action Cleansing Water is worth $1.49. I love micellar waters, and this is one I’ve never received before. Even though I’ve purchased the coconut and charcoal versions, I have not tried them yet. Thus, I cannot say if this Matcha Green Tea Extract one is similar. It does disappoint me when samples fall below the $2 I paid for them, even when other products make up the difference. When it is something I really want, I can overlook it, so this gets a pass.

The 0.0018oz It Cosmetics Brow Power™ Universal Brow Pencil is worth $7.20. Sephora does not sell the travel size, so I am using the pricing for the full-size. If you want to buy this pencil, purchase the travel size. While it has less than the full-size, it gives you more than the package size on the smaller one and only what you pay for on the full-size making the sample size a far better deal. I placed this 0.05g sample next to my unused 0.07g (travel size) one and they look the same as well. I think you get about the same amount of product no matter what size it claims it is.

This pencil does build, so you can use it for a natural or a bold look. When you press lightly,  the universal taupe shade is light enough for my color of blonde. It might look dark for someone with really light hair or might not get deep enough for someone with really dark hair. There is also a red tone that you cannot really see in the swatch, but you can see it in photos.

The pencil has broken on me three times (well once for this pencil and twice on a previous one), which is surprising given that it as very hard and waxy. That results in wasted product. When I opened my backup (did not want to use this so I can give it away), there was some wax build-up. It is over a year old, but I had not yet used it. As I was scraping off the wax, the pencil broke. Thankfully, it broke cleanly off, so I was able to push it back in this time. It will still fall out if I forget it is loose and am not careful, but I will keep using it until I no longer can. Once it breaks in half or refuses to go back in, it is over.

The 0.1oz Urban Decay Perversion Mascara is worth $9.23. This is a really wet formula, which likes to transfer all over my face from my hooded eyes. I am definitely not keeping this duplicate.

The 0.5oz Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ retails in this size for $5. Granted the packaging on the one you purchase is nicer, but it has the same amount of product. I’ve never tried this, but I have other samples of this. It is not a duplicate I am likely to keep.

The 0.33 VOLITION Turmeric Brightening Polish is worth $3.14. I love this product (click for review), so I was happy to see it in my box. This is a product I would not purchase, because I prefer something a little more gentle on my face and feel it is too expensive for my body. Since this sample is large enough, I will give my body an expensive treat. Some duplicates are wonderful.

The 0.34oz SACHAJUAN Moisturizing Shampoo has no value, because single use foils are free. Sephora agrees and considers this a bonus. I love getting these, because they give me more products for my foil challenge. This is a hydrating product, which is wonderful for me. Almost every part of me is exceptionally dry. 

The 0.34oz SACHAJUAN Moisturizing Conditioner has no value, because single use foils are free. Sephora agrees and considers this a bonus. I love getting these, because they give me more products for my foil challenge. This is a hydrating product, which is wonderful for me. Almost every part of me is exceptionally dry. 

Was the April 2019 Sephora Play Box Worth it?

The April 2019 Sephora Play box has a $26.06 value. This brings the average box value for the year to $36.69. My personal value is only $4.63, because I am only keeping two items in a low value box. It is one of the worst boxes I’ve received in a while. Someone in my life will receive the products I do not want duplicates of and they might feel differently. Those people are the only reason I do not cancel when I get boxes like this where I will not even keep enough in value to cover what I paid. Let this serve as a reminder that a box that gives you duplicates of things you’ve already tried is only worth it when you want to keep the duplicates. Since the value of my only original item is $1.49, I am grateful I want to keep at least one dupe.

What are your thoughts on my April 2019 Play! by Sephora Box review? Let me know below. Sephora does not inform any Beauty Insider of all promotions. It does list a great deal of them on its Beauty Offers page, but I list some it does not on my Sephora Deals Page. Between the ones it lists and the ones I list, you can catch most of them. Sign up for Sephora emails to get targeted offers. If you’re spending over $25 online, there is always a promo code that you can apply. Most major events run on a set schedule, which is why I track them. See all Sephora Play! articles. Read Tips For Getting the Best Deal When Shopping Sephora. Subscribe to the blog to get updates on all posts. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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