When I first heard about the monthly subscription box trend I was intrigued. I love the idea of paying a small monthly fee to have new sample sized products brought to my front door. I jumped on BirchBox after hearing about it from various beauty bloggers and have now had mine for over two years (reviewed here//here//here). I gave Ipsy a try (here) also and was unimpressed and opted to just stick with BirchBox. I love BirchBox because I get to try new things from hear of and unheard of (by me, at least) brands. I absolutely love getting skin care and find that I’m never without a new sample to try. Recently though, I had an issue where my BirchBox never arrived so I had to request a new be sent (which they did) but when it arrived almost everything was a repeat. Lame. I’m not ready to give up on BirchBox yet but when I heard Sephora was coming out with their own version I immediately subscribed. I was really interested to see what Sephora would come up with and how it would compare to BirchBox and Ipsy.
Well, I came home last night after a particularly tough day at work and was greeted by my first Sephora Play box!! Initially I liked the size of the box (bigger than BirchBox) and loved that the contents all had a common theme. I almost squealed when I saw there was a Fresh product include because it’s a brand that I’ve heard great things about and would try more if I had the funds. The included booklet was actually pretty interesting and informative but the best part about the box is that I will use absolutely everything (yes, even the weird sponge that was included for the Boscia cleanser). I did some poking around to see what other people got and they do seem to have been sent different products. Here’s my box’s breakdown:
Sephora Collection Peal Mask – I love masks of all types and will definitely use this
Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser & Konja Cleansing Sponge with Bamboo Charcoal – Tried this once. Messy but I like it. I’m curious to try the goofy sponge.
Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Instant Infusion Treatment Toner – Haven’t use this yet but looks like a very interesting product. Everything by Fresh receives pretty great reviews so I’m really pleased with this sample.
Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Day Tint SPF 15 – Haven’t tried this product yet either but everything Dr Jart+ I’ve ever tried has been great and I’m sure this will be the same.
Atelier Cologne Collection Azur – Mandarine Glaciale – This is definitely a more unisex smell and probably not one I will wear but it still does smell great… for a man.
Belief The True Cream Aqua Bomb – I rubbed this on the back of my hand and really like the consistency. Now that my skin is getting dryer, this will be perfect!
Another fun little thing is a PLAY! card that apparently you can show in store and they can tell you a bit more about how to use the products that are included as well as get 50 bonus points for your Beauty Insider/VIB/VIB Rouge account. Overall, I think this service is great and I hope they continue to put the same amount of time and effort into creating the boxes. I’ll let you know whether I think it’s worth it or not in a few months.
Chic in Columbus 