I’m excited to write about the January Play! by Sephora box. I’m mostly excited because Sephora made a boo boo last month and did not send me my December box. I had to get all Pro Blogger on them to understand why that happened. Initially, they sent me an email letting me know that I needed to call to update my credit card information, which was accurate because I had received a new debit card. I had updated it on my main Sephora account, but apparently the two are not tied. So, I called in, where i had an extremely painful and frustrating conversation with a Customer Service agent who did not seem to even understand what Play! by Sephora was. However, after a lot of time on hold, she came back and told me that she was “pretty sure” I would still get my December box. I kept asking her if she could ask someone so she could be “100% sure” instead of “pretty sure” but she assured me everything was fine and I would receive my box. Fast forward to another similarly frustrating conversation at the end of the month, however, this time, I chose to call into the dedicated VIB Rouge Line, which I probably should have done to begin with. She let me know that the previous Customer Service agent failed to update my credit card information at all.
This is when I had to ask the question, “OK, so I’m a blogger. How do you suppose I let my readers know how they can update their information if Customer Service isn’t able to do it for them and they aren’t able to update the information themselves?” She assured me that Customer Service should be able to do this and that my situation was abnormal. To apologize, she dropped 500 points into my account which definitely isn’t the same as receiving a box, but it was better than nothing.
I’m willing to give Play! Sephora the benefit of the doubt because this box is still in its pilot phase, so I assume they are still working out the kinks. I hope that by the time it rolls out to everyone, all Customer Service agents will be trained on how to handle Play! by Sephora boxes and not just the Rouge agents.
This was mostly frustrating to me because I love the box so much and I really wanted December’s! You can read November’s blog to see all the (many) benefits of Play! by Sephora.
This month’s theme was No Appointment Necessary. I think they are trying to say, “Skip the plastic surgeon, just use these products!” LOL. I think we all know there is only so much a cream can do, so we’ll be realistic here.
One thing that really sets the Sephora box apart is the little magazine they insert, giving details and fun facts about the products.
Sephora Lotus Eye Mask ($5): I love sheet masks but I haven’t had the opportunity to use ones that are specifically made for eyes so I am really excited to try this soon!
Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight ($22): I was really excited to receive this because I had also received this is a 500 point perk from Sephora previously and I really loved the convenience of the stick and the sheen it gave was really pretty as natural.
Dr. Brandt Needles No More ($89): Sigh. I just do not love the Dr. Brandt brand. First, I think their samples are pathetic. When you receive a deluxe sample from them, at first you think, “Sweet, this might even last me a couple weeks!” But it’s extremely misleading because they barely put anything in their samples. At the same time, I did try this sample and I don’t think it did ANYTHING. Just felt like a regular cream. And for $89? Woof. No thank you. If you have great experiences with Dr. Brandt products, please let me know what I’m missing!
Living Proof Prime Style Extender Spray ($20): This is another product I already had in my closet! I go back and forth on whether or not this actually extends my styles or not but it’s a good “foundation” for styling products.
Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Original Formula ($84): This is the only product I haven’t been able to test because I’ve been dealing with an adult acne situation so I haven’t wanted to use even a mild at home peel on broken skin. However, I have my eye on this, and I really look forward to trying this when I can.
Tocca Isabel Perfume ($68): This smelled so great! It says it has Old World notes of Spanish rose, bergamot and Mediterranean orange with modern notes of leather and vetiver. It definitely smells like you’d think a total Cool Girl smells. Since I’m obviously a Cool Girl, I’m keeping this on my radar! I haven’t ever owned a Tocca scent before but I really, real love this!
Final Grade: B
While I feel like I will always love the Play! by Sephora boxes but this one didn’t really blow me away. Maybe because I already owned two of the products and I have more sheet masks than I know what to do with. Or maybe it’s because I don’t love Dr. Brandt products? However, these things are personal preferences for me, so when it comes to a box curation, I think they did a great job, as per usual. I’m looking forward to trying the Dr. Dennis Gross peel set when I can!
If you are interested in signing up for the waiting list, click here!
Purchased; All opinions are my own.
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