PLAY! by Sephora: April 2017 Box

Alooooha Friends!  Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks.  I've been busy and lazy (but mostly lazy to be honest...)  Nonetheless, it's time for one of my favorite posts... the PLAY! by Sephora box!

I really liked this month's little pouch because I feel like it embodied me in a very accurate way. The theme of this month's box is "STEP it UP!" and honestly, I don't know what that means since it isn't a dead give away like the past themes.  From what I can tell, this box's theme seems to have to do with amping up your beauty routine, but I'm still not too sure???  As always, the box came with five deluxe sample sized products and a sample of the perfume pick of the month, as well as the little pamphlet that talks about each product.  Now shall we get into the products?  We shall...  (* I also used all of these products already before writing this, so I'll include little reviews of each below and I don't have everything with me, so sadly I can't include any specs for you, sorry!)

"Make the Moisture of It"
Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream

This lightweight moisturizer claims to have an airy formula that hydrates with three different types of hyaluronic acid.  It honestly doesn't have much else about it, other than that it's über moisturizing and when applied at night, will make your skin noticeably softer come the next morning.  When I tried this, I honestly had a hard time figuring out if it really did anything for me since my skincare routine is already so moisture intensive.  However, I really loved the texture and lightweight-ness of this moisturizer.  It also doesn't have a scent which is a plus for me!

"See You Exfoliator"
Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment

This exfoliator gently polishes skin with natural fruit enzymes to reveal a glowing complexion.  The natural fruit enzymes are what makes this exfoliator effective and make you feel like you just walked out of the spa.  I've tried this before in a mini sample version but I honestly cannot remember what I thought about it, since I only got to use a small amount, but after giving it a second try I realize how much I love this stuff.  Initially, it has a sort of cinnamon-y smell, which makes you think it'll burn, but it doesn't.  You massage it on your face for about 30 seconds before letting it sit for one (for more sensitive skin) to two minutes, then wash off.  I did this in the shower and noticed that my skin was pretty glowy right after.  I also did a pore strip after and noticed that more gross stuff came off on the pore strip than usual, was it the aid of ExfoliKate???  Honestly, if it isn't for the price, I would totally have this as part of my weekly skincare routine!

"The Prime is Now"
Smashbox Iconic Photo Finish Foundation Primer

A cult favorite primer that claims to create the perfect canvas for makeup that will leave your skin soft and silky-smooth.  It blurs and helps makeup become more long-lasting, in turn, leading to less touch-ups.  I was so excited to try this primer because I've been looking for a primer that will keep my T-zone oiliness at bay, and I knew loads of people already love this primer.  LOW AND BEHOLD, I fell in love with it after just one use.  It made my skin look FLAWLESS and I only had to use half a blotting sheet versus the two that I normally would use after four to five hours of wear. I'm generally a fan of more silicone-like primers so I loved the texture of this primer right away. Unfortunately, I noticed that after a few days of wear, my forehead and chin started breaking out. Makeup generally doesn't break me out, so I'm still investigating whether it is because of the primer of because of hormones.  I'll keep y'all updated lol.

"The Liner Things in Life"
Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Eye Pencil Waterproof Eyeliner in M-10

This is an eyeliner that claims to be creamy and budge-proof, with intense, jet black color.  Again, this product doesn't have much else about it, so straight to the review!  If you're a returning reader, you know my struggle with liner and how important it is to me that if one claims to be waterproof and budge-proof, it really proves to me that it is.  I usually don't use pencil to create my wings, but I wanted to test how creamy it really was, so I used it, and I was honestly disappointed in the lack of creaminess.  It kind of tugged at my lids when I was trying to draw the line and it wasn't that clean when drawing.  It was definitely jet black, which I liked, however when I curled my lashes, it transferred off my eye and onto the lash curler, which led me to have to touch up my liner, so budge-proof??? Not really tbh.

"Erase to the Finish"
Sephora Collection Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover

A gentle waterproof makeup remover that is perfect for sensitive eyes and has lash-strengthening vitamins and extracts.  It claims to be able to remove the most stubborn makeup.  At the beginning of this year, I switched to double cleansing with an oil cleanser and a foaming cleanser, which means I basically completely cut out eye makeup remover from my routine, but I decided to give this a try since it is oil-based.  On my first try, I noticed that it broke down my eye makeup really quickly (keep in mind that all the eye makeup I use is SUPER waterproof too) and didn't make my contacts cloudy. Yes I keep my contacts on when removing eye makeup, otherwise I can't see anything lol.  After removing all my eye makeup, it looked like it had taken care of everything so I jumped into the shower and continued the rest of my cleansing routine.  When I came out of the shower, I noticed the black circles under my eyes from the leftover mascara on my lashes, AKA this makeup remover didn't get everything.  This never happens to me with my regular cleansing routine, so sadly, I think I'll be putting this makeup remover aside, and if I needed an eye makeup remover, I'd probably just go back to my Harmon Face Values $4 one.

This Month's Perfume Pick: "Crazy About Daisy"
Marc Jacobs Daisy

Directly from the PLAY! pamphlet: "A playful, free-spirited floral scent featuring a sparkling bouquet of wild strawberries, violet and jasmine."  I honestly was underwhelmed when I saw this in the box because I knew someone who wore this perfume everyday and I'm honestly so sick of it.  I already own Daisy Eau So Fresh, which I prefer, so idk, I probably will never use this perfume lol.

And that is everything featured in the April 2017 PLAY! by Sephora box!  It was honestly an underwhelming box overall, like there was not one product that I was really excited to try, which is probably why it took me so long to write this in the first place (I've had the box for a week already whoops).  Still, I hope you enjoyed reading and maybe found a product that interests you!

As always, thank you for reading!

With Love,
Caitlyn <3