Review - January Sephora Play! Box

I’ve been subscribed to the Sephora Play! Box since it first came out and a few have been hits while others were a bit of a miss. I thought I’d start reviewing them on my blog here so that others can see them in case they’re trying to make up their mind whether or not to subscribe. Let’s start off with the first box of 2016! :-) 

 

Living Proof Prime Style Extender Spray – So this is hair priming spray (from what it says on the bottle). I  didn’t know hair primer was a thing to be honest. The back says that this helps to extend any style and make it last twice as long. I’ve banned myself from all heat tools lately so my idea of a style is just running my fingers through once after my hair air dries. I passed this one on to my little sister. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight – this is a stick highlighter from Clinique, another product I passed on to my little sister. It looks gorgeous but I’m allergic to artificial yellow dye and Clinique puts it in quite a lot of their products, including this one. 

Sephora Collection Eye Mask – I have this on as I type and so far I'm quite enjoying it. It's quite cooling and my little sisters are quite amused by the way it looks. I've used the full size version of this mask before and loved it so I have high hopes!

Tocca Beauty Perfume Sample in Isabel – Hands down my favorite product from this box, it smells soooo beautiful (can a smell be beautiful?). I’m definitely buying a full size of this as soon as possible. 

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Universal Daily Peel – Umm the name Dr. Gross always gets me hehe but I’m excited to try this out.

Dr. Brandt Skincare Needles No More – I. Hate. Needles. Even if I ever wanted to get Botox, I wouldn’t for the simple fact that there are needles involved. This little guy sounds like quite a miracle product with some fairly bold claims. I’ve used it once so far and it smells quite minty and fresh. Not much of a difference in the wrinkle I put it on (honestly it looks deeper if anything, I'm fervently hoping that's my imagination) but I will report back.

Along with the products there was also a little booklet with more details on each product and a card one could present in a Sephora store for more information on how to use this month's items. 

And that’s the lot! Overall, I don’t know about this box. I can’t quite decide if it’s a hit or miss. It’s somewhere in the middle really. What do you guys think? Would you rate this a hit or a miss? 

(I bought this box with my own money. There are some affiliate links in this post which means if you click through and buy something, I may get a commission.) 

What color do you feel like today?

Pretty picture just because

A while ago I picked up a journal from Barnes and Nobles that contains 300 prompts. I thought it may be a fun project for this blog if we go through all (or some) of the prompts together. What do you guys think? Let me know! I think the questions are all pretty fun and they’re definitely the kind that you would not only like to answer yourself but also enjoy reading others answers. We’ll start one that caught my eye while I was browsing the journal. 

What color do you feel like today?

Hmm, I think I feel like lilac today. It’s one of my favorite colors and incites a certain calm in me. I feel quite chipper but also rather calm at the moment, peaceful if you will. It’s snowing outside as I type this and I’m all toasty inside the house (for which I’m forever grateful), I feel warm and pleasant and peaceful. Something about those feelings just brings lilac to mind. I think that’s how I’d feel if I were running through a field somewhere, surrounded by the color lilac. It’s also the color I’ve chosen for my wedding dress lol so yeah lilac! 

Lilac :-)

Your turn lovely reader, what color do you feel like today, right now? Also, let me know if you think I should continue with some more of these questions, just as a fun little exercise for us all to do together. :-)

Mini Ulta Haul

Hi beautiful people :-) 
I thought I'd share my mini Ulta haul today. I went to pick up my sister from school yesterday and made a quick (hour long) stop at Ulta on the way back. I'm a Sephora girl, possibly because it's closer and there are a lot of them in my area, so I don't visit Ulta much but I will occasionally stop by. On this occasion, I picked up a handful of items before putting a few down at the insistence of my much more sensible little sister and put quite a few others on my wishlist before leaving. Here are the items that made the cut and got to come home with me! (Anyone else ever bring makeup home and feel like you’ve just welcomed new members into your makeup family?)

It Cosmetics Airbrush Blurring Powder Brush No. 126
 
It Cosmetics makes great brushes you guys. I haven’t tried any of their cosmetics but I do love their brushes. This little guy was the main reason I went to Ulta, I was watching Wayne Goss on YouTube the other day and he used a stippling brush to apply foundation to the model he was working on. It looked so amazingly gorgeous when he was done that I decided I needed a stippling brush too. I’m not sure if that’s what this brush is intended for but that’s what I’m going to use it for! Let’s all be rebels and use our brushes for whatever we want, who are these makeup companies to tell us how to use our brushes eh?!
 
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer 

I’ve heard great things about this concealer from various beauty gurus on YouTube and I loved the feel of it on the back of my hand. I don’t use concealer much so I couldn’t justify buying the full size version but lucky for me they had a mini one. Has anyone tried this? Thoughts on the best way to apply it?

Ulta Beauty Wedges (pack of 32) 

I wanted to try these out with the concealer and also with foundation. I like the beauty blender but washing it is such a pain because I’m lazy/busy. I want to see if maybe I can just dampen this and use it to apply my foundation. That way I can just toss it and be on my way and not have to rewash it every time. 

NYX Matte Liquid Liner 

I haven’t tried my hand at liquid liner at quite a while now. I’m absolutely horrible at it but thought I’d get back to trying it again! 

NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker 

Umm Nyx had a buy one get one 50% off sale going on so…I needed something to buy with the other liner didn’t I?! You don’t just ignore sales and buy the one thing you need, that’d be craziness.  (Update - I tried this and it's a complete dud, it was so light and barely anything came out. Not a fan at all)

Have you tried any of these products? Anything I should add to my ever growing wishlist for the next time I visit Ulta? I would love to know! I hope the week is treating you well, dear reader. 

Till next time
xx

(I bought all these products with my own money. There are some affiliate links in this post which means if you click through and buy something, I may get a commission.)