My March Sephora Play came a little late which is why it’s taken me so long to get to reviewing. I haven’t been super impressed with my recent Play Boxes but I stay subscribed because I know the moment I unsubscribe there will be a box I actually want. I also stay because I’ve gotten products I really like, products that I actually buy the full-size versions. This month’s theme is Festival Beauty and Sephora embraces the spirit with a little cultural appropriation. The bag says Beauty is my Spirit Animal. hmmm. Not a good look Sephora. From girls at Coachella wearing headdresses to Mac’s Vibe Tribe collection Indigenous peoples culture is up for grabs so white people can choose their next fashion statement. But I’m just being petty (hah). Rant over let’s examine March’s box.

One of the products I was most excited about was the Briogeo Blossom & Bloom Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Spray. I really liked their leave in conditioner when I got a sample in a previous Sephora Play. I have fine hair but a lot of it which gives it the illusion of being thick but I’m always looking for volumizing products to help hair. The volumizing spray doesn’t just boost your hair it actually makes it thicker over time. It’s also incredibly lightweight and I don’t find any residue in my hair after using it. The only downside is I’m a shower at night kind of person and I rarely use a blow dryer so I’m not maximizing the sprays full potential. I will definitely keep the sample around for the times I do blow dry my hair (which I did just to test this product) but I probably won’t buy the full-sized version.

Another hair product! The Marajó Nourishing Cleansing Crèam & Deep Treatment Butter was a nice change from the usual perfume sample because I’m very picky about my scents. The shampoo and conditioner were very nourishing and my hair felt softer the next day. However, these were only single-use packets which makes it hard to tell how’d they treat my hair long term. I dye my hair so I like a nourishing shampoo but I also have an oily scalp so I tend to stay away from products that promise shiny hair because for me shiny = grease. That being said I didn’t find my hair overly greasy or shiny the next day. The conditioner was also very nice, although because of a miscommunication with our schedules I ended up leaving it on for 10 minutes because my mom started the laundry and took all the hot water. Perhaps that made my hair softer than it would have been if I left it on for the directed 2 minutes. Still, $60 is a lot to pay for a Shampoo + Conditioner regimen so I probably will not buy the full sized versions.

I wear makeup pretty much every day so when I got the Lancôme Miel-En-Mouse Foaming Cleansing Makeup Remover with Acacia Honey I was intrigued… Until I read the instructions. I double cleanse normally (see my daily routine post) and that takes all my makeup off eyeliner and mascara included. The Lancôme face wash is supposed to be used on dry skin and emulsified with water. I figured I could substitute the Lancôme cleanse for my oil cleanser and maybe I could skip a step at night by just using one cleanser. Except the Lancôme Makeup remover isn’t safe to use on eyes. It says so on the back of the tube because I checked. Frankly, I have no use for a makeup remover that doesn’t work on eyes. If the cleanser could be used on wet skin I’d use it as my 2nd step cleanser. I went to L.A. over the weekend to see my grandfather so I brought this cleanser with me. It was hot so I mostly wore bb cream (my bb cream from this box but we’ll get to that next) and very little eye makeup and while this cleanser took off my makeup it didn’t seem to foam up. It came out of the tube very fast and was hard to control. I will say that my skin felt very clean with none of the tight overly washed feeling but I will not buy the full-sized version of this cleanser.

Sephora Play Boxes usually include a primer or a bb cream as one of their makeup samples. The Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SFP 45 is a BB Cream/Sunscreen combo. I was sent a light-medium color based on my Sephora profile. I was worried it might be too dark but the cream blended in really well. The BB cream has a very light feeling to it but it provided the needed coverage. I also liked the high SPF factor because I was spending a lot of time outside in L.A. and this actually did a better job than the sunscreen I brought. I don’t really use BB cream but next time I decide I need one I’ll definitely check this one out.

Another product Sephora sends a lot is lipstick, which I get, lipstick is easy because most people like it. The Buxom Plumpline Lipliner in Hush Hush is a warm pinky rose color and has a matte finish.

The pencil makes it easy to target the thin corners of the mouth and the brush at the other end blends it out providing a softer natural looking finish. The color is not super long wearing but on the plus side, I can’t tell I’m wearing lipstick when I wear this because it’s so lightweight. Even though it’s a pencil it’s still a Buxom product which means it plumps and I definitely noticed my lips looking fuller when I wore this. I definitely want to check out some of Buxoms other products as well because I mostly associate them with their plumping lipgloss (which is sticky and not for me) but clearly they have a range of other products. I really like the Hush Hush color but I would probably buy a full-sized version in a red.

I wasn’t super excited when I got the Sephora Collection Contour Eye Pencil in Blonde Ambition but I figured I might as well try it out. I could use it to give a pop to my eyeliner or use it on my lower lashline. Buuuttt it broke while I was trying to swatch it. The tip fell right off.

I tweeted at Sephora and they offered to send me a new one but I have 5 million gold or rose gold eyeshadow/eyeliner sticks Sephora has sent me. It sucks that it broke but I don’t need one more eyeliner stick cluttering up my bathroom. I don’t have much to say about this since I didn’t really use it.

Final Thoughts: This was a meh box, I liked a couple of things and hopefully April’s will be better.