Play! by SEPHORA (January 2017)

For $10 a month, uncover the most sought-after products around with a monthly subscription box of prestige, trial-size samples curated by Sephora experts. Each month you'll get five deluxe beauty samples, plus a beauty bonus, all in a collectible bag! Inside every beauty box you'll receive a Play! PASS you can bring in store and redeem for 50 bonus Beauty Insider points, plus a free one-on-one tutorial that is all about you. With PLAY! by Sephora, you'll also be eligible to attend Play! DATES, which are subscriber-only events that give you and a friend the opportunity to come in store and play with products that complement the ones you got in your subscription box. Lastly, up your beauty game with exclusive video how-to's, tutorials and tons of tips on how to use the products you get in new and fun ways.

What It Is:
At Sephora, they love that feeling when you find a new beauty product, give it a try, and wonder how you ever lived without it. That’s why they created PLAY! by SEPHORA, a beauty box filled with five stellar samples, delivered right to your door.

Here’s how it works:
Each month they curate a selection of new and best-selling products they’re most excited about, from makeup to hair care to skincare to fragrance. Then, using the answers in your PLAY! Profile, they determine which version is best for you. Next stop, your place, where you can experiment, play, and find your personal favorites.

Every month Sephora also includes a flyer that offers important details and informative tips and tidbits about the products included.

January 2017's theme is Beauty, Set, Go. Here's what's in this month's box:

OUAI Treatment Masque (0.5oz, ~$6.67) - Restorative mask helps to care for damaged hair and leaves strands feeling smooth and touchably soft. Depending on how dry your hair is, the entire bottle may be used for one treatment. Smooth evenly through hair before showering, leave in for five to ten minutes, and rinse off. Use as often as needed.

WHY WE GO FOR IT: Created by celebrity stylist Jen Atkin, Ouai makes effortless, cool-girl hair a snap. The soft, healthy-looking shine that the Treatment Masque gives to hair is just one of its charms. The formula also helps to strengthen hair against future damage.

JEN'S PRO TIP: Hitting the gym or unwinding at the spa? Use the time to get your hair in shape too. Just work in the treatment prior to your class or appointment and then shampoo it out afterwards. The heat from your activity helps the formula to soak in!

AMOREPACIFIC Color Control Cushion Broad Spectrum SPF 50+ (0.1oz each, ~$17.65) - Cushion format CC cream hydrates, protects skin, and delivers buildable, weightless coverage in two blendable, shades. If your skin tone is on the darker side, the 104 Tan Blush shade can be used to brighten up undereye circles. Or if you have a lighter skin tone, you can use the 106 Almond Blush shade to subtly contour your cheekbones.

WHY WE GO FOR IT: AmorePacific is one of Seoul's most popular luxury beauty brands. Their innovative, skin-soothing complexion formulas are just the thing for keeping skin moisturized and looking great.

YOUTH TO THE PEOPLE Kale + Spinach + Green Tea Hyaluronic Acid Age Prevention Cream (0.25oz, $6.00) - Whipped, lightweight cream restores and rejuvenates skin and delivers antioxidants with potent plant extracts. Kale elements free radicals with vitamins A, C, E, and K. Spinach slows signs of aging using potent antioxidants. Green tea protects against sun damage with polyphenols.

WHY WE GO FOR IT: Superfoods meet science with Youth To The People, a 100% vegan skincare line for today's health-conscious beauty lovers. The ultra-hydrating moisturizer, like all of their products, is formulated in small batches in the company's California lab.

TORY BURCH Love Relentlessly EDP (0.05oz, $3.40) - Unabashedly feminine and tender, this delicate scent features notes of pink pepper, orris, and patchouli. Top note is pink pepper. Middle note is orris root. Base note is patchouli.

A STORY IN SCENT: Love Relentlessly's soft, elegant aroma is inspired by the most romantic couple Tory Burch knows... her parents. The perfume's name actually comes from a love note that her father wrote to her mother.

CLINIQUE Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (~.035oz, ~$8.75) - Sheer lip color with a glossy finish in the bestselling, cult-classic Black Honey shade. This wearable, goes-with-anything lip product blends the format and color of a lipstick with the formula and hydration of a gloss. Swipe it on - no mirror necessary - to give your lips a fresh, healthy look that works for both day and night.

TREND FOCUS: Created by Clinique in 1971 as a color that would look good on any skin tone, the shade known as Black Honey is a mainstay on must-have and best-of lists. The deep, blackened raisin hue instantly caught on, and remained a success. Today, someone in the U.S. buys a Black Honey lipstick every three minutes!

TARTE FRXXXTION Stick (0.22oz, $4.84) - Exfoliating gel cleanser in a unique twist-up stick format transforms from a solid gel to a cleansing lather that gently sloughs away impurities. This innovative stick turns cleanser into a grab-and-go essential for traveling, post-gym showers, and time-crunched days.

HOW TO USE: Swipe directly onto damp skin in circular motions. With your fingertips, massage into a lather all over your face and rinse thoroughly. Use two to three times per week. Skin looking a little dull? Purify and revitalize it by leaving this cleanser on as a 10-minute mask.

                                                                                                                                                 

I'm really looking forward to trying the Ouai hair treatment mask. It has the delicate scent of lavender. The only thing in thing I considered not keeping was the AmorePacific cushion compact, but I'm too intrigued not to. It has pink undertones. Now I'm pale... ghostly pale. And definitely on the pinkish scale. I'm going to play with this and see what's up. The YTTP face cream goes on so smoothly, and a little goes a long way. It smells just like dandelions, so fresh and natural. Love Relentlessly is a fragrance that I think can span generations. I could see this being coveted by teens, women, and older ladies. It's one of the most diverse that I have ever smelled. I don't know what pink pepper, orris root, and to some degree even patchouli, are, but they go GOOD together. The Clinique lipstick is a lovely color. It looks much darker in the mirror than the picture conveys. However, it was on the sticky side. I don't really like the scent of the Tarte exfoliating cleansing stick, but Tarte is one of my favorite cosmetics brands so I want to try it out. It has to be great quality... it's Tarte!

I believe this may be the first time that I am keeping everything I've gotten in a subscription. This January 2017 box has a total value of $47.31. I like it all. I'm super excited to see what I get in February!