New Stuff: Sephora Play! Subscription Box

Subscription boxes have been a thing for a while and there are tons out there. You’ve got Birchbox, Glossybox, Sample Society, Ipsy, Wantable. Allure has  one, Walmart has one, Target has one. You can get subscription boxes for just about anyone or anything: men’s underwear, shaving supplies, dinner – even one for your dog. There are whole blogs dedicated to them, like My Subscription Addiction. Pretty soon there’ll be another one to add to the list. Sephora’s joining in the fun with their new subscription box, called Play! by Sephora.

To start out with, the box will only be available in a few test markets. So Boston, Columbus and Cincinnati, get ready to feel special! The plan is to expand to additional markets by 2016 (which is coming up really quick by the way – where did this year go?). So what do you get anyway?

The box will run $10/month, which is on the low end of the price range. The goodies in the first box will be: Sephora Collection Rouge Infusion Lip Stain in Peony, Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Gel Eye Crayon in Blacquer, Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Face Crème, Bumble and bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil, and Glamglow Supercleanse facial cleanser. There will also be some extras like booklets with tips & tricks, Spotify playlists, coupons to get in-store tutorials and bonus samples (presumably foils and/or carded fragrances).

Here’s my take on the whole box though: I don’t find it all that appealing. One of Sephora’s “things” is they have samples. Like, tons of samples. Walk into the store, get a sample of pretty much anything, as long as it isn’t a spray or a pressed powder. Rack up points, get a free deluxe sample (or a whole set of them). Spend $25-$35 online? Have a sample! In fact, the VIB board on their community forum has a list of literally dozens of promo codes that still work. I’ve seen the Marc Jacobs eyeliner as a promo code, as a 100-point perk, and in multiple Sephora Favorites sets.I’ve gotten two of them myself. Same deal with the Elizabeth and James Nirvana fragrances (I’ve got two vials of each one and a Nirvana Black mini rollerball). Bumble and Bumble comes up pretty often in the points perks list, and there’s nearly always a skincare promo code (albeit usually in a sachet, not a travel mini).

I don’t find the bonus extras worth much either. If you go into a store and ask about anything the SA’s will tell you about it and show you how to use it. As for Spotify playlists – I’d rather make my own, thankyouverymuch.

I’m not saying it’s a total con. If you don’t live near a store, it’s a good deal. Ten bucks for 5-6 samples is much cheaper than the total you’d have to spend online to get the same number. You might also come out on top if you just don’t shop at Sephora enough to build up points, or get promo codes very often. You can only use one promo code at a time with your online orders, so this should satisfy your cravings for deluxe minis of all the things.

Overall though, I’m happy with the samples I get for free and I really like picking out my own – that’s why I cancelled my Birchbox and Sample Society subscriptions. I’ll probably be giving this one a pass unless there’s some sort of really exciting plot twist once they start rolling it out.

What do you think about it, yay or nay?