Sephora Play! VS Allure Beauty Box March 2017 Review

I’ve finally narrowed it down to my two favorite low cost beauty boxes. Sorry Birchbox and Ipsy, it’s not you. The Allure Beauty Box has been one of my top boxes for years and the new Sephora Play gives it a run for it’s money every month. They’re both so good about brands and sizes that I continue to get both rather than choose only one.

I’ve been having them duke it out over the past few months and I’m going to continue doing so just to tally it up later and see who gives me the most wins. My initial guess is that they’ll be pretty close to even.

This month has a clear winner for me. No question!
ALLURE BEAUTY BOX

The Cost: $15/month

What You Get: Six deluxe-sized samples from the world’s best luxury brands.

Secret Cool Waterlily Deodorant
Londontown Lakur Nail Polish
Londontown Lakur Cuticle Oil
Akar Ruby Tint Lip Butter
John Freida 7Day Volume Hair Treatment
DermaE Vitamin C Concentrated Serum

My favorite product is the DermaE serum! The polish is blah, I’m lazy and don’t use cuticle oil. I probably should use the 7Day Volume because I have thin fine hair and it goes flat as a pancake as fast as it possibly can. It may be funny but the deodorant is my second favorite! I only use travel sizes anyway and they fit just about anywhere with a minimum of fuss. Yeah, I keep one in my clutch… 😀

Of the two boxes, Allure sends more full size items and they often send extra items, as well. I love that. They’re customer service is accommodating but fairly slow. An item from my January box arrived broken, I asked about a replacement in mid February. They responded saying a new one would be sent but so far I haven’t seen it.
SEPHORA PLAY!

This month the theme is “The Gleam Team” and is all about glowy highlights! Gotta love the themes and this one is everything I could ask for. The brands!! The shine!

The Cost: $10/month

What You Get: A collection of five deluxe samples plus a fragrance in a cute bag, delivered monthly. Plus a Play!Pass for 50 extra Beauty Insider points with any purchase in store.

Glamglow Glowstarter Mega Illuminating Moisturizer
Algenist REVEAL Concentrated Luminizing Drops in Pearl
Benefit Cosmetics Watt’s Up Cream-to-Powder Highlighter
MakeUpForEver Artist Shadow in i-544
Living Proof Full Dry Volume Blast
Atelier Cologne Clementine California

I’m really excited to try the Algenist luminizing drops and I’ll totally use the MUFE shadow along with the Living Proof volume spray. I don’t really like Watt’s Up but it makes a great stocking stuffer. While I’ve turned up my nose at most Glamglow stuff since they’re way to expensive for their ingredients, this one looks interesting as a silicone based moisturizer. And as usual, I don’t really like the fragrance enough to wear it. That’s normal for me, though. I think this was a great theme and packed with all sorts of fun, new and interesting things. Love!

This box is $5 cheaper than the Allure Beauty Box which puts it on par with Birchbox and Ipsy. I say it blows both of those out of the water. Play always has great brands but I don’t like that a fragrance is included every month. I haven’t had to deal with customer service since every box has arrived perfectly. All the items are packed in an adorable drawstring bag that changes every month which is fun.

VERDICT: Sephora Play! wins hands down this month! For sure. All that highlighty, glowy goodness? Gimme more! It’s so fun to play with these kinds of things and figure out what is best for my skin. And for $10? Yes. Sorry Allure, you were waaaay too boring this month.

If you would like to sign up for Sephora Play, I’m pretty sure they’re off the waitlist and you can find out here.

If you’d like to sign up for the Allure Beauty Box, you can get $5 off your first box with this link.

Which one did you love most this month? Are you thinking of paring down? Which would you keep? I’m always curious about favorites because we all have different things we are looking for.