I was a longtime subscriber to Sephora Play, way back when. I had canceled my subscription, without regrets, two years ago. Suddenly, in April, it seemed like enough people had the same thought and Sephora Play said goodbye forever and was discontinued.

Then, just a few days ago, I got an email announcing Sephora Hello! On the nose, it seems very similar. It’s a small package of trial-size prestige beauty products, all for the low price of ten dollars. Unlike Sephora Play, you have to buy these one-off packs every time they are offered. It is not a subscription. Also, you’ll get to see everything that’s in them in advance. The website also claimed a 15% off coupon to Sephora to purchase the full size of the products if you love them.

Taking all of that into account, I love the idea. I can see if the samples are things that I want anyway, and then go ahead and pick them up as needed instead of being tied down. For tiny things like lipsticks, it makes more sense to buy the minis anyway because there’s no way I’ll get through a full one. So I threw in an order. You know that because that’s why you’re here.

Okay. It came. It only took three days to arrive from the time I ordered. All of the items inside were as promised.

Inside the box:

• Nars Lipstick in Tolède

• Nudestix Nudies Matte Blush & Bronze in Sunkissed

• Youth to the People Superfood Antioxidant Cleanser

• Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream

• Living Proof Restore Hair Mask

• Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb Perfume

I’m not going to talk about the flowerbomb perfume because it’s one of those testers that they hand out when you walk through the MAcy’s and make eye contact with the wrong person. Saying it’s part of the value is completely asinine and if someone asks you to pay for one of these, run away. As fr the rest of the products, I bought the bag because they were all things I’d use.

The Nars Lipstick is essentially the same color as my lips. My husband had no idea I had lipstick on…that’s how close it is. I like that for days when I just want to feel a little more put together, but without too much color. That said, I wuldn’’t buy the full-size and shell out the money based on that. I love the Nudestix bronzer stick. It’s a fantastic shade for me and I’ve been using a lot of creams lately. The two skincare products are both from brands I like and trust, so those were also easy to embrace. Living Proof is unfortunately not my jam. I used it for a long time, but in my experience, it’s for straight-haired women. The first time I used it, it gave me so much volume. But unfortunately, that much volume didn’t react to being tamed well, and I was left with hair that would make an 80s glamour shot model jealous.

What about that discount? I think the 15% off coupon that they included is way too restrictive. They are 15% off that exact product and no other product of any kind. I mean, not 15% off a Nars Lipstick. 15% off of that shade of Nars Lipstick. I would have liked it if 15% had to be within the brand. You know, 15% off one Nars product, or one Living Proof item.

Based on all of that, I’d recommend this if you like the products inside. Sephora made it sound like they will be switching up the offerings every once in a while, and since you know what’s inside, I think it’s easy to make the decision to spend the money or not. I wasn’t impressed with Play towards the end, but this could be something I buy a few times a year if I see something I want and can justify the (albeit low) price tag.

What do you think of Sephora’s newest idea?

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