Lancome Beauty Kit

This post is about those amazing gift with purchase kits you sometimes hear about at department store beauty counters. One of the best reasons to purchase your beauty and skincare in department stores is the awesome contracts they have established with some of your favorite beauty brands!

- Sometimes Ulta will have a small gift with purchase on some items but nothing like a department store!
Belk, Dillards, Macy's, and Nordstrom will have deals with big brands like Clinique, Estee Lauder, and Lancome where you literally get an entire makeup collection when you spend X amount of money (normally all you have to do is pick up that face lotion you need a refill on or that new lip kit you've been eyeing).

Below you'll see images of the Lancome Beauty kit my sister recevied. I was compltely blown way at all the FULL SIZE products that she got for only spending 75$.

Testing a Monthly Subscription Kit: PLAY! by Sephora

For years now there’s been monthly subscription kits (the Fab Fit kits, Birchbox, Boxycharm, Sephora, etc). And I’ve always wondered if these kits are truly worth it. The first thing is to decide on a kit. Some are devoted to jewelry, some makeup+skincare, and some for lifestyle.

Today I had the opportunity to test a monthly subscription kit; a Play by Sephora kit. Now a cool fact on Sephora; you can sign up for the monthly subscription or just purchase a “Play Smarts” kit (which informs you in advance what’s in the kit). The “Play Smarts” are usually themed and I have purchased “Play Smarts” kits in the past and loved it. [Image below is of my “Play Smarts” kit. It was a kit based on Age 30’s skincare. Like I said, I LOVED it.]

So when this opportunity to try the regular monthly subscription kit for FREE came around I felt I must try and compare. Now the only difference from the two kits is being aware of what you’ll get versus a kit that is a complete surprise. Both kits came with 5 products + 1 extra bonus, 50 points card to use on your next purchase, and the online how to use video. 

Below you will see images of the regular Play by Sephora kit I received. 

Overall, this kit was alright. For the price you pay you do get a good amount of items. The sizes are deluxe samples/travel sizes so you get more than 3 uses; which I love. There was some nice products and some that I didn’t care for (since the kit is a surprise without me knowing what’s inside a few of the items doesn’t work well with my skin/I already had in my collection.)

If you’re on the fence about trying a monthly kit I recommend doing the homework and reading reviews on if the products were legitimate, if the kit has a ‘personal profile’ so you will get items custom to your needs, and if you can purchase something that you already know whats coming to you (like the “Play Smarts” kits by Sephora).