Sephora Play! The Iconic Edition | Review

As a Rouge member of Sephora's Rewards Program I spend a decent amount of money on cosmetics. I enjoy trying a variety of products and compare and contrasting them. So it's no surprise I had to try the new Play! box that was released for Rouge members only for $20.

Needless to say, while I'm not disappointed, I'm only partially impressed. First off, The Iconic Edition box is $20 compared to the regular Play box which is $10.

In The Iconic Box, you get: 6 Deluxe samples of high end, luxury brands

Compared to regular Sephora Play! where you get: 5 Deluxe Samples (plus a surprise bonus) 

Essentially, you are paying an extra $10 for: High end makeup as opposed to mid-range, 1 more Deluxe size sample, and a somewhat nicer bag

In the first Iconic Box, you get:

Guerlain makeup product 

La Mer skincare product 
Yves Saint Laurent makeup product 
BURBERRY makeup product 
Dior fragrance product
TOM FORD fragrance product

Now, I'm into luxury makeup. But I think $20, especially if you're already a subscriber to regular Sephora Play!, is a lot. For me, I would pick one box to subscribe to regularly. Now, looking at this box I know many of these were rewards you can find in the Rewards Bazaar on Sephora's website or app for 100 to 250 points each. I've seen Dior's Poison Girl before, and I'm fairly certain I've seen the Burberry mascara as well. So these products are clearly worth a certain point value.

If I recall correctly, Sephora is experimenting with this box. Which is good, because then feedback is warranted. So here's my thinking as I think maybe they can monetize this box a little differently:

• Offer The Iconic Edition box for $10 to Rouge members who already subscribe to Play! (this way Rouge members can get both boxes for $20)

• Offer The Iconic Edition box as an upgrade from Play! for $15 (if you're currently a Play! subscriber you get a subscription discount for upgrading)

• Offer Play! & The Iconic Play! box to Rouge members in exchange for Rewards Points (this is my favorite option). Some of the products are already offered for points, and some aren't, so the draw is to get some new items that aren't in the Rewards Bazaar already (or have been in the recent past). This would greatly benefit Rouges as, clearly, many of us are sitting on a number of points that we don't know what to spend on (or we do want to spend them on something but those rewards are often sold out). This gives us the option to drop some points monthly. Maybe 500 points for a regular Play! box and 750 for The Iconic Edition. I could see myself doing that regularly. 

Regarding the bag, yes, it's slightly higher quality than the bag provided in Sephora Play!, but we are Rouges, it's not like we need more bags. The bag is a presentation piece that's meant to hold the products because it looks nicer than a Ziploc. If you're really looking to utilize the bag the products come in, I invite you to attend any Rouge Only event as they hand out free bags all the time. Or better yet, send me your address and I will mail you one of mine ;) <3

What are your thoughts? Did you, or would you subscribe? What subscription model would convince you to sub?