Did you participate in the Sephora sale? I did and although I didn’t get everything I intended (as usual) and made a few impluse purchases, I generally stuck to my shopping list. Here’s what I picked up:
L’Occitane Almond Smoothing and Beautifying Supple Skin Oil – $52 CAD:
From the website: A quickly absorbed indulgent body oil formulated with more than 50 percent almond oil to help skin feel firmer, smoothed, and hydrated.
I first heard of this from Youtuber Brianna Fox, I believe she mentioned it in a monthly favourites post. She said it was great for using after you’re out of the shower and it leaves your skin soft and smooth. I mentioned it to my Mom and she said she uses it and loves it. Since my skin has been feeling exceptionally dry lately, I decided to treat my skin. The price was a little hard to swallow but I figured if it was that good, it’d be more than worth it.
First impression: I’m not sure about this quite yet. The oil itself is lovely – it absorbs quickly as it claims, it smells beautiful and my skin feels supple, soft and smooth afterwards. However, the packaging is my biggest gripe. The oil is housed in a beautiful thick glass bottle with a spray pump – normally this wouldn’t be an issue but it takes quite a bit of effort to push the pump down and that combined with my oily hands feels like a disaster waiting to happen. I was using this every other day but I’ve since cut back to every 3rd day because I’ve already used about 1/5 of the bottle. Given the price I can’t really justify buying a bottle of this every month and I was hoping it would last a while. So while I like this, I think next time I’d try the Almond Milk Concentrate instead.
Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation – $47 CAD:
From the website: A lightweight, full coverage hydrating foundation infused with tarte’s Rainforest of the Sea™ complex.
I kept hearing everyone and their dog rave about this foundation and when I saw it in store, I couldn’t resist. The packaging was beautiful, the shade (light neutral) was a perfect match for my skintone and the coverage looked amazing.
First impression: I obviously still have not learned my lesson to not buy foundations without trying a sample first. I have sensitive, combination skin with an oily t-zone and dry, dehydrated skin everywhere else. There are very few foundations that work for me, and unfortunately this is not one of them. A few minutes after applying it, I loved how it looked, it literally made my skin look flawless. Then it set, and that’s when the problems began. It highlighted every dry patch and pore on my skin, and as the day went on, it only got dryer. I tried applying it with various beauty sponges and foundation brushes, with primer, without primer and I just couldn’t get it to work. On top of that, it was making me break out (not that that’s anything new). So I unfortunately I had to return this which was disappointing.
Too Faced Love Flush Blush Wardrobe -$45 CAD
From the website: A six-piece, high-impact blush palette with shades that last for 16 hours.
I’m a big fan of Too Faced products and I’ve yet to try their blushes. I’ve also been wanting a blush palette for a while so this killed two birds with one stone. I swatched each one in store and they all looked like shades I would wear regularly so I was sold.
First impression: So happy with this purchase! All of the blushes have just the right amount of pigment so you don’t need to use a light hand but you can easily build them for a more intense look. They have a silky soft texture and tend to last about 6-8 hours on me, depending on what I’m doing. My only complaint would be the packaging – it’s beautiful but it’s cardboard so I won’t travel with this – despite the fact that it’s super light, I know it’ll get scuffed and scratched in a second. That’s no where near being a deal breaker though, so if you’re looking for a blush palette, I’d suggest you highly consider this one! Note: this is limited edition.
Tarte Rainforest After Dark Colored Clay Eye & Cheek Palette – $48 CAD
From the website: A limited-edition, colored clay eye and cheek palette for day to night looks.
I did a post a few months back on multi-purpose palettes as I was trying to decide which one I should buy. I looked at a few options but ultimately narrowed it down to this one and Tarte’s Showstopper palette. I ended up choosing this one because it had everything I was looking for (eyeshadow, blush, bronzer and highlighter) and the shades are on the cooler side so I felt it’d work better with my skin tone.
First impression: Another satisfying purchase! This is a great palette, I’m so happy with it! The eyeshadows are fantastic – super buttery and pigmented and I absolutely love the shades. The blush, highlight and bronzer are also gorgeous. I’m going to be traveling with this soon and will do a more in-depth review sometime in June so stay tuned!
Original Beauty Blender – $28 CAD
From the website: An edgeless, non-disposable, high-definition cosmetic sponge applicator.
If I’m being honest, I really did not want to buy another one of these. Paying $28 for a makeup sponge kinda kills me! But I’ve tried many of its dupes and I still like this the best – nothing applies my makeup quite the same. My last one lasted me a year which I’m pretty sure is much too long but I took pretty good care of it. We’ll see how long this one holds up!
First impression: Still great!
Buxom Eyeshadow Bar Single Eyeshadow (No Faux) – $15 CAD
From the website: A primer-infused, powerfully pigmented eye shadow refill with intense color payoff. Described as a iridescent snakeskin.
I’ve been eyeing this shade long before I even purchased my Buxom palette, and I’ve been waiting for it to come back in stock at my local store for months. Luckily there was one left when I visited and I couldn’t wait to get it home and try it out.
First impression: No Faux is a duo-chrome, warm-toned brown eyeshadow with a pale and dark green shift. I found the texture to be a touch dry compared to my other Buxom shadows, which was a little odd. I’ve worn this several times since I purchased it and I love how beautiful and unique it is. I do find this works better pressed into the lid rather than blended all over – the duo-chrome tends to disappears when it’s blended out too much. Overall though, very happy with this purchase!
Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint (sample) – Full size $28 CAD
From the website: A jet-black, volume-packed mascara so anyone can master the tarte of the fringe.
I usually buy my mascara from the drugstore but this was a 100 point perk so I can never resist trading in a few points to try something new. I’m pretty picky about what I look for in a mascara, so anything with a heftier price tag really has to blow me away to convince me to buy it.
First impression: Damnit – I love this! This is an amazing mascara – it’s super black and it adds crazy length, definition and volume to my lashes which is exactly what I look for in a mascara! On top of that, it doesn’t flake or smudge. My other favourite higher-end mascara is Too Faced’s Better than Sex and I think (I think!) I might like this better because thus far (knock on wood), I haven’t experienced any flaking. The only drawback is the packaging – there’s no edge at the end of the tube to wipe the excess product off on, so it gets pretty messy pretty quick. I think this is specific to the sample size though, the full size appears to be different. If this continues to be awesome, I’ll be adding this to my full-size purchase list for sure!
Clinique Take it All Off Set – $17 CAD
From the website: A duo featuring a dramatic, black mascara and a creamy cleansing balm to remove makeup and refresh.
I’ve been wanting to try Clinique’s Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm since last year and I finally decided I was going to do it. I was happy to find this little set in that always dangerous area before the checkouts and I figured this was a perfect way to try it out without committing to the full size. Plus it included a mini High Impact mascara as well.
First impression: So at first, I didn’t really like this. Mainly because I wasn’t following the directions and applying it to wet skin, rubbing it in and then washing my face. That did pretty much nothing to remove my makeup. Then I re-read the directions and applied it to dry skin – and I was much happier. This does work really well to remove all traces of makeup (including stubborn eye makeup!) but it requires patience as it’s a bit of a process. I’ve found the way it works best is to really massage it to my skin (particularly my eye area), let it sit for a minute or two and then rinse. The end result is my face is completely devoid of every trace of makeup and feels super soft and moisturized. I’ve never had a cleanser do both of those things at the same time! So consider me impressed but also disappointed that I didn’t buy the full size of this! I have yet to try the mascara so I’ll keep you updated on that.
Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream with Super 7 Complex – $19 CAD
From the website: A daily age-defying moisturizer formulated with Fresh’s proprietary Super 7 Complex, proven to prevent the signs of aging, provide 24 hours of significant moisture, and boost radiance.
This was another impulse purchase – I had no intention of buying this but that darn checkout section got me again! In fairness I did need a new day cream and I had forgotten about that prior to getting in line so this was a convenient option. I haven’t tried much in the Fresh line aside from their Sugar Lip Treatments and Soy Face Cleanser.
First impression: The first thing I did when I opened the glass jar was sniff it and I was kind of disappointed with the cucumber scent. It wasn’t strong by any means but I hate cucumbers and anything that smells like them! It smells very similar to the Soy Face Cleanser, perhaps a little more muted. However what really impressed me was when I applied this to my face – wow! It’s a silky smooth, lightweight cream that just melts into my skin really nicely. It’s really hydrating but it absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave behind that horrible tacky feeling that creams sometimes do. So while it’s still pretty early to make the determination that this is my new favourite moisturizer, I have to say that it’s definitely impressed me so far.
If you read my Sephora Shopping List post, you’ll notice there’s a few items that I said I was going to buy that didn’t make it home with me, including:
Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Lipstick (Firebird): I swatched this in store and I was disappointed. The colour is pretty but I thought it was going to be more unique. ]
Sephora Kiss Me Balm (Soda Pop): My store didn’t have this shade in stock so I’ll pick it up another time.
Escada Aqua Del Sol Fragrance: Apparently Sephora no longer carries Escada in-store, only online. Given that the rollerball was sold out online, I couldn’t be bothered to place an online order.
Benefit Coralista Blush: Given that I purchased the Too Faced Blush palette above, I didn’t feel like shelling out more for an individual blush. I still want to try this though, so it’ll stay on my ongoing list of products I want to try.
Bite Agave Lip Mask: This was something I REALLY wanted but my store was sold out of the clear version and I had no interest in the coloured options. I was annoyed but I’ll pick it up at some point as I know it’s normally in stock.
My initial plan was to go in store and confirm what I wanted and place my order online so I could take advantage of ebates. Problem being I was using a gift card to pay for my purchases and guess what? You can’t use gift cards to pay for purchases online in Canada. That REALLY ticked me off – like its 2016, why is this not possible? So I ended up just purchasing everything in store and scaling back on my purchases a bit.
Would love to know what you picked up from the Sephora sale – please share with me below or link to your posts!
Thanks for stopping by!
Classic Maggie 