Spotlight
What I Bought at the Sephora Sale
08 • 29 • 2018
Now’s the time to stock up on all your pricey serums and masks! Twice a year (April and September) Sephora makes EVERYTHING 15% off. So Thursday, August 30 – Monday, September 3 (Labor Day), everything is on sale 15% for VIB members and 10% for Beauty Insiders)– NO exclusions, which is pretty phenomenal! So if you have been wanting a big ticket item like the Dyson hair dryer, or the NuFace Microcurrent Device I’m always raving about, this is a good time to do it. I use the sale to stock up on my more expensive Holy Grail items that I know I’m going to buy eventually. Here are my Sephora sale picks:
Overview
The top things I would recommend you buy at 15% off (VIB status use code: YESVIB; Beauty Insiders use code: YESINSIDER for 10% off) are the SK-II sheet masks (full review here), SK-II Essence, Advanced Night Repair Serum, and Sunday Riley Good Genes. Brands like SK-II, Sunday Riley and Amore Pacific (I love their night cream!) NEVER go on sale, especially their top-selling items like the ones I’m discussing here. Also if you do not already own the Clarins deputing mask or a NuFace, I’m literally up late at night right now begging you to buy them. I swear you will thank me.
Or you could use this opportunity to stock up on your fave Holy Grail items that you know you will use to the very last dropand repurchase. 15% off is hardly worth the time to put in your credit card number if you are only going to buy one lipstick, but if you know you can’t live without Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer, then you might as well buy three because that 15% savings will add up!
Ok now that I’m done doing the math for you, I will go into more detail about each sale pick:
My #1 recommendation of the Sephora VIB sale is my fave sheet mask ever, the SK-II Facial Treatment Mask. Since I bought a huge bottle of SK-II essence during this spring’s VIB sale, I still have plenty left. But I am going to stock up on my Holy Grail SK-II Facial Treatment Masks– I will probably buy two 10-mask boxes. These sheet masks are the absolute best on the market and will make you look 1000% percent better if you do one the day of a big event. You will look lifted, pores erased, brightened, and fine lines plumped. So much so that I promise your friends will ask you what you did different. The price is hard to swallow, but at $13 a mask, it is way cheaper than a facial! I wouldn’t ask you to spend money if I didn’t think it was totally worth every penny, and trust me, the SK-II mask is.
SK-II Facial Treatment Essence
I don’t think I’ve met anyone who has tried the SK-II Facial Treatment Essence and did not think it made a huge difference in the radiance and clarity of her skin. A staple in Asian skincare routines, an essence is a watery liquid that you apply on bare skin before serum/moisturizer. I ran into a friend I haven’t seen in a few months, and her skin looked fantastic so I asked her if she had done a sheet mask. She said no, but she had started using the SK-II FTE, and “it totally makes a difference.” I agree! There is a huge value size bottle with a pump available right now (a $430 bottle for $290). Pricey, but that size will last you foreverrrrrr, or at least until next year’s VIB sale.
Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair
The VIB sale has perfect timing because I just ran out of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, my fave basic anti-aging serum on the market. It is so reasonably priced for a serum! Ever since I bought the jumbo bottle during last year’s VIB sale I have been using it more frequently, and I can definitely see a difference in my skin in terms of hydration and plumpness, probably within a week. I love to use it when I do my GloPro Microneedling Device (it works way better than the serum that is included with the device). There’s a reason Advanced Night Repair has been a best-selling serum for years!
Clarins V-Facial Intensive Wrap
The other thing you need is my favorite depuffing mask, the Clarins V-Facial Intensive Wrap, because Sephora is the only place that sells it! Regular Clarins counters do not have it! I’ve been through numerous jars of this miracle contouring mask (I named it my #1 beauty product of 2016, full post here), and I will never be without it. If you ever drink alcohol or eat salty food and your face and jawline get puffy (a/k/a carb face) you need this! Trust me!
Sunday Riley Good Genes
If your skin doesn’t like retinoids (or you are pregnant or BF’ing), this product is for you! As I look back at reader emails I have answered, I see that I recommend Good Genes almost more than anything. It is a lactic acid serum you use before moisturizer at night to plump lines and even skin tone. Several friends I’ve turned on to this during pregnancy now say they like Good Genes more than their usual retinoids! And right now Sephora has a big value size bottle available.
Previously I was switching every other night between Good Genes and a retinoid, Differin , to fade my melasma and fight fine lines. Then I got brave one night and I decided to experiment by using the Differin, and then layering the Good Genes on top. My skin looked AMAZE in the morning! Brighter, the melasma patch looked faded, and my fine lines were visibly plumped in one night. [Note: I would not recommend layering these two until you are sure your skin is used to each one because it might be too active and cause irritation.]
If you want to dip your toes in first, try the Power Couple Duo that has smaller sizes of Good Genes and the Luna Night Oil, which is also an excellent product. I’m thinking about getting my husband on this since he has absolutely no nighttime skincare routine as of now.
Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster
Since I’ve been treating my melasma with hydroquinone, my whole face is a little lighter than the rest of my body. So when I had an event the other night, I started to mix a few drops of the amazing Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster in with my moisturizer for a little bronze glow. And then I realized I was totally out! Not even one tiny drop would come out. I was very annoyed and will repurchase ASAP, and I guess the timing was ok since the sale is going on. I will never be without this product!
It Cosmetics CC Cream
You might as well stock up on a couple tubes of the It Cosmetics CC Cream (I mix the original CC Cream in Fair with CC Cream Illumination in Light). The CC Cream is great to use every single day as your foundation because of its superior coverage, great SPF 50 protection, and hydration. Strangely Sephora does not carry the new Bye Bye Foundation, but if you are curious as to how it compares to the CC Cream, I have a whole post about it here.
Other random things I bought during the 15% off sale- the Farsali Unicorn Essence is the primer I’ve been using lately (especially under my Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Foundation I wrote about here). It is strangely expensive- $54 for primer?!? But here I am, repurchasing it, because it makes your skin look really radiant and smooth. The key is to apply the Farsali on bare skin, and let it soak in a minute before you apply your moisturizer. Sephora also sells a mini size of the primer, which is nice to try.
I am buying the Hourglass Vanish Foundation Stick because it is the BEST- amazing full but invisible coverage. Tap it in where you need extra coverage, like under your eyes or for redness around your nose. The Vanish Stick is also fantastic for touching up your makeup at the end of the day when it has faded in spots- it doesn’t look cakey at all! The ‘Shell‘ shade is a perfect match for my skin.
Also the buzzy Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask that sold out in the spring before I could buy it.
Also the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray because I just ran out and I swear by it to extend the weartime of my makeup. It really works!
I feel like my picks are kind of boring- just my usual staples that I am nevertheless eager to save 15% on! But I wish there were something new and exciting in my shopping cart. Let me know if you plan to buy anything fun during the VIB sale!
xoxo,
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