sephora Archives - I'm Not a Beauty Guru

Heads Up About the Sephora Beauty Insider Program

January 19, 2014 3 Comments

Hello!

After posting a few reviews and hauls I think I’m starting to get a hang of this whole blogging thing.

I thought instead of posting a review, I would post something that came up recently about my Beauty Insider account with Sephora. I don’t think I’m the first person this has happened too, and I would like to give others a heads up.

For those that don’t know, the Sephora Beauty Insider (BI) program is a free loyalty card system that awards you 1 point for every $1 spent in the store. If you collect 100, 250, or 500 point denominations, you can redeem for free little goodies.

There are 3 levels to the BI program: Beauty Insider (everyone begins at this level), Very Important Beauty (VIB, spend $350 or more in a calendar year), and VIB Rouge (spend $1000 or more in a calendar year).

Each level has specific perks including sales, gifts, etc.

Anyhoo, after my post Christmas shopping, I noticed when I looked at my running total dollars spent towards VIB was not adding up.

I ended up calling Sephora, and the call center associate was very nice. She added up the totals herself, and noticed, yes, my account was off by around $50. So I thought, wow. That’s quite a bit towards a $350 goal. She told me that someone from Sephora would either call me or email me a request form so my account could be updated. I actually never received this call or email, but I didn’t bother following up because I was still $50 away from making VIB and it was 2 days until the new year (when your totals reset).

After this experience I can honestly say I’m going to be watching my account a lot more carefully. Disclaimer, I am no way complaining about the program itself. I think it’s great they they can offer free birthday gifts and other perks to members. I was just disappointed in the realization that their systems really weren’t as accurate as I thought.

So just a heads up, save your receipts, and check your account frequently!

Thanks for reading!

Hauls, sephora

Haul: Sephora Boxing Day 2013

January 1, 2014 2 Comments

Hello!

Happy New Year! 🙂

I was hoping to post this earlier, but I’ve been a combination of busy and lazy. Anyhoo, here are some things that I picked up from Sephora on Boxing Day (Dec 26th, equivalent of Black Friday in the Canada).

Everything was $12 CAD except the Gimme Brow ($26).

1. Caudalie Winter Moisture Kit (Link)

I’ve never tried anything from the Caudalie brand, but I know my friend that I was shopping with has used and liked their products. I’ve used the hand cream a couple of times, and i’m quite pleased. It soaked into my skin super quickly, and has a very mild scent. I’m excited to try out the rest.

2. Benefit Besties (Link)

This was one product that I sort of regret buying. I picked it up just because I saw the Benefit name without actually looking what it was. I’ve been using a sample size of That Gal and have really liked it, so at least I’ll get use out of that.. I didn’t know that there was a foundation in the shade ‘medium’ along with it…The shade is way too dark for my skin, but maybe I’ll be able to find a use for it? Here’s hoping.

3. Tarte Clean Slate Sampler (Link)

Seemed like a super cute sampler. I’ve started to look more into the Tarte brand, but it’s super expensive. The only thing I’ve used was the eye primer in the white bottle on the right. Eek, it was all liquidy and had seemed to separate. Even when I mixed it up, it still had a very water consistency. I did like that it left a nice shimmer though, but definitely unsure if I would purchase that one full size.

Excited to try out the face primers as I’ve been bouncing between a few lately. 🙂

4. Benefit Gimme Brow (Link)

I bought this at full price because I knew that I wanted it. I was a little skeptical because I didn’t try it before buying (yuck at the testers in Sephora…) but so far I’m really really impressed. I wanted this product because I thought it would be like a brow filler and clear mascara in one. So far, it’s living up to these expectations! 😀

5. Ole Henriksen The Naked Truth (Link unavailable)

During my Sephora Black Friday haul, I picked up something from Ole Henriksen so I decided to try this as well. I’ve only tried these product once, and ugh, the cream! The serum it comes with was fine. Went on very smooth and I liked the feeling of it. Once I put the creme on top though I instantly regretted it. OMG the smell. I’m not sure if I just got a bad batch, but it smelled putrid. It was like orange with a butt load of chemicals. I’m scared to try it again. D:

And there we have it! Thanks for reading!
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nail wraps, Reviews, sephora, sephora formula x asap

Review: Sephora Formula X ASAP Nail Appliqués

December 16, 2013 No Comments

On Black Friday, I was able to pick up some things from Sephora (which can be seen here). One thing that I got was the Sephora Formula X ASAP Nail Appliqués, and I’m so glad that I did! Currently I am wearing the sweater/fair isle looking print.

Overview:

The price seems a bit expensive, but I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase these again!

Price:

A pack of two different nail design sheets cost $12 CAD on Black Friday.

Rating:

9 / 10

Would I Buy Again?

Yes, 100%

Rambling Review

From my most recent experience with nail wraps/stickers/appliqués (which can be read here), I was hesitant to purchase these. The pack of two sheets (candy cane design and fair isle design) were available as a limited edition for the Sephora Black Friday sale. I decided to pick them up just cause I loved the designs.

My nail wrap carnage. 🙂

I honestly can’t say enough good things about these nail wraps. They are real nail polish, so they have a bit of nail polish-y smell, but nothing too overpowering. They were also really easy to apply. They didn’t come with a nail file, but I think it can be assumed that most people have an emery board or two somewhere in the house. The nail file I used was actually the one that came with my Revlon by Marchesa.

Something that I really loved was that the sizing of the wraps were more exact compared to others that I’ve used. I have a pretty small pinky finger, so I was surprised that this pack had a perfect fit for it.

The wraps were super easy to file down, and I think they turned out perfectly. The reason I didn’t give it a 10/10 was the price ($6 is a bit much for one application compared to a bottle of nail polish for $8-$10). If I were to buy nail wraps again, I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase these because I had such a good experience with them.

I hope for Boxing Day, Sephora has a similar sale on these nail wraps! If so, I will be definitely be getting more. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

black friday, Hauls, sephora

Haul: Sephora Black Friday

December 2, 2013 No Comments

So last Friday, I was one of the suckers who woke up early to head straight to the mall. I can’t say I really regret it though!

I thought I would share the $12 deals I got from Sephora! (In the US it’s $10 deals I believe, but since I’m in Canada, we always get ripped off, haha).

1. OLE HENRIKSEN – Clean Sweep

This one I wasn’t sure about, but I ended up going for it. I’ve heard good things about the OLE HENRIKSEN brand and since the set was only $12, it seemed like a good deal.

The set comes with:
-Truth to Go Wipes
-African Red Tea Foaming Cleanser

2. Josie Maran Argan Hand Healers

Josie Maran is another brand I had heard of, but not actually tried anything from. The packaging was just so so cute.

Set comes with:

– Josie Maran Hand Cream in Vanilla Apricot

– Josie Maran BearNaked Nail Wipes

3. Stila Artful Eye Volume 1 Eyeshadow Palette

This was one thing I knew I was gonna get that day. The colours are so pretty! My Nexus 5 camera sort of washed out the colours, but you get the idea. All of them are a frost finish, no mattes.

4. Philosophy Purity Facial Cleanser

I’ve heard good things from this product, and brand, so another thing I thought I would pick up. This one is full size too, so I can’t wait to see how it cleanses.

5. Formula X Asap Real Nail Lacquer Duo Pack

These limited edition nail stickers were just too adorable to pass up. Even though my last nail sticker experience wasn’t perfect (read about it here), I just thought the designs were too nice!

Maybe I can try and get up a few reviews on some of these products.

All in all, Black Friday was a success for me! Got exactly what I wanted!

Thanks for reading!

beauty, foundation, make up for ever invisible hd, makeup, MUFE, nars, revlon, revlon photoready, sephora, sheer glow, sheer matte, urban decay

Journey to the Perfect Foundation

November 24, 2013 1 Comment

Literally for the past six months I’ve been sampling foundations from Sephora to try and find the perfect one for my skin.

I would say I have oily-combination skin with an oily nose. I’m not sure if this is the same with others who have oily-combination skin, but I’ve been having a really hard time finding a foundation (hence me trying samples for literally half a year…).

I thought I would share my journey (so far) on the different foundations I have tried.

1. NARS Sheer Matte in Ceylan

NARS - Sheer Matte Foundation
Image from the Sephora website

This is the first high end foundation I had ever tried. I went to Sephora to get shade matched and there were only a few that came up. This foundation was one of them, but in the colour Fiji. After the sales associate at Sephora tried it on, we decided that Ceylan was a better fit.

This foundation was a bit too matte for me. I felt it gather around patches of my skin, even though my skin was not dry those days. I also noticed that it actually started to dry up in the little sample container. :/ Seemed like a bad sign.

2. Sephora Collection Skin Perfect CC Cream in Light

SEPHORA COLLECTION - Skin Perfect CC Cream SPF 20
Image from the Sephora website

I really wanted to like this CC cream, but I couldn’t and that’s because of the smell. The coverage was good, and it actually wore well on my face throughout the day. I noticed my nose would get shiny, but that’s to be expected.

The thing that really turned me off this product was the smell. Oh god the smell. No word of a lie, I thought it smelt like vomit when I was first putting it on. After it set the smell was fine, but it was putrid. I only tried this sample once, and had to dispose…

3. Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup in 3

Urban Decay - Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup
Image from the Sephora website.

I didn’t have a good experience with this foundation either. My skin became very very oily when I wore this. I set my foundation every time with powder, so I know it wasn’t that. Even my cheeks, which usually don’t get oily, looked very slick. The coverage was nice, and it felt light on the skin, but I had to pass on this one as well.

4. NARS Sheer Glow in Ceylan

NARS - Sheer Glow Foundation
Image from the Sephora website.

After trying out the CC cream and Urban Decay Naked, I decided to try out the NARS Sheer Glow. One of the reasons I stayed away from this one is because I thought I would look really really oily after using it.

Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. It applied a lot better than the sheer matte, and I really like how my skin looked right after the application. This was one foundation that I was really close to buying full size, but I was turned off by a couple of things. I noticed my nose would get very oily throughout the day. Not even just a little shine, but sun-reflecting-burn-your-eyes shine. But the rest of my face looked great, which made it a toss up… Also the price made me unsure at $44. For a foundation that wasn’t perfect, I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much.

5. Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation in 120 Sand

MAKE UP FOR EVER - HD Invisible Cover Foundation
Image from the Sephora website.

So this is a foundation that I was this close to buying. I loved the way it made my skin look. I noticed I was still looking a little slick, but no where close to how the NARS Sheer Glow made me…glow. The coverage is great. The only thing is that I don’t think 120 is the perfect shade for me. It seemed a tad light on my skin, but the sales associate in Sephora said that I could warm it up with a darker powder.

This was the foundation I tested the longest. One reason why I didn’t make the plunge was the price at $42. If I do end up buying a high end foundation, I think this one would be the one I would get. The only thing is that I don’t really know how it would wear in the summer because I tested it in the Fall.

5. Revlon PhotoReady Makeup in 004 Nude

Image from the Revlon website.

So this is the foundation I ended up buying. I sort of purchased it on a whim, but when it first came out years ago I remember looking at it. The reviews I’ve read since purchasing say that it’s supposed to be a dupe for MUFE Invisible HD.

So far I like it. I think I might write up a full review after I’m able to test it out a bit more. When I first tried it on in my room, my face was a glitter mess. I could clearly see the sparkle which really annoyed me. But after wearing it throughout the day, it’s looked okay. I’ve only had it for a week though, so we’ll see how that goes.

And there has been my foundation journey as of now!
Thanks for reading! 😀