Sephora Beauty Insider Marketing Emails

Lighting in Sephora

I planned to schedule a repost today, but I have a quick blurb I can share about Sephora Beauty Insider marketing emails.

Today, I received a run-of-the-mill message from Sephora reminding me that have Beauty Insider points to blow. Okay, fair, #justnormalthings.

The subject line, however, read:

679 points means limitless opportunities.

Limitless? Does it? I think by ascribing a value to it it is literally, by its very nature, limited. I don’t just get to walk into Sephora and demand a free Pat McGrath palette with my whopping 679 points. I can’t even get the Guerlain Power of the Orchid 750 point perk with my 679 points.

Sephora, what the hell. I understand you’re trying to entice me to try things and, subsequently, spend money (such is the nature of a marketing group), but come on. Don’t use silly language that is filled with holes to do so.

Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 11 – Premier Loyalty – Recurring VIBR or Ulta Diamond

For a couple years in a row now, I have managed to achieve both Sephora VIB status as well as Ulta’s Platinum status. I didn’t achieve these reward tiers only through spending on myself, though. In addition to my own personal spending, I:

  • Buy gifts for others
  • Buy blog giveaway items
  • Extend my account perks to friends (VIB sales, Platinum perks) who pay me back

Continuously Achieving Premier Loyalty tiers

I can see how easy it would be to hit the premier loyalty tiers; even though I think the Dyson hair dryer is a bit frivolous, but purchase that and exclusively use prestige product and I’m sure it is as easy as that. I’m struggling, though, to comprehend how individual people are spending enough to maintain the über premier loyalty tiers year after year.

I think it would be easier to achieve at Ulta since Ulta offers more services (Brow Bar, Dermalogica skin services, nails, hair). On top of that, their product range is broader, including drugstore, more  bath/personal care, and hair care.

The Bottom Line

So, in short, I’m curious – if any of you are multi-year VIB Rouge members, what does a year of Sephora purchases look like for you? Is it a lot of Drunk Elephant and Sunday Riley? Fragrance? Every palette that launches? Or are you buying gifts and offering up your perks and making orders on behalf of friends?

Ulta just launched Diamond this year but if you expect to achieve Diamond year-over-year, what will your purchases look like?

Monday Musings & Priority Shifts

Monday Musings

It’s been a while since I shared a chatty post with no major, overarching theme. Maybe Monday Musings should be a thing.

How many people, in real life, put highlighter on their shoulders, anyway? I mean even people going clubbing. Is this a thing? What if you need a jacket outside? Why?!

Consider for a moment that there are folks out there who execute DIY brazilian waxes. Bravery or insanity?

Wet Brush owners – have you used one of these? Both my mom and I have been eying them up. It’s easy enough to clean our own hair out of our respective brushes, but occasionally fuzz and whatnot makes its way onto the damn that is nigh-impossible to extricate without infinite patience and…tweezers.

Read more

Worth it? Reusable Makeup Removing Cloths

love those Swisspers cotton pads that are a lot like the Shiseido ones. They’re both really nice (although the Shiseido are on the expensive side), but I invested in some reusable makeup removing cloths that have all but replaced them.

Waste Not

In the last year or so I’ve been gradually pursuing the idea of less.

  • Less makeup.
  • Less clothing (now possible since I have a lovely little apartment-sized washer and dryer).
  • Less waste.

I won’t pretend I’m living some virtuous low-waste fantasy. I’m totally not, and I’m not even trying to strive for that. I am, however, trying to make gradual, reasonable cuts to certain single-use items I buy. Fortunately, nice reusable makeup removing cloths don’t feel like a sacrifice or burden.

My Reusable Makeup Removing Cloths

There are so many options out there that it is hard to know where to start. When I first started shopping, I saw Makeup Eraser at Nordstrom and Sephora but $20 for one single cloth was a bit rich for

a) my blood and

b) something that I wasn’t sure of yet. I still haven’t bothered trying them because what I’ve gone with is (comparatively) inexpensive and fantastic!

SephoraSephora Black Magic Reusable Makeup Removing Cloths

Read more

Called It – Kat Von D Lipstick

Kat Von D LipstickKat Von D Lipstick is Baaaaack

This is an entirely obnoxious personality trait of mine, but man – being right feels good!

Several months ago, I speculated that Kat Von D lipsticks were getting an overhaul of some sort. After I published that post, I received some fairly validating interaction with the brand.

Spoilers: I was right.

But…Is it New Coke all over again?

Read more

The Sickness; Sephora and Ulta Haul Chatter

I seem to have a reasonably solid immune system and tend to only be taken down by the sick once or twice a year. Alas, this past week was one of those times. There’s been a lot of hot tea and chicken soup in this house in the last two weeks There wasn’t a whole lot (read: none) in the way of writing in the last week-and-a-half. The time I didn’t spend down and out (and re-watching Cowboy Bebop for the umpteenth time) I spent at work because I have a problem am a sucker didn’t want to leave things unfinished before my vacation (all are true).

Before The Sickness struck, though, I managed to get through my Ulta and Sephora purchases without going overboard.

Sephora Haul

Sephora still had Drunk Elephant’s Come C about Me set in stock, so I went for it. I haven’t gotten into any of the product yet; tragically the skin near my nose has been more reptilian than human since I received it. I’m excited to check out B-Hydra to see about the hype.

Read more