Sephora Beauty Insider Marketing Emails

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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.

Contouring: An Observation

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift! Content has been edited for clarity and readability, but opinions are the same. Recent additions are noted in-line. Enjoy!

If I had to name a single beauty trend for 2015, I’d say it was contouring. (2018 Update: Agree with this assessment of the time. In 2018, people are still contouring a good bit, but it seems like the frothing-at-the-mouth quality has since transitioned to blinding, occasionally holo, highlight.)

Granted, people have been using darker-than-their-skin products to contour and enhance features – cheekbones, jaw lines, what-have-you for ages. I think the rise to prominence in the past few years is thanks to the artistry routinely done on a certain famous-for-nothing-really celebrity who I won’t bother naming (not Voldemort, I’ll say that). If you’ve seen her without her makeup, the difference is stark. So contouring has been trendy for a while, but the market for products intended for it exploded this year.

Most notable brands came out with something dedicated to it this year (unless they already had it). Cream sticks? Palettes? Special brushes? Name a brand and I can name you a product.

Here’s an observation about a lot of the products coming out, though, for you:

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COOLA Organic Suncare

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift for clarity and readability. Opinions are the same; in fact, I laughed as I re-read it because I wouldn’t change a thing aside from adding headers. Enjoy!

Sometimes, I don’t even have to look for ridiculous marketing.
Sometimes, it walks right into my inbox.

Email from Ulta advertising some new, shiny products includes this:

COOLA Organic Setting SprayUlta e-mail ad for COOLA Organic Makeup Setting Spray

Oh, setting spray! Good. Even better, it has SPF. Wait. Organic? Organic setting spray?

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The Problem with Photoshop

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift for clarity and readability. Opinions are the same. Enjoy!

There’s a lot of chatter in the beauty realm. Some positive, uplifting, and fantastic. Some catty, hateful, and rude. Others are debate-worthy, but fall on neither side of the spectrum. One hot debate topic in this realm is whether or not it using Photoshop or other image editing techniques on beauty photos is acceptable.

The way I see it, there are two sides to this coin.

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June 2018 Favorites

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June 2018 FavoritesJune 2018 Favorites
MUFE Rouge Artist Natural N9, $11 / China Glaze Gelaze Diva Bride, $11 /
Hot Tools 1.25 Curling Iron, $40 / Polar Toasted Coconut, $1 / Kenra Dry Thickening Spray, $17

Frankly, it’s amazing that I was able to scrounge up the time to document my June 2018 Favorites in light of:

  • Looking for and dealing with pre-house-purchase stuff
  • Running an annual, weekend-long event mid-month (that destroys me)
  • Crazy work
  • Buying a house (!!!)

…so, I’m giving myself a participation trophy. Details on my June 2018 Favorites after the jump!

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Sensationail Polish to Gel

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This is a legacy post that has been given a facelift. Opinions and content are the same. I love this product!

I shared the above photo a few days ago on Instagram. I was trying, for science, to see if Sensationail Polish to Gel would make China Glaze’s notoriously fussy Flip Flop Fantasy (old formula!) easier to work with. It’s a monthly favorite (that post goes live on Wednesday) for a reason, after all, making my RnP > Gel dreams come true.

Unfortunately, I crashed and burned – but not because of the Polish to Gel. This stuff is awesome. Unfortunately, Flip Flop Fantasy is SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASS that it could not be redeemed by this wonderstuff.

You can purchase Sensationail Polish to Gel one of two ways – alone, for $8. Or with a lamp, for $24. Get the damn lamp. The lamp is new, awesome, and approximately 17 times better than the original lamp. More on that in another post.

The Superior Method

Sensationail Polish to GelSensationail Polish to Gel & China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

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