sephora

Urban Vices Point Perk

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During the 20% off Sephora VIB sale, I lost my mind slightly and went for the Urban Vices Point Perk, blowing 500 of my Beauty Insider points. I was going to spend 100 points on a setting powder, but they ran out. I’ve been banking points for a bit (but not because of the point disaster earlier this year), so why the hell not?

Urban Vices Point PerkUrban Vices Point Perk – Urban Decay for Sephora

The Urban Vices Point Perk set isn’t earth-shattering. It isn’t the best value among the other 500 Point Perk sets they’ve offered, but it isn’t the worst either. It features a shadow quad housed in a cardboard palette with mirror, a sample of UDPP, and a deluxe sample-sized 24/7 liner in Smokeout (which supposedly matches the fourth shade in the quad, and lives in the quad).

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TBT: Sephora’s Jem and the Holograms Collection

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So there’s a Jem and the Holograms movie that’s come out recently. Apparently it has more-or-less bombed in the theatres, but old fans riding the nostalgia wave are still sure to appreciate all the tie-ins it has generated.

Truth be told, Jem is before my time. So I won’t wax faux-fangirl with you – I’m pretty sure I never saw so much as an episode in my childhood.

That said, Sephora has come out with a Jem and the Holograms Collection. Before I restate it on EACH item in the collection, if you’re buying these for a Jem fan, it will likely go over well, regardless of any other factors, even if for the novelty/nostalgia factor.

First up, the Truly Outrageous Palette:

Sephora Jem and the Holograms Collection - Truly Outrageous Eyeshadow Palette
Sephora Jem and the Holograms Collection – Truly Outrageous Eyeshadow Palette

Housed in glittery black cardboard-style packaging with very 80s-feeling lightning bolt motifs inside, the Jem and the Holograms Truly Outrageous shadow palette features 24 shades with a variety of finishes. Looking at it, it’s pretty loud – which falls in line with the show and, arguably, the decade, with a few neutral shades thrown in. To me, it feels very much like a Vice palette from Urban Decay – but I’m fine with this (after all, UD did not release it). As it turns out, though, it is much smaller – the pans are roughly the size of the pans you’d find in a Lorac PRO or Lorac PRO2.

What I am wholly skeptical of, though, is the quality of the shadows. Some Sephora shadows are great, but others lackluster (a challenge many house-brands have). Couple that with the fact that this is a limited edition promotional tie-in, and… well, I’m doubting these shades, pretty though they are, are knocking it out of the park with pigmentation and performance. Reviews on Sephora’s site are mixed. Unless you’re a die-hard fan, memorabilia collector, or gifting this to someone, I would personally pass.

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Sephora Glitter Happy Brush Set

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Even though I’m not blown away by the big brands’ holiday mega sets, the approaching holidays mean that Sephora tends to have a lot of interesting stuff (like the Bite duo minis).

During my routine browsing, I came across the Sephora Glitter Happy Brush Set.

Sephora Glitter Happy Brush Set
Sephora Glitter Happy Brush Set

Featuring six brushes with rosy handles and a cute (what appears to be) acrylic holder stand with rosy glitter embedded in it. Going at $85, it is not an inexpensive gift, but it is pretty and at least somewhat practical (the third brush from the left looks like it wants to be a blending brush, but I think the bristles might be a smidge long for controlled blending – but that’s a preference thing, that doesn’t make it bad).

But doesn’t it look familiar?

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Sephora Cream Blush in Golden Spice

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Since I discovered that cream blush is actually pretty neat, I’ve been looking for inexpensive ones to try. In Sephora recently, they had a few shades marked down so I was able to pick up Sephora Cream Blush in Golden Spice for $8.

In the pan, before swatching, Golden Spice looked like a golden rosy blush – I thought it might be nice for fall since my other blushes are lighter or brighter.

Getting it home, I had a hell of a time opening it, thinking that it would open at the seam in the front like, oh, every other single compact that looks like this.
 Sephora Cream Blush in Golden Spice - Hinges

Nope. There are indents for your fingers on the sides! It isn’t meant to be pried from there, though; you gently squeeze on the indents and the lid springs open effortlessly.

Because I’m an impatient oaf sometimes, I failed to get a photo of this before meddling with the contents. The rosy Sephora Cream Blush in Golden Spice is SO LOVELY and the first swatch was fantastic. I was excited to add it into my rotation.My first use though, happened on a workday with no time to remove or redo. The below photo shows just a hint of the sparkle. I’m basically channeling Ke$ha, here.

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TonyMoly at Sephora

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It’s pretty cool to see unadulterated (well, I think they’re unadulterated – I haven’t tried them and compared them to ones from import retailers) Korean beauty products in the western market. Sure, there are weird things like snail emulsions (though not from TonyMoly as far as I know), but they have a lot of effective skincare, and perhaps even more adorable beauty products.

TonyMoly Logo

I gushed when I first learned some TonyMoly was popping up at Sephora. Now, they have a few more products in addition to the Bbo Bbo lip balms – moisture sprays, hand creams, facial sticks whose purpose I’m not entirely sure of…

TonyMoly Products at Sephora
TonyMoly Pocket Bunny Moist Mist, Peach Hand Cream, Bbo Bbo Balm

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February 2015 Favorites

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February 2015 Favorites 
February 2015 Favorites
1. Sephora Teint Infusion Foundation, $24 / 2. Conair 1875 Watt Tourmaline Ceramic Dryer, $30 /
3. Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked, $22 / 4. NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Pigments, $3

It’s already time for my February 2015 Favorites – and here I was last month mentioning January being cold. That was cute and misguided of me.

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