Sephora

Sephora Sale Shopping

April 18th, 2023 by Karen 11 Comments

I’m really excited about the skin care, makeup and hair goodies I picked up recently at the Sephora sale. 🙂

A couple of standby favorites were in the mix of course; Kate Somerville Anti Bac and Anastasia Brow Wiz in Dark Brown, I’m talking to you!

I also grabbed a few new-to-me things, including this box of Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Peel Pads.

I’m hesitant to add any steps to my already very simple skincare routine, but I’ve been needing some help with hyperpigmentation and heard raves from derms and estheticians about how this product works wonders on acne, uneven tone and fine lines.

You’re supposed to use it the in evenings, two to three times a week, which I can totally handle. Anything more than that, ugh, forget about it.

Have you tried it? I’m excited about it!

And because I’m a sunscreen hoarder, I bought a tube of Innisfree Daily UV Defense. Side note, I write for Innisfree! Anywho, it has chemical filters and is supposed to layer well with makeup. I plan to use it as an everyday sunscreen.

I’ve come to the realization that I really love trying foundations and concealers and can no longer fight the obsession. I couldn’t resist the siren call of Charlotte Tilbury’s Beautiful Skin Foundation and Concealer. I bought 8 Warm in the Foundation and 8 in the Concealer, by the way.

The Foundation is spot on my color, but I’m thinking the Concealer might be a little too light for my under-eye area. Hmm. I’m debating on whether or not I need to exchange it.

Last but not least, I finally gave in and bought a full-size version of Bumble and Bumble’s Hairdressers Invisible Oil. I love this stuff! It’s great for softening and smoothing ends. The trick is, though, to apply a tiny bit, otherwise your hair will feel super greasy.

I’m hoping the bottle will last me forever. LOL!

Anywho, let me know if you’ve tried any of these things. I always love to hear what you like and don’t like.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Happy Tuesday!

Friday Fun Beauty Buys!

February 25th, 2022 by Karen 4 Comments

I celebrated Fri-yay with a long-overdue trip to Sephora. Here’s what I grabbed…

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint in ST11.5 Morgat: I’ve been wanting to try this forever! I’ve been wearing sheerer coverage in the past year, and so I hope this has just enough to even out my skin without appearing too “done.”
Ilia Skin Serum Concealer in SC3 Kava: I’ve been needing a new concealer. When I swatched this one in the store, it seemed to have a smooth texture and medium coverage. Fingers crossed!
Caliray Come Hell or High Water Mascara: Please let this tubing mascara with argan oil be the one. I have high hopes for curl and length.
Hourglass Scattered Light in Ray: A deep champagne glitter shadow, because all I want to do is sparkle. 🙂
Ilia Clean Gel Liner in Dusk: This is my second tube of this dark brown twist-up gel liner. It stays on my waterlines and lashlines all day.
Sephora Face Masks: I bought two! One for me, and one for Connor so that we can do an at-home girls’ spa day afternoon.

I hope your Friday has been fun and full of makeup!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Unsung Heroes: The $6 Sephora Collection Eco Biodegradable Sharpener

August 20th, 2019 by Karen 5 Comments

makeup pencil sharpener — All that and a bag of chips!

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Y’all…with the 15% off VIB sale happening now, I know you’re busy playing chicken with your Sephora cart, but please take a moment to consider one of the most underrated (and best!) tools the mother ship has to offer — the $6 Biodegradable Pencil Sharpener, otherwise known as “the pencil sharpener that elevated my winged liner and saved me from a lifetime of makeup misery.”

It’s the only makeup pencil sharpener I’ve ever owned that I haven’t wanted to hurl across the room.

From sephora.com:

What it is:
A professional-grade, two-in-one pencil sharpener made of an innovative, biodegradable, and sustainable bio-polymer.

What it does:
The Eco Biodegradable Sharpener is a perfect accessory to your cosmetic collection. This sharpener not only accomodates a multitude of pencil sizes, but you can feel confident knowing that you are also helping the environment when you dispose of it. The corn-based PLA body of this sharpener is biologically degradable, while the blade is recyclable. Made in Germany, the carbon steel blades give your pencils the perfect pointed tips for flawless application.

What else you need to know:
This sharpener can be used with a multitude of pencils, sized from 8mm to 12mm. It includes a removable pick tucked neatly into the body to help dislodge the toughest pieces of shavings and lead from the blade.

Sharpest tips EVRRRR

Every successful kitten flick I wore this summer, I totally owe to this sharpener. You know how sometimes you’ll sharpen a pencil, and the end will get nice and pointy but then immediately when you run it across your skin the tip breaks off? That happens to me all the time…but never with this sharpener. The blades whittle dull tips into sharp points with just a few twists and turns, yet they still hold back juuuuuust enough from going past the point of no return.
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Sephora Beauty Insider Collectible Pin Set

January 18th, 2018 by Karen 23 Comments

Throughout the entire history of “Karen going to Sephora,” which is a long history, I’ve never gotten as excited about a Sephora Beauty Insider points exchange as I got for this Collectible Pin Set.

How cute is this!? It’s sooo cute, right? I had to (“had to,” air quotes) go to Sephora last week… Was it last week? Yeah, it was just before I got sick.

Anywho… I had to pick up another bottle of Kate Somerville Anti Bac Clearing Lotion because I was down to the last drop, and without it my face totally breaks out. So, I ran to Sephora, grabbed it, grabbed an $8 lipstick too (we’ll talk about that in a second), and when I was at the front counter, I saw this cute little set of four enamel pins.

sephora beauty insider collectible pin set — I couldn’t say no.

When the sales associate asked me if I wanted to redeem any points, I didn’t use my standard answer, which is almost always “no” because I’m hardly ever really moved by any of the chintzy samples they give away for like 500 points, but I saw these pins and was like, “YES, GIRL. HOOK A CAT LADY UP.”

OK, there are four pins… There’s a peace sign with painted nails. That one’s very sassy.

sephora beauty insider collectible pins peace — Nail art lives!

There’s this unicorn, whom I’ve named “Treasure.”

sephora beauty insider collectible pins unicorn — Say hi to Treasure.

This trio of cute little hearts…

sephora beauty insider collectible pins hearts — Hearts are my thing, man.

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Purple Power! A New Purple Liner Love I Found at Sephora

May 16th, 2017 by Karen 15 Comments

purple eyeliners — Kindasorta obsessed with purple at the moment. Here’s an assortment of old faves (and a new one!) from the top: MAC Eye Kohl in Prunella ($17), Urban Decay Glide on Eye Pencil in Vice ($20), Sephora Colorful Shadow & Liner in Violet ($14), Make Up For Ever Waterproof Eye Pencil in 1-90 ($21) and MAC Pearlglide Intense in Designer Purple ($17)

It’s both wonderful and terrifying to live so close to a Sephora, because when I get on a makeup whim, I can just hop in my car, and BAM! Five minutes later I’ve got every purple liner in the store swatched on the back of my hand.

Yeah, I’m going through a purple liner phase right meow, big time (in case you haven’t noticed, LOL!). I love the look of a warm brown lid with purple liner on the lash lines. I’ve just been into it lately! Please be patient with me as I work my way through it…

Anyways, Connor convinced me to go to Sephora last Friday (yes, it was all the baby’s doing), so we went looking for a new purple to add to my collection. This latest love is a shade called Violet by Sephora Collection.

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What I Wore Wednesday, Vol. 9: Purple Wings and Lips

April 19th, 2017 by Karen 41 Comments

It’s been a minute since I’ve worn this much color! It felt SO good though. I was inspired by a picture I saw of model Ruby Rose on Urban Decay’s website wearing purple winged liner with matching sparkly purple lips.

So I took the idea and ran with it. I’m wearing a lot of Urban Decay in this look, including their Afterdark Eyeshadow Palette.

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Today’s Mini Sephora Haul

March 15th, 2017 by Karen 14 Comments

I think I’m at the point where I should just stop pretending that I can go into Sephora and leave with just one thing.

Like really Karen? Who do you think you’re foolin’?

I went in there today to grab a new bottle of Rita Hazan Root Concealer Touch-Up Spray, which is THE BEST tinted spray I’ve ever found to temporarily hide gray roots between coloring sessions.

It’s $25, so it’s a little expensive, but it’s the only one of these sprays that hasn’t made my scalp itchy and make my hair feel stiff or look too matte.

Basically, it’s epic, and if I did the math on how many of these bottles I’ve bought over the past few years… Well, I don’t want to do the math because I’d probably pass out on the spot.

So, yeah, I went into the store for this. That’s all I wanted, but of course I also walked out with a bottle of Sephora Perfect Mist Airbrush Foundation in Medium, which has like a billion great reviews on the Sephora website and gets 4 1/2 stars. It’s comes in 13 colors for $28 each.

I was just about to head over to the register to pay for the bottle of Rita Hazan when I saw it and thought, “I’ll swatch a couple, just for fun,” and I probably would’ve walked away if I hadn’t seen it in Medium, which was practically the same color as my skin…but I did see it in Medium.

Oh, well!

My skin has slightly warm undertones (warmer in the summer), and I can’t always find matching foundation shades that aren’t too pink or peach for me.

I’m stoked to try it because I’ve heard it’s like Dior Airflash… which is like $62 BIG ONES. I used Dior Airflash once a long time ago during a makeover, and I remember liking the feel but not the color (too pink).

Hopefully Perfect Mist is a better match.

Have you ever tried Sephora Airbrush? If you have, lemme know. I’m curious.

Oh! I almost forgot. Today for the first time ever I asked a lady if I could take a picture of her tattoo. I can’t post it because I told her that I’d only share it with my brother (he’s got tons of tattoos), but it was so cool! It looked like one of those little Leggo people wearing a black ninja outfit, and it had cat ears. Or it was a Leggo cat woman. Not sure.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Almost forgot… I also left with a sample of Sunday Riley Good Genes, which I actually needed because I’m running low. 🙂

My Latest Skincare Finds for Combination Skin

July 1st, 2016 by Adia Goss 12 Comments

Over the past year or two, my decidedly normal skin became very “combination.”

Maybe it was my cross-country move from NYC to the Bay Area, or maybe it’s just that I’m in my 30s now, but I’m constantly looking for the right products for my sensitive, combination skin.

Here are some things I’ve been testing:

combination-skin-2 — The skincare products I’ve been testing lately (L to R): boscia Charcoal Mattifying Makeup Setting Spray, Erborian Bamboo Matte Lotion, Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 and Sephora Clarifying Booster

I don’t like heavy skin products, especially now that it’s consistently over 85 degrees every day, so I’ve been trying out all kinds of different things, from setting sprays and toners, to SPF and skincare boosters.

First up is Erborian Bamboo Matte Lotion (available at Sephora for $34). It’s the product I’ve been using the longest of this bunch, and for good reason. I love it! It’s definitely earned a place in my skincare routine.

It’s actually a toner, and I picked it up randomly one day at Sephora because I’d been curious about it for a while. As you can see in the photo above, a powder settles at the bottom of the bottle. I just give it a quick shake and apply directly to my face.

Since my skin is classic combination right now — dry on my cheeks and shiny along my T-zone — I can’t really get down with strong toners because they just make my skin feel too tight, but this Bamboo Matte Lotion manages to work well wherever I use it.

The water is infused with moisturizing bamboo, but the powder helps soak up oil.

I love applying this after I wash my face. It just balances my skin so perfectly.

I’ve also been testing Murad Oil-Control Mattifier SPF 15 (also available at Sephora, and it’s $40).

It’s a moisturizer with SPF, and I definitely like the convenience of having one product that does both. It does a great job preventing shine, but at the end of the day, my cheeks feel a bit tight when I use it. I don’t think that translates into visual dryness, but I can feel it!

Also, I feel like SPF 15 is pretty low for a sunscreen, and I like to wear SPF 30 at least. My uncle was diagnosed with skin cancer when I was in junior high, and even though he was able to get treatment in time and is doing just great now, that experience alerted me to the danger of not protecting myself from the sun.

I’m gonna get off my soapbox now, but outside of the low SPF, I think this Murad does a good job at keeping my skin matte.

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