Unboxing: Sephora Spring VIB Sale 2022 Haul

It's April, which means it's that time of year. Yes, the Sephora VIB sale has landed upon us. As per usual, I stocked up on enough skincare to last me until the VIB sale in November.

Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Exfoliating Toner and Revitalizing Toner
Laneige Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Gel Moisturizer and Cream Moisturizer
Peace Out Dark Spots Serum and Laneige Hydro UV Defense Sunscreen SPF 50+
Fresh Floral Recovery Calming Mask and Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum
Dior Dior Addict Lip Glow Color Reviver Balm in Rosewood
I got bothtoners and bothmoisturizers (one set for day, one set for night) from Laneige's new revamped Water Bank collection, Fresh's new overnight mask that's supposed to help with uneven tone and rough texture, a serum by a brand called Peace Out that's supposed to be super effective in reducing dark spots, and Laneige's new facial sunscreen with SPF 50+ that's supposed to leave no white cast. I also got a small bottle of my beloved Fresh Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum to get me by until I can get to a Nordstrom to buy a full-size bottle, and a cheeky new Dior tinted lip balm in a pretty sheer rosy nude colour. I'm not ready to go head-first into wearing full makeup, but I figure now that there's no longer a mask mandate, I can start wearing lip product in public again...

Unboxing: Sephora Spring VIB Sale 2021 Haul

It's April, which means it's that time of year again — the Sephora Spring VIB sale. I used to go crazy during these sales, spending upwards of $500 every time, but I don't buy a lot of things from Sephora anymore since I quit the cosmetics industry and literally threw out tens of thousands of dollars worth of cosmetics last year when I was preparing to move to my condo. (Plus, I barely wear makeup since I started working from home a year ago.) Which means, for the first time since the rewards program started, I'm no longer a VIB Rouge member. But my friend Ying still is, and she offered up her 20% discount to me for this sale so I selected a few things that I'd been eyeing.

  Clean Reserve Space Rain Liquid Reed Diffuser
Clean Reserve Space Linen & Room Spray in Warm Cotton and Fresh Linens
I got myself exactly four items. The first three are from Clean Reserve's new Space collection, which is their home fragrance line. I had never thought of buying home fragrance from Sephora, but I actually saw these in the New Arrivals section of their website and got intrigued. I've been using regular ol' Febreze plug-in air fresheners, but I have two in my condo which means I spend about $12 on refills every month to month-and-a-half, which really adds up. I also don't like using candles too often because they're a fire hazard and the scent really only lingers while they're lit, so I only use them after cooking. Thus, I decided to get a little bougie, and I got myself the Rain Liquid Reed Diffuser and two of the Linen & Room Spray in Warm Cotton and Fresh Linens, which I can use on my clothing, too.

Glow Recipe Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask
The last item I got was Glow Recipe's Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask. I'm on my last tube of MAC's Fast Response Eye Cream, which was my go-to because it actually got rid of the eczema on my eyelids, which was caused by using liquid eyeliner everyday (to be fair, it was a specific brand of liquid eyeliner that was causing the eczema). I just kept using it after it got rid of the eczema because it felt nice and wasn't too heavy. But now that I don't get an employee discount on it, I decided it was time to explore a different eye cream. Glow Recipe's is meant to "brighten, de-puff, and treat the appearance of dark circles" as well as "soothe and nourish" and help with "loss of firmness and elasticity," which quite honestly sounds like it's promising too much, but hey, I'm not getting any younger and I might as well try to prevent fine lines while moisturizing. Plus, I've always liked Glow Recipe's products and this one has great reviews. (Also, the packaging is really fucking cute.)

  Sol de Janeiro Bom Dia Bright Body Cream
As I was picking up my stuff from Ying, she surprised me with a mini jar of Sol de Janeiro's Bom Dia Bright Body Cream! She had bought one for herself early on during the sale and I was intrigued by it because I really like the brand's Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. She had offered to give me a sample of it but I didn't want her to go through the trouble nor did I want to touch her brand new jar, so I told her not to worry about it. But she ended up getting me one of my own because she said she quite liked both the scent and the texture once she actually used it, and this way, I'd be able to decide if I liked it enough to purchase it. It was so sweet of her and was such an unexpected gift; I'm really blessed to have such a great friend. I will definitely treat her to a few BTS Meals at McDonald's next month...

Photolog 2020: Day 328 of 366

I got goodies from Sephora! (Wow, it has been a long time since I've said that.)

Tatcha The Deep Cleanse and The Rice Wash
Fresh Umbrian Clay Purifying Face Exfoliant
Between birthday gifts from Ying, Chelsea, and myself, I got a nice little cosmetics haul! (I love that the Sephora VIB sale is always in November. I can always use my birthday as an excuse to buy overpriced cosmetics that I would never buy at full price.) Ying had asked me if I was going to get anything during the VIB sale, so I told her I was eyeing two Tatcha cleansers — The Deep Cleanse and The Rice Wash — and she just straight-up told me not to buy them because she was going to get them for me as a birthday gift. (She wanted to get me BTS merch originally, but she said I screwed up her plan because I always end up ordering everything I want from every new launch and there was nothing left for her to get me. Whoops.) 

She also got me a tube of Fresh's Umbrian Clay Pore Purifying Face Exfoliator because she had asked for exfoliator recommendations, and I said this has been one of my favourite for years and that I would be returning to it once I finish my Ole Henriksen Transforming Walnut Scrub (it's okay, but it's honestly just a glorified, extremely overpriced version of St. Ives Apricot Scrub, which retails for $5 at Walmart). So she beat me to the punch and got me a new tube first.

Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask in Grapefruit
Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve
Sol de Janeiro Coco Cabana Cream and Brazilian Bum Bum Cream
Verb Blow Dry Brush
Chelsea got me a new full-size tube of Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and a new jar of Laneige's Lip Sleeping Mask in Grapefruit — my go-to ride-or-die favourites, especially for winter. And for myself, I took advantage of the 20% discount to splurge on two items I would never normally buy: Sol de Janeiro's Coco Cabana Body Cream and Brazilian Bum Bum Cream. I tried a couple samples a while ago and surprised myself by actually loving their scents (coconut praline and pistachio vanilla, respectively), but the main reason I got them is because I'm not allergic to them (!!!). I'm always trying to find a good scented body cream that is actually moisturizing and won't break me out into rash or eczema, but unfortunately, my favourite scents are usually citrus-based, and I'm allergic to almost all of those fragrance mixes. I guess I just had to look for warm scents. Who knew I would ever like vanilla again?

Oh, and I also got a new Verb Blow Dry Brush. I have to replace mine every year because it starts to get warped and the bristles get mangled from blow drying every day. (My old one was honestly starting to look deformed. Frankly, I was just waiting for the VIB sale to get a new one.) But there's nothing else that makes hair drying faster, which is especially important to me because I wash my hair everyday and drying hair is tedious AF. (Seriously, this brush cuts my hair drying time so much that I can dry all of my coarse, medium-to-long length hair in less than 5 minutes.) And that's it. I won't be shopping at Sephora for another six months (at least), but I'm thankful my friends spoiled me this year! 

Photolog 2019: Day 316 of 365

My Sephora package arrived just in time to cheer me up on this miserably frigid day. (Actually, it was pretty sunny out, but it was also -7°C and I only had 30 minutes of sleep before going to work for nine hours. And I had to drive through two rush hours. So yeah, miserable.) As with every November, the Sephora VIB Rouge sale started last week, so I took the opportunity to stock up on some staples:

• Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve — Really the only product that keeps my hands from being totally wrecked from so much hand washing and sanitizing. Also because I'm prone to both regular eczema and hand eczema (yes, they're two different things), and this cream helps with both. When I get eczema outbreaks on the backs of my hands, this stuff calms it down and keeps it from flaring up. When I get hand eczema outbreaks (which is less frequent now because I'm more aware of detergents I'm allergic to, but sometimes I'll use public bathroom soap without thinking and my hand eczema will come back) and my skin splits into a big cut, this stuff helps it heal faster. I keep one on my bedside table, one on my work desk, one in my purse, and one in my brush belt at work.
  
  
• Shiseido Urban Environment Oil-Free UV Protector Broad Spectrum Face Sunscreen SPF 42 — This has unexpectedly become my face primer. Originally, I bought it because I was looking for a good facial sunscreen and this one had one of the highest ratings, but it works as such an amazing makeup primer for combo-to-oily skin that I don't even bother with actual primer anymore. This is ultra-lightweight, almost watery in texture, plus it gives me a good amount of sun protection, and is literally the only thing I wear under makeup that can keep my face matte almost all day — seriously, I don't even blot anymore — and keep my foundation from oxidizing. A serious game-changer for me.
  
  
• Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Dream Face Cream — I discovered this last winter and loved the way it made my skin look and feel, so I decided to re-purchase it this winter. It's a bit too heavy for me in the summer, when I prefer more lightweight options, but this is perfect for cold weather, when skin feels tighter and drier. It's rich enough to keep my skin super-hydrated and soft in harsh subzero temperatures but doesn't feel greasy. Plus, it smells like mango candy.
  
  
• Laneige Water Bank Hydro Gel — Gonna try this out as my new day cream for winter 'cause I've always had good results with Laneige's Water Bank series. I was using Glow Recipe's Watermelon Pink Juice Moisturizer, which is perfect for hot weather, but I need something a little more protective and hydrating for winter that is still lightweight and sits well under makeup, so I like to opt for gel-creams as day moisturizers in the winter.
  
  
• Philosophy Purity Made Simple Foaming Cleansing Gel — My ride-or-die, forever and ever (until it's discontinued). It's been my go-to makeup removing cleanser for years. Don't know why this doesn't get more attention. Everyone likes the milk version, but I hate it because I feel like it doesn't take off any of my makeup. But this stuff? Even waterproof liquid eyeliner, full coverage concealer, and three heavy coats of mascara comes off. As I said, ride-or-die. 

Along with last month's Sephora haul, I'm all set for skincare this winter. (Which is great, because there is a lot of BTS merch coming out over the next few weeks and I need to give them more of my money.)

Photolog 2018: Day 237 of 365

It's been a minute since I've bought anything from Sephora, but when I got an e-mail notifying me of the Rouge Beauty Insider Appreciation Event this week, I decided to indulge a bit. Sephora has never done a 20% off event during the summer, and since I haven't really looked in Sephora for a few months, I decided to go and see if there was anything I even wanted to buy. Though I'm pretty well-stocked, I chose a few more skincare items including the Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Cleanser Daily Foaming Wash, the new Laneige Bright Dew Emulsion, and the new Laneige Bright Dew Original Essence. I also grabbed my ride-or-die staples like the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, a couple tubes of Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleansing Gel, a new bottle of the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Instant Retouch Primer, a 30ml bottle of Fresh Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum, a tube of Jack Black Moisture Therapy Lip Balm SPF 25 in Lemon, and NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base and Creamy Radiant Concealer in Ginger. But notice how the only makeup item I bought was concealer? Honestly, I've come a long way.

Pick-Ups & Deliveries: Haul No.71

Both my birthday and Black Friday happened in November, and I was totally spoiled this year. By my friends and, you know, myself. Because if there's one thing I've learned about myself in the last 31 years, it's that I cannot resist a sale. Discounts are my kryptonite and I have absolutely no willpower when it comes to shopping at marked down prices. (Plus, I got birthday money. Which means more shopping.)

Pat McGrath Labs LuxeTrance Lipstick in Donatella and LaBeija
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger and Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette
Violet Voss Taupe Notch Eyeshadow Palette
Huda Beauty Textured Shadows Palette Rose Gold Edition
As any good beauty addict will know, November means the Sephora VIB sale. Now, as I already stocked up quite a bit during October's Friends & Family sale, I didn't go too overboard this time around, but did pick up a few select items (because, you know, it would've been churlish not to). I caved and finally got the two Pat McGrath Labs LuxeTrance Lipsticks that I'd been eyeing but refused to pay full price for (despite how goddamn stunning the colours and packaging are, I do think the brand in general is overpriced), the new Hourglass Ambient Metallic Strobe Lighting Palette that I originally ignored before swatching in person and then totally fell in love with (the original palette is nice but way too subtle for me and this new metallic one is stunning), the new Violet Voss Taupe Notch Palette (I have been waiting for them to finally release a cooler-toned neutral palette), and the Huda Beauty Rose Gold Palette that I had been resisting for the better part of a year (it has somewhat mixed reviews, but I bought one for my friend Shannon for her birthday and actually tried it out on her, and it performs beautifully). I also picked up another tube of NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer and Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base — my holy grail staples that I've been using for a few years now — that I had simultaneously ran out of in the same week.

Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Palette
Bath & Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Gentle Foaming Hand Soap and Eucalyptus Spearmint Shea Butter Hand Cream
Bath & Body Works Lambie Shea Infused Lounge Socks, Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Nourishing Body Cream, and Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Candle
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Toilette
Fresh Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum, Urban Decay Perversion Mascara, and Boscia "Clearly Beautiful" Peppermint Blotting Linens
I also got some amazing birthday presents this year from my friends that showed just how well they know me. My friend Chelsea got me the Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette that I have been drooling over since preview swatches were released a few months ago. My friend Shannon got me the Anastasia Beverly Hills Prism Palette that I was hell-bent on getting during the VIB sale (she actually gave me my gift early so she'd beat me to the punch), as well as two bottles of Foaming Hand Soap and two tubes of Shea Butter Hand Cream from Bath & Body Works in my favourite Eucalyptus Spearmint scent. My love for Eucalyptus Spearmint is so well-known, in fact, that my friend Milly surprised me with a birthday gift that included both the Body Cream and the 3-Wick Candle, along with a pair of my favourite Shea Infused Lounge Socks adorned with the cutest fluffy lamb. My friend Amanda, who now works for Shiseido in the Dolce & Gabbana fragrance department, gifted me a bottle of Light Blue (it was my go-to fragrance for years before I started using Fresh Sugar Lychee) after I asked her to get a bottle for me with her discount a few weeks prior. And my friend Viv got me some of my go-to staple beauty products from Sephora, including a new travel size Fresh Sugar Lychee, a tube of Urban Decay Perversion Mascara, and a pack of Boscia Peppermint Blotting Linens in the cutest special deco packaging for holiday.

MAC Snow Ball Gold Face Bag
MAC Snow Ball Pigment and Glitter Kit in Pink and Gold
MAC Oval 6 Brush
On my actual birthday, my friend Shan also gifted me with some of the MAC holiday sets that she knew I'd been eyeing, including the Snow Ball Gold Face Kit, which contains one of my favourite and most-used highlighters of all time, Whisper of Gilt. Not sure why MAC hasn't made this permanent yet as it's been five years since its first launch and people are still going crazy over it, but until then, I need all the back-ups. And this year's version is the most gorgeous I've ever seen it in rose gold packaging and a snowflake imprint on the powder. Plus, it comes with the 140S brush, which is one of my favourite powder brushes (I bought three of them when they launched). She also got me both of the Pigment and Glitter Kits, 'cause she knows my love for eye bling, and she added an Oval 6 brush as well, which is my favourite face blending brush. It was honestly too much from her, but I really, really appreciated it.

Bobbi Brown Bobbi to Glow Highlighting Trio
Philosophy Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath in Melon Daiquiri and Señorita Margarita
The Face Shop Chia Seed Fresh Foaming Cleanser and Belif Bergamot Herbal Extract Toner
Illume Sugared Blossom Lavish Hand Cremes
ILNP Nail Polish in Ava, Cable Car, Treehouse, By Nightfall, Cityscape, and West Wing
As for Black Friday, I didn't go crazy but as I mentioned, discounts are my kryptonite, so you know I had to buy a few things. After perusing the Sale section on Sephora's website, I ended up getting the gorgeous Bobbi Brown Highlighting Powder Trio for $64 from $85 (I was actually quite surprised to find it on sale at all, so I knew I had to snatch it up right away), plus two of my favourite Philosophy Shower Gels in Melon Daiquiri and Señorita Margarita for $15 each from $22. The Face Shop was having a 40% discount on everything on Black Friday, so I picked up my favourite Chia Seed Fresh Foaming Cleanser and a bottle of the new Belif Bergamot Extract Herbal Extract Toner, plus a massive glass bottle of Fruits & Passion Cucina Olive Oil Hand Soap and a tube of Nourishing Hand Butter in Lime Zest & Cypress. My current favourite hand cream, Illume's Sugared Blossom, was on sale at Indigo for 30% off, so I bought two more tubes. (I'm not usually that into vanilla scents, but this one is blended with jasmine and sandalwood and it's absolutely gorgeous.) I also got quite a big paycheque from Ebates last month, so I bought a bunch of cool new ILNP nail polish shades from Nail Polish Canada. (While not actually on sale, I technically got them for free and I ordered them on Black Friday, so I'm counting it as a Black Friday deal.) Finally, I also bought a few non-beauty items: the black Babaton Markos Coat from Aritzia at 10% off (not exactly a steal, but I was planning on buying this coat regardless so a little discount was better than none), plus another pair of my favourite Black Pepper Boyfriend Sweatpants and the matching Black Pepper Original Kanga Hoodie from Roots at 30% off.
Now I'm just waiting patiently for Boxing Day.

Pick-Ups & Deliveries: March and April 2016

I decided to do a haul post now since I'm putting myself on a shopping ban until next month. I'm going to Montreal and New York during the first week of May, and I am not allowed to spend any more money on extraneous things until then. By "extraneous things," I mean cosmetics. Because let's be real, that's what I spend the majority of my money on, and I have a problem. However, the past month or so has been filled with tons of sales events and random releases that I just couldn't ignore.

Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette
Too Faced released their Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette in March through their website and it was sold out immediately. So, naturally, everyone was waiting with bated breath for it to be re-stocked. The re-stock never happened. It was then announced that they'd be available through other retailers like Ulta and The Shopping Network and Sephora at the end of March. Again, it was sold out immediately on all retailers' websites. People waited all day and all night for that palette to be re-stocked. People wrote angry comments and tweets to the retailers and to Too Faced for creating such a hype and teasing all their customers through social media only to be disappointed that they couldn't get their hands on one. I honestly hadn't seen such a craze since the release of Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop highlighter with Becca (which is now permanent, anyway). But I admit, I was totally caught up in the hype. I had been eyeing it on various Instagram makeup accounts for months and was determined to get it when it was released. Of course, like everyone else, I had no such luck. I kept refreshing Sephora's website for an entire day but it just kept saying "Out of Stock." Out of boredom, my friend Chelsea decided to refresh the page at 2:00 in the morning the day after it was released. And what'd you know, it was actually back in stock. She added two of them quickly to her cart before they were sold out again (which it was, literally an hour later). And that is how I got my Sweet Peach palette. It is now no longer being made available online, but it is rolling out in stores this week. So if you have your eye on it, go to your local Sephora. Like, now. Because, let me tell you: It lives up to the hype.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kit in That Glow and Gleam
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush in Snapdragon and Tigerlily
As all beauty addicts will know, the Sephora VIB sale is going on right now. I didn't go as crazy as I've done in previous years because the spring VIB sale only allows for 15% off (the fall VIB sale gives members 20% off), but I did still pick up a good amount of stuff (I went through Ebates, too, I get some cash back as well). First order of business was the Anastasia Beverly Hills Glow Kits. When they were first released, I wasn't that interested in them because I have way too many highlighters as it is and didn't care for travel-size palettes of them. But I was over at my friend Chelsea's, doing her makeup, and she brought her Glow Kits out... Not only did I discover that they are full size highlighters (and in magnetized pans, so you can customize your palettes), but they look stunning on the skin, like glowy and shimmery but not scary intense or ultra-metallic. And they're just so smooth and so soft and so pigmented. It was love at first swipe. So I bought both of the kits, 'cause I couldn't decide. They're both too gorgeous to leave behind. Next up were the new Becca Luminous Blushes. They have the same formulation as Blushed Copper, so I knew these were gonna be good. I bought Snapdragon (coral-pink with gold shimmer-sheen) and Tigerlily (peachy orange with gold shimmer-sheen) to start with because they're the two shades that I'd get the most wear out of, but will probably pick up Camellia and Foxglove in the near future.
Herbivore Rose Hibiscus Coconut Water Hydrating Face Mist and Lapis Oil Balancing Facial Oil
Fresh Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum and Soy Face Exfoliant
I also bought some skincare. Sephora started carrying a bunch of niche brands over the past six months or so, and one that really interested me was Herbivore Botanicals. They are a Seattle-based brand that "combines pure active plant ingredients with a minimalist aesthetic. Each therapeutic, concentrated formula provides tangible results you can see and feel." I don't necessarily care for all natural brands, but what impressed me was their consistent high ratings on every single one of their products. They have a total of 13 products listed on Sephora's website (they carry more on their own website), and I literally read through every single one of them. I decided to snatch up two: the Rose Hibiscus Coconut Water Mist, which is a "hydrating toner featuring coconut water, Bulgarian rose, and hibiscus" to "tone, hydrate, and soften all skin types," and the Lapis Facial Oil, which "offers balanced hydration to combination and oily skin," "reduces redness and clarifies the complexion with the power of azulene-rich natural blue oils." From the reviews I read, the Lapis Oil is especially impressive; it helps combat oil but also hydrate dry patches at the same time. People have said that it's helped with their acne- and eczema-prone skin, so I'm especially excited to try it. I also bought a new tube of Fresh's Soy Face Exfoliant which I've decided, after trying many, many scrubs, is my holy grail. No other scrubs leave my skin looking and feeling as soft and smooth as this one. And, of course, a new bottle of my signature Sugar Lychee perfume, the one I can never get away from no matter how many fragrances I try; it's the one that all my friends, colleagues, and family associate me with, and the one I get the most compliments on.
Other items that I snatched up but were too boring to photograph? Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner in Trooper (I didn't like it at first but kept using it and then ended up really liking it, even more than Stila's, which is more expensive), Sephora Collection's Instant Nail Polish Remover for Glitter (the most effective one out there that I've tried, and not nearly as harsh as 100% acetone which started making my nails super brittle), and Sephora Collection's Vented Dual Boar Hair Brush (I blowdry my hair everyday and my hair dryer was melting the glue holding up the bristles on my other brush, so I needed one that was specifically meant for using with heat tools).
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter in Aura, Sin, and Fireball
Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Blush in Paranoid, Score, Video, and Rapture
Urban Decay Beached Bronzer in Sun-Kissed and Bronzed
Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray
Urban Decay was having their Friends & Fanatics Event, during which they were offering 20% off for two days. They had just released their summer collection, too, so I figured it was the perfect time to get some new goodies. I ended up getting all three of their new Afterglow Highlighters, plus four shades of their Afterglow Blush (one online exclusive shade, Paranoid, and three of their original shades), both of their new Beached Bronzers (Sun-Kissed to use as a blush or all-over warmth, Bronzed for adding structure and soft contouring), and their All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (I've been wanting to try this since I've heard it actually helps control oil better than De-Slick, which I didn't like).
Biotherm Source Therapie Skin Perfection Catalyzing Serum, Aquasource Skin Perfection High Definition Moisturizing Perfecting Care, Aquasource Deep Replenishing Hydration Gel, and Aquasource Nuit High Density Hydrating Jelly
Lancôme Bienfait Aqua Vital Continuous Infusing Moisturizer (x 2)
I went with my friend Steph to the L'Oréal warehouse sale last week. I totally wasn't planning on getting anything because I'd been to multiple L'Oréal warehouse sales before (back in the day when I used to work for Lancôme) and I was never that impressed. I would always end up buying junk that I'd use maybe once or twice and then throw away. But they moved the sale to a much bigger space this year, and had at least three or four times the amount of product they used to carry, and I found myself going a little crazy in the Biotherm skincare section. I used to use Biotherm religiously and their products in general work really well with my skin. But after I left Shoppers Drug Mart and didn't have a discount on Biotherm anymore, I stopped using their stuff and moved on to discover other brands. However, I saw that almost all their skincare was 40% off, so I bought some old favourites like the Source Therapie Skin Perfection Catalyzing Serum (which is being discontinued and replaced) for $40 from $62 and Aquasource Skin Perfection High Definition Moisturizing Perfecting Care for $29 from $50, as well as a new find in Aquasource Nuit High Density Hydrating Jelly for $30 from $52 (which also came with a 30ml tube of their Aquasource Deep Replenishing Hydration Gel). I actually had two more Biotherm moisturizers in my bag until I saw that they had my beloved Lancôme Bienfait Aqua Vital (previously called Aqua Fusion, and was my holy grail moisturizer for years) on sale for $34 from $57, so I quickly put the Biotherm ones down and snatched these up instead. Basically, I am well stocked on skincare until next winter.
MAC Charlotte Olympia Mirror Compact
MAC Charlotte Olympia Makeup Bag
Of course, any haul of mine wouldn't be complete without some MAC goodies. Their collaboration with Charlotte Olympia came out last month, and while none of the actual makeup products intrigued me (there's only so many red lipsticks a girl can have), I really liked the design of the collection so I ended up getting the little compact mirror and the makeup bag. Neither of them are must-haves and I do think they could've made them with better materials (the mirror is plastic and feels cheap so I wish it were weightier and came with a pouch or something so there wouldn't be so many fingerprints on it; the makeup bag is made with a hard polyurethane and as a result, it's very stiff and the zipper isn't smooth, so I wish it were made with a nylon or more flexible coated fabric), but they're both cute and retro-glam and reflective of Olympia's aesthetic.
MAC Tinashe Eyeshadow x 9 Palette
MAC Mellow Moderns Eyeshadow x 15 Palette
MAC Future MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Otherearthly and Warm Rose
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Pinwheel in Faintly Fabulous, Sunny Side, Perfectly Lit, and Nuanced
I also picked up two new eyeshadow palettes — the new and limited edition 9 x Eyeshadow Palette in collaboration with Tinashe (review here), and the newly permanent 15 x Eyeshadow Palette in Mellow Moderns (review here) — as well as a whopping six new Mineralize Skinfinishes, two from the Future MAC collection (review here) and four from the new Mineralize Skinfinish pinwheel collection (review here). Aaaaand, I'm on a ban now. I swear.
Did you score any good deals this past month? What did you get from the Spring Sephora VIB sale? What makeup releases are you looking forward to?