I'm such a beauty whore and Sephora is my enabler, but hey, its a win-win situation for me!
I buy a lot of my beauty supplies at Sephora. Partly because of convenience but mostly due to their stellar return and customer service. If I ever have any issues and need a return or exchange, it gets taken care of without a lot of resistance or questioning like some other stores would. They make you feel appreciated as a customer even if you're returning or exchanging an item. That's applaudable.
Here are the items I received this week:
- Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof 12-Hour Concealer in Tan
- SIZE 0.07 oz, $23
It's been years since I first used this magic wand and I can't stop using it. The color is a perfect match to my tanned olive skin and I actually have this in Medium color as well -I use it when I get lighter during the winter.
This twist-up concealer stick delivers a thin, buildable and oil-free, matte coverage to minimize the look of hyperpigmentation, blemishes, and redness. And I love the Tarte line because their products are Paraben and Phthalate free.
I use this mainly to cover any imperfections or redness on my face and it works great with flawless results. The only area I wouldn't use this on is for the under eyes. I found that when I conceal my dark under eyes after a long night, the product tends to cake up and crease making it quite visible which is the opposite of what you want. So as long as you're using it to cover blemishes or redness, it's an amazing concealer.
I got a sample of this a couple of months back and it just wowed me. The staying power was amazing and I like that it's an all-in-one product; a shadow, primer, brightener and spf 15 coverage all in one compact tube.
Typically I have to use eye primer whenever I want to use any type of eye makeup or else the colors will crease within a few hours, thanks to my asian eyelids and oily combination skin. But with this product surprisingly I don't have to. It just stays put! I do wish it came in more shades though, currently there's only 5 shades available (mostly neutral colored), but this Elegant Taupe color is perfect for everyday and can be buildable to a darker shade.
Gift With Purchase:
Since I'm a loyal customer of Sephora, my contributions to their store has earned me the VIB Rouge status (basically a member level if you spend at least $1000 annually) and with that comes perks. I got an email last weekend about a GWP from Fresh if you spend $25 or more and I just had to bite. It's Fresh - one of my favorite brands - plus it included the Sugar Lip Treatments that's a staple in my beauty regime, that was an instant yes.
This GWP deal was only for VIB or VIB Rouge, and if you are, you get to choose 3 items from a list of Fresh deluxe samples. Plus you can also select 3 extra samples that you get automatically with every Sephora purchase. More freebies, more fun!
So here's the free items I got from Sephora with my purchase:
The 3 Fresh items I chose were:
- Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment
- Sugar Lip Treatment Sunscreen SPF 15 in Rose
- Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Concentrate
Those samples alone are worth $40! Total win!
For the usual 3 Free Samples that Sephora gives out with every purchase, I chose perfume samples and that Marc Jacobs Mod Noir was a great new discovery -floral, slightly sweet and extra bold.
And to give this purchase an extra savings boost, I also purchased through Ebates which gave me 8% back in cash. I use Ebates for just about everything I can and have earned so much $$$ back! #truestory
If you haven't heard about Ebates, they're the leaders of online cash back shopping where they pay members cash back every time they shop online as well as provide them with the best coupons and deals online. All you have to do is click through the Sephora link on their website and that's it, you get a percentage of what you purchased back to you in cash. So easy.
You can sign up with Ebates here to start earning cash back on all your online (or Sephora) purchases. I've earned so much money back, it's just a smart thing to do ;)