Sephora VIB Sale: My (Actual) Purchases!

Hi everyone,

I'm soooooo excited to share with you my purchases from Sephora's VIB sale! Yesterday, the second of my two purchases finally came in, so I was able to take photos and do some initial swatches for you guys. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the VIB Sale, it's a 20% off everything sale at Sephora exclusively for VIB and VIB Rouge members that I believe (correct me if I'm wrong!) once a year. This year, the sale was from Thursday 11/6 (today) thru Monday 11/10. You can see my intended purchases blog post here and my wish list and recommendations blog post here if you're interested. Sephora had so many purchases during this time that the site was down for hours at a time and shipments from their warehouses were severely delayed. So you'll see below, but I clearly bought more than I was originally intending to, but getting 20% off items that never go on sale was just too good to refuse. I hate to do this, but just a quick disclaimer - I'm in no way trying to brag or boast about the items I got during the sale, I just want to share my new products with my fellow beauty lovers so please don't take this post the wrong way! So with that said, lets jump right in!

LIPS
So I went a little lip crazy because I've been dying for some more nude lip color options and I wanted to try out several brands that I've never tried before. I bought three of the Bite Beauty: Mix N' Mingle Lip Minis, which at $12 a pop are a great way to try several of the different colors in the line. I purchased the Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Gavi and two Luminous Crème Lipstick Duos, one in Retsina & Musk, and the other in Date & Fig.

I also purchased a TooFaced Melted Liquified Lipstick in the shade Melted Nude, a Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in the shade Petal, a Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in the shade LoveCraft, and a Nars Audacious Lipstick in the shade Raquel,

FOUNDATION
I took the opportunity during the VIB Sale to try out some new foundations and pick up one of my all time favorites. So I picked up an extra of my holy grail powder foundation, Clinique's Almost Powder Makeup with SPF 15 in the shade Light, as well as, I decided to try out BECCA's Ultimate Coverage Complexion Crème in the shade Buff and Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation in the shade Medium Ivory.

FACE
This was a last minute purchase, but I decided to pick up the Ambient Lighting Palette by Hourglass. I've never swatched it before but it has such high reviews that I decided to give it a go and try it out! I will definitely do a more in-depth review once I've used it a bit so stay tuned.

SKINCARE
I also love stocking up on skincare products during the VIB Sale because the items are often very pricey. The first thing I picked up was an item I've been dying to try for a while now, First Aid Beauty's Skin Rescue Purifying Mask With Red Clay. I also picked up Boscia's The Black Collection kit which contains a full-size of the Luminizing Black Face Mask, a 1 oz sample of the Detoxifying Black Cleanser, and the Konjac Cleansing Sponge with Bamboo Charcoal. Additionally I purchase Sephora's Beauty Unmasked Kit which contains a Boscia Luminizing Black Face Mask, Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask, and GlamGlow's ThirstyMud Hydrating Treatment. I also got Sephora's Pearl face mask to try out and a small size of GlamGlow's YouthMud TingleExfoliate Treatment since I've never tried any skincare items from either brand before.

REDEEMED POINTS
In addition, I also redeemed some of my points during the sale. For 100 points each, I picked up a sample of Buxom's Mascara Bar mascara and the DiorShow Iconic Overcurl mascara. I also picked up a deluxe sample of Tory Burch's perfume for 250 points.

SAMPLES
Since I made two purchases online during the VIB Sale I was able to pick out 6 samples to try. I got:
          - Argon Infinity Lip and Cheek Creamy Oil in Limitless Pink  by Josie Maran
          - GinZing Moisturizer by Origins
          - Thermal Cleansing Balm by Omorovicza
          - Pore Medic Pore Minish Primer by Dr. Jart+
          - Rain Eau de Perfume by Clean
          - SuperMud Clearing Treatment by GlamGlow (White Packaging)

With each order, I also received a sampler pack of some of Sephora's most popular fragrances. What a great way to try out a bunch and figure out which scents you like!

What items did you pick up during Sephora's VIB Sale? Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!

-Meg

Kate Spade: Sale Haul & 20% off Promo Code!

Hi everyone,

Today I'm sharing a Kate Spade sale haul with you! Every so often (roughly 2-3 months) Kate Spade has a special sale of up to 75% off some of their items. They will send an email to those on their email list notifying them of the sale starting and it will only last a couple days so shop fast! I highly recommend signing up to receive their emails so you're aware of when these sales start. Below is the email I received most recently.

I always use these sales as an opportunity to buy nice gifts for my friends and family at amazingly low prices. All jewelry items purchased during the sale come with a nice little Kate Spade dust bag, identical to the ones they would give you if you purchased these items full-priced. The items I picked up during the last sale are:
          - Keswick Caining Huggie Earrings

          - Moon River Studs

          - Hancock Park Scatter Necklace (x2)

Keswick Caining Huggie Earrings

I purchased these earrings for my mother for Christmas as she absolutely loves gold hoops and I thought these were stunning. These earrings have 14 karat gold fill and have a gorgeous intricate design with some nice stones in them. They were originally listed for $65, but I only paid $29 during the sale, which is about 56% off!

Moon River Studs

I purchased these earrings for one of my friends for Christmas since these are totally her style. I mean who wouldn't love these adorable bow post earrings?!? They are white enamel with 14 karat gold fill around the edges. These earrings are a little on the large side but aren't completely huge and  I think they will look amazing on. They were originally listed for $28, but I only paid $19 during the sale, which is about 32% off.

Hancock Park Scatter Necklace
The last items I purchased were two of the Hancock Park Scatter Necklaces. I purchased one of these for a friend and one for myself as it was just too gorgeous not to get one for me too! This necklace is rather long and is made of silver and some gorgeous stones. The full retail price of this necklace is $98 but was on sale for $39 during the sale, which is about 61% off - another terrific value!

All in all, I highly recommend checking out the Kate Spade special sales and getting on their email list. These sales are a great way to buy yourself a little special something that you wouldn't buy for yourself normally, and gifts for friends and family members for birthdays and holidays. If you spend $200 during the sale you will get free shipping, but if you do not shipping will cost only $5.

Are you a fan of Kate Spade jewelry? Are there any Kate Spade jewelry pieces on your holiday wishlish? Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!
-Meg

PS- I received this card in the mail from Kate Spade with a coupon code for 20% off your full-priced purchases in stores! The code is WILDCARD and it's valid between 11/3/14 and 12/7/14. The online code they provided me with was for a single use and I'm actually saving it for some additional gift purchases in the future so I have not included it in the photo below.

Time to shop shop shop!!!

There's so many great sales going on so I just thought I would take the chance to sum up some of my favorites for you guys before they're gone!

Today's the last day of Sephora's VIB Sale so GO GO GO!!! Sephora never offers sales so 20% off of everything is HUGE! Treat yourself to those items you've been craving or stock up on gifts for the holidays!

It's also 3x points at Ulta for Platinum members and 2x points for regular members. Make sure to activate your offer online first before you shop! They're also offering a 3-piece serving set with any $40+ fragrance purchase, and all Ulta eye, face, lip and nail cosmetics are all $5 each. Don't forget to use the $3.50 off of $10 coupon on your purchase!

Bath & Body Works is having their 2 for $22 3-wick candle sale and it ends tomorrow (11/11). Also, if you order tonight (11/10) before midnight you'll get free shipping on all orders of $25 or more, by using the code WINTERLOVE. They're also doing "Buy 3, Get 3 Free" or "Buy 2, Get 1 Free" on their Signature Collection items, and 4-for-$18 or 6-for-$24 on all hand soaps. So all in all, it's a great time to shop at Bath and Body Works!

There's an amazing sale going on right now at The Body Shop where you can get 40% off your purchase! Also, all hand creams are 50% off right now and you can get free shipping today only on any size purchase.

Nordstrom is having their November clearance event going on where you can save up to 40% off on clearance items online and in store! Nordstrom Rack is also doing their Clear the Rack event which is an extra 25% off all clearance items and it ends tomorrow.

Ending tonight at midnight, Gap is having their friends and family sale offering 40% off your purchase using the code FFSALE.

Macy's is having their Veteran's Day Sale currently and is offering many specials throughout their store/website and an extra 15% off or $10 off your purchase of $25 or more.

ASOS is offering $10 off purchases of $100, $25 off of $150, or $40 off $200 using the codes 10OFF100, 25OFF150, and 40OFF200.

Ann Taylor LOFT is offering an extra 40% off all clearance items with no promo code needed and $20 pants and jeans.

Vera Bradley is having a special sale where if you buy one specific sale item you get one free through tomorrow. They're also doing a holiday sale of 30% off specific colors and styles. Also, if you spend $125 online, you can pay an extra $5 to get a full-size tote bag.

All boots at Target are buy one get one 50% off so it's a great time to stock up on boots for the winter! Also get 20% off cold-weather clothing and more!

Also, don't forget to sign up for ebates.com, where you can get cash back on purchases you make online! It really adds up over time, I've already made $30 in only a couple of months!

Are there any other sales going on right now that you're really excited about? Please leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!
-Meg

Sephora VIB Sale: My Ultimate Wish List & Recommendations!

Hi everyone!

So in my previous post, I talked with you guys about the products I have already purchased during the Sephora VIB/VIB Rouge 20% off sale going on right now and decided that it might be fun to share with you guys the top 25 products that I would buy right now if I had unlimited funds to spend on beauty items. Unfortunately that is not the case, but it's fun to pretend! Not all of these products are super pricey, they're just items I'm intrigued and I'd love to try out.

Here we go in no particular order! And once again, quick disclaimer, all photos in this post are from Sephora since I do not own any of these products and cannot take my own photos of them.

1.) Origins: Super Spot Remover Acne Treatment Gel

Full Price: $15.50 at Sephora

I first heard about this product from a youtube video (I honestly can't remember who), but they said this was the best product for quickly getting rid of breakouts and even for using before you get a breakout but you can feel it coming. I have another blemish remover gel that I want to use up first before I purchase this so it'll have to wait for another time.

2.) First Aid Beauty: Eye Duty Triple Remedy

Full Price: $36 at Sephora

This is an eye treatment that is intended to instantly brighten, depuff, and smooth your under eye area. I have pretty bad under eye circles so I'm always on the hunt for products that can help reduce them. I love that this is a skincare item, rather than makeup, so it's trying to help fix the under eye area not just cover it.

3.) Too Faced: Everything Nice Set

Full Price: $56 at Sephora

This is the Holiday Palette from Too Faced this year, and while I think it's an incredible value, I haven't been able to pull the trigger on it and actually purchase it. I have one of the holiday eye shadow palettes from last year and even though I think the eyeshadows are fantastic, I just don't reach for it that often. I'm passing on this one this year, but I highly recommend it if you've never tried Too Faced shadows! It also comes with makeup brushes, 2 blushes, 2 bronzers, and a mascara so it's a really great palette because it covers all the bases and you can try a bunch of Too Faced products all at once!

4.) Marc Jacobs Beauty: Kiss Pop - Heartbreaker 602

Full Price: $28 at Sephora

The packaging of these lipsticks is absolutely adorable! I love the shade Heartbreaker, a pink coral color, and I think it would be very flattering on my skin tone. However, since I'm really into nudes at the moment I've decided to wait and not purchase it because I know I probably won't wear it right away, especially since it's almost winter and this is a very spring/summer shade. Nonetheless, if you like bright lipsticks check these out, they're super pigmented and look beautiful on the lips!

5.) Laura Mercier: Secret Brightening Powder

Full Price: $24 at Sephora

I've been on the hunt for a really great under eye setting powder to set my concealer and I think this would be a great one since it's intended to be very brightening. The reviews on Sephora's website also seem to be very positive for this powder which is encouraging. However, since I've never tried any Laura Mercier products before I really want to see it in the store before purchasing it to make sure that I actually like it. But for $24, which seems like a good deal, you do seem to get a lot of product so I'm sure it would last a long time.

6.) BECCA: Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlights

Full Price: $25 at Sephora

I don't tend to wear highlighter everyday, but I do really enjoy it. This is a great Holiday Set that only costs $25 and you get three deluxe sample size tubes (0.17 oz each) of three different highlighter shades from BECCA. These look absolutely gorgeous, but since I don't wear highlighter all that often I just haven't been able to justify purchasing it, even with the 20% off during the VIB Sale.

7.) BECCA: Radiant Skin Creamy Concealer - Banana

Full Price: $32 at Sephora

I've loved all the BECCA products I've tried so far so I'm tempted to try this concealer, but it only has a 2.5/5 star rating on Sephora's website which isn't very good so I haven't made the move to purchase this item yet. I really want to test it out in the store first to see how I like it for myself.

9.) Dr. Brandt Skincare: Pores No More Pore Refiner Primer

Full Price: $15 for 0.5 oz at Sephora

This is truly an amazing primer! I received a small sample of it in a subscription beauty box and absolutely loved it! It does a terrific job of not only minimizing your pores, but also smoothing your face so that your foundation applies so easily and makes your face look amazingly smooth and perfect, even when you have lots of imperfections. It's a miracle worker and I honestly can't recommend this primer enough. I would have purchased this product but they were sold out of the 0.5 oz size which sells for $15 and I have lots of other primers open right now that I'm trying to use up. Also, this product is available in a 1 oz size, but it's $45 which doesn't make sense because you can get three 0.5 oz tubes for the same price so just be aware of that.

10.) Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

Full Price: $58 at Sephora
While I do think these Hourglass palettes are slightly overhyped and overpriced, the quality of the powders is absolutely amazing and they are so beautiful. If they weren't so expensive I definitely wouldn't have thought twice about buying this one and the one below, the blush palette, but for nearly $60 that's just outside of my price range even though they are amazing.

11.) Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

Full Price: $58 at Sephora
Also an amazing palette, the blushes are beautiful and look so natural and gorgeous on the skin. If I had unlimited funds, this would definitely be mine. But until that happens I will continue to swatch it at Sephora and appreciate its beauty.

12.) Dior: Dior Iconic Overcurl Set

Full Price: $28.50 at Sephora
This is an amazing deal for a full sized Dior mascara and mini 5 color eyeshadow palette. I think this would make an amazing gift, as it's super high end products but it's actually a really affordable set. I would have purchased this set but I actually just redeemed some of my Sephora points for a sample size of this mascara. If I happen to like it once I try it I might come back and purchase this set as it's a terrific deal.

13.) GlamGlow: Gift Sexy

Full Price: $69 at Sephora 
This is a great set from GlamGlow that is a trio of three of their products. I have a couple sample tubes of GlamGlow that I've yet to try, but I'm really curious about this brand since it's so pricey but yet the reviews of it are amazing! Once I try out my samples of GlamGlow and see how it reacts with my skin, if I like it I might come back and purchase this set.

14.) BareMinerals: touch up TO-GLOW

Full Price: $15 at Sephora 
This is such an affordable set that looks so luxe! I love the gold packaging! I think this would be a great gift for someone because it's something you might not buy for yourself but you'd appreciate getting it as a gift.

15.) Tory Burch: Tory Burch Rollerball Cracker

Full Price: $25 at Sephora 
I absolutely love this perfume by Tory Burch! I just redeemed some of my Sephora points for a deluxe sample of it so I decided not to purchase this set, but I do think this would be a great set to give as a gift because the packaging is just so beautiful!

16.) First Aid Beauty: Fab Faves to Go Kit

Full Price: $28 at Sephora 
I have not tried anything from this brand before so I think this would be a great way to try some of their most famous products without spending a fortune. I've head that the repair cream is amazing but that the cleanser is only so-so so I decided not to get this now just because I'm not totally sure about it. Since I did buy a facial mask from this brand during the VIB Sale (check my previous post), if I like it I might buy this to try out more items from the line.

17.) YSL: Holiday Gift Set

Full Price: $75 at Sephora 
This is such a luxe set by YSL that would be amazing to get if I had unlimited funds. In this set you get their famous Touche Eclat Radiant Touch Concealer (I have this product and absolutely love it for brightening up my under eye area and highlighting the center of my face), the Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Babydoll, a Gloss Volupté in #30 Corail Lingot, a 1 oz sample of Top Secrets Pro Remover, and an adorable YSL makeup pouch. I think this is an okay deal, but it's definitely not the best deal ever. I do think if you've never tried any YSL products before, this is a great way to try out several at once. The Touche Eclat is full-sized and retails for $41, the full-sized mascara of 0.2 oz retails for $30 (you get 0.06 oz in the set), the Gloss Volupte is full-sized and retails for $32, and the remover is sample size as you get 1 oz, but the full-size is 3.3 oz and retails for $30.

18.) Amazing Cosmetics: Amazing Concealer Flawless Face Kit - Fair Golden

Full Price: $47 at Sephora 
I've been tempted before to try out the concealer from Amazing Cosmetics, but I've never been able to make the purchase, so I was really intrigued by this gift set it's only $47 and the concealer by itself is $42. Now in the set you get smaller samples so that's how they are able to do it. Instead of the full-size concealer that's 0.5 oz, in the set you get one that's only 0.2 oz. So once you start looking at the sizes of the products included I realized it wasn't as good of a deal as I originally thought. Nonetheless, having never tried any products from this company I think this is a great way to get a feel from the line.

19.) Marc Jacobs Beauty: Collector's Edition Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer - Midnight in Paris

Full Price: $24 at Sephora 
This is an absolutely gorgeous navy blue shade of nail polish by Marc Jacobs. It's limited edition and comes in beautiful packaging. If I could justify spending $24 on a single nail polish than this would totally be the shade and I would buy it in a heartbeat, but unfortunately that's not the case.

20.) Estee Lauder: Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Toning Lotion/Refiner

Full Price: $25 at Sephora 
I've been dying to try out a new Toner but until I finish up my current one this will remain on my wish list. I love that this is a 2-in-1 toning lotion plus exfoliator which conditions and balances your skin all at once. I generally love Estee Lauder skincare products so I definitely will be giving this one a try once I finish off my currently open toner.

21.) BeautyBlender: Micro Mini

Full Price: $17.95 at Sephora 
These are absolutely adorable and I think they would be so good for blending in concealer and other precision work while applying your makeup on your face. I haven't been able to commit to buying them because $18 for 2 little sponges seems ridiculously overpriced, but I really want to give them a try because I love my full-size beauty blender.

22.) Make Up For Ever: Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation - No. 30 Porcelain

Full Price: $36 at Sephora 
I've never tried any MUFE products and I've been dying to try out this foundation. I love matte foundations and the review on this one are amazing so I really want to give it a go. Having bought two foundations in my VIB Sale haul I definitely didn't need to buy another one, but in the future I will definitely be buying this one.

23.) Laura Mercier: Smooth Finish Foundation Powder - Color 4

Full Price: $46 at Sephora 

As I said in the previous entry, I definitely don't need any other foundations at the moment, but I really want to try this powder foundation by Laura Mercier in the future. I love powder foundations and wear them almost everyday so I'm always on a hunt to try and find a better one than my all time favorite Clinique one. I like that this foundation is intended to give you a really smooth finish to your skin, I think it would look beautiful!

24.) Tarte: The Sculptor Contouring Face Slenderizer

Full Price: $24 at Sephora 
I'm definitely not a pro at contouring so I think this would be a very fun product to test out and see if it makes contouring much simpler. From the youtube videos I've watched and reviews I've read on it, it seems like most people really enjoy it. This is definitely a product I would like to swatch first in the store to make sure the shade is a good match for me before I purchase it.

25.) NARS: Virtual Domination Cheek Palette

Full Price: $65 at Sephora 

This is an absolutely gorgeous limited edition palette from NARS that has five face products in it. You get a highlighter, 3 blushes, and their famous laguna bronzer. I really would love to get this palette, I think the packaging is very sleek and all the shades of the products are absolutely gorgeous and I think would flatter many different skin tones. Even at 20% off, this is definitely still a very pricey palette but is definitely one that I think I would use almost everyday and would be great to travel with.


Allright, those are my dream wish list items and recommendations that I would love to get if I had an unlimited beauty budget. What items are you craving for? Please leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading!
-Meg