Was it coincidence that I had enough MAC empties (six, FYI) to redeem my Back-to-MAC free lipstick during the Sephora VIB sale?! Probably just divine intervention. Nevertheless, I certainly don’t have enough self control to simply accept my free MAC lipstick and continue on my merry way to Sephora. No, I needed to complete a full-on Sephora and MAC haul before feeling satisfied.
Let’s start with the MAC purchases. I have tried so many pinky, peachy nudes and although I love them in real life, I find they don’t do much for me in photos unless I wear a lip pencil for more definition. When I pick out a nude, it needs a little more punch to it because I have a medium/olive complexion and naturally pigmented lips. I was between Kinda Sexy (neutral pinky rose) and Velvet Teddy (deep tone beige), but opted for Velvet Teddy because it’s a smidge darker. The MAC sales girl wanted me to try Whirl (dirty rose), but I was a little intimidated by that even deeper shade. Maybe next time :).
Dupe alert: once I got home, I realized how similar MAC Velvet Teddy and NARS Barbara are. They’re nearly identical when swatched on the hand with the exception of finish – Velvet Teddy is matte whereas Barbara is satin. On my lips, Velvet Teddy pulls a touch more peach, where Barbara is more mauve. MAC lipsticks are $17 and NARS Audacious lipsticks are $32.
I’ve been analyzing my blush collection lately and have come to realize I don’t love all of the shades I own which means I need to clean out! I love uncluttering my makeup and only keeping my favorites, so in tossing a few unused blushes, I saw a void. I owned one MAC blush – Gingerly (capri bronze) – which I adore and wore on my wedding. I needed something with a little more color for the fall/winter and I love the matte/non shimmery finishes of MAC blushes. I was considering MAC Coppertone (peach brown), Melba (soft coral peach) or Pinch Me (medium dirty rose coral). The sales girl and I agreed that Coppertone was too similar to Gingerly, Melba looked a little too chalky for my skin tone but Pinch Me would be just enough color.
Pinch Me is extremely similar to NARS Amour blush. Pinch Me is slightly warmer, more terra cotta undertone. Pinch Me is $22, Amour is $30.
On to the Sephora VIB sale damage! I have been carefully curating this list of purchases for quite a long time. The good news is that even though this post is going live after the sale is over, Sephora typically sends a coupon for a cash discount of anywhere from $15-25 off of your purchase (depending on your Beauty Insider level) in early December… so take note and mark your calendars.
Here’s the list:
Marc Jacobs Beauty Enamored Hi-Shine Gloss Lip Lacquer Lipgloss, Pretty Thing; $22.40 (orig. $28) // I have wanted to try these lipglosses since last year’s VIB sale, but needed to finish up some of my other glosses before adding more. The Marc Jacobs glosses are hands-down the shiniest glosses you can get anywhere (apparently). I picked up Pretty Thing, thanks to MAKEUP-SESSIONS glowing recommendation. It’s the prettiest sheer, peachy-rose (see a theme here, lol?). It’s also super nice that the formula has a mild, minty taste.
Buxom Full On Lip Cream, Hot Toddy; $15.20 (orig. $19) // The Buxom lip glosses (creams and polishes) are great! They have a slight plumping effect and they’re super shiny and long-lasting. If you don’t like sticky glosses, steer away from these (but totally go for the Marc Jacobs ones). Hot Toddy is a peach-brown (wow, I really need to mix it up next time). It’s basically a my-lips-but-better shade and looks so pretty with Charlotte Tilbury’s Iconic Nude lip liner (a suggestion I took from one my favorite YouTubers, Alexandra Garza). If you don’t have Iconic Nude, MAC’s Stripdown or any other brown-beige pencil will give a similar look.
NARS Duo Eyeshadow, Cordura; $28 (orig. $35) // I’ve always had such a curiosity for NARS eyeshadows. They’re pricey, which has been my #1 deterrent, but with 20% off, I paid $28 which is about the same as what I’d pay for two MAC shadows, so I went for it. I picked up Cordura because I felt it was the most versatile duo – a bronze and deep, chocolate brown. Although I have a lot of similar shades in my collection, after bringing this baby home, nothing is an exact dupe (whew!). So far, I am really enjoying the ease of this duo.
Shiseido Eyelash Curler, $15.20 (orig. $19) // Over the years, I’ve done just fine with Revlon or any other random drugstore lash curler. I really went cheap recently and picked up the $3 ELF one and have been HATING it with a passion. The clamp opens up way too wide (which sounds great, but it literally almost eats my eyeball; not cool) which then pinches the hell out of my lashes. Using a lash curler sounds unnecessary for every day, but trust me, it makes a massive difference. If your lashes are dark enough, you can just curl and not even worry about mascara! Anyway, I figured with the sale, this was the best time to pick up a fancy lash curler and see what the big deal was. I GET IT NOW. For one, this curler doesn’t open wide enough to consume a small nation, but the pad is extra bouncy/squishy, which really helps pump up the lashes without crimping them. Who would have thought there was such a discrepancy in lash curler design…
What did you pick up during the sale? Comment below so we can share ideas on how to use our cash-off coupons that are (hopefully) coming in December for ourselves or as gifts for others!
Happy sale-hunting,
-Steffanie
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