sephora

Hey, What’s the Big Idea? Oh, It’s the Sephora Collection 12HR Wear Waterpoof Jumbo Liners

June 14th, 2012 by Karen 44 Comments

sephora collection waterproof jumbo eyeliner swatches
Sephora Collection Jumbo Liner swatches from the left: Taupe, Brown, Purple, Khaki, Violet, Turquoise, Green and Black

I wish we were all rewarded more often for the little, everyday things we accomplish, like when we make it through a difficult day, or hit the gym after work (even though we really didn’t want to), or manage to drive all the way home through rush-hour traffic without flipping anyone off (I never experienced road rage until I moved here to Marin), or for being just plain awesome on an average day.

Last night I felt like treating myself to a little something for making it through Wednesday (yes, I’m setting the bar quite low). It came down to a choice between froyo and a trip to Sephora, and this time Sephora won. 🙂

I was just cruising around the store when something HUGE blocked my way — actually, they were jumbo. They were these bright $12 Sephora Collection Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear Waterproof Pencils.

These fatty-bo-batty pencils double as eyeliners and eyeshadows for quickly adding bold, shimmery color to lids and lash lines.

Gotta love the waterproof action this time of year. It’s been hella hot up in my ‘hood lately, well into the 80s and 90s, and that has meant perspiration, glamorously referred to as “glistening.” And lots of it.

On one particularly scorching day last week, I “glistened” all over town, and by the time I got home after running my errands, the teal eyeshadow I’d applied earlier that morning had all but disappeared. (NOTE: I do not recommend standing in the middle of a Trader Joe’s frozen food aisle with rivulets of blue pigment streaming down the sides of your face. It’s not a great look.)

I don’t imagine glistening would be a big problem for these Sephora 12HR Waterproof Pencils; they seem pretty resilient to me. The swatches I did on the back of my hand resisted three vigorous hand washings, which is pretty impressive considering the price.

And I suppressed a squee! when I noticed the Pantone numbers on the display beneath each of the colors…

sephora collection waterproof jumbo eyeliner taupe
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Well, Hello Kitty. I’ll Go to Paris With You and the Soft, Pigmented Powders in the Hello Kitty Mon Amour Palette

June 10th, 2012 by Karen 9 Comments

hello kitty mon amour palette

What if Sanrio and Sephora merged, like a Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger, to form a new superstore called Sephrio? And what if the new store carried a much larger selection of Hello Kitty-themed accessories and makeup?

Yeah…that would be cool.

As a 30-something beauty fanatic who still remembers making mix tapes from songs on the radio and blowing all of her birthday money at the Sanrio store at the mall (OMG! The pens with the dangling charms on the end!), I almost dropped my phone when I bumped into the limited edition Hello Kitty Mon Amour Palette ($21) at Sephora the other day.

hello kitty mon amour

Paris? Kitty…? Cute!

The little drawings and the balloons filled with pans of powder shadow (eight) and blush (two)? Nope. No way. That’s just too cute.

Not gonna lie, though, I expected these to be annoyingly sheer and chalky — just not up to snuff compared to brands like MAC and NARS — but wow. That wasn’t the case at all. They felt surprisingly smooth and looked beautiful, I thought, in the swatches.
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From London to L.A.: Nails Inc. Nail Polishes Launching Today at Sephora

August 11th, 2011 by Karen 32 Comments

The British are coming! The British are coming!

YAY! 🙂

And they’ll be staying at Sephora while they’re here. Nails Inc., a cult favorite brand of nail polish colors, treatments and specialty top coats from across the pond, officially goes on sale today at Sephora stores and also online.

The brand’s been around since 1999, with products ranging from $9.50 – $25 each, and colors inspired by catwalks worldwide.

The 42 polishes in their color line are going for $9.50 each at Sephora — some with super glossy cream finishes, glittery finishes, and others with shimmery metallic finishes — and each one is named after an iconic London locale like bright sunflower yellow Carnaby Street, beet red Piccadilly Circus and bright geranium pink Brook Street.

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The Tokidoki Royal Pride Hercolino Palette Sings to a Sheer Toon

July 29th, 2011 by Karen 15 Comments

One of these days I’m going to try to draw a Tokidoki-style cartoon starring Tabs, but I’m afraid that if I run the idea by him, he’ll bark out too many diva demands. 🙂

Tokidoki Tabs Speaking of cute characters, how are you doing tonight? I wanted to show you this Tokidoki palette I spotted at Sephora. It’s called the Tokidoki Royal Pride Hercolino ($28).

Check out that dual-door design (CUTE!).

There are six powder shadows inside, but the Tokidoki artwork is really what caught my eye. That space in the middle, by the way, is supposed to hold a cute little charm (a keychain fob of Hercolino, aka Little Hercules).

The palette contains six Tokidoki eyeshadows…

Profumo (matte dusty rose)
Elettica (sparkling gray green)
Ippo (dark purple)
Lion Pappa (pearlized bronze)
Patatino (cream)
Hercolino (pearlized chocolate brown)

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Seeing the World Through Sephora Lash Plumper Mascara

January 21st, 2011 by Karen 14 Comments

Written by Kris

When you smile with your eyes, try it while wearing the subject of today’s guest post from Kris.

Sephora Lash Plumper Mascara

When it came to my attention that Sephora Beauty Insiders got a free gift on their birthday, the first thing I did was shout “FREE GIFT!” The second thing I did was get myself down to my local Sephora on my bday to collect.

I received a nice little set with a mini-eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow. The mascara looked promising, but I wasn’t holding out the highest hopes because I have high standards when it comes to mascaras, and I want the ones I use to lengthen and create volume at the same time (the spider-leg-look doesn’t appeal to me). I don’t like flaking, smudging, or wet/runny formulas at all, and I don’t want them to be so hard to remove that I have to wash my eyes three times in a row. I can’t stand that.

It had seemed to me that I would never find my mascara mate. That was, until my birthday date with Sephora Lash Plumper mascara.

The first things I noticed were the wand and brush head. I’d been using Covergirl Lashblast Fusion and hated the bulky head. Sephora’s has your normally slender wand style with a typical volumizing head — and not with the gel-like bristles that most mascaras have nowadays. This brush tapers off at the tip, which makes it ideal for getting into corners. As for the packaging, it’s no-nonsense, no frills or flash, but that doesn’t bother me in the least.

Sephora Lash Plumper Mascara

After examining the wand and brush, I checked the formula. It’s absolutely perfect! It’s never dripping wet (like Lancome Hypnose Drama) nor bone dry (like Covergirl Lashblast Volume), and it doesn’t fall off in gobs at the tip.
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