SHEET MASK | SEPHORA COLLECTION Transformation Glow Face Mask with Vitamin C

Purchased by me

Happy first Sunday of May! At a glorious 22 degrees Celsius, we are well on our way to summer here in Vancouver and I only wish it would stay at this temperature as this is the most I can comfortably handle, but we are apparently in for a hot and dry summer this year so ugh. I am starting off this month with a brand new Sephora Collection mask that I picked up during the Sephora VIB sale and yes, I am still Rouge despite my beauty purchasing cutbacks. Granted, I am basically making the $1000 cut-off always during the November event instead of before where I was pretty much making it twice over by July! 

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Purifying and Clarifying Mask

 

Purchased by me

I have had a really nice three day weekend having worked the Stat Holiday earlier this week and it has truly been SO nice. I feel like even though it's the summer, I have been workin' real hard and I'm trying to enjoy some of the summer before we head into Fall and then inevitably CHRISTMAS. It really creeps up on you and especially in the world of retail, we start thinking of the holiday season in September! It has been nice to catch up on some house and blog things and while I have been busy at home, I am a true homebody so I love it.

SHEET MASK | Sephora Collection Golden and Silver Masks

 

Press samples

My apologies for not being more prepared with #SheetMaskSunday as it may still be another two weeks until I feel comfortable enough wearing sheet masks and doing some serious skincare again. I am waiting for the redness to die down a little more as well as the scab on my cheek to be completely gone. For now, this has given me a chance to get through, I kid you not, years of backlogged sheet mask reviews! Although the pandemic has definitely messed with my sense of time, I still cannot believe that even these Sephora Collection foil masks were sent to me most likely in 2018 based on the colour of my hair!

MAKEUP | Sephora Collection Best Skin Ever Liquid Foundation with Before and After Shots!

In an effort to feature more makeup products here, I give you a foundation review! I think once more people are vaccinated and we can all think about going into a physical workplace unmasked the makeup reviews will follow, but for now skincare will be the main component here. I almost declined testing out Sephora's newest Best Skin Ever Liquid Foundation because of my lack of foundation-wearing, but I love Sephora Collection products and have rarely been disappointed by anything they come out with. I also figured that at some point in the next two years, I WILL be wearing foundation again (I miss it!) and haven't tested out a new one since last year so it was indeed time to try something new! 

 

PR samples

MAKEUP | Sephora Wild Wishes Holiday Collection

I am almost done the last of my Christmas shopping which has been almost exclusively online save for a few bottles of wine that I would rather not ship. I have asked for digital gift cards this year as I don't want to overload the postal system even more and I LOVE online shopping so having gift cards to play with is a blast for me! My in-laws and I have a shared Google Doc that we have been updating with our wishlist and marking off like a baby/wedding registry as gifts get purchased and as today was my day off, I spent most of the afternoon ticking things off so I'm sure my VISA must be burning from use! Whether you are looking for stocking stuffers or gifts for the beauty lovers in your life, the Sephora Collection always has you covered with a themed collection of brushes, skincare and makeup! When it comes to quality, Sephora has always been one of my favourite "house brands" with products like their #Lipstories Lipsticks and sheet masks and there is no shortage of any of these items in this year's collection!

Press samples

HOLIDAY | Sephora Collection Hits and Misses

Every holiday season Sephora releases their own themed collection (with a cute winter mascot) with this year being a frosted winter wonderland party featuring an active chubby little penguin. There were a lot of great value sets with my favourites always being the masks and advent calendars although this year I was both very excited and greatly disappointed and I think you will understand why!

 PR samples

HOLIDAY | Goodies from the Sephora Collection

MERRY CHRISTMAS! If you are a beauty lover, I am sure you have already shopped at Sephora three times over in the last month, but if you are still needing a few gift ideas, the Sephora Collection never disappoints and it is possible that I may have stocked up on a few of these for next year! It also may or may not have been the sheet masks LOL!

PR samples

SKINCARE | Sephora Collection Face Masks in Rose, Coconut and Pineapple #100DaysofSheetMasks

Did you know that the SEPHORA Collection is the CBB Brand of the Month? I used to have my doubts about house brands until President's Choice and the SEPHORA Collection. I have discovered some legit products within Sephora's house brand so when sheet masks arrived I obviously had to pick up eight LOL, but for today I will share three of the ones that seemed the most interesting to me and probably anyone who is a skincare lover!

Purchased by me

MAKEUP | SEPHORA COLLECTION #Lipstories Lipstick with Lip Swatches

Would you look at that? Jayne has a review up that's ON TIME for something that has just come out! Well, that's because I was so impressed by these that I wanted/needed to share with you guys like RIGHT now. These are brand new to the SEPHORA COLLECTION and yes the product name actually has a hashtag in it. The #Lipstories Lipsticks retail for just $10 each and come in 40 shades with three finishes: matte, cream and metallic. The tagline reads that "this is lipstick for real life, not just ring lights" which I sort of get, but not really because along with some fairly normal "real-life" shades, there are some that really only suit a camera makeup look or a work day at Sephora (no offense, but you all know what I mean). Marketing aside, I do love the underlying message of enjoying life and having an adventure all with these incredible shades on your lips because ladies and gents, they really are fantastic! 

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HOLIDAY | Sephora Collection Bits and Baubles

Who is playing with their Christmas goodies today? I love how Zen Christmas day is which is a feeling I have totally been enjoying today. It was snowing earlier and everything is so nice and quiet that it has been a nice contrast to the last two weeks. When it comes to stocking stuffers and small things that delight, the Sephora Collection has literally hundreds of products at a price point for any budget and I always get caught at the Beauty on the Fly section adding multiple little trinkets to my basket! Sephora has done a great job of creating a "sub-Sephora" making waiting in line so dangerous! 

HOLIDAY | Relive your Childhood Birthdays with the Sephora Collection La Pinata

What a CUTE idea! We all loved smashing pinatas to bits as kids to get candy and treats so why should this have to change now that we are adults? Granted, you can't smash this, but the fox head Sephora Collection La Pinata* ($38 CDN) is filled with 10 Sephora Collection beauty goodies ranging from makeup to skincare! Don't take a bat to this pinata though! Instead, tug on the pink and white ribbons to reveal all of your holiday treats!  

Makeup | Sephora Collection Solid Brush Cleaner (I LOVE THIS THING!)

Cleaning my makeup brushes is something I really should do more often. I actually enjoy cleaning them once I start swirling away, especially when I start to see my brushes go from a shade of mud to virgin white. When I was contracted in Sephora, I had a lot of time to browse the makeup aisles and the Sephora Collection products always intrigued me because I often wondered if they compared to their branded competitors. House brands often get the short end of the stick, but I have been surprised in the past (hello, President's Choice products??) and have slowly started to introduce more Sephora Collection products into my routine. 

MAKEUP | SEPHORA Collection Black Magic Makeup Remover Cloths Review

I feel like I have been trying for a solid YEAR to get a hold of these magical cloths! We have all seen the ad for the infamous Makeup Eraser (which I also picked up and just haven't had the chance to try out yet) and have wondered why a simple cloth is $24! Sephora's house brand is one of the few that I really love with products thatrival if not exceed the quality of "the big guys". When I saw the SEPHORA Collection Black Magic Makeup Remover Cloths for just $15 for 2 cloths, I immediately wanted them. Of course, they were sold out and why wouldn't they be? They were a great price and if they work, then why spend money on the Makeup Eraser (also sold at Sephora)?

MAKEUP LOOK | SEPHORA Collection Ombre Obsession Eyeshadow Palette Review & Swatches

I am a VIB Rouger as many beauty bloggers seem to be despite the amount of product we have whether it'd be from PR or personal purchasing. We love beauty and while I initially shopped at Sephora for other brands, I started paying more attention to the house SEPHORA COLLECTION brand when I was working as a vendor in-store. The Sephora product selection has grown incredibly and there are certain products that I will actually buy multiples of (Sephora brushes!) because I have been so impressed by the quality.

The holidays are the best time to sample what Sephora has to offer because there are a TON of master palettes with everything from lip to eye to cheek and nail products. Since I love them eyeshadow palettes, the SEPHORA Ombre Obsession* ($43.00 CDN) would have been something I would have swatched right in the store because the palette is so pretty to look at! 

MAKEUP | SEPHORA Collection Ultimate Oil in Gel Lipstick Remover Review

A long-wearing lipstick is one the first things we all want, but one of the caveats is always "How many centuries is it going to take to remove this bad boy?" I've tried lip scrubs which can hurt if you are incredibly gungho, oil-based makeup removers which work, but can leave your lips tasting funny and makeup wipes, which can both leave a funny taste and make my lips burn. In my desperation for trying something new, I picked up the SEPHORA Ultimate Oil in Gel Lipstick Remover (15mL/$8.00 CDN) as it was fairly inexpensive for a Sephora product and I hoped the gel would reduce the amount of irritation I was experiencing on my lips.

MAKEUP | SEPHORA COLLECTION Sonic Airbrush Sponge Review

It’s all about that flawless, airbrushed finish and nowadays there seems to be no shortage of ways to ensure that foundation application is all, but perfect. I used to use fingers to apply my liquid foundation, but once I discovered makeup sponges of porosity that were “just right” I knew I had found my golden foundation ticket. Now, how much better can life get? Let’s take that perfect sponge and add micro vibration to it so that I don’t have even have to do dabbing motions with my hand! The Sephora Collection Sonic Airbrush Sponge* ($31.00 CDN) is reminiscent of a baby Clarisonic and gently buffs any cream products onto the skin with an impressive 12,000 dabs/minute. I’m not sure how a “dab” is measured, but I’m guessing it refers to a point of contact with the skin? Though the instructions say “easy-to-use”, there is a bit of playing involved to get this to work the way I had imagined in my head.

SKINCARE | SEPHORA “Cleaning Me Softly” Facial Cleansing Brush & Detox It Out Charcoal Swabs

God, I love skincare. I love the creams, potions and concoctions that companies come up with and inventive ways with which to make our skin THAT MUCH BETTER. I happily use a Clarisonic, but how would a manual facial brush compare? And at just $13 for the SEPHORA Collection Cleaning Me Softly Facial Cleansing Brush* why not give it a go? This brush comes in either pink or black and is a gentle deep-cleansing brush for both the face and neck. I do tend to forget about my neck and hope that my neck doesn’t hit the age of 50 before my face does.