Sephora Favorites: Beauty Sleep

So I have to confess, I've been spending a lot of money at Sephora recently that I've just became a VIB member this week since joining beauty insider 4 years ago.  I don't know if I should be happy about this new status or be ashamed that I spent a good amount of money at that store this year.  I have to say, some of my favorite things to buy at sephora, aside from the products checkout line, are their Sephora Favorites sets.  

I'm a huge fan of the Sephora Favorites sets because you get to try out so many different high end products for a fraction of the cost.  And today I am here to talk about this Beauty Sleep set from Sephora that I can't seem to find online anymore.  It was available a month ago, right before the VIB sales but I don't know if they sold out or discontinued it.  It seems like it's a great set and a lot of people would be interested in it.  

Unlike my previous Sephora Favorites sets, this set is not exclusive to Sephora inside JCPenney, and it does not come with a makeup bag.  Instead it comes packaged in a gold cardboard box and had the blue sleeve over it.  The products fit snuggly in the box and they seem pretty secured in there.  

This set comes with:

• Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins Mineral-Enriched Renewal Cream
• Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil (0.24 oz)
• Ole Henriksen Invigorating Night Treatment (0.25 oz)
• Korres Wild Rose + Vitamin C Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial (0.51 oz)

The main reason why I purchased this was to try out Sunday Riley's Luna.  I've heard so many people talk about it and have seen so many people post about it on instagram.  Unfortunately I don't have $100+ to spend on a full size so when I saw this kit with the sample size, I knew I had to get my hands on it.  I've never tried any of these products before but I love the concept of overnight skin treatments because you can just put it on and not have to worry about anything until the morning (and because I'm lazy).  Unfortunately I won't be trying these for a while because I'm still recovering from a horrible hormonal breakout but you can bet I will definitely write about my two cents on these products when I do try them out!

Did you get a chance to snatch this set up when it was available?  Have you tried any of Sunday Riley's products before?

Sephora Favorites: Skin Wonderland

Today I'm back with another Sephora Favorites set exclusively from Sephora inside JCPenney.  If you guys can't tell, I'm a huge fan of these sephora favorites set that are more skincare related and have purchased several of these throughout the year.  I know Sephora put out a bunch of these favorites set throughout the year as well but for some reason, I'm just not that drawn to them.  Maybe it's the fact that they don't come with a makeup bag or the fact that they're a bit more on the pricey side.

This time around, the set was a bit more expensive at $39 but it came with 11 products + a makeup bag.  I believe I wanted the set for the mainly for the FAB cream, Fresh Sugar lip balm, Glam Glow mask, Kate Somerville Exfolikate, and Josie Maran whipped argan oil body butter.  But more on the products later.

I was kind of disappointed that the bag that came with this set isn't as cute as those of the previous sets.  I feel like they were going with the holiday theme-ish bag so we got this light gold bag that resembles a worn leather.  I wish it were a different design but I can't really complain.  

The products that were included in this set are:

• Algenist Complete Eye Renewal Balm (7 ml)
• Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Bio Repair Mask (15 g)
• Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser (30 ml)
• Shiseido Ultimate Power Infusing Concentrate (15 ml)
• Marula Pure Beauty Oil Foaming Cleansing Oil (30 ml)
• Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment (2.2 g)
• First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream (1 oz)
• Glamglow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment (15 g)
• Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster (0.33 fl oz)
• Kate Somerville Skincare Exfolikate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment (15 ml)
• Josie Maran Cosmetics Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter in Apricot Vanilla (2 fl oz)

Like I've mentioned above, I really wanted the Fresh sugar lip treatment in this kit for some odd reason.  (Yes, I am aware that a full size of the lip treatment would have cost less than this kit but this kit comes with so many other products!)  As always, I went straight to Sephora inside JCPenney after I heard about the existence of this kit and took it home with me without a hesitation.  I swear these Sephora Favorites sets from SiJCP are my weakness!  Whenever I see a new one, especially the skincare related sets, I have to go and get it.  I think it's a great way to venture into the high end skincare products that Sephora has to offer.  

Did you manage to get this set?  If so, what products are you most excited about?

First Aid Beauty | Peace, Joy & Fab Set

Today I am here to tell you guys about an awesome set from First Aid Beauty that is currently available at Sephora!  The Peace, Joy & Fab is the holiday set from First Aid Beauty that is an amazing deal that include five products that are worth twice the value of the set!

I decided to split this set with my sister since she was running low on her Ultra Repair Cream and wanted the Facial Radiance Pads as well.  I love the Face Cleanser and is always up to try the mist and a new sleeping cream.  So this set was perfect for us to split.  

The set comes with:

• Vitamin Hydrating Mist (2.0 oz) $16
• Face Cleanser (2.0 oz) $10
• Facial Radiance Pads (28x) $15
• Ultra Repair Hydra-Firm Sleeping Cream (1.7 oz) $38
• Ultra Repair Cream (6 oz) $30

If you add up all the values of the products, it ends up being $109, which is half the price of the set ($54).  If you love First Aid Beauty products, I would recommend this set to you!  It is such a good deal to buy this set because all the products are essentially half of the price if you were planning to buy them individually.  I'm really excited to try out the mist and the sleeping mask but unfortunately I won't be getting around to them for a bit; my face has been breaking out from unconfirmed reasons and I don't want to introduce new products to it yet.

With Black Friday around the corner, is this one of the products that will be going home with you?

Collective Haul: May, June, and July 215

Today I bring you one of my biggest haul I've ever posted on this blog, and hopefully it'll be one of a kind.  Since I took a mini-break from blogging end of May to July, I had been buying things and just have been collecting them for a collective haul post.  I will warn you, I did NOT go out and buy this in a day, in one shopping trip.  This is the result of 3 months worth of buying a little here and there. 

I'm playing around with this new photo editing program I got recently so you'll be seeing a bunch of differently edited pictures coming your way until I find a way that I'm happy with.  But I am so happy there is a white balance function in that program so now I can make my pictures have white backgrounds instead of that yellowish tinge I used to have.  Like usual with my hauls, I organized my products into different groups, and I'll start off with the smallest... random products.

Random products:

• L'oreal Blow Dry It Quick Dry Primer Spray
• Honest Co. Hand Sanitizer Spray

Skincare products:

• Up&Up Eye Makeup Remover
• Simple Cleansing Micellar Water
• Sonia Kashuk Radiant Boost Restorative Facial Oil
• Murad Rapid Results set
• Garnier Ultra-Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream
• Boots Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay mask
• Simple Eye Make-up Remover
• Sephora Super Regenerating Oil-Serum

Tools:

• Up&Up Retractable Brush
• Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponges

Nail products:

• Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover
• Trim Cuticle Sticks
• Essie Gel-Setter set in Bahama Mama
• Essie Nail Polish in Baby's Breath 
• Sally Hansen Big Peel Off Base Coat

Lip products:

• Revo Beauty 360 Lip Balm Sphere in Honey
• Revo Beauty 360 Lip Balm Sphere in Strawberry
• Maybelline Super Stay 14 Hour Lipstick 
• YSL Volupte Tint-In-Oil in Cherry My Cherie
• Sonia Kashuk Moisture Luxe Tinted Lip Balm in Hint of Berry
• CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Balm Stick
• CO Bigelow Mentha Lip Shine
• Maybelline Color Elixir Iridescents Lip in Radiant Ruby
• L'oreal Paris Colour Riche Lip Balm in Nourishing Nude

Another I wanted to mention is that these products were purchased before my 30 day spending ban.  So far I am on day 7 of my spending ban and I have to say I'm doing pretty well.  I haven't had any temptations to purchase things yet.

What are some of your favorite things you've purchased recently and how are you liking them?

Sephora Favorites: Skin-Fatuations

I'm back with another skincare set from Sephora inside JCPenney!  I love it when Sephora comes out with these skincare sets.  I was a bit surprised because I thought they only come out once per season or something but the last one they had came out around April of this year, around the time of their VIB sale.  

I managed to grab these before they even made it to the floor (I think).  I went to Sephora a day or two after I heard about this set and had to ask an employee if they had any.  I was actually afraid they would come back out with the other set that I already had but luckily it was this set!  I managed to grab one for myself and one for my sister, since I wanted to try a bunch of the same things that she did.  Figured if we both had our own set, there would be less arguing between us!

Unlike the previous set, this set came with 9 high end skin care products in travel size, instead of 11.  I would say the sizes of these products are pretty generous.  There is ONE repeat from the previous set (Dr. Jart+ BB Cream) but the size that is included in this set is a lot bigger than the previous one.

Like the previous set, the products all came in a cute little makeup bag.  It is basically the same bag that was in the previous set except it's light periwinkle-ish blue and the little ribbon for the zipper is cuter in the previous set.  (It was more of a tassel rather than a ribbon looped through the zipper.)  Other than those two differences, I would say the bags are the same, but I think the previous bag is a tad bit cuter.

The products that were included in this set are:

• Boscia Black Charcoal Blotting Papers (25 count)
• Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask (0.5 oz.)
• Philosophy Purity Made Simple (1.0 oz.)
• Murad Invisiblur (0.17 oz.)
• Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm SPF 45 (0.5 oz.)
• Josie Maran Argan Infinity Lip and Cheek Creamy Oil in Timeless Coral (0.16 oz.)
• First Aid Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser (1.0 oz.)
• GLAMGLOW Supermud Clearing Treatment (0.3 oz.)
• Ole Henriksen The Clean Truth Cleansing Cloth (10 count)

I am very happy that I was able to get my hands on this set!  I'm excited to see what else Sephora would include in their future sets but at the same time crying because I know I'll be running out to get some as soon as I hear about them!  I can't wait to try some of these out and maybe do a first impression post with a handful of different trial size products in the future!

Have you heard about this set and did you manage to get your hands on it?  What is the one product you are most excited to try in this set?

2015 Birthday Gifts | Ulta & Sephora

In my opinion, one of the perks of having a birthday early in the year is that you get the free gifts from Sephora and Ulta before everyone else!  Unfortunately if you're anything like me, you go and get your gifts but forget about them because you've tucked them away somewhere, to save them for pictures to blog about in the near future... So... These are my birthday gifts from Ulta and Sephora!

Unfortunately, the gift from Ulta is not the same for everyone.  People with birthdays from January to March of 2015 will receive this little palette from Ulta.  And everyone else will receive other gifts.  I heard the gift for April to June is an Urban Decay eyeliner or something.  I wish they gave everyone the same gift like last year... but I guess you can't always have what you want.

The palette is a really pretty, neutral palette from Ulta's brand in Indie.  It seems like it has 4 shimmer shade and one matte(?) shade.  Unfortunately I don't wear eyeshadows so I haven't gone in to swatch it or anything yet, since I haven't decided if I want to give it to someone else who will actually use the palette.  Moments like this is when I wish I wore eyeshadows since the palette is really pretty and I would love to know how the quality of Ulta brand is compared to other drugstore brands.

One of the things I love about Sephora's birthday gifts is that they are always from the higher end brands.  The first year I got my Beauty Insider birthday gift, the products were from Fresh.  The following year, the gifts were from Benefit, then Makeup Forever.  This year it's from Nars.  

I have personally been wanting to try these lip pencils from Nars so I was super excited at the end of December when Sephora revealed their 2015 Beauty Insider birthday gifts.  The little lip pencil set come in the shades Cruella, which is a matte red shade, and Rikugien, which is nude-y, neutral shade.  I honestly have not tried either but I am quite excited for them.  

In case anyone was wondering how big, or small, these lip pencils are, the above is a picture comparing it to the size of my phone, Samsung Galaxy S5.  They are pretty small but let's be honest, how many of us actually finish that many lip products?  I think it is a nice size to try out the products before purchasing the full size of them!

Have you guys picked up your free gifts from Ulta and Sephora yet?  What do you think will be next year's gifts?

Sephora Favorites: Skinstant Radiance

Behold skincare lovers!  Sephora inside JCPenney has come out with a new skincare set that is one of the best things I've seen yet this year!  I always love these Sephora Favorites sets, especially the ones from JCPenney.  

I managed to get my little fingers on this set before they were all sold out.  The only regret I have is that I didn't get it during Sephora's VIB sale.  Unfortunately (or rather fortunately...?) I am not a VIB member so I only got 4 days to do my shopping, and out of those 4 days I was away for 3.  Sadly when I went to my local Sephora inside JCPenney, the set was already sold out on the last day of the sale.  So I did what any sane person would do and asked them when they were receiving their next shipment, and I went back on that day and snatched this little sucker up.

The set came with 11 high end skincare products in travel size.  Some of them are super small, (ie: bareMinerals Mineralixir) while others were very generous (ie: Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Cleansing Gel and St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Lotion)!

The set also came with this really cute make up bag that's a pale pink shade with some sparkly thread.  The bag is a decent size (way bigger than the ipsy bags!) and I can imagine myself using this when I travel.

The products that were included in the set are:

• Ole Henriksen Ultimate Lift Eye Gel
• Josie Maran Argan Infinity Intensive Creamy Oil
• Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter Body Lotion
• Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser
• Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse Treatment
• Peter Thomas Roth Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Cleansing Gel
• Boscia Tsubaki Oil-Infused Exfoliating Powder
• St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Lotion
• bareMinerals Mineralixirs 5-Oil Blend
• Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF45
• First Aid Beauty Face Cleanser

Right when I heard about this set, most likely from Nouveau Cheap, I knew I had to get my hands on it.  There were so many things I really wanted to try but could not justify splurging so much for the full size, like the Glamglow mask, First Aid Beauty cleanser, Boscia exfoliator, Dr. Jart+ bb cream,  and St. Tropez bronzing lotion.  On top of that, I knew I wanted to try products from Ole Henderiksen, Peter Thomas Roth, Murad, and Josie Maran.  I will say, I was surprised to find a Soap & Glory product in this set because I heard Soap & Glory products are being pulled from Sephora.

What is the one product that you are most excited about in this set?

Wishlist | April 2015

Another month, another wish list!  This time I thought I would do it on a list of things I've been eyeing at Sephora, since their VIB sale thing is just around the corner.  Unfortunately, (or maybe thankfully...) I'm still not a VIB so I won't have access to the sales until Friday.  But I can always drool over things online right...?

Origins GinZing Extra-Zing Energizing Kit - $22 | I've heard many wonderful things about the GinZing line from Origins and I thought this would be an awesome introduction to not only the line, but also the brand for me.  It comes with a moisturizer, cleanser and an eye cream, which is kind of pricey since Tarte's travel size maracuja oil and the eye cream is only $12.

YSL Volupte Tint-In-Oil - $32 | Holy cow, so many people on youtube has raved about this product so I am quite excited to see how it is for myself!  I have gone inside sephora and have swatched it a few times and I have to say, there really isn't much pigmentation to these.  But I would still love to get my hands on these and try one, especially since it'll be my very first YSL product!  The shade I'm eyeing, which unfortunately is sold out online, is Cherry Me Cherie.  That seems to be the most pigmented out of the bunch.

Bite Beauty Butter Cream Lipstick - $28 | I've been itching to get my little hands on a Bite lipstick for a while now and I don't really know why I chose this particular one out of all of their different lipstick lines.... maybe it's because it's the newest?  I don't quite understand the whole hand cut concept and the fact that it's a flat top bullet, unlike all the traditional slant top bullets.  I don't have any particular shades in mind, but I'm sure I'll find some after I swatch around a bit!

Sephora Favorites The Great Cleanse - $48 | I don't remember where I first saw this but ever since I saw it, I've been lusting over it!  It's been a long maybe 3-4 months of me stalking Sephora's website hoping this will go on sale, but that hasn't happened...yet?  This set contains so many products from different brands that I would love to try, but $48 is a little out of my comfort zone to splurge on something that's over $35 without any sales or gift card or something.  

These are on my to-buy list for the current Sephora VIB sale.  I know for a fact I'll most likely pick up one of the lip products but I'm unsure about the others.  Just can't bring myself to spend more than $50 in one go at Sephora buying just a handful of things... What are some of the things on your wish list for the current VIB sale?