Sephora VIBs know that the most wonderful time of the year is the VIB 20% off sale! This year, the beauty megastore ran their semi-annual sale from November 13-16, and of course I took advantage and bought myself some goodies. When I see the image to the right appear in my email, I’m basically like “Sephora, take all of my money please!” and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself though, because I only bought three items. Restraint!
Ready to see what I chose to use my discount on?
Pretty tame, all things considered. I decided to get a full-sized tube of tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1 Mascara because I received a sample size of it in a VIB gift bag awhile back and I am really liking it. I usually stick to drugstore mascara (Maybelline is my jam) but I thought this one was worth splurging on…especially after the 20% discount. Full price, this mascara costs $21 but with the discount it was $16.80. Not terrible for something that I will use a lot. Plus, the packaging is cute and you know I appreciate a nice package. 😛
I like that tarte’s products are free of parabens and phthalates, among other ingredients that are considered to be potentially toxic. This mascara rates as a medium hazard with limited data (but low on the medium scale) on EWG’s Skin Deep database.
Next up is Bite Beauty’s Opal Crème Lipstick. I thought this one looked really fun:
You know how the 90s are back? This lipstick shade totally brings me back to my college years. I’ve really been digging Bite so I figured I might as well give this lipstick a shot too, even though the color is definitely outside my comfort zone. Regular price is $24, but with the discount it cost $19.20.
Here’s a swatch on my arm…a little hard to see, but you get the opalescent gist:
I tried a few swipes of the lipstick on my lips without any other color, and it’s clearly not a great look for me without any other makeup on:
However, I could see the lipstick being fun to wear with smoky eyes as an alternative to a straight up nude lip. I’ll experiment with layering it over other lipstick shades…I have a matte Laura Mercier lipstick called Muse that I think it might be interesting with. This lipstick can also be used as a highlighter. Double duty FTW! For the record, this product is not listed on Skin Deep.
So, duh, I saved the best for last! I hadn’t really planned on buying Urban Decay’s Naked Smoky palette because I already have four of their other palettes (Naked, Naked2, Naked Basics, and Naked On the Run, which is now on sale). But when faced with the option to buy their newest Naked palette for almost $11 off, I was basically powerless. So I got this sexy-as-hell $54 palette for $43.20! To break it down even further, that’s $3.60 per shadow. Math!
I mean…this thing is simply irresistible.
A bit more palette porn:
Urban Decay just can’t stop won’t stop, can they? I totally get why their Naked sub-brand has become a cult classic.
So here are the swatches on my arm, in the same order they appear in the palette from left to right (the last two on the right are so pale they’re pretty hard to see). The colors are: High, Dirtysweet, Radar, Armor, Slanted, Dagger, Black Market, Smolder, Password, Whiskey, Combust, and Thirteen.
This palette comes with a nice double-ended brush: one end is tapered and a bit fluffy while the other end is more blunt and stiff for smudging and blending.
For date night the other night, I applied Combust all over my lids from lash to brow, and then I applied Password to the crease and outer corners in a v-shape and blended well. I also patted Thirteen on my browbones for a bit of highlighting. Then I lined my upper lashes with a black Kat Von D tattoo liner and used tarte mascara on my lashes. Of course, I forgot to take a picture (blogger fail!) so you’ll just have to imagine what it looked like…but I was pretty happy with the outcome. 🙂 I think Password might already be my new favorite eyeshadow color.
I’ll also mention that the palette comes with an insert that lists out step-by-step instructions on how to achieve four different smoky looks using the palette. I haven’t tried any of the looks yet, but I certainly will!
I checked Skin Deep for this palette, but none of the Naked eyeshadow palettes made the cut.
So that’s it! I did a pretty good job of not spending too much. Did you take advantage of Sephora’s VIB sale? If so, what did you end up buying?
