My Birthday Sephora Haul

Tomorrow, September 20th, is my birthday but I’m leaving in the morning on a business trip so we decided to have dinner and celebrate today.  My husband wasn’t sure what to get me so I gave him a Sephora list and then I insisted on joining him in Sephora while I selected the things off my list and more.  My hubby carried the basket and pranced alongside of him dropping goodies in it.  While in line at the register, to show some consideration, I put one tiny item back (a Flowerbomb perfume purse spray).  I felt I was considerate and responsible after doing that.   The thing is, he never did say “Janine, that’s enough” so I probably should have just kept sweeping things off the shelf into the basket until he stopped me but this is all an after thought.  I was already frantically piling in the loot for fear I would hear those words before I had all the items I really wanted needed.   Here are lovely items I chose today and all joking aside… I adore my husband for always being so generous with me. He makes sure I always have the things I really want.  He keeps in me in check  but he has  supported me in everything I wanted to do, whether he believed those things were necessary or not.  I love him and I’m lucky to have him as my lifetime partner!

My Birthday Haul Rundown:

Urband Decay Naked Palettes

I arrived at Sephora planning to pick up the Vice 4 palette but it’s not available in the stores yet so that will have to wait.   Instead, I decided to get the new Urban Decay Naked Smokey Palette and replace my Naked 3 Palette.  The Naked 3 Palette mysteriously disappeared from my makeup stash.  I did not leave it anywhere as I never took it out of the house but it’s definitely gone.  I think a babysitter took it and if not that, then it sprouted legs and walked out of the house  Anyhow, it was finally time to complete the collection and replace it because I came to terms with the fact that it was truly gone.  I can’t wait to start using both of these!

Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Gravity

With so many palettes out, I hate to spent nearly $20 on a single shadow but Urban Decay has managed to include a lot of purples in their palettes but never the “perfect purple”.   Finding the perfect purple is like finding the perfect green.  It’s always a miss in every palette for me and never the exact shade I’m looking for.  This color is so gorgeous,  I couldn’t help but purchase the single.  I thought it would be amazing with some smokey eye looks!  I do have my eye on another single shadow called Free Love which is not in any palettes.  That one may have to come home with me on my next trip to Sephora.  Below is a swatch of Gravity.  Isn’t it perfection?

Gucci Flora Perfume

This is not a new perfume to me but Gucci Flora has been a regular in my collection for a long time.  It’s a fruity floral with top notes of citrus mandarin and peony heart with rose and osmanthus flower base  It’s been one of my favorites for years now.  Since I ran out, each time I’d go into Sephora, I’d get a sample but I figured they were likely close to catching onto to me so it was time to officially replace my empty.   I spray this one on and within 30 minutes it smells so incredible delicious!  I just love wearing this scent.

Bobbi Brown Corrector in Peach

I’m not sure this is a special treat item but I really do like to keep a lot of correctors on hand.  I have several from Bobbi Brown that I really like but I don’t have the peach tone and this is a must have to effectively hide dark circles.  A lot of people have mentioned dark circles are a major beauty challenge and I did do a post on using color correctors to resolve this problem.  As you can see, I follow my own advice!  I keep at least 5-6 different shades on hand at all times from different cosmetic lines.  The corrector goes on before my foundation and concealer is applied after the foundation.

NARS Radiant Concealer in Honey

If you read my post on the best concealers  then you know I swear by NARS Radiant Concealer.  It’s one of the best makeup products on the market, in my opinion!   This is also more of a need item as opposed to a special treat but I keep several of these on hand at all times.  I like Custard and Honey depending on my makeup and what I’m trying to conceal.  I get nervous I might lose one so I like to have spares on hand.  Yes, I am paranoid but I’m telling you this stuff is liquid gold!  This combined with an effective color corrector and full coverage foundation and I guarantee no dark circles are getting through.

YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in Rose Opera

The next Influenster box going out contains two YSL lipsticks and I wasn’t selected for it.  I thought I’d be perfect for that box but I’m not in the line up.  So, I felt a need to add a new YSL lippie to my collection.  I selected Rose Opera which is an absolutely gorgeous dark pink for the fall.  These lipsticks are ultra creamy and offer very full coverage.  There are only a few brands out there truly on par with the YSL formula.  It’s very moisturizing, super rich in color and quite beautiful!

Lash Stuff that I don’t need

I know I don’t need more lash products but I have a problem in this area.  And actually the LashXO products  just arrived in the mail and weren’t purchased at Sephora today.  The LashXO products are not carried at Sephora (actually Sephora does not have a good false lash selection).  LashXO is very much like House of Lashes but I have heard the band is more flexible on these so I thought I’d give them a try.  The style is almost an exact match to Noir Fairy.  I also picked up an extra Duo Glue and a new style of Ardell lashes that I have never tried before.

Extras with Sephora points

Almost done!  I picked up a few little extras with points.  I redeemed my birthday gift earlier in the month so that’s not in this haul.  With points I got a mini Josie Maran Argan Oil light which is absolutely amazing when mixed with foundation.  You can read about how I create an incredible flawless finish using the oil in this post.  I also thought I’d try the Too Faced Mini Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil.

VIB Rouge and Marc Jacobs Mini Lipstick in So Rouge

Last but not least, I never took the time to combine all my Sephora accounts and each one is just short of VIB Rouge status.  Finally, one of them hit the mark.  So, as an added bonus and a friendly reminder to my husband of how much money he’s spending at Sephora, I received a VIB Rouge card along with a Marc Jacobs mini So Rouge lipstick.  YAY!

And that’s it for my birthday Sephora haul!  I hope you had fun unpacking this with me.  I’m now off to try a new smokey eye look with my Urban Decay palette and the gravity eye shadow!  I will be on business travel next week but am hoping to get a post out before next weekend on an evening while I am at my hotel.  Many of you have asked about to solve challenges with skin redness and I have some makeup tips and products to share that will offer some relief if that’s a big beauty challenge or you!  Thanks for reading and much love to all of you!