SMC Beauty | Sephora (U.S.A.) Make Up Haul

I’m not long back from an autumn trip to the states with my son. We were over there mainly to visit the Disney and Universal Parks in Orlando (having saved up all year for it!) but big on my agenda was fitting some good shopping hours in and to take advantage of the great offers available in the U.S.

In particular I was looking forward to my visit to Sephora – a make up retail chain that came highly recommended by friends and it most certainly did not disappoint. There is a huge selection on offer of brands varying from quality budget to high end and the prices were a fraction of what we pay here in Ireland. I picked up some great products and make up accessories,  detailed below.

BENEFIT – IT’S A LOVE FEST

I’m a big, big fan of Benefit cosmetics and this lovely little set was on sale exclusively at Sephora for $36 and included 4 key products from their latest range presented in a really nice Pop Art inspired (and very Benefit) collectible tin.

The Porefessional is a great make up primer which I’ve used before and can be used under and over make up. Great for minimising any lines or pores that make up can often highlight. They’re Real! Mascara is probably Benefit’s best mascara to date and has garnered lots of favorable reviews online. From a personal standpoint, mascara is best when it’s jet black, volumising and waterproof and this one ticks all the boxes.

As bronzers go I’m in the ‘never have, never will’ camp but I do like subtle shimmering highlighters on occasion and the Sun Beam  highlighter does just fine. It’s not something I’d use every day but a small sweep across your nose and cheekbones gives just the right about of healthy sheen without the matted fake bronzing powder look.

The final product included is the Coralista Ultraplush Gloss. I’m not really a big fan of glosses and this one is quite sticky which is a pet peeve of mine as glosses go. That said at $36 dollars for the whole lot I wasn’t too disappointed that one of the smaller products featured wasn’t a firm favorite.

SEPHORA COLLECTION – ADVANCED AIRBRUSH SET

High on the agenda for me was to find set of make-up brushes that were portable and easy to carry around with me, as I often find myself rushing out directly from work or some appointment or another.  Featured in this Sephora’s own branded Advance Airbrush Set is a Powder (flat powder), Precision Foundation, Concealer, Eyeshadow Crease and Flat Shadow. The quality of the set is wonderful and the application of makeup is great. The only negative comment is that I would have liked another brush or two, in particular a brow brush and a maybe another eyeshadow brush or two. But overall this gets a major thumbs up and at $65 was a bit of a steal.

SEPHORA COLLECTION – PRIMAL INSTINCTS EYESHADOW PALETTE

Sephora’s own-branded products are quite renowned as being just as good and in many cases better than plenty of better known branded items and this eye palette illustrates this point perfectly. Coming in at a mere $28 I’ve used this palette 3 times now for 3 different looks and I’m addicted. I really wanted a smokey palette to bring me from day to evening with a matte effect and this one is fantastic. Really good userability in terms of the shadows themselves with good vibrancy in the individual colours and long-lasting, What more could you want?