Monday, November 11, 2013

Sephora VIB Sale Haul 2013

It's that time of year again!  I can honestly say that I've taken part in the Sephora "holiday" type of sale for the past 4 years, and did not stray away from doing so again this year.  However, for the past 2 years I have been classified as what is known as a "VIB", which means "Very Important Beauty Insider"...which I think is pretty cool.  Although, that means that I've been spending increasing amounts at Sephora as the years have progressed (don't tell my boyfriend).  For those of you who don't know, the Beauty Insider program at Sephora is a point-based rewards system that gives you 1 point for every dollar you spend there, which can accumulate and later be redeemed for "Point Perks," which are deluxe samples and sets of products that are offered in the store.  Being that I have been part of this rewards program for some time, I have been promoted to the classification VIB, that enables me to participate in cool events, get notified of new product releases, and most importantly getting 20% off all merchandise during the VIB (holiday) sale.

In past years, Sephora had the holiday sale open to pretty much everyone, and offered higher discounts to those who were regular Beauty Insider members as well as VIBs (who I believe had a greater discount).  Though in the past few years, the sale has been almost exclusively set for Beauty Insiders and VIBs, to which coupons were sent out to those people along with another one to be given to the person of their choice (who doesn't have to be a Beauty Insider member).  This year, I was glad to get my 20% off coupon in the mail that was able to be redeemed as many times as I wanted from November 7th through the 11th, along with an additional one that I was able offer to those I decided to share it with.  However, this year's coupon for the person of your choice had to be redeemed with the VIB present, which in turn meant that I made multiple trips to Sephora over the past few days in order for all my loved ones to get the discount.

I had a general game plan for the sale this year, as I typically do for shopping types of endeavors, so I made it a point to make a list of items I would like, so I was able to devise how much it was I intended to spend.  Despite my clever planning, however, I ended up getting loads of other things much different from what I originally planned, mostly because the things I originally wanted had already sold out.  Nonetheless, I seemingly ended up picking up lots more than I intended to just because I had a few gifts to purchase for others, even though the bulk of it was for me.  If you participated in this sale, I would love to know in the comments what you picked up.  Also, be sure to watch my haul video that I'll try to have up soon, where I'll go over each of the items I picked up (I'll embed the video in this post as soon as I get that video out).  Below I took some photos of my purchases from this sale...I did my best to number them, so that all the items can be identified.  I linked off as many as possible of the items in the photo key located below the last photo (the one with the numbers).  All photos taken by me.  =]



1.) VIB Lips Totes
9.) Skincare Samples by Amore Pacific
12.) Urban Decay Urban Essentials Deluxe Sample Set (Beauty Insider Point Perk)
13.) VIB Savings Cards & Lookbook of Gift Ideas

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Mani(c) Monday - November 4, 2013 (Late Post)

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've posted anything here...and I really shouldn't have an excuse for not posting my nail posts at the very least since I have been consistent in taking them as I've changed out my polish.  I feel like I'm always having to start my posts with an explanation or a rant of excuses, which is largely my own causing in the first place, due to my lack of involvement in actively posting.  All I can do is say that I will post when I am good and ready to do so...not gonna make any more promises regarding that.

Anyway, back to the post...

What I have on my nails this time around is a combo of Blank Slate by Sonia Kashuk as the base color, and Clearly Spotted by Maybelline over as a sort of glitter top coat.  I am infectiously in love with this nail combination, mostly because it looks as though I have taken the time to do a splatter effect nail art detail to my nails, even though it is just glitter.  I love the cool undertone of the grey in the Black Slate shade by Sonia Kashuk, that beautifully compliments the multi sized and faceted glitter in the Clearly Spotted glitter top coat by Maybelline to create a stunning monochromatic look.  I think I will definitely be experimenting with this glitter top coat with other shades and finishes as the base color to be worn though the fall and winter season.  All photos taken by me.  =]

Blank Slate by Sonia Kashuk + Clearly Spotted by Maybelline