Newish at Sephora: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
It’s that time of year again— Sephora Sale Time. While I’m not shopping the Sephora sale this time around, I did get a handful of requests to share my thoughts on some newish products from the past few months. SO I thought it would be helpful to create this blog post to share all my reviews in one centralized location.
With the code “SPRINGSAVE” beauty insiders can get a 10-20% off discount through the end of the month:
VIB ROUGE: 20% off now through 5/1
VIB: 15% off now through 4/29
BI: 10% off now through 4/27
Unless you’re a VIB rouge, a lot of the discounts aren’t that impressive. I would recommend checking the brand directly to see if they are having their own spring sale at the moment, as many are offering 20-30% off.
Quite a few of these products have already been reviewed on my Instagram or in previous blog posts, so if that is the case I’ve linked them to make things easier on you (so this post isn’t 300 pages long) and me (so I’m not writing a post that’s 300 pages long.)
This post is organized by category, and then by alphabetical order by brand. Products marked with an asterisk were received as PR. If you do choose to shop through any of my links, thank you!
Skincare
Boscia Vitamin B12 Hydration Booster Serum*
First Impressions: I’m happy to see more bi-phase products on the market! This one is 70% oil based and 30% water based, whereas most of the bi-phase products I’ve seen are usually more water-based. As a result, this is more moisturizing than most bi-phase serums/ toners I’ve tried! It does have a slightly oily feel to it, but it’s still lighter than a pure oil. I’ve been enjoying mixing it in with a lighter hydrating serum to replenish my dry af skin.
First Aid Beauty FAB Pharma Arnica Relief & Rescue Mask*
With a nice blend of nourishing and soothing ingredients, this is a mask to help soothe any patches of irritated or dry skin. I wish I could use it overnight, but unfortunately it ended up breaking me out. As a leave on mask, though, it leaves my skin feeling softer and calmer.
First Aid FAB Pharma Oat & Hemp Multi-Fix Salve*
The texture of this is slippery, but not as rich as some more emollient, oil-heavy balms. This worked nicely during the winter when I basically switched between having a runny or stuffy nose for the better part of two months. My nose was way less prone to peeling thanks to this salve. It’s also nice to mix in with thinner hand creams to moisturize my hands for longer.
First Aid Beauty Weightless Liquid Mineral SPF 30*
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow PHA +BHA Pore-Tight Toner*
This toner has only been out for a week, but I had previously received a lab sample so I’ve been using it for 2+ weeks. Like the rest of Glow Recipe’s watermelon products, it has a pretty strong watermelon scent and features watermelon extract. While I don’t love the moisturizer or mask, I’ve been surprisingly been enjoying this toner a lot! It has a sort of tacky finish but I haven’t had it pilling with my skincare. Most exfoliating toners leave my skin matte, so the hydrating finish is a nice change of pace.
It contains PHA in the form of Gluconolactone and BHA in the form of Betaine Salicylate. Both are gentler acids, which I personally have found to be effective in the past. Gluconolactone is found in various iterations of P50 and Betaine Salicylate is the star ingredient in Cosrx’s blackhead power liquid and cream. I haven’t been breaking out lately so I can’t say how effective this is against acne… or can I? I had my period and didn’t face my usual hormonal breakouts. I think it’s too soon to attribute that to this toner (especially as I still have other exfoliants on rotation), but my initial experiences are promising!
Herbivore Botanicals Prism 20% AHA + 5% BHA Exfoliating Glow Facial*
After using this a handful of times, I can say I like it more than their prism serum! This is really similar to other masks from similar brands— ie the Tata Harper resurfacing mask and Kypris Glow Philtre. All three utilize gentle plant-derived “acids” to resurface the skin. They gently give a glow to my skin, but they aren’t as effective against my acne. If I’m breaking out, I need something with some lactic acid or some other proper exfoliant.
Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm
First impressions: gentle, effective, affordable! I’ve only used it 2x a few weeks ago, so I’m reluctant to say much more at the moment. But it does seem promising.
Innisfree Daily UV Defense Sunscreen SPF 36*
While this isn’t as lightweight on the skin as some other Korean sunscreens (like the Purito centella unscented sun or Krave Beet Shield), it’s more cosmetically elegant than most other sunscreens sold at Sephora in that it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy or chalky. And it’s cheaper than all other sunscreens at Sephora, to boot. It’s a chemical sunscreen that doesn’t leave a white cast. It does have a weird scent tho— it reminds me of Tums (a powdery, anti-acid pill for those unfamiliar.)
Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask*
Reviewed here in my winter favorites post.
Lilah B Aglow Cleansing Butter*
First impressions: the lavender scent feels very lux and indulgent. Does an okay job at removing my makeup. I mostly enjoy this for the luxurious experience it delivers. I’ve seen countless people say this irritates their eyes, so I haven’t bothered testing it on my own, as I basically cry after using 95% of cleansing balms on my eyes.
Milk Makeup Vegan Cleanser
A nice, simple, gentle cleanser. At first I expected it to foam up due to its almost moussey texture, but it never does. Nevertheless, it still does a good job of cleaning my face without stripping it. I do not think it lives up to its claims of removing makeup, asides from light powder makeup. But as a 2nd cleanser in a double cleanse, it works. It’s not a bad cleanser, but nothing about it wow-ed me either.
Milk Makeup Vegan Milk Moisturizer*
$19.00- $38.00 for .53 - 1.7 oz
Supergoop Glow Screen Sunscreen*
Youth to the People Yerba Mate Resurfacing + Exfoliating Energy Facial with Enzymes*
Makeup
Dior Beauty Lip Glow Oils
Reviewed + swatched two shades here.
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Lip Pop*
Gucci Éclat De Beauté Effet Lumière — All Over Face & Lip Gloss
I bought this for the packaging so I knew what I was getting into. This is a clear, non-sticky, non-glittery gloss that gives a dew to my skin without leaving it tacky. I don’t really think it warrants the $$$ price tag, but it’s Gucci so 🤷♀️
Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Foundation*
Lilah B Aglow Priming Oil*
$25.00 - $68.00 for .33 - 1 oz
Most hydrating primers leave my skin hydrated, but not really dewy. And when there is a dewy finish, it usually disappears a few hours laters as my skin inevitably dries out from the central air + general dryness of winter. But this Lilah B primer provides a long lasting dew! I like strategically placing it on my cheeks to extend the wear time of my base + make my skin look extra plump and dewy.
Roen Beauty 11:11 Eyeshadow Palette
Tatcha The Liquid Silk Canvas: Featherweight Protective Primer*
One of my Sephora pet peeves is that they list 80% as targeted towards all skin types… which they ain’t. Case in point, I’m not sure how this primer is targeted towards dry skin types. While it isn’t as drying as their OG canvas primer, it is still a mattifying primer. My skin has been really dry and dehydrated lately, and this primer just exacerbates that by emphasizing my dry patches. I’ll have to try it in the summer to see how it fares when my skin is more normal and my makeup is at risk of sweating off from the humidity.
Bodycare, Haircare, & Fragrance
DAE Daily Shampoo, DAE Daily Conditioner, & DAE Deep-Conditioning Treatment*
All three reviewed in this blog post.
Drunk Elephant Body Products & Haircare Range*
Kamili Cream Body Cleanser, Sili Body Lotion, & Sweet Pitti reviewed in this blog post.
TLC Happi Scalp Scrub, Wild Marula Tangle Spray, Cocomino Glossing Shampoo, & Cocomino Marula Crem conditioner reviewed in this blog post.