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This is not sponsored, I hate paying full price at Sephora! Don’t forget, you can share this email with your friends and family by forwarding it, or you can share it on social media. I not only don’t mind, I encourage it!

Friends. Never have I ever reached the mid-tier customer loyalty status at Sephora, but she did it this year honeys! Never let them tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams. Yes, I spent more money than any human should at Sephora thus endowing me with the distinction of reaching “VIB” status. What does VIB stand for? Very Idiotic Beauty consumer? Unclear.

I didn’t keep track but apparently I spent $350 at Sephora!? In my defense, half of that was perfume. Perfume is expensive!

Anyhoo this means I qualify for the VIB sale, which means I get 15% off during the sale period. Groupon made this really handy Definitive Sephora Sales Calendar if you want to time your purchases to get the best deal.

However, if there’s something you want for yourself or as a present, and you’re signed up to the loyalty program, get it now because it won’t be cheaper for Black Friday. In my experience Black Friday is just deals on certain lines like the Sephora house brand, not everything. 

Sephora only has two blanket sales a year, one in November-ish and one in the spring. Scroll down to the end where I’ve made a list about what I’ll be buying!  

My sisters in makeup, it is not. Sephora is a French company that dates back to 1970, apparently starting out as a perfumerie. Eventually it was snapped up and made part of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury conglomerate.

And who owns that, you didn’t ask? Only the sometimes-richest/sometimes-second-richest man in the world (depends on what shenanigans Elon Musk has been up to), Bernard Arnault.

And what does this have to do with 90s icon Salma Hayek, you also didn’t ask? That’s her father-in-law. That’s right, she’s married to his son! They have a daughter named Valentina.

Above: A story about Hayek in Brides magazine. 

It would make for better reading here if had something snarky to say about Hayek, daughter-in-law of a top billionaire (her husband is also a billionaire and the CEO of Kering), but I don’t. I think Salma Hayek is very charismatic, likable and fun. Except if there’s a snake around, in which case she will go into full diva mode, scream and climb on top of you with her stilettos as in this interview from the gossip archives, which never fails to make me crack up even though I feel bad for her because she’s so terrified of the snake.

According to Sephora, it opened its first U.S. store in New York’s Soho neighborhood in 1998, and its first Canadian store in Toronto in 2004. It now has “over 460 stores across the Americas.” 

In the UK it had been an early entrant into the luxury makeup market, opening but then shuttering shops some 18 years ago. But last year, I was surprised to learn from a friend, it reopened again. I won’t pretend to understand why Sephora stayed away from the UK for so long, but I can tell you that Europeans all hate each other, they’re always quarreling over something petty as they have been doing for oh, you know, a mere 3,000 years or so. The entire European Union is just them pretending to get along. They’re like one of those big families with 10 kids where they smile for the camera for a Christmas photo but start decking each other the second no one is looking.

I’ve only ever been to Sephora in Canada and the US (they are rather similar in both countries), so I looked it up on the world’s best resource for unsubstantiated rumors, Reddit. Here’s what I learned in this thread called What is Sephora Like in Other Countries:

Philippines. No physical stores yet. Frequent (almost monthly) 20% off sales. 

France. Way more perfumes. Brands you see at the drugstore and Ulta like La Roche Posay, and Avene, and other French brands.

Spain. You can enter one of the Barcelona stores by a slide. My only thought is, does someone have to get in there and clean that thing? How weird must that job be.

Hong Kong. Kind of meh, with local beauty retailers offering better prices, apparently.

From another post titled “I hate Sephora in the Middle East.”

Somewhere in the Middle East. The original poster did not say which country specifically, but they say the staff is condescending and its overpriced.

Australia.  Mixed service there especially compared to Mecca which is “kinda like the Australian Sephora but better.” Online shop is terrible, apparently.

Indonesia. Snobby.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to remind you that I wrote about how to get a ton of Sephora samples, go back and read it for a refresher just in time for sales season. Here it is:

Here is my comprehensive list of Sephora makeup and skincare I need to re-buy, or I have some and I still love it and wanted to share this info with you in case you’re trying to meet some minimum shipping amount or something and need some ideas:

Clinique Even Better Dark Spot Interruptor. It’s well documented here that I love this stuff, it really lightens dark spots if you have four months to spare.

Paula’s Choice Exfoliate 2% BHA Salicylic Acid. Gentler than retinol, unscented, easy to use and doesn’t tear off my entire face, relatively affordable in the handy travel size. 

Nudestix Citrus C Mask and Moisturizer. This smells like earthy turmeric and citrus and it’s so uplifting, I emptied it and am rebuying even though it’s stupidly expensive. 

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. I have a bit of a love hate with this foundation but I really learned how to make it look dewy even on dry skin and that was a game changer. It comes in 55 shades and has been around since 1997. 

Tarte Sketch & Set. My holy grail combo of browliner on one end, brow gel which they should call brow mascara on the other. 

Clinique Eyeliner. Love this for thin lines. 

Stila Eyeliner. Love this for thicker lines. 

Fresh Milk Body Lotion. Beautiful almond scent that is not common in perfumes, otherwise it’s a pretty standard lotion. I buy it for the scent. 

Ouai Leave In Conditioner. Great for taming my hair frizz on my crown without weighing it down.

Olaplex shampoo. The OG for hair damage. 

Olaplex conditioner. Pairs perfectly with the shampoo. 

Replica On a Date Perfume. Smells like grapes and wine, roses and a bit of a woodsy vibe.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Helen

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