Makeup
Face: For foundations, I love the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops (reviewed here) because they can be added to literally anything to either amp up the coverage of a foundation or turn your skincare/primers into one-step coverage wonders. I have also recently rediscovered the Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation (reviewed here) and it’s an fantastic all-around foundation. I’ve been combining the two lately and it’s beautiful! I have 4 concealers. Two that work for both under eyes and blemishes are Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Concealer and the Cover FX Cream Concealer. My current favorite for under eyes but not my favorite for blemishes is the BareMinerals BareSkin Complete Coverage Serum Concealer. A blemish-only concealer that I use every day is the BareMinerals Broad Spectrum Multi-Tasking Face. Fantastic for adding that extra bit of coverage over foundations and setting the coverage in place!
Cheeks: The BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal, both the Pressed and Liquid formulas are incredible highlighters – there’s a set that contains a mini pressed and a doe foot applicator version of the liquid if you can’t decide. Also, the Cover FX Illuminator in “Moonlight” is a bit more subtle but no less beautiful. If you need a new blush, two new-comers that I love are the Too Faced Love Flush Blushes and the Urban Decay Afterglow Blushes. Both have beautiful pigmented formulas and a great shade range to choose from.
Eyes: Probably my absolute favorite item for the eyes are the Ardency Inn Modster Smooth Ride Supercharged Eyeliners. There is a set with a black, brown & gold that would be absolutely wonderful. I love the Black because it is an intense black that is creamy, yet stays put. I have the gold as well, which is a really unusual antique gold and just beautiful. I’m planning to order the brown (called “Coffee”) and maybe the “Dark Purple.” They have many other unusual shades as well as the basics to choose from. My must-have mascara is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara (reviewed here) and the price tag is a bit easier to choke down with the discount. If you need a new shadow primer, the absolute best in my eyes is the NARS Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base. Holds any shadow in place all day.
Eyeshadows: For eyeshadow palettes, my favorite throughout the years is probably the original Urban Decay Naked Palette. A very close second would be the original Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette. Both are beautiful, just a question of what shades appeal to you more. If you’re looking for individual shadows, the Urban Decay Eyeshadows are some of my must haves – both in shade range and formula. If you really want an intense pigment and some gorgeous and unusual shades, check out the Kat von D Metal Crush Eyeshadows. I love “Raw Power” which is a slightly brown-based red. Two other fantastic shades that I don’t own are “Iggy,” the most stunning emerald green with a bit of sparkle and “Duce,” a gorgeous coppery metallic. Similar to the Kat von D Shadows are the Ardency Inn Modster Manuka Honey Enriched Pigments. Absolutely gorgeous shadows, but the color selection is limited although beautiful and unusual.
Lips: Really the only lip products that stands out in my mind right now are the Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipsticks. I love them all and have reviewed them here and swatched them here. They’re pigmented enough to actually have color, but can be worn semi-sheer or built up to nearly opaque. They are so comfortable and I just love them. The Urban Decay Revolution and Matte Revolution Lipsticks are great too, but the Sheer formula is my favorite. A few other noteworthy lip color formulas are the Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipsticks which currently have mini dual-ended offerings. For glosses, the Buxom Full On Lip Polishes and Lip Creams are great. Buxom has a large and a small holiday Lip Polish/Lip Cream set available.
Skin Care: Obviously this will vary depending on your skin type, but some of my favorite products that I highly recommend for most skin types include the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil (reviewed here), the Josie Maran Argan Oil or Argan Oil Light, the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads (reviewed here), and Kari Gran’s Lip Whip which is the best overnight lip balm that I have tried (reviewed here).
Hair: Again it depends on your concerns, but these are a few of my favs. Pretty much anything I’ve tried from Living Proof, in particular the Prime Style Extender (reviewed here), the Full Thickening Mousse which is spectacular for adding lasting body without crunchiness, and the Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Treatment does wonderful things for your hair though I can’t exactly explain how. I recently raved about the DryBar Blonde Ale Brightening Shampoo (reviewed here) for fighting brassiness, and I also have been enjoying the DryBar Blonde Ale Brightening Cream that adds a nice polish and shine to light hair colors, though I think it would work on any shade of hair. An absolute must have hair brush is the Tangle Teezer (reviewed here). Also of note in the tool department are the T3 Curling Wands. I just recently started using the T3 Twirl Convertible 1.25” Curling Iron and I love the curls it makes. Add to that the interchangeable barrels available and it’s a great high-performance tool. I’m planning to pick up a 1” Clip Barrel during the sale because that’s my preference, but I hate admitting that I think these insanely priced curling wands actually make a difference. J
Hand Creams: The first is the Supergoop! Forever Young Hand Cream Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF40 PA+++ which is a fantastic hand cream that’s not greasy, not sticky, absorbs quickly and doesn’t have a strong scent. I love that there’s sunscreen as well and it comes in a travel size as well as an enormous pump. I also recommend the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Intensive Hand Cream, though you can get a better value plus more scent options from QVC. Again, this is a quick absorbing, non-greasy, non-sticky hand cream that has a subtle scent (there’s an unscented version on QVC as well).
Nails: The Nails Inc. Polishes are one of my favorite formulas, though I wish they had more shades to choose form. The shade “Sundays” from the Olivia Palermo x Ciate Nail Collection (reviewed here) is the best nude pink (and an impressive gift). There is a mini set that includes this shade, the wine, the red and an exclusive purple. Deborah Lippmann Glitter Polishes are amazing and a bit more reasonable during the sale. If you need a new basecoat, I highly recommend the Nails Inc. NailKale Superfood Base Coat (reviewed here).
Gift Sets: Sunday Riley has a fantastic introductory set called the Power Couple Duo with a mini Luna Oil and a mini Good Genes treatment. Both products are great and you get ½ the size of each full bottle for $78 (trust me, it’s a steal!). Something that I really want to try myself is the Josie Maran Whimsical Wonder Argan Enlightenment Illuminizing Trio which includes all of her glow makers – the liquid, the cream and the stick. From BECCA there is another glowing trio called the Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Champagne Glow Palette which looks gorgeous and includes the oh-so-buzzed-about “Champagne Pop.” If you’re looking to try some new hair products, there’s the Living Proof Happy Hair Days Kit with deluxe versions of 4 of their Perfect Hair Day products. From DryBar, there is a sampler of their greatest minis called The Four Pack with a mini dry shampoo, texturizing spray, hairspray and shine spray. Of the Holiday Eyeshadow palettes, my favorite is the Le Grand Chateau from Too Faced. It has the most adorable packaging and nice contents with shadows, blushes and a mini Better Than Sex Mascara. Every year Bite Beauty releases a tin of 4 mini lip products and this year’s Best Bite Rewind includes 4 of the Matte Crème Lip Crayons in a nice variety of wearable shades. If you’re like me, you love beauty advent calendars and Ciate has you covered yet again this year with their Mini Mani Month with a mini nail polish for each day from December 1-24th. Always a winner! J
My Wish List: I’m really interested in the Farmacy line, especially the Clear Bloom Makeup Glideaway Cleansing Oil and both the Clear Day and the New Dawn Mask Medley sets. I really want to try the Herbivore Brighten Pineapple Enzyme + Gemstone Instant Glow Mask and the Blue Tansy AHA + BHA Resurfacing Clarity Mask. I’d like to try some of the Marc Jacobs Beauty products as they are apparently certified cruelty free now, though I don’t think the fragrance company is and that troubles me, so I’m on the fence there. I’m sure I could keep going, but I shouldn’t!
I’ve shared a crap ton of items so I’m going to leave it here. I hope this was somewhat helpful. I know it’s a lot of stuff, but there really are a wide variety of cruelty free options available at Sephora these days and many of them are absolutely fantastic! J If you’re planning to pick up anything at Sephora during the sale or think of something that I’ve left out, please let us know in the comments. Clearly I need more encouragement to scour the Sephora website, right? J As I said, I hope this was useful and happy shopping to you all!!!