Favorite 2018 Holiday Gifts at Sephora

Shopping for the holidays is easy when you decide to give the gift of beauty! Everybody can use a little skincare or cosmetics in their life, and I'm excited to share some of my favorite products and gift sets you'll find at Sephora this holiday season. 

SEPHORA FAVORITES Scouted By Sephora, $44 ($145 value)

This kit contains ten travel-friendly must-haves! These skincare favorites include Biossance 100% Squalane Oil, Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub with Sea Salt, Dr. Roebuck's No Worries Hydrating Face Moisturizer, Farmacy Beauty Honey Potion Renewing Antioxidant Hydration Mask with Echinacea GreenEnvy™ Honey, Herbivore Lapis Balancing Facial Oil, Kopari Beauty Coconut Lip Glossy, Saturday Skin Rub-A-Dub Refining Peel Gel, Sunday Riley Good Genes All-In-One Lactic Acid Treatment, Volition Beauty Turmeric Brightening Polish, and Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser. I haven't tried any of these products yet but I can't wait to!

FRESH Roundtrip Ritual, $65 ($92 value)

This complete skincare set will keep your skin hydrated while traveling! It's got everything you need: the gentle Soy Face Cleanser (which is one of my favorite cleansers), soothing Rose Face Mask, radiance-boosting Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream,  depuffing Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Concentrate, and plumping Sugar Lip Treatment Advanced Therapy to keep your lips moisturized all winter long. This set makes the perfect gift since it works for all skin types, too. 

 

SEPHORA COLLECTION SUPER MASK - in Gold and Silver, $6 each

Silver Mask - a 15-minute metallic silver glow booster sheet mask, enriched with pearl extract to brighten skin. If you have an uneven skin tone and experiencing dullness and dryness, then this mask is for you!

Gold Mask - a 15-minute metallic gold skin perfector mask hydrates, rduces skin irregularities and refines skin texture.

SEPHORA COLLECTION Midnight Wishes Eyeshadow Palette, $16

This eyeshadow palette comes in 16 shades, from matte to shimmer and metallic. The palette has a perfect mix of timeless and festive shades. 

TARTE Pineapple Of My Eye Collector's Set, 

was $59, now $42! ($354 value)

This limited-edition gift set is packaged in a fun, gold pineapple case, filled with gorgeous eyeshadow  shades in matte and metallic finishes, along with Amazonian Clay blush, highlighter and bronzer. The set also comes with the Sex Kitten Liquid Liner and Deluxe Lights, Camera, Lashes™ 4-In-1 Mascara to top off your full eye look plus the Rainforest of the Sea™ Collection Lip Quench Rescue Balm in Pink.

HOURGLASS Confession Refillable Lipstick Duo, $34

This lipstick duo, in My One Desire (dusty mauve) and At Night (brick red) includes a sleek, refillable metallic pink applicator. The lipsticks are creamy and saturated, and won't smudge or feather! 

- Kim Weling

Sephora Studio Hoboken Concept Store

Back in May, I had made my first trip to the new Sephora Studio experiential retail concept store in Hoboken. This new location opened on April 27th with an intimate format at 3,580 square feet and only the second of its kind (the first one launched last year in Boston, MA).

At the Sephora Studio, you can expect a carefully-curated assortment, expert store beauty advisors with the highest level of Sephora training and certification, and a variety of high-tech digital tools to enhance the shopping experience.

My first visit to Sephora Studio was during one of the opening events, focused on the monthly $10 beauty subscription box, PLAY! by Sephora. Since I was running late for the event, I was personally walked through the subscription box, and all the items featured for the month. 

Now given that the studio is quite smaller than your local Sephora store, you might not find the entire product line from your favorite brand there. Definitely let the studio know what you would like to see there. They can always help you find a similar product that's available or help you place an order. 

More Sephora Studios are expected to open across neighborhoods in the US this year, including Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Washington DC. 

Here are some of the offerings you can expect to find at the Sephora Studio:

• NEW PERK Hydrating Facial at the Skincare Studio. A premium 2-in-1 facial service that utilizes PERK technology to exfoliate, hydrate and nourish skin for instant, glowing results. With the help of a Beauty Advisor, clients will experience a skincare consultation, receive a personalized skincare service and leave with customized product recommendations for healthier and more hydrated skin. This 30-minute facial is complimentary with a $75 minimum skincare product purchase. Clients can schedule an appointment in advance or just walk in.

• Apps on the iPhone 7 Plus Cast Device offer easy and convenient access to information:         

          o Digital Makeover Guide – Sephora’s first interactive face chart that is a record of the specific service received, combined and customized product and application tips – connecting experience in-store to personal beauty journey at home

          o Digital Skincare Guide – sends a personalized skincare regimen after a skincare consultation or mini facial

          o Beauty Studio Check-In – an online reservation tool to check in for services + classes

          o Sephora Client App – Beauty Advisors can reference the app to quickly service clients, check Beauty Insider status and Sephora.com ratings and reviews on any product throughout the store

          o Mobile Point of Sale—provides easy and convenient check-out in-store, in addition to a cash wrap

• Digital components throughout the store that make beauty personal:

          o Digital screens located at the entrance that offer easy navigation and self-help 

          o Moisture Meter to measure the hydration level of the skin for personalized skincare consultations

          o Color IQ for scientifically-precise foundation, lip and concealer shade matching

          o Sephora Virtual Artist augmented technology that allows users to virtually try-on thousands of lipstick, cheek, concealer and false lash options using 3D imaging on the clients’ own face

          o Online reservation iPads for check-in and appointment scheduling for services/classes

• Elevated service offerings at the Beauty Studio with eight seats and four sinks, including:

          o Makeovers

• 15 Minute Mini Makeovers + Facials
• 45 Minute Custom Makeovers
• 75 Minute Custom Makeover Plus

          o Beauty Classes – take a group class with all your friends and learn the latest tips, tricks and techniques

          o Studio Concierge – matches the client with the appropriate consultant based on beauty need

• Sephora’s innovative retail concept designed to Teach, Inspire, Play will extend to the Studio by encouraging clients to freely test and try products from a curated selection of brands across prestige cosmetics, skincare, hair care and fragrance

- Kim Weling

Sephora Holiday Favorites 2017

Sephora is one of my go-to spots for beauty gift-giving essentials. Here's a look at some of my holiday favorites from the Sephora Collection.

1) Sephora Collection Winter Wonderland Advent Calendar ($45) – Every year, Sephora comes up with a new advent calendar with 24 surprises to help you countdown to Christmas. The mini gifts are great for travel, the office or your purse. The surprises include everything from a lip stain or eyeliner to nail polish.

2) Sephora Collection Paint the Town Nude Chubby Set ($29) – This set of ten mini lip pencils in a creamy satin finish works for every skin tone. You can gift the entire set, or break it up for some stocking stuffers while keeping a few lip pencils for yourself!

3) Sephora Collection Dark Rainbow Dual Boar Brush ($15) – I use these mini boar brushes for travel and previously had a gold one. I love the look of this new limited edition one with oil slick coating. 

4) Sephora Collection Dark Rainbow Compact Mirror ($12) – This is one compact you won't want to lose, yet everyone will want to borrow! The compact is absolutely gorgeous, encrusted with colored and gunmetal stones. It's the perfect gift for a friend that loves a little glam and sparkle. 

- Kim Weling

SK-II and Cate Blanchett Launch the Facial Treatment Essence Change Destiny Limited Edition Series in NYC

On October 12th, SK-II Global Brand Ambassador Cate Blanchett hosted the launch of the Facial Treatment Essence Change Destiny Limited Edition Series at Industria in New York City. The new launch encourages all of us to make a unique statement of our own. The limited-edition all-white bottles feature three unique Change Destiny mantras - "Be the Person You DECIDE to be", "CHANGE is in All of Us" and "DESTINY is a Matter of Choice."

In the spirit of celebrating individual choices, SK-II encourages women to declare their statement with the bottle that best speaks to them, using the hashtag #YourStatementYourBottle on social media. 

Cate Blanchett comments "It was an honor to unveil what I believe is the most dramatic makeover yet, the new SK-II Change Destiny Limited Edition bottles dedicated to women who define their own destinies. The idea that each of us has the power to shape our own path is one that I have embraced personally and professionally."

The new SK-II Facial Treatment Essence - Change Destiny Limited Edition series is now available exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com for $229. 

 I was so excited to meet with Cate! Cate plays Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, which just opened in theaters on Friday. I definitely recommend going to see it - she plays a great villain! The movie has a lot of laughs and action - everything you would expect from a Marvel blockbuster. 

Photos courtesy of SK-II

- Kim Weling

bareMinerals and Cosmopolitan Celebrate National Sleepover Day

Photo credit: bareMinerals

bareMinerals and Cosmopolitan officially declared Tuesday, May 9th as National Sleepover Day, a holiday created to celebrate spontaneous sleepovers and the bareMinerals® Original and Matte Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15’s newest claim – Makeup So Pure You Can Sleep In It™. The two brands also encouraged women around the country to bare their souls, share their deepest beauty secrets and express themselves through the hashtag #SleepintheBare.

To kick off National Sleepover Day and #SleepintheBare, beauty and fashion influencer, Olivia Culpo hosted New York’s biggest sleepover event in Times Square (Pedestrian Plaza between 43rd and 44th street), where attendees enjoyed bareMinerals makeovers, a pillow decorating station, photos on a giant bed bareMinerals and a tote filled with bareMinerals makeup, skincare samples and sleep mask. In conjunction with the event, Sephora Times Square offered complimentary shade matching and makeup touchups, #SleepintheBare sleep masks, and gift with bareMinerals purchase. 

Sleepovers have always played an important role in both friendships and memory-making often serving as a platform for girls to confide in their friends in a way that can be inspiring, therapeutic, and confidence-building. bareMinerals and Cosmopoltian created National Sleepover Day to celebrate just that — for the spontaneous sleepovers or nights when you skip the sink. The bareMinerals Original and Matte Foundation makes it possible with the claim Makeup So Pure You Can Sleep In It™.

The bareMinerals Original and Matte Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15 gives all the flawless coverage with a no-makeup look and feel that lasts up to 8 hours. It looks like powder, feels like a cream, and buffs on naturally. This versatile weightless foundation provides adjustable sheer-to-full coverage for a flawless look, yet doesn’t feel like you are wearing any makeup at all. Formulated without preservatives, the five mineral ingredient foundation promotes radiant, healthier-looking skin, to leave you waking up flawless.

To continue the celebration of National Sleepover Day, bareMinerals and Cosmopolitan gifted sleepover kits to sororities around the country encouraging them to #SleepintheBare. Each kit included all the essentials needed for an epic sleepover including: pillowcases, totes, sleep masks, and bareMinerals makeup.

Photo credit: bareMinerals

Additional photos I took at the event

Photo taken by bareMinerals on this amazingly oversized bed!

Since I got to the event after all the makeup stations were booked up and finishing up for the day, I stopped into Sephora for a makeup touchup, including shade matching for the Original Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15, which felt really natural and lightweight on my face.

- Kim Weling

Sephora 34th Street Reopening as Largest Concept Store

On Thursday, March 30th, guests celebrated the reopening of Sephora 34th Street, now the largest Sephora concept store in North America at 11,300+ square feet. The innovative Beauty TIP (Teach, Inspire, Play) Workshop concept store is the ultimate destination, containing more than 13,300 products and over 26 seats for instore learning at the Beauty Workshop, Beauty Studio and Skincare Studio. Sephora 34th Street offers beauty education and consultation featuring a wide array of services and classes for all skill and interest levels, that makes a visit to this store a one-of-a-kind, individualized experience.

The Sephora 34th Street store is the first Sephora store in North America to carry La Mer and Jo Malone, and has the largest brand offerings next to Sephora.com. Other exclusive brands only found at Sephora include Atelier Cologne, Belif, BITE Beauty, Black Up, Cover FX, Drunk Elephant, IGK, Kat Von D Beauty, Madam C.J. Walker Beauty Culture, Nest, Ouai, The Estée Edit by Estée Lauder, and Too Coll For School and Sephora Collection makeup, skincare, tools and accessories. 

The Beauty Workshop is a central workstation where clients participate in group beauty classes with Sephora's educated facilitators and to leverage tutorials and Sephora Virtual Artist technology on integrated iPad stations, or two gather inspiration from The Beauty Board, Sephora's own shop-able gallery showcasing user-generated content via a large digital screen. Each station is equipped with its own product, iPad, USB port and wifi.

The store also features:

• Beauty Studios (2) - for one-one-one makeovers and Sephora + Pantone Color IQ touchscreens for foundation, lip and concealer matching.
• Fragrance Studio - use InstaScent to explore scent families before trying individual fragrances, sample favorites, have purchases gift wrapped and customize your bottle with complimentary engraving. 
• The Skincare Studio - for mini facial services and instant access to Sephora's exclusive IQ diagnostic for best products based on skin concerns.
• "Tap and Try" - let's you pick up and lip or lash product on the endcap and try it on using Sephora's Virtual Artist's technology combined with RFID scanning.

In addition to this 34th Street store, the 9,000+ square foot Sephora 5th Avenue is now open to the public. The new store design features Sephora's exclusive physical and digital tools, including an Anastasia Brow Studio on the second floor. 

During the opening, I stopped over at The Skincare Studio for a quick mini facial, with products I've never tried before. The first step was using Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm, then using Neogen Dermalogy Bio-Peel Gauze Peeling, followed by Tatcha Gold Camellia Beauty Oil. All three products worked well together and was refreshing and hydrating to my skin.

- Kim Weling

Holiday Beauty Favorites at Sephora

Happy Holidays! If you are shopping at Sephora this holiday season, you are going to want to splurge on some of these gifts for yourself, especially to kick off the new year! 

My favorite lipstick brand is Bite Beauty, which is exclusive to Sephora. I'm in love with their new Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Mistletoe, $26, a limited-edition holiday shade of red. There's always room to add more shades to your lip wardrobe, like the Tarte Kiss Bliss Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint & Crayon Set, was $35 value, now $25 ($70 value). This 10-piece set has best-selling and limited-edtion nude, berry and bold shades.

If you are into bold, heavily pigmented shades, then you'll love the Kat Von D Mini Liquid Lipstick Set, $49 ($80 value), with 6 mattes and 2 exclusives - Plath, a deep russet red and Roxy, a bright grape. Don't forget to add the Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette, $46, including 3 shades for contouring and 3 shades for highlighting. 

My beauty indulgence are new eyeshadow palettes, including these two: Marc Jacobs Stye Eye-Con No. 20 ($99) and Marc Jacobs Object of Desire Face and Eye Palette, was $69, now $49 ($99 value). The 20 shades in the Style Eye-Con palette are so gorgeous, with shimmery metallics, buttery mattes and lustrous sheens to create the perfect smoky eye, daytime glam or casual daytime look.  The Objects of Desire exclusive palette incudes a blush, bronzer, limited-edition luminizer and 6 eye shadows. 

This feels like you are getting two palettes for one price, with The Estée Edit Gritty and Glow Magnetic Eye and Face Palettes, $58. Each palette has 6 pearlized shades. The Gritty palette is great for intense smoky eye looks and the Glow palette are highlighter shades for cheeks and eyes. 

For a fragrance gift, check out the Atelier Cologne Nécessaire Nomade III kit, $45, with 8 pure perfumes that come in a metal tin inspired by travel. 

- Kim Weling

2016 Sephora Holiday Gift Sets and Exclusives

If you are still looking to find those last-minute gifts, you'll find everything at Sephora, from makeup sets, brush kits and cosmetic bags. I guarantee you're going to want some of these exclusives for yourself, too!

Some of the must-haves include the Sephora Collection Color Wonderland Eye Shadow Palette, $59 ($225 value), with 78 eyeshadows in neutral and vivid colors and two eye pencils, to create a multitude of day and night looks. 

The Sephora Collection The Graceful Eyeshadow Palette, $24, comes in a total of 16 matte and shimmer eyeshadows in on-trend shades such as deep purple, metallic silver and coppery brown. The Sephora Collection The Delicate Eyeshadow Palette comes in 9 shades from creamy beige to gold and blue-black to pinkish taupe.

You'll also find a variety of Sephora Favorites kits, like Glow For It, including highlighting products from Becca, Benefit Cosmetics, Cover FX, Hourglass, Lancôme, and Milk Makeup and Perfume Sampler (which includes 7 samples from Atelier Cologne, Chloé, Dolce&Gabbana, Elizabeth and James, Marc Jacobs, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent. After you pick your favorite scent, you can go to Sephora and  redeem the enclosed scent certificate for a full size rollerball.

For stocking stuffers, check out The Formula X City Chic CLIX with 6 nail color shades, or Sephora Collection The Mini Tea: Rouge Cream & Shine Lipstick Set ($22) with 6 lipsticks (3 cream and 3 sheer). Gift the whole set as one stocking stuffer, break up the set to gift separately or keep some for yourself! 

For the the woman who loves lashes, she'll want the Sephora Collection House of Lashes x Sephora Collection Lash Story Deluxe Set, $125 ($165 value). It includes 10 pairs of lashes and two shades of adhesive in a travel case. 

Brush sets are a practical gift, and easier to pick out if you're unsure about makeup or fragrance preferences. It's also always good to have multiple brush sets - at home, the office, and a set for travel. 

Sephora Collection Glitter Happy Brush Set, was $85 now on sale for $59 ($225 value) -  a six piece brush set with a glittery stand. There's also the Sephora Collection Sparkle & Shine brush sets  with a glittery chevron pattern, with 6 makeup brushes in a keepsake box, or an antibacterial brush set with 7 brushes in a travel pouch. 

As for cosmetic bags, there's the Sephora Collection Sparkle and Shine Weekender Bag also in the glittery chevron pattern, to store all your makeup, toiletries and other travel items. 

The Sephora Collection Objects of My Perfection bag is one of my favorites, and is now only $10 instead of $20! There's also Baby It's Bold Outside bag, also $10. Both have a crackle finish and tassel!

- Kim Weling

2016 Holiday Skincare Exclusives and Gifts Sets at Sephora

The holidays always just sneak up on us, and the next thing you know, I'm scrambling for gifts just days before Christmas. The easiest thing to do is get all my gifting done at Sephora, because who doesn't like beauty gifts? If you are unsure about choosing makeup or fragrance gifts, skincare is a unisex gift everyone can use. 

Check out these holiday skincare sets you'll find at Sephora:

Tata Harper The Luminous Glow Collection, $56 ($84 value) is an exclusive limited edition set including a Regenerating Cleanser, Resurfacing Mask, Illuminating Moisturizer and Illuminating Eye Creme. This radiance-boosting duo contains hyaluronic acid and diamond dust paired with a special blend of minerals to keep you hydrated all winter. This set is perfect for travel or getting someone to try a new skincare regimen. I've been a fan of Tata Harper's for years, and have even taken her master class before - this is one of my favorites for sure!

dr. brandt Pro-Strength Solutions Kit, $95 ($178 value) is an age-defying kit that helps diminish the appearance of wrinkles. It contains microdermabrasion,  triple peptide cream, time defying cream, needles no more 3-D filler mask with brush, and needles no more wrinkle smoothing cream.

Milk Makeup Limited EditionTriple Threat Glow Set, $30 ($42 value) includes a highlighter, face mist and sunshine oil. The acrylic box it comes in is perfect for storing your skincare essentials at the office. 

Korres Greek Yoghurt Winter Skin Rescue, $45 ($71 value) is a new and exclusive limited edition set with a Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cream Cleanser and Advanced Nourishing Sleeping Facial. This duo is actually packed with real Greek yogurt, to help with dryness and redness while nourishing, soothing and softening dry and dehydrated winter skin.

L'Occitane Three Gifts From Provence contains three separate boxes filled with three samples: Gift of Comfort (hand cream, ultra-rich body lotion, and ultra-gentle milk soap), Gift of Glow Amande set (shower gel, milk concentrate, and hand cream), and Gift of Pretty Cherry Blossom set (shower gel, eau de toilette and hand cream). Enjoy these travel-sized products for yourself, gift the entire set or break them up as three different stocking stuffers.

The Sephora Cat Nap Sleep Mask will help you unwind after your nightly skincare routine, or help you catch some shut eye on the plane. 

- Kim Weling