Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 What to Buy and What to Skip

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As I mentioned in my previous post, the Sephora VIB sale Spring 2016 is back starting April 7th for VIB Rouge and April 8th for straight VIB through the 13th, 2016. The spring discount is the typical 15% off. The discount works both in store and online (using code VIBNOTE). Also, you can basically get another 4% off taking you to 19% by using Ebates:Ebates Coupons and Cash BackSo let’s get into the purchases that I have made since my Fall Sephora VIB Sale post:

Sephora Purchases Fall 2015

 

1. Elizabeth and James Nirvana White Dry Shampoo ($28) BUY
  • Ok this stuff smells phenomenal and works as good as any other decent dry shampoo. This is like a special occasion or date night dry shampoo when you want to just smell incredible. It’s a splurge so buy it if you love the Elizabeth and James Nirvana White perfume and if you use dry shampoo and want a fancy one.

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil in Taupe ($23) BUY!

  • I’ve owned a few Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencils ($21) which are great, but are mechanical and don’t last long at all. I also own the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade ($18) which is a great product that probably lasts the longest out of the 3, but often can be super harsh unless you’re really careful to not overdo it. The Perfect Brow Pencil is the perfect balance because it lasts much longer than the Brow Wiz, but won’t make you look like Eugene Levy like the Dip Brow Pomade can. This is my daily brow product and I will be re-purchasing.

3. Sephora Favorites Deluxe Perfume Sampler ($65/$114 value) BUY!

  • If you are looking for a new scent and know you for sure like at least one of these, the perfume sampler can be one of the best deals to get during the VIB sale. The reason it is such a good deal is because the “samples” are actually deluxe sized and with the purchase of the sampler you get a scent certificate to get a full sized bottle of one of the perfumes you sampled. I’m going to make a separate post where we I show you just how much you save by getting this set. I didn’t buy this exact set last time (I actually got an even better deal at $58), but it also had the Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black and White in it which, as I’ve mentioned before, smell super sexy. This set also contains my new signature scent Gucci Bamboo. Here’s the insane description from Gucci if you’re curious:

“Soft and intense at once, Gucci Bamboo’s sensorial composition draws its inspiration from the Gucci woman’s harmonious dichotomy. Natural and resonant ingredients create a captivating olfactory story. Woody and warm notes vibrate through the heart and base. Deep Sandalwood, heady Tahitian Vanilla and unique grey Amber accords strike a complementary contrast with the inherent femininity found in exotic floral notes of soft Casablanca Lily, feminine Orange Blossom and delicate Ylang Ylang.”

I love this perfume, but I just wish it lasted longer!

4. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel ($14.50 for 1.7 oz) Buy!

  • The way you know someone truly loves a product is if they repurchase it, and this my friends is a repurchase. I have dehydrated skin that gets extremely oily (aka combination skin) and I love how lightweight this moisturizer is and that it absorbs quickly. The consistency is also great for moisturizing under the eyes. Definitely try this if you’re normal/combo/oily. I do wish it contained more antioxidants, but it’s nice right after the shower when my face feels really dry.

5. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream ($14.50 for 1oz) Skip

  • Since I liked the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel for a daytime moisturizer, when looking for something heavier to use at night I decided to try the Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream. I will say that the emollients work well to moisture the skin, but it’s in a jar and is lacking antioxidants so I know this one won’t be my Holy Grail night cream. I’ve actually been gravitating more towards using Jojoba oil on my face before bed and I’ll put a coat of this one on top if I remember.

6. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer ($18 for 0.33oz) BUY!

  • This primer definitely lives up the the hype in that it is an easy to use, convenient moisturizing primer that smoothes the skin and gives broad spectrum SPF15 (mineral) sunscreen. It will make your fine lines and pores (temporarily) less visible as well. The most annoying thing about this product is the price! This is the tiny travel size that will last you about 2-(MAYBE)3 months if you wear makeup about 5 days a week like I do. I also want to throw out there that I don’t notice my makeup lasting any longer with this, but I love the smooth base it provides me with. This is a must try product if you haven’t already.

7. bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream in Vanilla 02 ($29.50) BUY!

I decided to try the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream after reading the 5 star review on Beautypedia. I asked for some color matching help at Sephora for the Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation and while I had the girl helping me I asked her to put some of the Complexion Rescue on me as well so I could see how it looked and felt. I could not believe that the coverage was better than the Tarte foundation somehow!? This stuff is lightweight, packed with antioxidants, and has broad spectrum SPF30 which are all super important. I actually bought this as part of a holiday set that’s no longer available that included a cream concealer (meh, creased in my undereye area), and the mineral veil powder (meh, but I didn’t use it much because it came broken). I actually just ran out of this and I’m now contemplating repurchasing. I wear it on days where I don’t want to wear foundation, as well as somedays under foundation as a moisturizer with SPF with some coverage. The only reason I’m hesitating repurchasing is it doesn’t hold up super well on my oily skin even when set with powder, but honestly it doesn’t do much worse than my full coverage matte foundations. Definitely try this stuff out if you haven’t!

8. BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal ($38) SKIP

The BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfectors are beautiful highlighters, but I’m not sure they’re worth $38. When I bought mine I didn’t actually buy this big huge pan, I bought a value set that came with a tiny one and a mini liquid version and together they were $20

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I’ve worn the (powder) highlighter many times since and it is pretty for sure, but I think I prefer my much more pigmented Mary-Lou-Manizer by theBalm which is $21- a full $17 cheaper and will also last you forever. If you want one of the BECCA highlighters I think a value kit is a better way to go because you only need to use a tiny bit anyway so you might as well try out a few products if you’re going to spend that much. For example, you might as well spend the extra $4 and get the $42 BECCA Lowlight/Highlight Perfecting Palette Pressed:

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Or an even better deal would be the Best of BECCA Blushed Radiance kit which is an Ulta exclusive and includes 4 products (Mineral Blush in Flower Child, Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed in Opal, Shimmering Skin Perfector Spotlight Wand in Moonstone, and Backlight Priming Filter) for $32.50. The highlighter is about 1/3 of the full sized pan, but should last you for YEARS.

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What are you planning on buying at the Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016?

Check out my Sephora VIB Sale post round-up here with all of my past reviews and recommendations. Happy shopping!

Author: Lindsay

Lindsay is the creator of Blushing in Hollywood a beauty, dating, travel and lifestyle blog based in Los Angeles, California.