On #sale at #Sephora : super #cute #tokidoki palettes ($10!) (Taken with instagram)
Edit: FYI the palettes are $10 USD regular ($12 CAD), so they are not actually on sale. You get 4 shadows and a blush in each product so it’s a pretty good value!
Look what I found at Sephora! Tokidoki rollerballs :>
As usual, Tokidoki displays are almost-nauseatingly cute and very eye-catching! Whenever I see a new Tokidoki display, it instantly grabs my attention (my wallet, fortunately, is just barely spared)
Each fragrance is inspired by a particular Tokidoki character. The heads of the corresponding character fit on top of the cap of each rollerball.
There are 6 available (from top, clockwise):
Sephora (exclusive): $23 CAD for 0.33 oz
New at Sephora: a rollerball collection of some of Sephora’s most popular fragrances:
I love florals so this set makes me all *____* Perfect to throw in a purse and rotate every couple days for a new scent.
Sephora (exclusive): $68.25 CAD
FYI Sephora is now carrying two bb (beauty/blemish balm) creams from popular brand Dr. Jart+. I was excited to see it on Sephora not because I’m a big fan of this particular brand, but because I’m hoping it means Sephora will start carrying more brands and products that are popular on the other side of the globe. *crossing my fingers for Skinfood*
I did a quick comparison of the difference between purchasing the same product (Water Fuse BB Cream) from Sephora and from popular online retailer Sasa. It’s slightly cheaper at Sasa right now (~$29.20 CAD) because it’s 20% off, but at regular price is more expensive than Sephora ($33.20). Shipping is also pricier too: ~$17.20 at Sasa vs. $9.95 at Sephora, and both offer free shipping if your purchase exceeds a certain dollar amount. Overall it’s less expensive to purchase from Sephora even after the 20% at Sasa. Lastly, for what it’s worth I think Sasa (like other Asia-based e-tailers) might calculate their prices based on current exchange rates, whereas Sephora has a set price regardless of exchange rates.
What Asian brands would you want to see at Sephora?
Apple Cheeks are part of Sephora’s exclusive Hello Kitty line, and promise to be “luxuriously rich” and highly blendable. The product page also adds that it contains strawberry, apple, and grape extracts to hydrate and soften. Apple Cheeks consists of 4 blushes and 1 luminizer.
The blushes applied very smoothly, and their creaminess does suggest they would blend well for a natural look. The swatches here were taken with 1-2 swipes of each shade, but I think you could build up the colour more if you like.
As for the “luminizer”, Cottonball, ugh. Unlike its sisters, it applied chalky and unevenly, leaving little bits behind. White seems like a poor choice for a luminizer to me, as it will probably come off as ghostly in photographs rather than luminous—can you imagine how that swatch would look on your cheekbones? Bleh. Luminzers are not all about shimmeriness, but about bringing a glow to your face and therefore should have a pinkish or beige base, and not white.
Basically, the blushes are worth trying if you have the money, but I would avoid Cottonball. I can’t see a way to make this shade work at all, anywhere on your face. I kind of wish they offered a more varied range of colours, but I think their goal was more cutesy, soft colours here.
Sephora (exclusive): $29 CAD
Taking a break from studying for my Investment Derivatives final for a quickie post!
I think that fragrance samplers are one of the greatest beauty inventions ever: you buy a box with sample vials of various fragrances (they could be the spray kind or the type you have to dab on) to try out, and at the end of it all you use the included gift certificate to pick up a full-sized bottle of your favourite. They’re perfect gifts for fragrance noobs and people who, like my brother, don’t want to deal with the hassle of browsing a perfume counter (PS he really liked the Shoppers mens sampler I got him last Christmas).
To me, the ideal fragrance sampler for a beginner would have a range of perfumes covering the major fragrance families (fresh, floral, oriental, and woody: read more about them here) so that she can figure out what family she really digs.
That being said, I’m on the fence about Sephora’s new Favorites Eau Girl set because all but 2 of the 8 fragrances featured are either floral-floral or soft floral, a rather narrow range indeed. CLEAN is a citrus scent, and Fragrantica lists Calvin Klein Euphoria as an oriental floral.
(Left to right: YSL Parisienne, Tocca Cleopatra, Michael Kors Very Hollywood, Calvin Klein Euphora, Gucci Flora, Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline, Clean, and Givenchy Very Irresistible)
It’s a nice set for me, because I’ve lurked my fair share of perfume counters and know that I prefer like florals, citruses, and fruity-florals. But for my girls that haven’t gotten out there too much, they’d be missing out on a whole other side of the fragrance spectrum. I get that it’s supposed to be a collection of Sephora’s best-sellers, but if so, there are other cult faves such as Thierry Mugler Angel (oriental) and Miss Dior Cherie (woody) to choose from.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that it seems like it’s a good buy if you already know what you like, but it sort of falls flat if you’re new to fragrance and are looking at this set to be your introduction.
PS: I find Sephora’s fragrance subcategories to be a little broad/simple and prefer Fragrantica when browsing for scents to try.
Would you buy it? What kind of fragrance sampler would you put together?
Sephora: $44 CAD (note: the last time I checked, the gift certificate for the full-size bottle was redeemable only in the US but since the page for this set doesn’t say anything, their policies might have changed)
[image from Sephora]
If you aren’t in the know, tokidoki is a line of apparel and handbags featuring adorable characters from “collections” such as Moofia (cow/dairy-themed) and Cactus Friends. The handbags are super colourful and rather pricy too, but they have a very loyal following, I think. The handbags might look kind of busy at first because the tokidoki characters are all over the place, but the cuteness grows on you, honest.
I was super excited about the tokidoki cosmetics collection coming out in Sephora, and kept checking the website to see when it would appear on the front page or the Just Arrived page. No luck. Then I saw that Muse had picked up a Fantastico Lip Ink and reviewed it! I found tokidoki on the brand drop-down list and it is indeed available for sale.
I suppose Sephora has been too busy promoting Tarina Tarantino to give a heads up that it’s now available? /huffs
Anyway after going through the product list, here’s what I’m getting googly-eyed for (click the name to open a new window and see the product page on Sephora)
Luminosa Powder ($29 CAD) is a “sheer highlighting powder”. It only comes in Kabuki (pretty pink), and could probably also be used as a blush for the fairer-skinned. For me I would definitely be using it for highlighting or all over the face for pretty colour.
