SEPHORA HOLIDAY GIFT SETS REVIEW

Sephora does makeup like it’s nobody’s business! It’s the 1st time I tried Sephora Collection brand eye shadows and I must admit the quality is impeccable! Not to mention the packaging – cuteness overload! But let’s back up to the beginning when I came back home from Vegas to a huge box filled with Sephora goodies to try out and review! The timing could not be more perfect since it was my bday :) and of course I felt like a kid on Christmas day opening it! Honestly, getting makeup makes a girl giddy! I had already presented some of these pieces in a Christmas Guide two weeks ago, but I wanted to give a full review of the products I tried. Here we go!

1- Sephora Collection Color Around the World: 4 eye & face palettes: 1st thing you need to know is that I always use a primer (NARS smudge proof eyeshadow base) before applying any eye shadow so I couldn’t tell you what these look like without one. I highly recommend always using a primer as it makes eye shadows apply on your lid evenly, making them blend perfectly & they stay on longer! That being said, these eye shadows, blushes and bronzer are beautifully packaged; they look like little notebooks! I tried them all out for many looks and loved them all! They are not too pigmented but they are not sheer either, very good balance of both, which is perfect for daytime looks! To be honest, I mixed them up quite a bit! I liked the pre-determined color combos but I thought it more fun to mix & match. For example, the blush from the Paris palette looks amazing with the mix of colors from the Rome & NY palettes! They are great for travelling too; they are nice and compact! This is a serious steal for $35 CAD!
2- Sephora Collection Gift-A-Gloss Sampler: I hate sticky glosses. Anyone else with me on this? So, my 1st impression when I saw this pack was that I will hate it – was I ever wrong!!! The texture of these glosses is surprisingly not sticky or gooey, except maybe for the transparent sparkly “Frozen” gloss, which is a bit gooey. The rest are pretty amazing! The glosses comes in the following colors: Frosted Pink (sheer pink with a bit of shimmer) Juicy Pink (semi-opaque, shiny but not shimmery), Festive Pink (one of my favorites, opaque, feels like lipstick), Sheer Lilac (sheer purple & shiny), Soft Red (love it, opaque, shiny not shimmery, beautiful), Shimmering Coral (looks like a nude lipstick, stunning, opaque, shiny not shimmery), Holiday Berry Crystal (my absolute fravourtie, opaque, shiny not shimmery, looks amazing on), Frozen(transparent with lots of shimmer & gooey). Each gloss is individually wrapped, which is perfect to gift as stocking stuffers! Amazing deal for $35 CAD! 3-Sephora Collection Color Wonderland Neutral & Vivid Eyeshadow Palette: Guilty! I’m a total palette hoarder! I just love them all, they’re all so different and allow for different color combinations! This book is one such palette that you just cannot get enough of! It tells two stories: neutrals on the left & vibrant colors on the right, with a mix of shimmer & matte! Honesty, you need this for your shelf. It has every color imaginable and the colors are so beautiful! I had so much fun playing around with it! There is a balance of pigmented and sheer colors and the quality is really great! Applied with a primer, the shadows stay put ALL day! It’s a stunning Christmas gift, I don’t see any girl who wouldn’t love to receive this! Retails for $74 CAD & it is worth the investment! It’s already sold out online, but I did she it this week in stores so make sure you get your hands on it before it sells out!  4-FORMULA X Bottle Service 2015: Ok this has got to be the cutest packaging of life!!! I mean, what an amazing idea!!! A champagne bottle with mini nail polishes – I wanted to uncork it as soon as I got it but how do you ruin such a stunning bottle? Formula X thought of that, and so you can open the bottle from the bottom to take out the nail polishes! Brilliant! Inside, you will find the following colors (from left to right on the picture below): Dark matter, On the rocks, Ignite, Rouge, Uncorked, Glitz, Luxe, Spiked, Intensity & Thrilling. I’ve been already using Intensity in the regular format all summer long, so naturally I love it! From the other color discoveries, I fell IN LOVE with the Ignite color, which is perfect for Fall/Winter & the holidays, as well as the Thrilling color for a more down to earth look, and of course the Uncorked colors which will look amazing with my black and gold Christmas dress. Now that I think of it, I should have included a picture of all the nail polishes on my finger nails to show you…I will update this post accordingly :) The nail polish can seriously last between 3-4 days even with one coat on, unless you’re scrubbing dishes, lol. This retails for $44, makes a really cute Christmas gift & it’s sold out online (no surprise there). I didn’t see it at the Carrefour Laval store either, but hopefully other stores still have it!  As promised, here is the picture with all the nail polishes :) Sorry for the delay!  5- Sephora Collection Ombré Obsession Face Palette : Every.girl.needs.this!!! No joke, hands down, the best blush/bronzer/highlighter palette ever and a total steal for $43 CAD! It’s huge and the colors are pigmented to perfection! They blend in perfectly on the skin and they inject life into the cheeks! Not to mention how beautiful it looks in the package. Honestly, looking at it, the colors almost look unreal, it’s that pretty!!! They a little graded so you can mix them to your liking! Just wow; enough said!  6-Sephora Collection Ombré Obsession Eye Shadow Palette: BLOWN AWAY. Those two words perfectly describe how I feel about this palette! The colors are AMAZING!!! Perfectly pigmented, apply on the eye like butter (with primer of course, as I mentioned above, I always use a primer) and they last ALL day! There is absolutely no need of a second application. Not to mention how visually impressive this palette is with the ombré effect! I’m obsessed, the “Obsession” in the name is bang on! It’s big like the blush palette so it’s a great deal for $46 CAD! Sold out online already but sill available at the stores! This eye shadow palette & the blush palette above gifted together will be sure to make some happy girls this Christmas season!  7-Sephora Collection Glitter Happy Brush Set: ADORABLE, SOFT, PERFECT! $106 CAD & worth the investment – these are amazing quality, they apply makeup perfectly & they will last a long time! The stand is so convenient & gorgeous, the brushes are a beautiful blush color and the kit looks amazing on a desk or vanity! Honestly, Sephora never fails to disappoint with their brushes; they are always excellent professional quality, even the holiday sets. The brushes included are: blush, foundation, concealer, blending brush, all over shadow brush and a lip brush! These have quickly become my favorites!!! 
8-Sephora Babushka doll trio beauty blenders: Why get this? Well, 1st b/c it’s SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!! What a fab idea to do a babushka doll trio! 2nd b/c it’s a steal for 3 beauty blenders for $24 CAD. And 3rd b/c the beauty blender is perfect for blending foundation perfectly on your skin! The packaging is super cute and the sizing of the beauty blenders is great, with the tiny one being perfect for corners and under the eyes! Definitely an adorable Christmas gift or stocking stuffer! Sold out online, but still available at the store. 9-Sephora Collection makup bags featuring: Be Spotted The Universal Bag: Perfect for travelling, a lot of space to fit all your makeup necessities, separate compartment for brushes which is perfect so they don’t get damaged and SO ADORABLE in this spotted print! Retails for $52, which I think is a little pricey but worth the money given its size, look and how much use you can get out of it! Amazing to for makeup storage too! Be spotted The Voyager Bag perfect for a carry on luggage or to fit in your tote! Same adorable print as the universal bag, retails for $35 and I love it!!! I use it pretty much everyday! Be Spotted The Escapader bag: amazing for a small bag with just the bare minimum necessities :) I use this a lot during the days I have events, since I don’t care a tote with me! Sleeping mask: I never use a mask to sleep, mostly b/c Im such a sound sleeper lol. I can fall asleep with lights on and noise, but this one is so cute, I cannot resist it! I will use it on my flights, especially my honeymoon next year, when all the people decide to read books around me :P 10- Kat Von D Loca Remix Eyeshadow: Last but not least, the infamous Kat Von D Loca Remix eye shadow palette is simply crazy (like the name says lol)! It’s not part of the Sephora Collection brand but it was nevertheless included in my box from Zak Comm so I tried it and O.M.GOSH!!! The colors are very pigmented, mix of bright bold colors and neutrals, some shimmery ones but most are matte – which I love! The quality is AH-mazing and the shadows stay put ALL DAY! So easy to create day & night looks with this palette – every color of the rainbow is featured here! The packaging is not travel friendly, but it’s soooo beautiful, it almost looks like an old record – perfection!!! Cannot say enough how much I love it! I got it for my mom for her b-day as well & even though she is not a “bold” shadow kinda gal, she LOVES this palette! Kat Von D really knows how to do eye shadows, always love her palettes! This retails for $71 and it’s worth every penny!

Hope you ladies found this review helpful and it guided you towards the right purchase :)

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to comment below!

Happy Holiday Shopping!!!

Kisses,

WCX