AMERICAN BEAUTY HAUL

When vacationing in the US, the number one place for me to go as far as beauty products are concerned is Sephora.

I know I’m not the only one, and yet I can’t really put my finger on what it is I like so much about it. A good-sized Sephora store simply has a great range of products I guess; I love the Sephora line as is, but also enjoy their many other brands on offer.  The vibe is great, the store is neat, the employees and shoppers alike are full of infectious energy.

So if you’ve never been, but get the chance, please check it out!

As so many of us, however, I cannot quite comprehend why there are so few stores located in Europe, it really doesn’t seem to make much sense! So, Sephora, please sort that out. Asap.

(I will not be driving over to France just to get a new foundation as your quirky, gay employees keep suggesting!)

Speaking of Sephora employees, here’s a shout-out to Earl who was our first shopping-buddy at the Sephora store in Las Vegas.

Earl, energetic, sweet, yet somewhat clueless, kept throwing his favorite products at us, which I am sorry to say might be great products, but didn’t really suit us.

Dear Earl, I am sorry, but orange is just not my color!

(I can, however, easily imagine Earl himself wearing orange lipstick when spending the night at the Hakkasan!)

Once I opted for the mini-makeover however – wait, what am I saying? I never opted! I was thrust into the mini-makeover! – sweet Earl handed me over to another just as (if not more) gay Mexican who started layering product over product onto my bare face.

Now this guy, such a cutie! Unfortunately, I never actually got his name. But since I don’t want him to be nameless to me forever, I’m going to have to give him one myself.

So I just googled the top 100 Mexican first names. ‘Carlos’ takes first place, but I must say, this man was not really a ‘Carlos’, it doesn’t sound right.

Instead, after a quick browse of some typical Hispanic names, I would say he was more of a ‘Mauricio'! Yeah, that’s more like it!

So let me just say, Mauricio really did his job! He gave me some great advice and I ended up stuffing my basket with many more products than I had originally intended. However, I am not even surprised. And honestly, it could have ended up being just that much worse.

So have a look at some of the stuff I got and be inspired. Along with my Sephora haul, I also threw in some other things into the mix that I got during my vacation. So check that out and let me know what your favorite products are in the comments!

I started off by getting the anti-shine foundation primer and the 10HR wear perfection foundation no 24 in “moyen medium” which are the products I actually set off to getting.

I had used both before and find them really easy to work with. The primer is really good for oily skin too, and recommendable if you are looking to get rid of that oily shine.

I don’t use the foundation on a daily basis, because I prefer a lighter coverage. But if you are looking for a stronger coverage and longer hold – for instance for a night out – this is a good choice!

The baume lèvres révélateur de couleur/color reveal lip balm in “unique pink” is one of the products Mauricio talked me into. He described it as a “lip gloss slash lip color enhancement slash lip balm” or something like that. Basically, the balm adjusts to your unique pH and thereby enhances the natural color of your lips. It also smells really nice. I think it has a honey flavor, which also keeps your lips moisturized throughout the day.

I needed a new brow pencil too so I got the Sephora waterproof, retractable brow pencil no 02 in “nutmeg brown”. The pencil is really thin which helps loads with filling in your brows more precisely. The little comb on the other end of the pen is perfect for styling the brows.

I also opted for the matt bronzing powder no. 5, “bora bora”, which is also good for contouring. I like using a bronzer with a bit of shine/glitter, but wanted a more natural, matt one to alternate.

Now, I am trying to use less powder altogether, since I feel it dries out the skin a little. Or at least makes my skin look somewhat dehydrated quite easily. But I do use it for matting my skin when necessary which is why I got the 8HR wear mattifying compact foundation no 21 in “petal”. (I obviously have quite pale skin…)

What I am particularly excited about is the fresh life eau de parfum I got as a roll-on. Talk about fresh! I think I am going to have to get the big bottle too! It is so incredibly refreshing and perfect for spring/summer. It has a beautiful citrus fragrance with notes of grapefruit, lilac leaves, warm orange, vanilla grass and magnolia. I had also really been wanting to get a roll-on perfume to pop into my handbag so this was a great find!

Moving on from Sephora to other brands, I wanted to throw my new prep + prime CC colour correting crème SPF 30 in “Neutralize” from MAC into the mix. I had never used a CC crème before and am still not entirely sure about whether I prefer it over foundation. It does however nicely cover any pink nuances in my skin, so if you are having trouble with that, do give it a try!

I had also recently gotten the Manhattan perfect creamy & care lipstick no 45N, and I wanted to add it to the list before it is too late. It is a beautiful berry red color that is not too dark and can therefore still be easily used on these last colder days during the change of seasons, that is, before we starting opting for the lighter spring-shades.

And that is it for makeup. I did, however, also get some cool new jewelry pieces that I’d like to share with you:

First up, I got this pretty damn cool ear cuff from FREEDOM at Topshop. I was hesitant at first, because it really is quite large. It also find ear cuffs can look oddly futuristic. Sometimes I half expect there to be a tiny microphone in there too. Maybe this is how future mobile phones will work? The ear clip will be linked to the mobile device so we can have our hands free AND look stylish?! Anyways, have you seen all the bling? Basically, I had to get it eventually and am no longer sure why I hesitated in the first place.

I also got these fun ear jackets which are currently all the rage: little earring studs with cute backs to make your ears an all-round eye-catcher!

Side note: The purse is from Urban Outfitters and is the perfect size for night out. All essentials easily fit to keep your hands free!

These little dangly beauts are from Anthropologie which I guess is technically an English store, but I got them in an American one, so I guess it still counts. Simply stunning really! I love pretty much everything at Anthropologie, but these were a great find! Shout-out and big thank you to my mom who spotted and got them for me!

Lastly, heading to the US, I knew I could not leave without getting some golden temporary tattoos! I have been somewhat obsessed with temporary tattoos for a while now, but hadn’t purchased any of the metallic ones trending at the moment. I had set out to get some of the Flash tattoos at Sephora’s, but actually preferred these instead. I got all of them at Topshop. While one batch is from FREEDOM, the other two are from Orelia London and are so cute! I particularly love the feathers and little birds! I am going to have to visit some festivals this summer…

… and head back to the US again soon, because I fear I am going to run out of these products much too quickly!

Dear Sephora managers, please hear my plea and open up your next store in Berlin! Much appreciated!