Sephora haul: shadows, brushes and EOTD

Hello my lovely readers! I hope you 're all well! :)

So, I 've been doing some Sephora shopping lately, as the title suggests!

It all started with a spur-of-the-moment kind of purchase (I think we 're all familiar with that sort, "it was there, it looked pretty, it made me buy it, it wasn't up to me"), and it was none other than one of their own collection of glittery eyeshadows.

I 'm not sure how I ended up swatching their eyeshadows to be honest, but it was a pleasant surprise for me, as I 've not really tried much from Sephora's own brand.
True to my natural inclination towards neutrals, but looking for something different at the same time, my eyes were almost immediately drawn to the sparkly neutral shades, and after a bit of swatching I came home bearing No. 51, "So Elegant" (cheesy much?).

The Sephora website describes this one as a "rich brown sugar with silver glitter" and I find that to be fairly accurate, it is a medium brown, slightly bronzy shade, that's shot with pretty silver glitter. Now, this is clearly not for those that wish a super easy, fuss-free application (as anything followed by the work glitter implies a bit of work), but I was sold!




So, I went back and this time I knew exactly what I wanted. I 'm trying to add a bit of colour to my collection lately (making the effort with light greens and purples for now), so I knew I had to get No. 45, "Python Bag" (who comes up with these names, seriously?).
It's the olive green equivalent, and it's infused with the same lovely silver glitter (and it would also be great to pair with my Photo Realism quad come to think of it)!

Both of these eyeshadows are very nice, they 're reasonably pigmented (all of the pics are taken after the second swipe, difference in pigmentation is only due to different lighting, see below), and they 're quite easy to apply, if you take into consideration that they 're the love child of any nice eyeshadow with a sheen and semi-chunky silver glitter.



This photo is to better show the silver glitter, I fear that's extremely difficult to capture on camera (especially with artificial light), but I hope that it gives you an idea.

As with any eyeshadow containing glitter particles, the application requires a bit of patience and some Fix+ (plain water is also a good, cheap alternative), so it's best suited for a special occasion or a night out imo, and just as an example, here's the eye makeup I wore on the bf's graduation day (and yes, there was the "meeting of the parents"): not too dark or overly dramatic (hence why I decided against eyeliner or a darker crease shade), but more special and festive than an average "going to uni" look! I just let the sparkly bits do all the talking!



After some UDPP, I used my trusted Estee Lauder Tea Biscuit all over the lid up to the brow bone and then I slightly darkened the outer corner and crease with MAC Romp (Romp is below Amber Lights). Then I spritzed some Fix+ onto my brush, and applied "So Elegant" by pressing the brush onto the lid. The look was finished with some mascara (that looks so horrible on this photo, but it's the sparkle that I was trying to make show).

So, how do they behave? I wore them more than 6 hours straight (and it was heavy duty 6 hours), and found that they were still on my lids and not on my cheeks at the 6 hour mark. Yes, there will be the occasional odd glitter particle somewhere, but you will not end up looking like a discoball and that's good enough for me (obviously, people with more hooded lids, people that move their eyes more or people that accidentally rub their eyes will suffer more, goes without saying).

Now, Sephora seems to be aware of the fall out issue, as they 've released this silicone tip brush, that they market as the special tool used to apply glittery eyeshadows, making them stay put. I 'm extremely dubious about this brush. I really want to believe it does what it claims. Apparently you 're supposed to use the flat side of the brush to apply the shadow, but in all honesty, that's exactly what I do with my regular eyeshadows anyway.
Does anyone have this and do they find it works for them? Do let me know.
Because I tried it in the store, but found it did absolutely nothing that my fingers wouldn't do.



So, my money went to a couple of other brushes, that I 've yet to try, but I 'm really excited to!
The first is the Large Shadow Brush (a synthetic bristle brush, that I 'm hoping it will stop me from wanting MAC's 252) and the second is the Rounded Crease Brush, that I 've read good reviews on. If it works for me, then I can gladly say goodbye to my 226 and Louise Young lemmings! :)




So, that was it for my Sephora experience!
Hope you enjoyed this post and rest assured that there's a few coming up soon, as I 'm on a project "one post every day for the rest of the week"! :)

Have you tried Sephora's eyeshadows and makeup brushes?
What was your opinion? Do let me know!

What's your opinion?

  1. I looove 'so elegant' it's gorgeous! xx

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  2. I like the look of the Sephora crease brush - wish we had Sephora in the UK :(

    The eyeshadows look lovely too x

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  3. hhheyy honey, oh how i long for sephora.... :) xo

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  4. I've seen that dubious brush for applying glitter at Sephora and I must say that it felt like sth totally inessential.

    I was planning on purchasing the Sephora brow brush -because I've read so many good things about the quality of the brushes-, I tried it in the store and it was crap, the bristles all soft and flexible! So after that I'm a little hesitant to check the rest of the range... Maybe the Platinum brushes are of better quality?

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  5. That shadow looks beautiful on! I'm going to Sephora probably tomorrow so I'm going to check it out :)

    I have heard that their smudge brush is really good, and I like their bronzer brush personally. I LOVE their pressed mineral foundation & glamour lipsticks (specifically shades 01 and 19). And, I have a dc'd eyeshadow palette that I love as well (it was called moroccan sunrise).

    So I suppose you could say that I love Sephora brand! The shadows in that palette I have are great quality!

    Congrats to your BF for graduating, that is wonderful! I'm sure his parents LOVED you :)

    LOL at "who comes up with these names, seriously?" And, my apologies for this long winded comment! xoxoxo

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  6. Love your eyemakeup!
    How did it go meeting the parents? It's always a bit of nerve werecking... but I bet you charmed their socks off and that they adore you ♥
    The silicone tip brush sounds interesting.. I'd love to find a brush that can actually prevent fall-out :)The other brushes looks great too! Love a great blending brush!

    xo Michélle

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  7. Looking foward to seeing a daily post from you! :)

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  8. Grat color choices!

    Im not a big fan of the actual Sephora brand in general.. they always dissappoint me in some way. I got some lip liners once that were so hard they hurt my lips!!!! However the brushes do look good.. i never tried them but I would!!! xxx

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  9. These brushes look interesting. And the eyeshadows are not bad at all. But the names...lol!
    I was at Sephora the other day and picked up a real gem! I don't know if they still have it but I got a great foundation by MUFE that is being discontinued and it was at a very good price (for MUFE). It's the Lift foundation. Check it out, it's very good!

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  10. @Tabitha Sheridan: It's really pretty and the sparkly bits make me happy! Lol!
    Well, yeah, I know, that's not a first, :D!
    xxx


    @TalluluhBella: Well, it was there, it looks dense enough, so I thought why not give it a go instead of having to order Louise Young online! Hope it works for me in the long run!
    Too bad you have no Sephora, but then again, you have everything else and a lot of decent drugstore brands! :)
    xoxo


    @Charlene: There you are, I was wondering where you 'd disappeared to...
    Hope you 're well! Any possible Sephora trips in the future (aren't I shallow, lol)?
    xxxx


    @cbsg5861: The brush looks so unneccessary to me, nothing that anyone would need to apply glitter... although it would be ridiculously easy to wash afterwards...!
    I did check the brow brush too and you 're right, felt too flexible!
    It's probably a hit or miss with their brushes! Sadly I don't own any from the Platinum Range, they have a tiny selection and they don't seem to stock the ones I want! :(
    xxx

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  11. @ellamarie84: Wow, those are a lot of recommendations! :) I couldn't help but notice their new stuff they released for spring, inluding 4 lipgloss shades with similar packaging to the OCC lip tars... there's a nude one that looked so pretty (hmm, not another nude Tina)!
    Thank you so much, I 'm very proud of the boy, and I 'm hoping that his folks considered it a ...successful lunch as well! Lol!
    And don't worry about long comments, I clearly love the chit chat! ;)
    xoxo


    @Michélle: Thank you sweetie! It went well, well, I was SO stressed, cos I literally found out 10 mins beforehand, it was sliiightly awkward, but I think it was all ok in the end...! :)
    The silicone brush looks a bit gimmicky to me, maybe if I had super extra money to spend, but even then I would hate to regret it!
    xxxx


    @Gemma: Oooh, thank you, coming right up! ;) xxx


    @Princesa Livia: You 're so sweet, thank you! :) The thing is though... I want fuller lips like yours! :) xoxo

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  12. @Tali: Thanx Tali mou! Now, I 've got my eyes on a purple and a deeper brown or black, and then I 'm done with those eyeshadows, I promise, lol!
    I haven't tried that many products from Sephora...but I 'd love to try a few, I think a couple of lipglosses are next!
    I do get what you mean though, you won't probably find the HG product you 're looking for, but for their price and their range, there's probably a few nice products that would fit in a personal collection! I really like their metallic nail polishes, and I think that most of their brushes would be great additions!
    xxxx


    @Pasiphae: The brushes are really nice, both the ones I tried and a couple of others I saw in the store, and they're so reasonably priced!
    Ah, yes, the MUFE foundations, almost everyone raves about them! I 'm gonna be on the hunt for a new foundation in a few weeks and I want to try SO many, including MUFE!!!
    Filakia! xxxx

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  13. Congratulations on your boyfriend's graduation :)
    I hope the meeting with his parents went well! Funny but I actually like meeting my friend's parents (not that it happens often at all). Parents have always loved me and I'm sure you charmed his parents :)
    I have bought one Sephora eyeshadow (a glittery pink one) and a couple of their lipsticks. It's a pretty decent brand and the pricing is good if you like the colour. But I have not tried their makeup brushes. I like the two eye shadows you picked up - very wearable!

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  14. @Karen: Awww, thank you girl, that was sweet of you! I felt it went ok, but was my first official "getting to know them", so time will tell! :)
    I agree with you about Sephora, and I must say I love their colour range and probably all of their shadows with the silver glitter, lol!
    The brushes are proving to be quite good makeup tools actually! :) xxxx

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