Sephora VIB Haul - Part 1 (In-Store Purchase)

The VIB sale started last Thursday and is good till Monday. Although I never received my VIB invite through mail or email (I wonder what went wrong this year), I still went in...Got my discount and my bag.

Although I didn't get everything that I put on my wishlist, I ended up grabbing other things. I spoiled myself rot and with some luck, I got everything that I wanted. I feel complete...and broke. Happy as can be, yet guilty for the over-indulgence.

Anyhooo, these are the new products that I was able to pick up in store.

Sephora Contour Eye Pencil 12 HR Wear Waterproof ($9.00 each). For this haul I only picked up three pencils. Baby Blues was from a previous haul but anyways I took a picture of them together because eventually you will see a review and swatches for them :).

I redeemed 100 points for a deluxe sample of the Marc Jabobs Highliner Gel Crayon and initially, I never thought I was going to get it because of the price but after several use I think I can justify this purchase and especially with the VIB discount. The reason why I love it is because it performs really well for tight lining and on the waterline. You know how hard it is to get a good pencil that works well there and this pencil is one of the best I've tried. I've already done a review and you can read it HERE if you missed it.
The only difference between the sample and the full size liner is that this one comes with a built in sharpener and contains .1 oz. Retails for $25.00.

I redeemed 100 points for the Lancome Energie de Vie moisturizer. On second thought I didn't need it but I just like redeeming my points for something, lol.

The Murad Perfecting lotion ($35) was for my son. He's been using this for a couple years now and has been helping keep his oil under control and his skin has cleared up a lot from using it. He was about to run out so this was the perfect time to get a back up.

I also asked for a sample of the Origins Perfect World serum. This stuff feels like silk and velvet.

Here's how the  free VIB tote looks like. It's cute and pretty roomy. I wish that they would switch to something other than a bag. A couple years ago, we got an umbrella and that was nice. Otherwise, we always get a bag.

I went back again to Sephora yesterday. The main reason for this additional trip was because the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette ($58) was sold out on Thursday. When I checked online, it was sold out as well, and I called the store on Friday evening when I got off work to see if they had any in stock and they told me they sold out again but are expecting to get more on Saturday. So I pretty much got to the Sephora store as soon as they opened and to my delight, I finally got my hand on it. I wanted to squeal with excitement. I can finally move on happily.

As if acquiring the Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette wasn't enough already, I roamed in the store once more to see if there was anything else I might have missed. The funny thing is even one of the associate recognized me and said "well hello and welcome back!" lol. I smiled and said hi back to her.

I picked up one more of the Formula X nail polish. This is the one I wanted but put down last time I was there. Aurora ($12.50) is a sheer and milky nail polish with lots of iridescent gold and purple shimmers. It looks whimsical like fairy dusts. I think it would look fantastic as a layering top coat. It is classified under the Lusters category.

I purchased Flower Bomb by Viktor & Rolf,  .68 oz eau de parfum ($50), for my daughter because she is obsessed with the scent. I was actually a little disappointed that the shape of the .68 oz bottle didn't resemble a grenade like the other bottles. Flower Bomb has an oriental flowery scent with a bit of sweetness. I usually stay away from sweet scents because they're not really my cup of tea but there is something feminine and sophisticated about this perfume that doesn't scream "girly" and I find the sweetness of the scent mixes beautifully with the floral notes. I wouldn't mind wearing it myself. I think this is a scent that will appeal to both mature and younger women.

I previously purchased the Hourglass Veil Mineral primer, .33 oz ($18), and found out that my daughter occasionally uses it too, lol, so I thought that well perhaps I should get another one. I didn't want to get the full size bottle because it's quite expensive and we don't use it very often.

Lastly, low and behold, the Hourglass Ambient Lighting face palette I have been going nuts trying to get my hands on it. It's been sold out on and off (online and in-store) so my suggestion is call your local Sephora and ask them if they have it in stock, if or when they will be having some more and be there the minute the store is open. This palette is limited edition and you get 3 different Ambient Powders. Two of them are from the permanent line and one is exclusive to this palette.

Each shade from the palette contains 3.3 g or .116 oz. A full size Ambient Powder contains .35 oz and cost $45.00, and currently all of their full size powders are also sold out...WOW! The Ambient Lighting face palette also include a mini .16 oz mineral veil primer. It is really tiny, it's about the size of my pinky finger.

What's the hype about this palette? The ambient lighting powders are finishing powders and their purpose is to blur imperfection and soften the light reflection on your skin to give you that soft focus, glowing, and youthful appearance that you normally get with professional photography. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?

Dim Light - light peachy pink nude with a satin, almost matte finish.
Incandescent Light (limited edition) - soft shimmery pale pearly light pink
Radiant Light - soft shimmery warm peachy nude


The powders themselves feel extremely smooth, luxurious, and silky. I think the hype and the texture of these powders totally got me sold. The shimmers are very fine and very subtle in Incandescent Light and Radiant Light.

I haven't got a chance to try them on my face to give you a full complete review so this is just my initial impression of the powders. I can see why they are labeled as finishing powders. They feel very light and somewhat translucent so I don't think they will conflict with your natural skin color, which makes it appealing for all skintone but perhaps fair to light medium complexion may notice the difference a little more.

Dim Light, Incandescent Light, Radiant Light

So that is it for my in-store purchase. I did more damage online so you will see part 2 when I receive my products :)

Did you shop the VIB sale? Did you get everything that you wanted?