I spent some time yesterday at the Sephora on Broadway in Soho. It’s not the biggest Sephora I’ve ever been in, but it will do! It was teeming with women, sampling blush, gloss and scents, and getting “done” by the makeover artists on staff. If there exists a beauty product that can’t be sampled at Sephora, I probably will never need it. I am not even sure I need a mascara fixative or pre-primer primer for my eyelids.
It’s great fun and like a playground for grown-ups. I did have a moment wrestling with my self-esteem, surrounded by model-beauty young women, just polishing their already-gorgeous faces. But! There was also a salesperson d’un certain age who very nicely approached and asked if she could help me. Refreshing to see a rep I could completely relate to, as we chatted over the latest miracle smoothing creams.
Just as I search eternally for the perfect cardigan, I was on the lookout for the perfect lipstick. Could this be the reason I own four lipsticks of almost exactly the same color? I contented myself with sampling some lovely Clinique colors, then I spritzed myself with a gorgeous scent and navigated the crowd back to Broadway. I bought a pot of chamomile tea at the corner cafe and was awash in contentment.
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| My perfect color is here. |
That may be the lesson of Sephora for me: fun and experimentation, and the occasional swell new product. Then back to my real life, content and Visible-if-not-Glamorous, contemplating the wonderful world.
Do you Sephora? Like it/loathe it/not interested? I always love to read your thoughts, and though my computing abilities are limited here on vacation, I am reading all your comments and smiling.
I love Sephora. I bought a drugstore BB cream and am not pleased. I want to see what's available at Sephora.
I don't usually sephora, but I do ULTA. The sephora stores are wonderful. I love them. But most are not at shopping venues I frequent. The local ULTA, however, is right next to the local target, so that's where I go. I actually prefer ULTA because the sell drug store brands as well as a few of my favorite high end brands. And I love makeup. I love makeup too much!
Sounds like you had a wonderful day!
Greatest thing about Sephora: you can return anything! So if I am going to try something and then I never open it (YES that certainly happens unless the makeup assistant is planning to follow me home!) or open it and can't replicate the effect, I can just return it. Very simple, no glaring or tedious questions. Their store brand is very reasonably priced…. I am a very simple make up person but I like shopping there!
I love makeup and beauty products so my first visit to Sephora was like being a kid in a gigantic sweet shop. I can relate to owning four lipsticks of almost the same shade! I'm always on the hunt for the perfect red.
"Awash with contentment" – wonderful phrase! I like going into Sephora and going out of Sephora. They always have new fixes for problems I never knew existed, which is okay. I like to dream of wild colour combos when I'm in there. Have a great weekend!!
Never been, but WOW, the variety, the fun!!
xoxo
Lynn
love sephora, but it is a total danger zone to my credit card 🙂
brett
I don't know if I'd be able to go in, as I react to heavy scents as to poison chemical fog. I'm essentially a stranger in a strange land here – I don't quite get it myself – and it seems like so much time and expense and layering on of gunk. Interesting that people find it so interesting and fun!
I love spending time in a Sephora store, but have none where I live. Ulta is here though and I like it just as much.
Sadly, after a brief, glorious spell in the late '90s, Sephora pulled out of the UK. I loved it while it was here, though!
I am also well into my third decade of searching for the perfect lipstick. It has to exist, right?
I've never been but after reading this and the comments, i probably won't go. My ADD would kick into overdrive and I would be to overwhelmed…
The nearest Sephora used to be 1.5 hours away so I didn't often make the trip. But I stood gaping like a fish on the boat bottom when I made a trip to our more-local JCPenny and found a Sephora mini-store, sprung up like a big, yellow daisy. It's a fraction of the size of a regular store, and I shop there sometimes. The real excitment here in the country was the opening of the new Ulta. I shop and buy more there because they are much better stocked, and a bit better value.
I like Sephora, however, I can only handle being in the store for a short period of time. This will make me sound old, LOL, but I find the music too loud, the lighting too low, and the frenetic energy too much. I feel intimidated when I go there, but that's about me. When I ask for help, the staff is very nice and very helpful. Surprisingly, I could not find navy blue mascara at Sephora at all, and the majority of cosmetics that I use I buy from a small independent mineral makeup manufacturer so for me, like you Patti, Sephora is for fun and experimentation.
Sue
The Teen is made for Sephora. A Sephora gift card is her fave present. I get a little overwhelmed even in what is likely a much smaller one in our local jcp.
I am still searching for the perfect lipstick. It might be time to hit up a better make-up counter and make it happen.
Sounds like a perfect day! I go to Sephora with my 20 year old daughter to get her advice. I usually get something for wrinkles & I love to sample the fragrances. Now I get email offers that are too hard to resist. Recently I bought a Bare Minerals starter kit & Sephora sent me make-up, perfume samples, etc…
Too many choices for me! Although others swear by it. I'm a cheapy- I shop cosmetics at Rite Aid and Target!
I love Sephora; it's the Girliest Place On Earth. Fortunately for my wallet though, I'm usually on sensory overload after about 30 minutes.
Turns out we have both a Sephora and Ulta now located somewhat near my town, I've never been to either. >.>; I'm just not a beauty guru. I use Simple brand moisturizer and burt's bees lipbalm. I'm a wild woman. 😉 Call me not interested I guess. I'd rather spend my funds on more boots.
If, for some reason, I believe (usually after being told) that I need some new makeup, I go to Sephora (even though it's in the next town). I like the fact that the saleswomen are not on commission. But it still intimidates me – so many choices! My lips get sore from putting on and taking off each sample. And having to step outside to see what a color really looks like becomes tedious. My preference for frugality (read: cheapskate) and a slight case of agoraphobia make Sephora a mixed blessing, but I'm glad it's there.
A visit to Sephora (as well as Anthropologie, Ann Taylor Loft, and New Yorker) is a must when I visit the States!
I'm not a huge make-up girl and I like Sephora. I really dislike the sales environment of department store counters. The option of browsing and picking up an isolated item without someone suggesting I need an entire system of products is a huge plus for me.
I consider lipstick an essential item, if you don't have one in every bathroom, drawer, car, make-up bag, backpack, fanny pack, purse – then you've got room for another.
I'm addicted to Sephora. It is a dangerous, dangerous place for me to go, but that will never stop me!
I like Sephora a lot. Even tho I really don't wear much make-up. The sales people don't work on commission, unlike cosmetic sales people at department stores, so you can be pretty certain that the Sephora people are really helping you and not just trying to score sales. Nice to know.
Connie*
I sephora all the time. in store and on line. I am a firm believer that sometimes all a girl needs is a new lipstick.
I love Sephora! So many things I didn't know I needed! Luckily, I don't go to malls often…
Doesn't look like we have Sephora in the UK, but I'm sure there would be a market for it!
I've never been in a Sephora (none nearby) but I'm going to check out Ulta soon and just experiment!