The November Beauty Insider / VIB Sale is now behind us. What, for many beauty lovers, is a time of spending excess was calculated restraint for me. Although I’ve heavily reined in my beauty spending over the past few years, purchasing a home does a number on your priorities.
Details on what I bought at the 2018 VIB Sale after the jump.
In early April, my husband and I went to one of the outlet malls near us to do some minor clothing shopping. Having never been there and not wanting to waste time perusing stores that weren’t interesting to us, I printed a map beforehand, looked up the listing, and marked off the stores we wanted to check out. While I was going through the list, one caught my eye even though it was entirely off-base in terms of the purpose of our trip: The Cosmetics Company Outlet.
A quick-and-dirty search revealed precious little other than The Cosmetics Company Outlet carries discounted MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, and some others. As these brands are traditionally not available anywhere except brand counters, sites, and sometimes at select Ulta and Sephoras – I was immediately skeptical. Like what is this, some flea market-esque booth peddling otherwise semi-exclusive wares?
Are the cosmetics for sale within legitimate?
In a bizarre turn of events, Sephora threw together an extra (we think) August Beauty Insider Sale. Normally, there’s one in April-ish and then again in November-ish, so to have this August Beauty Insider Sale one fall into our laps is a rare and welcome treat. Fortunately, the stars aligned and I happened to have a gift card – so I didn’t even break my No Buy to shop.
I’m still riding the post-KonMari wave and don’t feel the need to expand my makeup collection at this time. Sure, are there things I want? Of course. There are cool products released all the damn time that I’d love to try! But the cost to do so is steep; I don’t want to waste money, and I don’t want to reintroduce clutter.
When Urban Decay announced that they were discontinuing their iconic Naked palette (more on that to come), Sephora knocked the price in half. I considered buying a backup and another to give away, but they were sold out before the VIB-tier discount was available.
Every time I use my Conair Jumbo hot rollers, I wonder:
Why the hell don’t I do this more often? It is so low-effort for such nice results; definitely gives the illusion that I took more than the 5-10 minutes it takes to put these in.
If we’re being honest, I can spare 5-10 active minutes most mornings for my hair to do itself. I just conveniently forget that when I’m slapping the snooze button.
The Conair Jumbo set isn’t fancy like a Caruso steam set or, “sexy,” like the T3 rollers are. My rollers cost me about $35 when I bought them several years ago. Right now, they’re available on Amazon for around $27 – but also have a $5 off coupon. Be sure to choose the Amazon-exclusive set for the additional $5 off.
Don’t get me wrong, curling irons and wands can and do provide amazing results, but I don’t have time for them most mornings. They aren’t as forgiving, and the entire styling time is active – you’re sitting there operating the device the entire time. It is also easy to burn yourself!
Once you figure out how to part your hair for your preferred results, you can throw jumbo rollers in your hair in ten minutes (or less if, unlike me, you are coordinated).
I’ve been a Costco member for a few years now and have shared some beauty finds in the past. Costco Beauty is a veritable treasure trove of desirable products at even-more-desirable prices. Arguably, if you have a makeup/skincare/haircare habit, the savings on some of these finds alone more than pays for the membership if you were planning to buy them anyway.
Here are some neat things I came across recently. I haven’t purchased most of these items, but either want to at some point or think they’re probably interesting enough to some people to share.
Amope Pedi Perfect Wet & DryThe standard Amope Pedi Perfect is the recipient of several consumer awards as well as overwhelmingly positive reviews. Between 4.5 and 5 stars virtually everywhere, the Pedi Perfect typically retails for $30-36 for the device itself with only one head. Costco regularly carries the Wet & Dry variety, which is waterproof and therefore safe to use in the shower, for $40; the Wet & Dry variety typically goes for $50+ elsewhere. Costco’s package includes FIVE replacement rollers heads, which retail for $20 for a pack of two, plus a storage bag. Bonus: You DON’T have to be a member to order this from Costco.com, but there is a non-member surcharge of a couple dollars. This is the best value I’ve found via Costco Beauty to date.
Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening SerumThis popular Murad serum goes for $65 at Sephora and Ulta in the same quantity. Even with a 20% off Platinum Perk or the November VIB sale, it drops to $52…so the $43 price tag Costco has it for is a steal. People have luck fading acne scars, sun spots, and age spots with this.
Although I am not buying holiday palettes, that doesn’t mean I’m not shopping. I hit the 20% off VIB Sale at Sephora on Friday. Today is the last day.
Look! I’m a cliche! I bought another palette of neutrals, this time on recommendation of Stefanie Nicole of YouTube. I love her no-bullshit approach to … everything, and I trust her judgment. Here’s hoping it works out for me in a way that Naked2 just didn’t. Review to come once I’ve had time with it.
After almost a year with the travel size, I decided to invest in the full size. I have yet to hit pan, which I think says a lot about its longevity. I love the finish it gives with and without foundation, and at this rate it will last me forever. The travel sized compact is available for $22.
To me, this is definitely a splurge item. I can imagine that there are more cost-effective ways to do accomplish what this does. I decided to pay for convenience – and I will definitely report back on whether or not this is worth it.
VIB Sale Recap
I didn’t go crazy this year. In fact, I wouldn’t have even gotten the ColorSwitch if I hadn’t been a couple dollars shy of locking in VIB for 2017. I was going to buy a larger bottle of Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil but decided against it in favor of trying another variety (gasp, I know – last time that didn’t go so well).