What I'd Buy At The Sephora Sale
My routine staples, up to 20% off
Hello! Happy Friday. Welcome to the first full issue of You Probably Don’t Need That, a recommendation newsletter where we talk about beauty products that actually work. I’ll admit that this send might feel a little like a first pancake attempt: Pushing you to immediately shop at Sephora won’t often be my modus operandi here. But! I do think a shopping event is as good a time as ever to dig into any of the beauty conundrums that might be plaguing our routines and find slightly discounted ways to treat ourselves.
I’ll also say this: The Sephora sale is fine. It’s certainly not my favorite sale. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever even technically shopped the Sephora sale (my VIB status hadn’t made the discount particularly compelling ‘til recently). But if you’ve got the status, I say use it! Rarely is there an opportunity to get a Dyson Airwrap up to 20% off. Sephora is not where I buy my entire beauty routine. But it does have a wide selection of things I like (mostly makeup) and things I’d like to try in the future. Again, we’re taking advantage of an opportunity here — nothing more, nothing less.
One final disclaimer and then I’ll get to the good stuff. Everything linked below is something that is literally in my medicine cabinet, part of my routine, and something I’ve used with gusto. Which also means that you’ve likely read my abridged thoughts on many of these products before. But these new digs call for a fresh start, and I hope the additional word count means I can shed a bit more light on why I think these products are the tops.
Ok, ok actual last thing. THANK you for being here. I’m really excited to build this community with you and dig into all those beauty nuts and bolts again. Talk to you soon and happy shopping!
Hair
I think we can all agree that the Dyson Airwrap is “The Buy” of the sale. I’m shocked if even qualifies. I swear by mine and have used it at least weekly since 2019. I would recommend it if you’re regularly looking to achieve a smooth or straight blowout on hair that requires a lot of tension and heat to do so. What I love is that the smoothing brush attachment lets me easily pull the hair taut without the Olympic-level trap strength required to do the whole round brush and blowdryer song and dance. I go from 3A curls to straight (but not limp) in ~40 mins (and that’s if I’m being meticulous).
The only straightener I’ll use is this Bio Ionic one. It gets really hot and leaves my hair salon-level shiny. I don’t know why all irons don’t all work this well, I just know this one works the best.
New to my routine is the Color Wow Dream Coat Spray. Because I go a number of days between hair washes, I don’t love to load up my wet hair with product before heat styling it. This acts as both a heat protectant, frizz defender, and shine booster. I find that you can really spray down the hair thoroughly without weighing it down or making it feel dirty immediately.
Skincare
My skincare routine is mercifully simple these days, with a mix of RX retinol, drugstore moisturizer, and the three bad boys above. I’ve never been a big facial spray girl, but I’ll make an exception for anything with hypochlorous acid in it. Hypochlorous acid has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, which means it’s aces as soothing the look of irritated skin — be it from breakouts, rashes, dermatitis, what have you. I use the Tower 28 SOS Spray whenever I need to get the redness on my cheeks and around my eyes in check. Bonus, it sets makeup beautifully.
My morning go-to (under sunscreen) is this Hyper Even serum with vitamin C and kojic acid. It lightly exfoliates and brightens in tandem with my nightly retinol; my post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation fades faster with this guy around.
I don’t know what they put in this Caudalie serum, I just know it’s a banger. I use it at night when my skin seems like it’s on the verge of a meltdown (often around my period). By morning, crisis is usually averted.
Complexion
No! You don’t need all of these! However, they have all made their way into my possession over the years for various occasions and yes, I do rotate through all of them based on what I’m doing.
The Guerlain Terracotta Foundation is the newest, both to me and to the market, and I have to say I’m obsessed. This product, formulated in partnership with makeup artist Violette, is a freakin’ dream. It stretches over the skin so beautifully for a skin-like finish with the most perfect medium-level coverage. For dryer skin types, it might feel a little powder-y, but I find that it wears reliably well over the course of the day — I never have any creasing, nor does it slide off my face and on to the ground in an oil slick. Plays well with other products and never leads to any pilling. I find it’s best applied with a brush — I dot little baby pumps across my face and blend out for a natural look.
If you prefer your foundation with some SPF, the Lancôme Teint Idole with hyaluronic acid is a beautiful option (SPF 27). I bought this one specifically for a California wedding where I knew there would be bot a lot of sun and a lot of photos. The skincare ingredients make this feel more like a tint while still performing at the level. Would say it leans glowier than the Guerlain, if that’s your bag.
And then there’s THE CONCEALER I CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT. My word, this concealer is so good. I don’t know how they did it. These may be fighting words but I think it blows the classic Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer out of the gosh dang water. ZERO CREASING. It simply MELTS into the skin. I like to blend 010 with 030 for the perfect brighter-but-not-too-bright under-eye.
But please don’t take the above as Nars slander. I love Nars! If you’re breakout-prone or your derm has recently told you to go oil-free, Nars products will be your saving grace. I turned to their tinted moisturizer again and again last summer, applied with a Real Techniques blender for a sweat-friendly wash of color. It never did me wrong.
Color
I’ve been having so much fun playing with makeup again and feel like I have, at long last, actually developed some skill at it. It’s also the arena in which I rotate product the most, but here are a few staples I almost always reach for.
Contour is not bronzer and vice versa, which is a concept that took me much too long to learn. Gucci Westman makes a cream contour so good, I don’t dare skip it. It is cool-toned (that’s what you want if you’re looking to create angular shadow vs. sunkissed glow), but it doesn’t go into that putty gray territory like some contour products. It blends out so seamlessly that you won’t see any lines or strange blotches hiding around your face. I’d recommend a brush with this one.
Sometimes I want a dewy sheen, sometimes I crave that mica shine. With Pat McGrath, you don’t have to choose. I never got my hands on the venerated Kiko Milano highlighter that used to be so crucial to backstage makeup kits in the early 2010s and you could only get in Italy. However, I’m willing to bet money that Pat’s is the modern-day version.
Glossier Pro Tip has always been my favorite liquid eyeliner. I don’t know why more people don’t talk about this one. It has a very fine brush tip, which makes it easy for beginners to work their way up in terms of thickness/sharpness. And it wears extraordinarily well for not being a waterproof product. Like, stand-in-line-in-the-rain-for-a-sample-sale well. I always have at least 3 in my home at any given time.
I’m not a lip girl! So I will likely not be the first to tell you that the Pillow Talk Lip Cheat is a must. Reader, it is a must. Even though I don’t love to mess with my god-given lip color, when I’ve got a full face of product elsewhere, I need a little lip pigment to balance out the look. Pillow Talk with gloss (any gloss!) does the trick.
Tools
I love a damp beauty sponge as much as the next person, but once I started using these Rose Inc brushes, I was hooked. They’re dense enough to give you that airbrushed look, without eating up all your product. I also find that actually using a brush (vs. relying on my fingers) gives me a finish that looks less touched, more like I’m naturally this dolled up. And maybe it’s just me, but I find they make doing my makeup more fun. Which is what it’s all about for me these days.