Holiday Wish List | Sephora VIB Sale Recommendations

It’s the best time of year – the holidays are fast approaching and that means the Sephora VIB Sale is just around the corner! Sephora VIB and VIB Rouge members get an extra 20% during these flash sales, which you won’t see any other time of year at Sephora. It’s one of the best perks for rewarding your beauty addiction.

I’ve curated my personal gift recommendations for yourself, family, and friends. Wondering what’s worth the spurge? Then, look no further! Below are my picks for products worth the price tag along with others worth skipping.

Makeup – my favorite place to start! There are some definite favorites of mine worth splurging on along with some new products I’m dying to try this holiday season.

Worth the Splurge

Face

Skin Perfecters – This category contains some of my all-time favorite products overlooked by others! Sephora features lots of skin perfecting products that just give your skin that extra “glowy” touch. I love everything from Hourglass Cosmetics. Their bronzers, blushes, primers, and ambient lighting powders are amazing! My personal favorite splurge worthy product is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Palette. I use all 3 shades – 1 as a highlight, 1 as a subtle bronzer, and the 1 as an all over skin finish.

Foundations & Concealers – You can’t go wrong with using your money towards a high-end foundation or concealer at Sephora. Depending on your skin concerns, you’ll almost always find the perfect match with their Color IQ system. My personal favorite foundations are from Tarte, Cover FX, and Laura Mercier. All of the products in these lines are great whether you’re looking for a liquid, powder, BB or CC cream. My holygrail concealer is the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer… it will change your life!

Contour Palettes – I have fallen in love with contouring over the past year as I’m sure all other beauty addicts can relate. In my opinion, if you’re new to contouring, it’s best to invest in a palette that does all the guess work for you. You want to make sure the colors are cool in tone rather than warm. I love the one from Laura Mercier, but have heard great things about the palette from Kat Von D as well.

Eyes

Liquid Liner – I don’t think this is a definite must at Sephora, but my personal favorite liquid liners come from here so I thought I’d include for my holiday gift guide. You will achieve show stopping cat eyes with the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner or the Stila All Day Liquid Liner – having one in my makeup arsenal is always a must! You can beat the felt tip applicator.

High-End Shadows – My eyeshadow palettes from Sephora are my babies! I can’t live without these gems. A high-end eye shadow palette is the first product I recommend to anyone new to makeup. Check out Sephora’s palette page for lots of great options. I personally love the palettes from Lorac, Tarte, Marc Jacobs, Urban Decay, and Too Faced.

Feathery Brows – Make your brows say wow with the right products, they need love too! I don’t always opt for a high end brow product, but when I do it’s usually something from Anastasia Beverly Hills. You can’t go wrong with any of her products, just have an associate help match your shade as I always seem to go too light or dark.

Lips

Liquid Lipsticks – Liquid lipsticks along with contouring are probably my new favorite products of 2015. I’ve fallen in love with the staying power of these formulas. I currently own many of the Stila Liquid Lipsticks, but want to give the Kat Von D brand a try as well. Their “Lolita” shade is most sought after!

Hydrating Lippies – Sephora has some great options to hydrate your lips each and everyday. I can’t live without having the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments in my handbag. Dior also has some great hydrating options with their “Lip Glow” and “Lip Balm.”

Hit the Drugstore

Mascara, Lipsticks, Lip Liners, Pencil Eye Liners, and Face Powders are all products worth skipping. In my opinion, these items rarely turn out to be worth the splurge (with some definite exceptions here and there). Overall, some of my favorite products in these categories come from local drugstores for less than half the price.

My other favorite category to invest in at Sephora is skincare. Some of my all-time favorites reside on those crisp, clean white shelves. This holiday season I’m also going to experiment with some K-Beauty skincare.

Splurge Worthy Skincare

I honestly think every skin care category is worth splurging on at Sephora. Taking good care of your skin not only makes you look more radiant, but more healthy in the long term. I would identify your top skin concerns and pick 1 or 2 products that address these concerns. So, my personal skin care items might not be the best fit for you. My top skin care concerns are anti-aging prevention and soothing sensitive skin.

Anti-Aging – Most people think incorporating anti-aging into your skincare routine in your 20s is silly, but I couldn’t disagree more! The whole point is prevention – if you start combating aging after you’ve already noticed wrinkles, loss of elasticity, etc., then you’re already too late. I love the eye creams at Sephora. I like the ones from Perricone MD and Origins. I also love serums for early signs of aging. You want to look for serums containing Vitamin C, and I personally love the natural brands. Korres and Ole Henriksen are great options.

Sensitive Skin – I have extremely sensitive skin and any products that are gentle yet effective are worth the splurge. I like anything from the REN Evercalm and First Aid Beauty lines. I have also fallen in love with the Boscia Cleansing Oil and Caudalie Cleansing Water. I also like to pick up my Clarisonic replacement heads since you won’t find these at a discount anywhere else! The ones formulated for sensitive skin always find their way into my basket.

Korean Beauty – K-Beauty is the latest craze in the beauty community. I’ve personally never tried any Korean Beauty brands, but luckily Sephora has a great landing page with advice and recommendations on where to get started.