Weeks of Beauty is back and improved! Beside the really nice cosmetics I bought in the United States (which I can’t wait to show you), I also decided that it’s time to start writing Weeks of Beauty in English.
I want to give my new international friends the opportunity to read my blog and it will also give my following a chance to increase. I like international brands and products, so why not have an international following too!?

So to everyone: welcome to the not new but indeed improved Weeks of Beauty! I just spent three wonderful months in Santa Barbara, California and many personal ‘wishes’ came true of which one of the biggest: shopping at Sephora!
The good thing about shopping at Sephora is that I got to actually try out the products first before spending my money on it and I got to enjoy the benefits that Sephora offers to customers.
Therefore, this first blog after my time in the USA is a little breakdown of the Sephora benefits I got to enjoy. Stay tuned after this blog though, because it is just the first of many blogs about the wonderful products I purchased!

1) You can try a product before spending your money on it. 

Ofcourse you can always go online and look for reviews about a product you want to buy. Yet, swatching a product myself will always have my preference. Since many brands carried by Sephora are not available in the Netherlands, I usually just buy something after looking up a few reviews.

One of the products I decided not to buy after swatching it in store is the Too Faced White Chocolate Bar, one of their recent additions to the popular Chocolate Bar Eyeshadow Palette range. I love the looks of the palette and the color selection, but unfortunately the swatches showed me that the pigmentation and overall quality of the eyeshadows beneath the average Too Faced quality is. The pink eyeshadow for instance was in my opinion quite chalky. I did purchase one of the other recent launches from Too Faced though, which you will read about on Weeks of Beauty soon!

2) You can get free make-overs. 

Everyone at Sephora can get a mini make-over if you want to try a few products out on your own face. I got a mini make-over once because I wanted to try out a face cream, bronzer and foundation. I was impressed of how quickly the lady found a foundation that completely fitted my needs in the product.

Once your reach a higher Sephora status (after spending a certain amount of money) you will be given an free complete make-over once (when you reach VIB status) and from the moment you will become a Rouge you always will be able to get a complete make-over for free.

3) You get a birthday gift every year.

Even though my birthday is in June, I made sure my Sephora account said it was in September so I would be able to pick up my birthday gift :).

4) You earn points with every purchase.

Now we’ve reached the last two Sephora benefits I wanted to list and these are also my favorite benefits. Every time you make a purchase at Sephora, you will earn points. Generally it’s one point for every dollar you spent, but sometimes there is a special promotion and you can get double (or even triple) points. You can redeem your points for products, so you basically get them for free!

5) You get free trial sized products when you order online. 

When you decide to order online from Sephora, make sure you always check out the Beauty Offers. You can choose from mostly single products,  but sometimes there are sample bags to choose from and as a VIB or Rouge, you sometimes can choose special trio’s from a specific brand.

Now that I have shared my favorite Sephora benefits, it’s obviously time to show you which products I got for free myself!

This is the cute gift I got for ‘my birthday’. A mini blush and lip paint by Tarte. I’ve always wanted to try a Tarte blush (because I am a huge fan of their eyeshadows; I couldn’t wait to try the blush) and I love the color of the lip paint, so I am really happy with this cute set.

One of the VIB (Very Important Beauty-Insider) trio’s I got with a purchase online by Ole Hendriksen. It contains a cleanser, facial scrub and moisturizer.

When you save enough of your points, you can get bigger rewards. I waited for a good moment to redeem my points and when I saw that this Laura Mercier collection launched, I didn’t hesitate to redeem my points. It contains a foundation primer, lipstick, brightening powder and the famous translucent setting powder. What a way to try out a famous product!

These are all skincare products I got with an online purchase. I have been wanting to try out eye creams for a little while now (I want to purchase a full size but first I want to try some options out) so when available, I chose a trial sized eye cream. The result of this, is an eye cream by Belif, It Cosmetics and one by La Mer. Even though the La Mer one contains just 3 ml, this little container is worth basically 41 dollars! (The full sized La Mer the eye concentrate is $205 for 15 ml). So this is an extreme example of a good free trial sized product, but it mostly just shows that it’s really nice to get some free products to try :).

The Cover FX drops, NARS velvet matte lip pencil and the Bumble and Bumble hair product are rewards I got when I redeemed my points. The other products (Too Faced peach primer, Kat von D lock it concealer, Fenty Beauty foundation and Nude Stix lippie) are ones that I got for free with an online purchase. Not too bad right!?

So far the wonderful products I get to try because of purchasing products at Sephora. Can’t wait to find out if there’s any new favorite for me amongst these mini’s!