The Sephora Sale, Fall '24 Edition

In the words of Stanley Tucci, gird your loins!!!!

Shitters! The Sephora sale is upon us once again, and depending on how you cope with election anxiety, this timing is either horrible or kinda perfect??

If you need a tl;dr, I would pick up this standout facial moisturizer, this night out foundation, and this heavy duty scalp scrub. I also think this Crown Affair gift set (as low as $36 with the discount), is worth grabbing! 

If you have Rouge status (aka a spending problem), the sale opens to you today with 20% off everything with code SAVINGS. Pretty decent deal! But for my VIB’s, your 15% discount starting on Tuesday may not always be your best bet. For the products you can really only get at Sephora, go for it. But know that if you’re going for certain brands (especially in skincare) and plan to spend over $200, there are better sales coming very shortly. BlueMercury’s Black Friday deal is a personal favorite of mine for anything Hourglass, Augustinus Bader, Tata Harper, and several others that don’t overlap with Sephora—they tier the discount starting at 20% off $200, and it goes up from there. Just a heads up in case it’s helpful!

What follows is a mix of tried and true’s and newer-to-me products from Sephora that I’ve been reaching for nonstop. Many would also make great gifts! For my Rouge gals, take advantage of the head start! And for everyone else, get your cart ready or come back here on Tuesday—feels like a great way to treat yourself after voting! 

Makeup

Considering how long I’ve been wearing makeup (Dream Matte Mousse hive, rise up), I really should be better at it than I am? I am not skilled in this department in the slightest, but all of these recs are incredibly easy to use. 

Haus Labs Foundation: I was VERY skeptical of this product for a very long time. I didn’t trust a celebrity beauty brand to pull off something as tricky as foundation, and I (a discerning adult!) didn’t want to buy foundation from a celebrity beauty brand in the first place!!! But I stand completely corrected—to me it beats out both Armani’s cult-favorite version and my previous favorite from Pat McGrath (at a better price than both too). The formula is buildable, but looks so natural (not what I was expecting!), shade range is insane, the color match is flawless—props to Sephora’s match tool, which got it right for me on the first try. Swatch it if you don’t believe me—I felt like Harry Potter finding the right wand at Ollivander’s (clearly letting the millennial out today). After spending way too long being massively underwhelmed by YSL’s Touche Éclat, I also grabbed the brand’s concealer for my under eyes (my foundation shade is so specific that it probably helps no one to share, but the concealer in 34 Medium Golden works wonders for my dark circles!).

Westman Atelier: By now you all know I love their Vital Skin Stick (basically a never-ending product) and their Complexion Drops (I use this Sephora brush with the liquid products). I’ve yet to find anything that compares for day to day wear!

Lip Shit: I could write a whole newsletter on this alone. I love a good lip liner (I have about a million, but I mostly reach for this darker shade by Makeup By Mario, this nude from Charlotte Tilbury, and Makeup Forever’s in-between shade that looks good on almost everybody). If you’re into a glossy finish, you know I love Ami Colé’s lip oils as well as this gorgeous cool beige by Hourglass (that one’s a plumping gloss though, so be careful with kissing after applying!). Lately I tend to top my liner with balms—I keep these Goop ones in every bag and they make for such a great gift too! 

Skincare

The bulk of my skincare products aren’t stocked at Sephora (though some are coming soon!), but the ones that are are true standouts.

The Extreme Cream!!!! I cannot say enough good things about this cream (and that includes the many I did say in this newsletter from the summer!). The sale brings it down to under $40 a pop, though even at full price it’s less than 1/6th of the cost of the comparable stuff from Bader*. If this sale has a must-buy product, IMO it’s this. *Speaking of AB, this is the only moisturizer I like from them. If you want to try or restock, I would wait until the BlueMercury sale. That stuff adds up, which can get you into 25 or even 30% off territory there. 

Clarins Instant Depuffing Mask: There are two occasions when I reach for this face mask—1) the morning after I’ve had too much to drink, and 2) the morning of a big event (which, if you’re on the wedding circuit, tends to coincide with #1). This gets the job done in 10 minutes or less. This is one of those products I’d slide over to share with my partner too. Who doesn’t love seeing their jawline tighten up before their eyes! 

Goop Lip Balms: Are lip balms makeup or skincare? I mentioned this earlier, but this set is prime gifting material, especially for those hard to shop for people (MILs, anyone???). They’re chic, functional, beautiful, and when you get them on sale, relatively budget-friendly too!

Innisfree Sunscreen: This is the least expensive thing in this newsletter, and the one I use most frequently (aside from the cleanser). It blends super easily, doesn’t feel heavy or oily on the skin, has zero white cast, never breaks me out—in short, it’s the world’s easiest SPF. I always grab a few bottles during these sales.

YTTP Cleanser: A Most Wonderful Shit Of the Year™ Award Winner!!!! There are a lot of good cleansers out there, but I always come back to this one. I love the texture and lather and the way it leaves my skin feeling clean but never stripped.

Haircare

If you ever think my hair looks good, it’s because I got a blowout or gave myself an Airwap blowout no more than an hour or two ago. I’ve never found a heat protectant/anti-frizz product that I’m head over heels for (if you have, please share with the class!), but these are the hair picks that I can fully vouch for: 

Goop Salt Scrub: If you get one hair product from this newsletter, this should be it. This scrub has the most divine whipped texture and reeeeally lets you get in there and remove hair oil/grease/product build-up from your scalp, as opposed to your regular shampoo. I’ve been using it on every other wash day since the spring and have not even hit the bottom half of the container yet, so know that this will last you a while! 

Crown Affair Gift Set: Featuring mini sizes of two of the buzzy brand’s hero products—the Leave In Conditioner and their non-aerosol Dry Shampoo—along with one of their green silk hair ties, this is perfect for holiday gifting, stocking stuffing, or just trying out the brand!

Crown Affair Dry Shampoo: Speaking of, this stuff got snatched up VERY quickly last time around, so if you want it, get your hands on it early! The non-aerosol formula takes a minute to get used to, but it definitely does the job on day three/four/five greasiness. I also love that the brush it comes with fits inside of the packaging—one less thing to keep track of! While we’re talking Crown Affair, the brand’s hair clips are a hidden gem. They have a secondary clip inside of them that help them hold more hair FAR more securely. I know they’re pricey, but they are really, really nice. Take advantage of the sale to save on them.

Body

Last but not least! These are my favorite things to treat myself and my friends and family to, especially this time of year! 

Goop Body Oil: I am OBSESSED with this body oil—I’m rationing it ever so slowly so it will last as long as possible! It’s so rich and nourishing on the skin, but the real highlight is the scent. With notes of vetiver, cedar, violet, and ginger, it’s one of those scents that’s so interesting and addictive that I always come back to (it lingers on the skin in the very best way!). I’d pair it with their dry brush for a very luxurious gift. 

Kate McLeod Body Stone: Kate’s moisturizing stones make for a luxurious, nicely scented treat while cutting down on packaging waste (think of it like moisturizer, but in bar form). My favorites are the Daily Stone and the Grounding Stone, but you really cannot go wrong scent-wise. They also have a set of minis that lets you try them all—it makes a great gift on its own or to break up as stocking stuffers!

Salt and Stone Deodorant: Ok, I would not gift this to anyone you didn’t want to offend, but it’s the only natural deodorant I’ve ever had any luck with. It works surprisingly well, and the neroli and basil scent is INCREDIBLE (a real theme of this section!). I wrote more about it earlier this year for New York Magazine!

Past Picks

This is not our first rodeo! Revisit past SIBAL favorites here:

Shit I Bought and Liked: Don't Sleep On This Foundation (+ Sephora Sale Picks!)

Shit I Bought and Liked: A New Skincare Obsession (Plus Sephora Sale Picks!)

What’s In My Cart?

A few things to road test for you all!

I’m a sucker for a good complexion product, and am feeling very tempted to try this new release from Dior or this cool girl compact by Fara Homidi. Could they dethrone my Westman?! I’m sick of coming home from dinner or a night out to find that there is not a lick of the makeup I put on left on my face—I’m grabbing Mario’s powder to try and keep that from happening anymore! Brushes are not as fun as makeup, but the right ones they make yours look 10000x better—I’m taking advantage of the discount to grab this foundation brush and this Hourglass one for under eyes. 

As always, I’d love to hear what you’re picking up and your tried and true restocks—drop me a note in the comments! Also, if there’s anything you want me to report back on, let me know! This is what the business credit card is for, people!!! (No one show this to my accountant.)

Whew! We made it! If you thought this was a doozy, just try walking into a Sephora location this weekend… This newsletter contains affiliate links that work at no cost to you—thank you so much for using them and for shopping with me!