It’s that time of the year again: Sephora VIB Sale! I almost missed it this year since this year’s event seems much earlier than previous years’. Luckily, my best friend who is also a skincare guru, texted me and gave me the heads up. If you have also been out of the loop, the Sephora VIB Sale this year goes from now until September 3. The discount is 20% for Rouge members, 15% for VIB, and 10% for Insiders. The best part of the sale is the discount applies to just about every brand sold at Sephora, except for Dyson. There is also a limit of three products per SKU per transaction for Drunk Elephant and Tatcha (not a real problem for most people who are buying for themselves I imagine). Needless to say, this is one of the best times to stock up on all your skincare and cosmetic supplies.

Since I recently stocked up on several of my go-to products (Sunday Riley Good Genes, Dr. Dennis Gross Brightening Solution, and DE C-Firma), I used this as an opportunity to try out a couple of new products that I have heard good things about:

• Clinique Fresh Pressed 7-Day System With Pure Vitamin C: I first hear about this from my friend / hostess in California. She claimed that the product had noticeable brightening effects after just a couple of days’ application. I did more research online and found most reviews praising the efficacy of the the active ingredient, vitamin C, and the good tolerance by sensitive skin. I’m hoping this will help get rid of the sun spots and acne marks in a speedier fashion.
• Clinique Pretty Easy Liquid Eye Lining Pen: I’m partial to liquid eyeliners but have always found it difficult to find the perfect one. I’ve tried everything from Lancome and Stila to Physician’s Formula and NYX, but everything has been disappointing in at least one of the following: pigmentation, application, or lasting power. Right before my wedding in May, I purchased this eyeliner from Clinique and found that with a primer it lasted all day and night through rain, sweat, and tears, without any smudging. If you knew how easily every eyeliner smudges on my oily eyelids you’d know this is as close to a make-up miracle as it gets for me.
• Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial: Who is not a fan of Drunk Elephant? Ever since discovering the C-Firma Day Serum from DE five years ago the orange capped bottle has found a permanent spot on my counter. The Babyfacial is something I have heard of for at least a year now but finally getting around to trying it. My skin had been fairly breakout free for a few years so I had stopped using all BHA (salicylic acid), but this year has been a whole different story. For whatever reason, I have been getting acne (especially around my chin area) every month. Hopefully by adding back some BHA into my routine via the Babyfacial the breakouts will reduce and eventually go away.
• Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Melt Away Cleansing Balm with Echinacea GreenEnvy: Cleansing balm has been all the rage for a while now but I haven’t gotten on the wagon because they are usually marketed for removing heavy make up, which is not something I wear regularly. What piqued my curiosity again is the discovery that double cleansing is not just for days when I’m wearing makeup. It turns out oil-based cleansers and double cleansing are also effective in getting rid of excess sebum, which is usually a culprit in causing breakouts and acne. The Korean skincare expert, Charlotte Cho, recommends double cleansing for day and night, with or without make up. Since I’ll be going from double cleansing maybe once a week to twice a day I figured now is a good time to give the cleansing balm trend a shot.

And that is all for me this year! A fairly small haul, mostly geared towards clearing up my skin and treating discoloration. Have you tried any of these products? What will you be stocking up on and what new products are you looking to try? Let me know in the comments below, and thank you for visiting 🙂