Some people live for a trip to the beauty supply store. We’ve all got a friend who’s an expert, always into the latest release, make up breakthrough, whether it’s contouring to a defined brow or metallic lip.
I am in the studio every day so doing well if I dust my face with a little bronzer and slap on some lip gloss so probably one of the few 20 somethings who’ve never shopped at Sephora before.
The first thing to note is it’s not like the make up and beauty departments you find in stores like Macy’s or Nordstrom where I have purchased gifts and make up products before.
It’s like a packed to the gills with 21st century brands store, floor to ceiling merchandising, bright modern displays with brands and marketing blurb I wasn’t familiar with.
My friend knew her way around and thank goodness, because I wouldn’t have had a clue. I was interested in trying a new foundation and would have bought some skin care too except I didn’t know where to begin and my friend was busy finding the things she already had researched and wanted to look at, three brands I’d never even heard of, Oui The People, By Mario foundation which is great for black or darker skin I am assured, and Isle of Paradise Bronzer. All things, I have it on good authority she loves, especially the Oui the People Serum which is great for dealing with dry or patchy problem areas or dark spots, it contains hyaluronic acid accredited with skin renewal, my friend assures me I’ll love it so I am going to buy this product at around $50 bucks when I get my next paycheck.
This is my problem when it comes to shopping beauty, I need help. I am not knowledgeable and I thought going to a store like Sephora I find the help I needed. We were greeted by a security person who couldn’t leave her station by the door when we asked for assistance. The store was busy and like I said there’s so much to choose from so proved challenging for me as a first timer.
The assistant I got assigned was not great. She wasn’t engaged to start with, rushing around, she kept telling me she’d be right back, but when she came back seemed to have as much information and experience as me, zero. I ended up telling her not to worry, I’d look around myself.
My friend spent around $170 on the items she picked out. I ended up spending nothing. I was overwhelmed and needed a retail assistant to help me, unfortunately on this particular day that wasn’t happening.
My recommendation if you are visiting Sephora for the first time, do your research ahead of time and plan your budget, three or four items can cost upwards of $150.
The best thing about the store is it’s curated with loads of things you’ve never seen or heard of, like Oui the People range, all natural and cruelty free, a bit like shopping duty free in a foreign country where everything is fresh and exciting. And it is divided into sections, skincare, makeup, fragrance although we did struggle to find the self tan which wasn’t all together and seemed quite a limited selection, maybe that’s just in Southern California though where the sun shines.
The store is modern and young, great art work on the walls (definitely good selection for black and brown girls) but extremely busy and we had to queue to pay, only one checkout open which was a bit of a drag.