Nikki, Olivia, Meredith Rae – Girls get down on Sephora’s Best Gifts
Anytime a girl is feeling down, whether she’s got money or not, Nikki and Olivia say go take a trip to Sephora! Nicole Regan, a holistic life coach, recommends that every woman should go out once-and-a-while and have a absolute guiltless beauty purchase. Whether it’s getting your hair done, buying a dress, or browsing through Sephora sometimes you just need to treat yourself to a little one-on-one girl time for peace-of-mind. So on Nikki’s recommendation, Olivia, Nikki’s adorable four year old angel, Nikki and I decided to treat ourselves to a Sephora day and lunch in Allentown, Pa. It’s nice to have gal pals to just waltz into a store with without any expectations other than just plain old browsing! Well on top of our holistic approach to boost our self admiration and love we also thought we’d give you a little insight on what these three gals found as the best gifts to give from Sephora.
We arrived as Sephora in the Lehigh Valley Mall around 11 am and two hours later and $200 later we walked out looking and feeling like princesses and smelling good enough to eat! We hawked that shop and the staff could not of been more courteous or helpful! Here are some of our fav’s we found browsing around:
First stop was SMASHBOX to check out the eyeshadow!
These eyeshadow’s rock! I decided with my Hazel color eyes and carmel hair (heheh) to try an bronze shadow. I actually bought this shade, flare! It really popped my eyes!
SMASHBOX Eyeshadow NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH -approved!
Nikki said she is always drawn to BENEFIT’s products because of the packaging.
They had an awesome Velvet eyeshadow that really seriously felt like velvet on your skin. It’s super shimmery. Perfect for highlighting or for the casual look! Plus they have names like Leggy… Leggy Blonde- we bust into a little Flight of the chonchords song and dance.
Benefit’s Velvet Eyeshadow NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH -approved!
Then we move onto Urban Decay, known for there alternative color palate. There we found out you can purchase an Awesome gift box of some of their top selling and new shadows. Some of the new shades that are exclusive in this gift box are Jinx, Mushroom, and Ecstasy. Super cute, super shimmery. The assistant also said these boxes fly like hotcakes during the holidays! For $48 we understand why.
Nikki’s favorite Urban Decay Product is their Eyeshadow Primer Potion. You apply this before your shadow and it keeps you shadow in place all day. No creases, no smudges, NADA!! She even admitted to sending her husband in to buy some before she ran out again! What a lucky gal!
Here’s Olivia with her three favorite lip gloss colors by Urban Decay!
Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH -approved!
This is the worst gift to give, a 10 pack of lip gloss! What a waste! Nobody needs 10 soda pop lip glosses! Please save your money and time!! These are just asking to be lost or pushed way back into the cave of the make-up drawer.
Any huge pack of Lip Glosses NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH - NOT APPROVED
My Sister and many others have raved about Bare Minerals products and how amazing they are.
For $60 you can get at full Bare Minerals gift set! A $174 value! Whoop, Whoop!!
They also have these great tutorial kits, like Smokey Eyes or Rocker Eyes, that come with a brush, make-up, and how-to book! At a whopping $32 this is a creative must have for your gal pal (or self)!
Bare Minerals NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH -approved!
I have a love for a good black solid liquid liner. Although lately I’ve had a hard time finding a true, true black liner, and if you’ve had the same problem then try Kat Von D’s black metal liquid eyeliner! There is no softness, no transparency! These liners as bold and pure as the names.. BLACK METAL!
Kat Von D Black Metal Liquid Liner MEREDITH -approved!
We then were introduced by our Sephora Make-up artist to Givenchy Phenomen Eyes Mascara, $28, and Mr. Light corrective stick, $32. OMG! OMG!
Let me tell you or show you! The right eye has the mascara applied to it:
Can you see the difference? The wand is a little scary looking. It reminds me of one of the weapons you could use on the Road Rash video game. The end of the wand is just a spiky ball. There is a trick to applying it, you look down and tap it lightly against your lashes. Our artist instructed that it takes about two times to get used to it. She lightly dabs the lashes here on Nikki.
After she applied the Mr. Bright stick around my eyes, nose, and outlined my lower cheekbone, she blended it in with a sponge! This stick, if used everyday, can last up to 3 months! The difference was seen right away! It even drew a crowd, as some other ladies tested and approved Mr. Bright too! I’m seriously going home to throw out my make-up bag! This is all I need, Givenchy Phenomen Eyes mascara, Mr. Bright, Smashbox eyeshadow, and some gloss! Look at me now!!
Givenchy Phenomen Eyes Mascara and Mr. Light corrective stick, NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH – Seriously approved!
Next was time to check out the perfumes!
Nikki was giving Olivia a 101 lesson on how to test the perfumes!
“First you spray it, wave it, sniff it!”
‘Liv went straight to testing out the scents for ya!
“Harjuku lovers perfume smells like when you were a teenager on the beach, very suntanny,” according to Nikki!
But Harjuku Lovers scents are OLIVIA approved
Tocca Florence eau de parfum
This picture represents our approval
yuck! For $68 pass on this gift!
‘Liv liked La Vanila Labratorie natural perfume with antioxidents.
Their bottles are even recyclable. No Animal Testing! $56
The Vanilla-Coconut was pretty Fab. The Vanilla-Lavendar not so Fab.
The Vanilla-Strawberry was sweet and yummy!
La Vanila Labratorie strawberry and coconut scents are MEREDITH, OLIVIA approved
Wandering around it is hard to miss this display for Dylan’s Candy Bar created by Ralph Lauren’s daughter. MMMMmmmmMMM! The chocolate cupcake body butter is to die for! We wanted to eat our hands after testing this out! Some other great scents were Coconut Bon Bon and Ice cream Dream Sugar Body Cream $35. The Strawberry Licorice was a little over-the-top sweet. I probably wouldn’t buy it or wear it. The coolest thing was their gift sets. The Piece of cake gift set comes with a yummy lotion, shower gel, and lip saver! Great for Ladies, great for Teens, great for Girls!
Dylan’s Candy Bar NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH -approved!
Cookies and milk .. sounds good but smells just okay
Since we were then back at the perfume section once again after Philosophy Nikki squirted some Burberry Brit. It has a hint of vanilla. Nikki describes it as ” Firey, spicy, airy, and fruity.”
Burberry Brit Perfume NIKKI - approved
Another “OOOooooooh” was heard down the hall when Nikki tested Versace Versense $49-65. The scent consisted of: Bergomat, Green Madarin, Sea Dandelion, Cardamon, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Cedar wood, Olive tree, and Musk.
Versace Versense Perfume NIKKI MEREDITH- approved
Then Olivia surprised us with an all around winner, Masaki, Masaki Paris
Warm, sensual, and light! Any girl can wear this scent. MMmmmm, I’m smelling it on my wrist right now, and I’m still lovin’ it!
Masaki, Masaki Perfume NIKKI, OLIVIA, MEREDITH – Seriously Approve
I’m not much of a perfume fan, but I was really impressed to see that Sephora offers a ‘Sephora favorites’ $50 sampler of fragrances for her! I then wondered if they had a “For Him” sampler. We walked over to the small men’s section and found Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male Eau de Toilette. $50 of heaven. This is the kind of scent that makes a woman rip a man’s clothes off!!! Heheh, Nik brought some home for Dennis 
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male Eau de Toilette NIKKI, MEREDITH - Seriously Approve
Want to get laid? Buy that. Want to be all over you hubby; buy that.
Last but, not least ‘Liv and I tested out some great roll-on perfumes. These would be excellent stocking stuffers, or great to keep in your purse for last minute ’smell-ups.’
Poule de luxe made in France $18 yummy!
Nuts scents have Eco friendly packaging and only $20
Ylang Ylang D’ Amore smelled tranquil and floral! It’s our pick!
Mimosa Bouquette melon smelled, well, this is a quote, ” yuck!”
The Mango smelled okay, but not necessarily a winner. It was kind of bland.
After we checked out we headed over to the bakery next store for lunch. Nikki hesitated as we walked up to the counter to check out the menu, turned to me and said,
” You sure you don’t want to head over to Olive Garden? We’re too beautiful to not be waited on today!”
How could I argue with that! I hadn’t been to an Olive Garden in ages, but have to say I was impressed with the all-you-can-eat soup and salad. We didn’t engorge ourselves, luckily, and saved some room to share a lemon cake. Delish. It was like coffee crumbles and cake with lemon pudding in between! It went perfect with my latte. Olivia couldn’t stop eating it! She said I could quote her on that too! After lunch we look at each other and decided what to do next…. hmmmm, more shopping? Maybe. We get into the car and Olivia shouts out, “Oh that blue and black car is pretty. I like it.” We bust out laughing. She doesn’t understand why, but you will….
She’s something else… ain’t she 
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Comments ( 2 )
I love this article….great INFO and great PICS!!!!
Elizabeth-seriously approved!
Bizza added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
9:23 pm
saw on facebook to read this article and i seriously approve of it! i am most jealous that i was not on that shopping trip! i LOVE makeup and now am super excited to go to sephora’s website. great job, can’t wait for the next one!
ellen added these pithy words on
Nov 20 09 at
9:42 pm
