Recently we got wind of a post from Jezebel where a Sephora employee allowed them to pick her brain on the best beauty brands for everything from foundation to lip stainer.
I do not know about you but when I go to Sephora I am there for hours picking up and putting things back, I wish for once I could know what works and what doesn’t once and for all.
The interview was amazing and from it we created a list so that you knew exactly what to get .. Here goes:
Best from Anastasia brand?
Answer: Brow Wiz
Best black eye pencil that does not transfer
I Use This Product EVERY Week!
To my gyals, clay has cured my skin of years of acne proned skin, improved my complexion, acne scars and shrunk my pores. This is the best clay mask assortment pack to try all my favorite kinds of clay + it's affordable.
Answer: “Try Marc Jacobs. It’s the only one that doesn’t transfer from my upper tightline when I blink.”
Best Eye lash curlers – remove the pads instead of throwing out the entire curler.
Answer: “I was using the Revlon one for ages and then I used a Kevyn Aucoin one and was like WHOA, I didn’t realize there could actually be a difference.” “Yeah, you can replace the rubber pads. A lot of them come with an extra one.”
Best water proof browns and blue mascara and eyeliner
Answer: Make Up For Ever’s Aqua range of eyeliners.
Best brands for eye makeup – long lasting and best colors
Answer: Make Up Forever’s new reformulated shadows
Best mascara under $30.00
Answer: “A lot of people like Too Faced Better Than Sex and Benefit They’re Real, but I don’t because the brushes are too big. You have to get to know what brushes you like best, I think. And if you like a dryer or wetter formula. Too Faced is dry, Benefit is wet.
Benefit They’re Real also doesn’t come off very well. Get the mascara sampler at holiday time and try as many as you can to figure out your preferences. And to be honest, there are some GREAT drugstore mascaras! (CoverGirl is under-hyped.)”
What expensive lipstick is worth the money?
Answer: NARS Audacious!
Best lip stain
Answer: Sephora Collection!
Best BB foundation – not thick, creamy with glowy finish
1. Dr. Jart – The Waterfuse (blue tube) is good for anyone with dry skin. but not much shade range
2. Diorskin – Nude BB cream – expensive, limited shade range
3. Nars Pure Radiant tinted moisturizer – decent coverage glowy and more shade range
Best full coverage foundation
Answer: “Make up forever I like the HD for a more natural finish but some decent coverage (I use a beauty blender to sheer it out a bit).
I can’t use it in the summer because I get too oily. Mat Velvet + is a pretty big seller as well, so yeah, I like MUFE pretty well.
Most foundations are going to break down, that’s just how they work. However, I think I’ve heard Revlon Colorstay will last a long time. Worth a try?”
Best foundation for black women:
MUFE and NARS
MUFE HD -“light” but provides serious coverage
Best primer?
Answer: “Smashbox primer – meh. I don’t think it’s great. The good thing is they do have like eight variations, and I like the hydrating one decently during the winter, but mostly their standard clear silicone-y one.
I think it can smooth skin ever so slightly and make foundation blend nicely, but I don’t know if it “does” anything either. I tend to more mattifying ones in an attempt to control shine, myself. I will say, I have Urban Decay pore perfecting and I think that one’s useless”
Best contouring kit?
Answer: “I think contouring is over-hyped” but Smash Box
Best highlighting product for fair skin tones
Answer: “Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfectors. The powders are more glittery, but the liquids are gorgeous and they are coming out with a cream that I can’t wait to get my hands on!”
Best moisturizing SPF
Answer: Shiseido
“Not specifically for sensitive skin. Maybe Shiseido? Their SPFs are the bomb. Expensive, so I’d only use them on the face. But you should check ingredient lists for irritants.”
Best splurge for skin product
Answer: The new Peter Thomas Roth Irish Moor mask.
“Any recommendations for good serums, day creams, and night creams that aren’t too crazy expensive? Maybe cleansers and exfoliating stuff too”
Answer: “Yeah, FAB (First Aid Beauty) and Clinique. Clinique has some duds. (Their 3 step system is… interesting)…… Cleansers just get washed down the drain, so you don’t need to spend much on them. Treatments/serums are where I’d spend my money, targeting specific concerns. Then moisturizers. Masks are fun, but a lot of them are just clay based and drying.”
“I like FAB (First Aid Beauty) because they seem to be gentle yet effective. I can safely recommend them to most skin types. Same with Ole Henriksen. I think Peter Thomas Roth is over priced but decent (love his Pumpkin enzyme mask and the new Irish Moor mask).”
What is the most overrated beauty brand that the store carries, in your opinion?
Answer: “That’s hard. Benefit can HYPE a product like nobody’s business, but they’re not a bad brand. I think a lot of luxury brands are hit or miss at the prices they ask you to pay (YSL, Dior, Guerlain, even Marc Jacobs).
You know, now that I think about it, people think Bare Minerals is God’s gift to skin, and it’s just not. But people are LOYAL to that brand. It amazes me how much we sell. Josie Maran may be slightly overrated too, but she doesn’t have a huge line”
Worse trend?
Answer: “Contouring is a big trend right now, but ugh, most of the contour palettes aren’t good. You’re better off finding “a” contour color (I like Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder) than buying a kit. Unless you are a MUA, you’re not going to use all those shades.”
How do we get free samples at Sephora?
Answer: “I think it’s best to ask the person working in that “world” instead of the cashier. And before I was an employee, if they were all too busy, I would just make my own. Haha. Though don’t ask for samples of blush or eyeshadow. I hate those people. They are dumb”
I love giving samples when it’s not busy. We more or less have a rule of three per client. But when the place is hopping and you walk up without buying anything and just hand me three perfume bottles and demand samples, I am going to side eye you so hard. :)”
Featured image: Shutterstock.com
I use tarte clay brow set, I like it but I’m will to try another one
Sephora…think it was like $30 but I got it for $15 cause I had some kind of bonus cash thingy
Ohhh okay !