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Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

First off, I would like to say thank you to Sephora and Sephoria for the opportunity to attend this event at a premier level.  This experience was unforgettable and I had such a wonderful time. My report is very thorough and it does note the good and the bad moments.  Please know that I am a person that rarely gets angry or bitter.  I’m a human that is as calm as a peach, nothing much really bothers me and I can look for the best in any situation 🙂

 

The biggest highlight was meeting all of the ladies.  It literally felt like we have known each for years.  I mean, kind of, we just haven’t met in person.  There is an amazing group here and I have to thank Sephora for putting this event together which had brought us all together.

 

Communication – Unfortunately Sephora has a poor track record in regards to communication within itself and to its customers.  So many issues can be avoided if Sephora would actually put effort into a streamline method of communicating within its own company.  (This sounds harsh, but it’s the truth.) It took (5) emails between (3) different Sephoria email addresses to finally reserve my spot for a masterclass.  After sending my 4th email attempt, I was hinted to send another email and to note the subject line that I was from the BIC and a winner of the contest.  So I sent the 5th email and guess how long after that I received a response? Less than 7 minutes. In one of the emails I received it stated: “There will be dedicated VIP seating for you in this class,…”  This process was horrendous and the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.  I figured that I would just go with the flow and if something didn’t work out then “Oh well.”  But then again that isn’t right because you are paying for an experience and ticket costs were not cheap.

 

Session 2 – Due to the issues I heard about for session 1 I arrived earlier then I had planned. I was told several times that we would be let in at 5:30pm (into the Garden.)  5:30 made sense, as this would give the employees a head start in getting people their wristbands and reservations. Sadly, we weren’t let in until about right after 6.  Everyone had to hang out in the Garden as no one was being let in to the actual venue as of yet.  Which was fine as it gave us time to stop by the booths in the Garden to take pictures, get samples and mingle.  La Mer, Gucci, It Cosmetics were proactive about giving out their samples.  The reps at Glamglow had clear purses around their necks filled with samples and didn’t offer any.  I had to ask, which I know is minor.  But, this was a $449 ticket I don’t feel like I have to ask for a sample.  I should be WOWED.  We were finally let in after 6:12pm. 

 

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While waiting on line we met another community member!  The lovely @fantaji !!

 

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@fantaji @zombiemetroant and @heartsmyface@fantaji @zombiemetroant and @heartsmyface

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Charlotte Tilbury Masterclass

 

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People lined up for the class.  I went to the front of the line and asked the lady that was standing guard by the entryway about the dedicated VIP seating that was in the email I received. I showed her the email and I also let her know that I was a contest winner and reporting on the event.  She CONFIRMED that she would find out about the seating.  I went back on line and watched her.  Guess what, she didn’t ask anyone anything.  I was watching her.  A few minutes later she started to let people in.  When I got up to her I asked her specifically if she found out about the dedicated seating. (I knew she didn’t but was wanting to see what she would say.) She said “Your fine, go right in.”  I must have had a dumb look on my face and just walked by her disappointed. No offense to her but, wtf was that? (I’m still calm as a peach, nothing is worth getting worked up about.  I just enjoy the time and go along with how things play out J )

The class was scheduled to start at 6:15, it started at 6:27pm.  The masterclass room was made up of 4 wall curtains.  Overall it looked and felt intimate and cozy.  However, in reality the room was small and so terribly hot.  There was zero ventilation being that the “curtain walls” were from ceiling to floor and the entry way was closed off with a curtain.  There was only a few inches of clearance in between the ceiling and where the curtain rod started.   My view was also partially obstructed by a large lighting device.  With the mount of equipment, and the room filled with guests there should have been air conditioning. There was one fan that was pointed to the stage.  So the rest of us had to sweat it out.  That was lovely ❤️

Aside from the above hiccups I personally enjoyed the masterclass itself.  Charlotte has a lot of energy and is a proud product junkie as she admitted.  Yes, one of her artists was applying the makeup on the model as she spoke.  I can see why it seemed like a sales pitch but I didn’t see it that way.  She was very informative on how to use her products and why she came up with them.  You can tell that she loves everything that she has built and wants to share it with everyone.  She did eventually partake in applying makeup on the model.  If she didn’t have the artist working as she went on then should would not of have been able to tell her stories about the products that she created.  You can absolutely tell that she is passionate about the beauty industry.

Once the class was over I went up to stage to say hello.  To my surprise she fully remembered me from the 34 street meet and greet in NYC. I took some pictures of her product setup that was on the table.  She was very friendly and let me just snap away while she hung out there a bit longer. Then I left to her booth for a proper photo op with her. ❤️

Applying that guilding glow everywhereApplying that guilding glow everywhereWho else could just sit and stare at all this!?Who else could just sit and stare at all this!?

The one regret I have was not booking a Drybar service.  I had curled my hair so I didn’t see the point, but later on it got flat and frizzy so I could have used the help.  It’s ok though, next time for sure.  There was a mix of the sizing of the booths. Some small booths and other more open.  But the spacing on the main floor was great and it wasn’t crowded at all.  Downstairs was where a lot of the fun was.  It did feel a bit claustrophobic with the lower ceilings and crowds. The Fenty section was a decent size and was the best set up for sure.  One of the artists applied the 24kray Fairy bomb, omgosh!  That stuff is gorgeous, it is very sparkly.  I ended up purchasing it and will absolutely be purchasing the other 2 shades once they come up.

The Fragrance Bar was such a neat idea!  You were able to redeem a ticket from each booth for a free drink at the bar.  The drinks were specific to the particular fragrance booth.  The setups were created well and highlighted their top seller scents.  Replica’s booth was themed around the Jazz Club fragrance;  Cigars, Cognac, saxophone and a man’s chair.  Tom Ford had the best drink imo.  It was like a spiked coconut water, delicious and refreshing.  The space for this section was kind of tight.  It was the same amount of space as Fenty, but with a bar and 4 booth setups it definitely was cramped with people on line for drinks and people trying to take photos at the booths.

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The lip lounge was insane and so cool. I opted for a SC lipstick.  The customization was for the outer tube cover.  You selected a picture from your phone and they printed out a sticker which was applied onto a blank outer tube.  They also gave you the original tube from the lipstick too which was nice of them.

Pat McGrath – PMG labs was applying glitter lips.  It was so much fun and who wouldn’t want sparkly lips!

 

FOOD

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Honestly, I didn’t even think about eating until I saw the food bar.  Out of nowhere all of a sudden I was starving. They called this the Café, I don’t know who in their right mind would call this a café.  It was literally an empty bar with 2 fridges that held prepackaged food.  The location of the food bar was really awkward.  It was downstairs all the way in a corner in front of a couple of other booths. There was nowhere to sit and I had to stand and eat on the side of a booth.  Where was the mac & cheese, sliders and donuts??  The selection was disappointing.  I’m not a fan of Quinoa or Tofu, I like flavor and real food.  I caved and got the pasta, it was fine and did its job.

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I was downstairs for a very long time, by the time I got upstairs it was so empty.  This helped me to get to every single booth with 0 wait.  Most gave out deluxe samples and some didn’t.  The Huda setup was pretty cool with a whole kitchen setup.  Unfortunately, the reps were busy chatting with each other.  I felt ignored after being there for a while so I left and continued on. Upstairs was were the services were and the setups were all glam.  The foundation closet was intense with the biggest display of foundations.  They were offering to color match and if you purchased a foundation it was at 20% off which was an added bonus.  I actually don’t even know how they could color match being that the surrounding lighting was colored.  There was a ring light on one end, but I can’t see that working out?

Throughout the event I kept bumping into our bicbabes.  J  It’s still so surreal that we were all just together.  We took tons of pictures and kept wandering around back downstairs trying to get back to as many booths again as possible.    There was significantly less people when we went back downstairs.  Needless to say we were hopping around like psycho beauty crazies.  It was hilarious, we laughed and smiled so much.  I can’t wait to see you ladies again! Xoxo

 

Upon exit we were able to redeem our swag bags.  The Gold Swag Bag was fantastic and worth every penny.  I also had a Bronze swag bag.  For the Bonze swag bag, it was advertised with a $175 value and it was clearly not.  So I am puzzled and am wondering what Sephora will do to remedy this issue.

 

Bronze Bag:

 

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Thank you so much Sephora for creating this event and hope that you bring it back for next yr.  Hiccups are guaranteed to happen with a first time event.  Please consider all the feedback from everyone. 🙂

 

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Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

Wow! Great recap and pics @darkiceis! Even with the little hiccups it looked like so much fun! Congrats again!

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

Great review @darkicei!! A few hiccups, as you mentioned, but so great to meet you and hang out in LA all together! 💗💕💗

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Thank you for your full and honest review @darkiceis! You brought up some great points! Communication is definitely one of Sephora's areas for improvements. I'm glad you had a good time though! 

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I'm sorry to hear about the poor communication but I'm glad overall you had a great time, @darkiceis!  The lip lounge does sound really cool!

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@darkiceis Thank you for detailed review pointing both good and lacklustre aspects of the event. I hope Sephora makes up to the bronze key holders regarding swag bags.

BTW you are so gorgeous 😘

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@darkiceis thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures from the event!!! It's really interesting to hear about it!!!

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Did I tell you your makeup was flawless that night? Because it is/was, lol!  

 

It was a welcome surprise to meet another BIC member just as we entered; hope you enjoyed yourself @fantaji .

 

The communication issues were extremely frustrating and I know this was not exclusive to us.  I'm sure that frustration was amplified for those who paid nearly $500 to attend a session.  Thank goodness we had access to a number of other attendees so we could compare notes regarding how to receive responses from the event CS. 

 

Love that you captured @KatieBT @LexBT and @BrendaBT 's reactions to receiving the HOF hats!

 

Sorry to hear about the discomfort you experienced during the masterclass but that's amazing that she remembered you!  I was blown away by how incredibly sweet she was.

 

"...hopping around like psycho beauty crazies," oh so accurate 😆.  Thank goodness our session was not jam packed, it was nice to move from space to space with little to no wait time.  I had so much fun with you and your sister; can't wait until we plan our next venture!

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@darkiceis Excellent review, girl! 

 

I had so much fun meeting you and your lovely guest at dinner and hanging out with y’all at the event💗💗💗

 

I didn’t even see the food booth, but I’m so sorry there weren’t more options - there definitely should have been tacos, waffles and pizza (just no nutella) - Didn’t they know we were coming???😂.

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As you and @gonerogue mentioned, no one at Too Faced said anything about the mascara engraving to us, either, and I took more than one pic in that booth.  I don’t remember interacting with anyone at the Huda Booth, either - I mainly just admired the decorations.  Overall, though, we alao had a blast - It was a magical event for us!!!💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

 

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

Girl, you did a great job on this review Heart  I did notice the limited food options when I got downstairs but I wasn't even hungry and didn't bother to look at the menu.  Maybe next time they can set up food sample areas, like Costco (LOL!)  

 

I only knew about personalized stations because I had read an article the day prior of all the "personalized" services.  It could've been advertised better.  Also, I thought Too Faced could've had a bigger booth.  

 

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Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

 @darkiceis This is an awesome review!  Even though there were some hiccups, now I feel like I have a way better idea of what it was like to be there. I would consider attending future events if they have them.  

I'm an events project manager and I'm honestly surprised there weren't more issues with a first time event.  This sort of feedback is exactly what makes future events so much better! 

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@darkiceis whew, so relieved you didn't call out my stalking by name (bumping into BIC ladies sounds so much less creepy). Also totally agree on the CT class. I really appreciated you approaching the door lady, and calling out the promise of VIP seating, because I was promised that as well (totally forgot)! 

Totally agree that the communication was brutal. Having to email so many different emails and keep getting referred to other emails, until finally having to chirp up that we were BIC winners to get a response, was wildly frustrating. 

I definitely missed the garden giveaways (other than La Mer... mostly because I thought that was the entrance...) because of how rushed we were to get to the 6:15pm class. 

The food was definitely a weird selection for an event like this. When there are no seating spots, in particular for food, you want easy bites rather than a committed dish like pasta! 

 

Thanks for the excellent write-up reflecting my own experience and reminding me of so many of the issues that I forgot in my little foggy brain! I am so looking forward to stalking seeing you again!

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@darkiceis Thanks for your very in-depth experience review! I can relate to your points in every sense. I would say that 80% of the booths were amazing and their customer service was spot-on but the other 20% was seriously lacking. At Huda, the employee just stared at me as I was observing the easy bake powders and didn't attempt to interact with me at all. When I asked her if she could take a picture for me, she said sure but her whole energy was just off.... like she had been working a 24 hour shift and was drained. I felt bad so I left that out of my review but some booths were this way with me- Too Faced included- and some didn't even have anyone there like Glow Recipe. The Tom Ford booth greeted me, gave me sample and took my picture but never offered to give me a drink ticket and yet they offered it to everyone after me. I know I look like I'm 13 half the time but that was the point of the 21+ wristbands, right? Anyway, sorry for the additional rant! Thanks again for your pictures and your reviews 🙂 I'm glad you got to meet some Community members and I"m glad you had an awesome time!

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@gonerogue Huda was for sure one of the worst offenders! My friend was excited to check out their booth because her make-up artist friend loves Huda products. But when we walked up they legitimately sighed and turned to each other. Jazz and I looked briefly, shrugged and wandered off. Felt pretty BS, especially because they held such a big space on the main floor. Also, I love baking (with an oven) and so would've loved to get fun shots there, but felt pretty unwelcome!

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@gonerogue  Ok so it wasn't just me about the Huda booth! The vibe was definitely "i'm done, if i don't look up they won't see me."

 

Thanks for your additional thoughts, all it takes is for one person to make it feel crappy.  That stinks about Tom Ford and odd, they were very friendly.

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

Chiming in here to agree with all of you - Huda was in no mood-a (LOL! see what I did there @darkiceis?) which is super ironic because Huda comes across as super personable and bubbly so for the brands staff to react in that manner was perplexing.  What was the purpose of them being there?  I stood there and played with some of the products for nearly 15 minutes - I was the only one there and not a word.  This experience was in both Session 2 and Session 3 Smiley Indifferent 

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@darkiceis I can't heart your post right now for some reason so I'll have to come back and leave that later....

 

That's way harsh for the Bronze attendees!  I hope Sephora makes that right with all the bronze ticket holders.

 

Beautiful pictures, and thanks for being critical!!!

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@itscarin  Thanks, I wasn't going to hold back.  Things can't change if it's sugar coated.  

 

As far as the Bronze bag goes, I would like to receive what was advertised.  So I guess we will see what happens.

 

Don't worry about the hearts, it's a known issue. 😞

 

 

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@darkiceis, love you so much. Thx for such a detailed review 

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@blackkitty2014 You're welcome 🙂

Re: Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

@darkiceis So cool that CT remembered you!  🙂

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  • @fantaji @zombiemetroant and @heartsmyface
  • Applying that guilding glow everywhere
  • Who else could just sit and stare at all this!?
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