Sephoria Report: The Good and The Not so Great

[darkiceis]

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

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 everywhereWho 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.

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. 🙂

[darkiceis]

@greeneyedgirl107  It was so cool that she did and she was so sweet and excited about it!

[prettyinpa]

@darkiceis-  Wow, what a detailed review!  Love all your pictures and the narrative, it felt like I was really there.

[darkiceis]

@prettyinpa  Thanks for reading, I know that it was really long. Kinda cool to know that it felt like you were really there 🙂 

[yankeefaithful]

@darkiceis  What a great review!! Thanks for sharing the highs and lows of this great event!! I love the pics (you look lovely!!) I know it must have been so special to see members of the BIC!! Enjoy all your goodies and thanks again for sharing!!😊

[darkiceis]

@yankeefaithful  You're so welcomed!  Let me tell you, there is vibrant bunch of ladies here. ❤️