Where did you buy your beauty items BEFORE Sephora was prevalent?

[greeneyedgirl107]

I got to thinking about shopping for beauty items in the days before Sephora was so ever-present.  Where did you go?  What was it like?  What did you buy?

[greeneyedgirl107]

@WinglessOne what an array!  Great post!

[SportyGirly125]

@greeneyedgirl107 Before Sephora I went to Macy's or a beauty counter at the mall (my Mom used to shop at Merle Norman), Target, and Ulta

[faeriegirl]

@greeneyedgirl107  Before Sephora I got most of my skincare and makeup from Walmart. Mostly neutrogena, covergirl, maybelline, and Revlon. Then in my early 20’s I discovered Ulta and slowly branched into more expensive products like NARS, Urban Decay, and Redken. I found Sephora around 2012 and i think I’ve been rouge every year since they added the tier in 2013.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@faeriegirl yeah, I remember when Ulta was a rarity as well!  

[CynthieLu]

Thank you for this trip down memory lane. @greeneyedgirl107 😉💜

I remember in the "Before Sephora' times I went to the beauty section in Shoppers Drug Mart, or The Hudson's Bay. And waaaaay back when I was a teen there was makeup at The Body Shop. I recall these brightly colored Hair Mascara Wands and sparkly icey blue eyeshadows from there, me and youth of my generation were wearing all over the place. 😆

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CynthieLu I haven't been to The Body Shop for years...not even sure they have stores anymore.   Several years ago I saw some very intriguing lipsticks there, but I was at the airport  (D.C. or Philadelphia) and didn't have much time.

[WinglessOne]

@greeneyedgirl107  The Body Shop recently declared bankruptcy in the US and (I believe) Canada, and they’re now in liquidation. Kind of a bummer because I used to shop there in the… gosh, I wanna say 2000s but maybe also early-mid 2010s. They had a cedar shower/bath milk that smelled amazing, and I loved a few other things they made. 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@WinglessOne thanks for the info!!!

[CorgiMommy]

@greeneyedgirl107 I brought my makeup at Macy's or A&S or after I moved to Seattle Nordstrom's.  I loved lancome as they would have quarterly GWP.  

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CorgiMommy my grandmother had an A&S credit card that was so old it wasn't even that laminated plastic.

[CorgiMommy]

@greeneyedgirl107 that is great, A&S was my favorite store.  Their junior department had the coolest clothes.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CorgiMommy I bet!  I miss the heyday of the department store!

[Samtian]

I was never into the beauty world much before I started at Sephora. I would  grab a few eyeshadow quads from Wal-Mart like Covergirl and Maybelline but that was it. 

[greeneyedgirl107]

I would go to Macy's for foundation samples (I think Estee Lauder or Lacome gave them out freely), and look at the Clinique counter when my mom bought stuff.  I remember back then touching testers was frowned upon. When I got my own money, BBW had a line I liked.  I also liked Origins.  Drug store Maybelline mascara was a must.

It was so frustrating back then, because stores discouraged returns, GWP were rare, and your primary source for tips was magazines.

[faeriegirl]

@greeneyedgirl107  I used to have so many magazine subscriptions! They were my only source for tips and inspiration.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@faeriegirl what ones did you have subscriptions to?  I had YM on and off.

[faeriegirl]

@greeneyedgirl107  As a teen I had YM and 17. Then as an adult off and on I had Glamour,  Allure, Elle, In Style, and Comso.

[CynthieLu]

Thank you for sharing that @greeneyedgirl107 

Aaah yes Magazines had all the trends in the before internet times. 😆 And so many quizzes!

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CynthieLu I used to love the quizzes!

[CynthieLu]

Right? I have so many memories of taking the quizzes and doing them with friends at school. Definitely YM was a popular choice. 😉 @greeneyedgirl107 

[greeneyedgirl107]

@CynthieLu my bbf and I thought it was so funny to give the quizzes to her brother!