Sephora Nostalgia, Memorabilia, History & Packaging Thread

[sister13]

UPDATE 6.1.2026: With the Community closing, I wanted to share my personal blog, Makeup Happy Hour, which is makeuphappyhour.com. I'm also @ makeuphappyhour on Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube (though not very active lately). Please follow! I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone during the years and sharing love of Dyson Beauty! This really meant a lot to me over the years. Please stay in touch on makeuphappyhour(dot)com and you can sign an interest form for a new community hopefully down the road. Take care, lovelies and I hope we can all stay in touch! 

Around Christmas, I remember discussing the past holiday special design packaging that Sephora used to make each year. I remember when they did free gift wrapping for several years, and had holiday designs for boxes, bags and cute little plastic envelopes/tubes. I still have a bunch from past years since they were so festive, and of high quality so we just fold them up and reuse them year after year!

I know someone mentioned it, and I kept thinking we should have a thread to catalog and document some of the Sephora items I come across from time to time. Then, finding a brochure from maybe around 2002 (pictured below) has spurred me into action today. I remember feeling so amazed and instantly in love with Sephora because of all the testers. I still have PTSD as a kid/teen of wanting to play with the department store testers and 

I am a bit of a pack rat, and I come across things that either I still can’t part with, or things that I actually want to declutter but will feel better if I can archive a photo somewhere, haha! I’m thinking of the following kinds of items, but feel free to post additional items or memories connected with Sephora that you want to share with us at BIC! 

• Sephora packages or shopping bags from any point in time
• Beauty Insider, VIB, VIB ROUGE/ROUGE Sephora-branded gifts (remember when you got a gift for differs tiers? (I’m sure I still have some of those old welcome card brochures around when I can find them).
• Sephora Ads or mailers or brochures that you like or come across when decluttering 
• Other Sephora merchandise or swag
• Sephora memories or stories
• Sephora or ‘brands at Sephora’ history or memories
• Beauty Insider Community/Beauty Talk swag or memorabilia
• Whatever else you think is relevant!

Hopefully I’m not the only one who has these random things lying around, but if so, feel free to laugh at me and my treasures!

Anyway, below is the brochure I found today! Isn’t it great? It mentions 74 stores, and it was folded up along with a product promo brochure and an online order form from 2002 when I lived in Vail. I totally forgot they ever sold Chanel! I also see Sue Devitt, Bourgois, Tony & Tina, Bliss, and DDF that used to be sold at Sephora (US anyway) but are no longer (unless I’m mistaken).

I remember feeling so amazed and instantly in love with Sephora because of all the testers available. I still have PTSD as a kid/teen of wanting to play with the department store testers and the sales ladies being so mean (we thought anyway!) I also remember such profound hope and disappointment at purchasing drugstore makeup with no testers available! It’s neat that it’s listed here in the Play, touch, smell, try. I also think it’s pretty funny they did an acronym (I think, is that what it is?)

NOTE: Sorry that BIC ruins the resolution on photos, but if you click on them, you can see more detail and text. I’ll try to repost pics from another device at a larger size some time, but right now BIC is preventing me from posting from the iPad! 

 

 

 

More details:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CorgiMommy]

From Sephora's monthly subscription service 

 

[sister13]

Cute! @CorgiMommy 

[quspork]

Yes! The original PLAY bags were so nice, @CorgiMommy!

[Mellmars1185]

@CorgiMommy So cool! I know that the subscription was not available in Canada. Is the program still going on?

[CorgiMommy]

@Mellmars1185   it was discontinued a few years ago 

[SportyGirly125]

@Mellmars1185 They cancelled it a couple of years ago.

[Mellmars1185]

Here are a Turkish Towel and Eye Gel Coolers I got a few years back in the Rewards Bazaar. I also received this brush in 2018.

 

[sister13]

Nice! I missed the eye gels, but I have the towel and rouge brush! @Mellmars1185 

[Mellmars1185]

@sister13 I think the eye gels were from the reqards bazaar

[SportyGirly125]

@Mellmars1185 @sister13 Yes the eye gels were on the Rewards Bazaar. 

[CorgiMommy]

I want the eye mask gels 

[Mellmars1185]

@CorgiMommy Aren't they cute? I keep them in my fridge.

[missjeanie]

@Mellmars1185 I picked up two of those turkish towels when they were available.  Love them!  They should do those again!!

[Mellmars1185]

@missjeanie I would definitely get it again or a set of tea towels.

[itsfi]

Ahhh @Mellmars1185, that towel was such a great option in the Rewards Bazaar! 😍

[CorgiMommy]

I love this thread.

Here is what I could find without going crazy.  Two mini brushes that were Rouge gifts and a mini NARS Talc-Free Powder Blush in Orgasm also a Rouge gift given after you leveled up to Rouge.  I miss those little gifts.  (There were lots of complaints about these gift on BIC threads but it was nice to be recognized when you hit the Rouge level.)

Plus a much loved free gift bag.  I have more of these in different colors.

As I come across more I will post them.

 

 

 

 

 

[sister13]

Loved the brush gifts! I think I still have the pouches too, but who knows where anything is these days, lol?

[missjeanie]

@CorgiMommy Totally agree... I loved the mini brushes.  How do people always complain about free things??  lol

[itsfi]

I miss those brushes @CorgiMommy! 😍 They were such a special treat for re-Rouging. 💗 They also helped to, ummmm, encourage, looking into brushes more and that's led to some pretty finds as well.

[CorgiMommy]

I agree @itsfi , I purchased more brushes from the Sephora Collection after receiving the first one.

[itsfi]

This was a fun trip down memory lane @sister13. 😍 Here’s a tote that was part of a giveaway for the opening of a Sephora Studio a few years back. 

I had mentioned / inquired in a previous post about an exhibit of sorts at Sephora HQ. There was a Museum of Ice Cream in San Francisco; it would be fun to have a Museum of Sephora Swag @TeamBIC. 😉