Sephora Store Openings and Events

[Mcakes]

Hi everyone! This is a thread to share your experiences at store openings and events. There’s nothing quite like going to a brand new store with fully stocked shelves, clean testers, and sometimes...giveaways 😉  Share it all here! 

 

Spoiler

[sister13]

What a great thread! I’ve been to two store openings here in Colorado! Really nothing like a whole store of brand new testers. If I can come across my past photos I will post them! @Mcakes 

[elise222]

A store just opened in my city, and the brand new testers really are amazing! It's been open for about a week now, and I'm still finding products that haven't even been touched. Or say "try me" but the little protective foil hasn't been taken off the cap.

[Mcakes]

@sister13it’s practically a whole new world! I recently missed a store opening and am so bummed. I love the little scratch offs they give! 

[Guessgal]

Sephora UK Store Opening (the first one! if you don't count the one that closed down 17yrs ago)

The stars aligned and I happened to be in the UK as Sephora re-entered the market and thought I would share my experience of the store’s grand opening. I also attended the Sephora UK pop-up back in October (I can share my experience of that too if anyone’s interested). I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think I might actually miss London, so visiting Sephora UK was like a nice little bow that wrapped up my time in this city.

Sephora UK promoted the store opening on Instagram with a message that the first 300 customers in line would receive a goodie bag so I knew the place would get a little crazy, but I didn’t think it would be THIS crazy! The store ribbon cutting was at 11:30am and the mall itself opened at 10am so I thought arriving at 10 would be alright in case I’d have to wait outside in the cold, right? Wrong. I got there and was told I was in the 1200s in line and that ppl had queued up starting from 6:30am! The security guards even told me that some ppl had come all the way from France even though they have Sephora over there (presumably just to get the goodie bag) - absolutely wild! I was disappointed and torn whether to leave or stay in line. Ultimately, I stayed because I figured I came all the way here, might as well make a day out of it. When I eventually got in and looked around, only Tarte was offering a 3 piece gift consisting of mini mascara, maracuja lip balm, and primer with £40 purchase, as well as a surprise product with tote with £70 purchase. I was tempted to purchase 2 juicy maracuja lipsticks, but  based on the exchange rate, it would’ve been cheaper to just buy in Canada so I opted not to that day.

Swatches of Maracuja lipsticks

I stayed for the Huda Beauty masterclass - the MUA applied some blush and highlight to the model - but it was nothing groundbreaking. However, I did pick up the SEPHORA COLLECTION Big By Definition Defining & Volumizing Mascara Ultra Black - black for my landlady since she got hooked on it after seeing me wearing it (thanks for the gratis, @TeamBIC !) and since she liked the thin, sleek wand that wasn’t very rubbery/plastic-like. So the day wasn’t completely fruitless.

Fast forward to Friday night at around 9pm, I saw that Sephora UK had just posted they were going to give goodie bags to the first 100 customers in line on Saturday and ofc, I cancelled all my plans to book it to Sephora by 7:30am the next day 😂 I mean, after my experience earlier in the week, I had to commit to going all in or not bother showing up at all. Luckily, it was a success! The tote bag wasn’t very full (only the bottom 1/4 had product in it, but I calculated the value and it ended up being pretty good! 

Goodie Bag total: $310.08CAD (all value estimates in CAD)

• Drybar Liquid Glass Miracle Smoothing Sealant $2.69
• Ilia Multi-Stick Cream Blush + Highlighter + Lip Tint $47 (full size)
• Tarte Maneater mascara $16.50
• The 7 Virtues Lotus Pear Eau de Parfum Travel Spray $39 (full size)
• Kérastase Resistance Heat Protecting Leave In Treatment for Damaged Hair $30 (travel size)
• Medik8 Crystal Retinal 3 $81.42 (full size)
• Redken Extreme Strength Repair $6
• Redken Extreme Conditioner Strength Repair $4.17
• Skinfix Barrier+ Triple Lipid-Peptide Face Cream $25 (travel size)
• MAC Fix+ $0.98
• Sephora Collection Coconut face mask $7
• Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm $44.80
• Amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo $5.52

I ended up staying for the Danessa Myricks masterclass, and WOW it was incredible! Danessa Myricks herself came for the masterclass and applied the makeup on the model. Her colour choices were mesmerizing from the moment she started. She used Danessa Myricks Beauty Colorfix - Multi-Use Eye, Cheek & Lip Waterproof Liquid Pigment Desert Rose as a base all over the lid, then Danessa Myricks Beauty Colorfix - Multi-Use Eye, Cheek & Lip Waterproof Liquid Pigment Ballerina on the center of the lids.

Desert Rose

Desert Rose is a deep rosy shade that blended so beautifully on her eyelids (kind of like how you would anticipate a mauve would or neutral shade would); I would’ve been okay with just wearing this wash of colour and heading out the door! But of course, I didn’t know what I was missing out on, because Ballerina came in with a bang and changed the whole look up! It definitely brightened up the look and gave it more of a subtle charm with the glam.

Desert Rose + Balerina

I really liked the eye look already, but sitting there watching her apply the makeup felt like peeling the layers of an onion; once I think I’m near the core, there’s another layer! One of Danessa’s MUAs suggested we spice things up even further and add Danessa Myricks Beauty Lightwork Vol. IV: Transcendence Palette - Illuminating Eye & Face Pigments in shade Trippy on top of Ballerina. That really took it to another level. Her look changed from a lovely subtle glam to never-look-away-from-me! I mean, the colour shift was truly extraterrestrial, I kid you not! Overall, I was super glad I attended the masterclass, as you can probably tell from my enthusiasm, haha! I would highly recommend attending a Danessa Myricks masterclass if you see one happening in a store near you, just to see her shadows in action.

Desert Rose + Balerina + Trippy

Tagging some DM fans who might be interested! @CynthieLu @sister13 @Titian06 @AznAngelLiz @WinglessOne @Mellmars1185 @Saradestin 

[tsavorite]

@Guessgal ,

You really put yourself out there to have a great experience!  Thank you for sharing these photos and your narrative with us!

[Mcakes]

@Guessgal Oh my goodness those are some early birds! I can not believe how early you had to get there the second time around, but great you did because those goodies look good! I can o lot imagine what the original bag looked like. Plus a Masterclass, what a treat! 

[sister13]

Oh wow! Such an amazing experience and definitely super jealous of the DM masterclass and your goodie bag! That’s so awesome, thanks for sharing that experience! @Guessgal 

[curlychiquita]

Wow, this is amazing, @Guessgal! Both getting to see Danessa Myricks in person and the goodie bag. What a fabulous experience! ♥️

[WinglessOne]

Thanks for the tag, @Guessgal , and congratulations for getting an in-person Danessa Myricks experience! I'm so glad you enjoyed her masterclass. 

Also glad you got a goodie bag. 👍 Seeing Redken, Medik8, and MAC at a Sephora is so strange, from a US shopper's perspective. 😂 Sounds like Sephora's return to the UK went well for them, perhaps better than expected. Thanks for taking us on your new-store journey! 

[CynthieLu]

That was an awesome read 🙂

Thank you for tagging me! 

Danessa does lives every Tuesday at 4 pm (my time EST) on IG and I totally reccomend catching one. She calls them Teach Me Tuesday's  😄 They are soo informative and fun. 💜

This one that just past was all about the colour fix nudes that just launched and it's amazing what she does with her products.  It was soo interesting to see how little of her creams, foundations serums etc she uses, very a little goes a long way.  

Ooh I remember this opening happening because I'd catch little videos here and there online.  I can't believe you were in that crowd @Guessgal that is sooo freaking cool! 

I'm so happy you were able to score a goodie bag too, woo-hoo! 🥳

[Titian06]

Congratulations, @Guessgal !  How exciting to visit London, but to be in the right place at the right time...thousands of miles away!  Then to attend a masterclass actually taught by the master artist herself!  Thank you for the tag and sharing your experience and what you learned.

[Mellmars1185]

@Guessgal Wow! Thank you for sharing and tagging me. It is awesome that you stayed in line the first time. It is even more amazing that you ended up getting that awesome goodie bag the second time. It must have been exciting to see a live demonstration by Danessa Myricks in person! I just got a notification today that the palette was back in stock on the dorect website. 30 minutes later it was sold out again. That look is really stunning. Even your description of everything is inspiring. The Tarte swatches are really pretty. They are quite pigmented!

[Guessgal]

@Mellmars1185 Oh yes, I was seriously questioning my life choices when I stayed in line the first time haha but it wasn't too awful of a wait since I came prepared with a book in tow 😉 Wow sold out that quickly, eh? I think I'll content myself with watching more of her eyeshadows in action on YouTube or social media until there's less competition for these goods 😅

[Mellmars1185]

@Guessgal I like your approach!

[Samtian]

@Guessgal Wow!!! That is so awesome!

[Sunnysmom]

Wowie @Guessgal , truly an amazing experience I bet! Thanks for taking us with you! Love reading all about it and seeing your fun pics! 🥰

[Guessgal]

@Sunnysmom Aww anytime! I'm glad I was able to scrape out some time at the airport to write it up! Oh, I was worried that I didn't get a great spot at the masterclass because their light/mirror fixtures attached to their beauty station kind of got in the way of pics, but I'm happy that some turned out well in the end, phew! 😅

[Sunnysmom]

Your pics are soo great @Guessgal , thank you! Oh and if I get to London anytime I will find you for recs! 🥰

[danielledanielle]

HOMG, YOU GOT TO SEE DANESSA IN PERSON 💀☠️ @Guessgal 

[Guessgal]

@danielledanielle She was extremely sweet! A fan got her a bouquet of tulips and she got teary-eyed hugging and speaking to everyone! 💞