2018 SEPHORiA Feedback Thread

[ElleElleG]

Last month, the BIC Team selected several community members to attend Sephora's first ever immersive beauty experience, Sephoria: House of Beauty, which took place this past weekend in Los Angeles.  In addition to receiving keys to unlock the House of Beauty, the selected community members were asked to photograph the event and report their experiences to the community.

to my fellow Gold Key Recipients:

 @darkiceis @jazmineshepard @NotCrocker @KNC24 @Tamara76 !

                          We Came, We Saw, We CONQUERED SEPHORiA !

**all insights are more than welcome and I'm sure Sephora will appreciate the feedback, particularly if they host another event next year ...

Spoiler

****Also, I'm not sure if there are size limitations to the threads so we each may need separate threads to house our copious photos.  I'll add links here as needed****

@darkiceis review can be found here: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Beauty-Confidential/Sephoria-Report-The-Good-and-The-Not-so-Great/m...#M340499

@KNC24 review here: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Trending-Now/My-Sephoria-experience/m-p/4260487#M64652

[heartsmyface]

Our crew alone would’ve flailed enough to fill up that floor!  @darkiceis

[ElleElleG]

OMG yes!!  The dance floor was EMPTY each time we passed by (Session 2).  I felt so bad.  They could've kept the DJ, nixed the dance floor, and added more brands/stations @heartsmyface

[heartsmyface]

Yeah, throw the DJ in a fancy booth and have a mini gazebo type dance floor and put in more brands!  Or better yet, have the DJ set up near the bar! It was always crowded near the bar! @ElleElleG

[ElleElleG]

I'd love any of those @heartsmyface !

[Tamara76]

@heartsmyface I had so much fun with you!!!!💗💗💗

Great points about the charging stations and nail stations - Those would have been awesome - By the end of the night, we were literally trying to figure out who had more than 5% charge left on their phone to take the last round of pics.🤷‍♀️.

.

I never actually made it down to the lower level dance floor since there was so much to see and do.  I think if some of the bigger name entertainment were spread across the weekend, more people would have hung out downstairs💗

[heartsmyface]

Oh me with you as well!!  You’re such a darling in person and so is your mini!  We really needed more time for one on one chats cause naturally we were rushing around the whole time trying to see everything!  

My phone actually died during session 4 .  I had a battery but someone had borrowed the lightening cable adaptor off it and it was rendered useless to me.  🤦‍♀️ I was running around to booths and concierge tables looking for a lightening cable to charge my phone up to at least ten percent and no one was willing to let me sit by them and share their dang cable.  So yeah, charging stations were on my mind.  I wouldn’t have minded if I had to pay to use one at that point.  @Tamara76

[heartsmyface]

LOL, I’m positive by the state my nails were in by the end of the night that someone threw me in a hole and I had to claw my way out! I must’ve blacked out that traumatic experience.  Only my nails know the truth.  @NotCrocker

[NotCrocker]

Haha @heartsmyface you brought me a banana in bed! It doesn't get better than that! And your 20% health looks like my 70% health, so my jealousy runs deep. We will definitely have to have another hair lesson session someday soon!

A nail bar would've been fantastic! I just slapped a single, patchy coat of polish on the night before we flew to LA, so having my nails done there would've been ideal! 

And yeah, I actually love to dance, but was so busy and distracted that the empty dance floor had little appeal! 

[heartsmyface]

It is customary to deliver bananas in bed to hungry yet not awake guests.  Sometimes I even stay to peel and feed it to you if you are just not capable of such motor skills yet.

We have no excuse to not have another lesson!  @NotCrocker

[eshoe]

I took the time to read through every single word, @NotCrocker, and what an awesome, amazing, and fun experience this must have been! I would be incredibly jealous, but oddly I am just bubbling with happiness inside knowing that I kinda share the same connection here with everyone on BIC.

Even though I didn’t get it live it, you shared it in a very real and personal way that made it fun for others here, including me. Thank you, you look gorgeous enjoying your beautiful self at SEPHORiA💋🤩!

[pixiedust2]

@NotCrocker Great review! And lots of wonderful pics. I’m so bad at that. I should have taken a ton more. 

I have to agree entirely on the free swag from the various vendors. I’ve been to many conventions of various genres, and swag is usually given freely and readily. Many vendors at Sephoria had nothing. Or in the case of Tarte, as I now see from your post, nothing was offered to me after my photo op.  I found my eyes hunting for freebies as I got the hang of the event and realized I was going to have to start asking for it. Stuff like that makes me really uncomfortable.  A handful of brands were actually a bit rude about it. Others like Method, Sol de Jeneiro and Jo Malone were very generous to me. 

I understand and that I paid for an experience, but Gold tickets weren’t cheap. It was surprising to me that some brands had such extravagant photo ops built, but there was little to nothing else offered. Some brands just had a giant prop sitting there, and well, that was it. Like, what am I supposed to do with that? 😂 I wasn’t expecting a giant cookie jar that I could just reach my hand into and take off with twenty samples of something. But a tiny lipstick or mascara here and there would have been welcome. 

I hope this event continues and grows. The Masterclass with Natasha Denona was the absolute highlight for me. To see an artist live and up close, teaching us her craft, well it was just epic for me. She’s beautiful inside and out and her personality and humor really came through. I learned new techniques for applying shadows that I’m excited to try. 

I’m so bummed our schedules clashed and I wasn’t able to meet you 😭 I hope there are more events in the future and that I get to give you a big hug someday. 

[darkiceis]

@pixiedust2  You didn't miss anything from Tarte, they had a jar of maracuja oil foils.  The photo op was nice though and those flowers were beautiful.  No one should have to ask for a freebie, they should just be given happily.  It was so nice to meet you and I wish that we had more time to chat.  Until next time 🙂

[ElleElleG]

So true @pixiedust2 !!  There were a few brands that seemed put out at being asked for a sample (Urban Decay comes to mind) even after participating in the requested post or game the brand wanted to increase their visibility.  I also felt uncomfortable asking for samples.  Fortunately I attended with a fellow member who had no such hang ups and made it a point to maximize her time (and money spent to attend) by acquiring as many freebies as possible.

Next time I want to see you more!!!

[darkiceis]

@ElleElleG  You had a great partner at the event!  Kinda like playing pokemon, gotta catch'em all!

[ElleElleG]

Can't deny that @darkiceis 😉

[Tamara76]

@pixiedust2 First of all, I was super excited to finally meet you in person!  Dinner Friday was a blast!💗

So sorry your sample experience was less than ideal - Given the price of your tickets, you should have received more samples.  I wonder if they ran out Sat. night?  I didn’t have any problem getting a sample at each booth I visited, but I had the kiddo with me so brand reps kept saying how cute she was and throwing samples at her 😂

[NotCrocker]

@pixiedust2 Yes. Yes. Yes. The swag situation was so varied and I am also uncomfortable having to ask for something that so many booths were making readily and clearly available. Sometimes it was even tough to identify who was working a booth, or what needed to be done to even get the potential for something. Fortunately many of the other ladies were great for diving in to see, but I tended to hang back and observe until I could figure it out, when I could.

Uggghhhhh. I know, I can't believe how close we were, and yet so far! Ships passing in the night! The hugs will happen. Count on it. 

[NotCrocker]

@eshoe thank you for reading my novel of a post! And I am glad it made you excited rather than sad, because you absolutely are an engaged, connected, and important part of this community! I sure hope that there are more opportunities like this in the future so that all the amazing BICers who couldn't make it to this, can make it to the next!

[eshoe]

Oh, I am hoping this was successful enough for everyone that it happens again (and again, and again) @NotCrocker. I would LOVE to be a part of it in real life! Those Bum Bums, too - free stocking stuffers! 😂

[Tamara76]

My Sephoria Review Part 2... ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

After visiting the booths on the main floor and the 2nd floor, I booked a quick makeup touch-up at the Sephora Collection booth (it was really hot on the top 2 floors of the venue, so I was getting a little shiny...) and my mini headed over to the Foundation Closet to get color matched - She bought Dior Backstage foundation, which should be shipped to our house soon - All the foundations were 20% off and we also got $25 gift cards to use at the event with our Gold Keys so I think she spent less than $10 out of pocket! [Side note:  We did hit a little snag where we discovered that we were only given $15 gift cards upon check-in at the event, but the amazing SA who checked us out in the Beauty Closet found a manager who brought us new cards (I didn't catch their names, but they were all super sweet). <3].

The details throughout the venue were adorable:

And the lighting everywhere was awesome - The whole place was photo ready!:

We didn't book any services at Dry Bar or the Benefit Brow Bar because the appointments were all too late, so after finishing up on the Mezzanine level, we headed down to the Reserve (sub-level).  The Fragrance Bar was packed!  Each of the brands was giving out drink tickets (for those 21 and up) for custom drinks based on their fragrances and the booths were super cute!  This was the only spot that was super crowded and crazy as the line for free drinks was quite long.

There was a professional photographer at Atelier taking pics based on the Clementine California fragrance and I'll post some cute pics from Tom Ford and Replica once the squad signs off.  

 

Here is my Rum Old Fashioned by Maison Margiela, based on the Replica Jazz Club fragrance:

 

Once we finished at the Fragrance Bar, we moved into the Fenty Fairy Bomb room and as soon as I walked in, a random girl started brushing me with glitter - it was awesome! 

We took a ton of group pics in the glitter, too, and I'll post them soon!  Let me tell you, I am still finding pieces of glitter in my luggage and laundry - it was definitely a memorable event! ❤️

After Fenty, we headed upstairs to get in line for the Natasha Denona Master Class.  While we were waiting, my daughter met Monica Style Muse and Isabel Bedoya (some Youtubers she loves) - As a teenager, she would have loved to meet more YT personalities and Influencers at the event, but it wasn't as important to me:

The @NatashaDenona Master Class far exceeded my expectations!  I pictured it being in an auditorium like setting, but it was actually in a small room so we were all super close to the stage and it was surreal!  Actually watching Natasha applying makeup live and in person was one of the big highlights of the entire experience for me and I literally started tearing up at one point because I have been such a huge fan of hers for so long!  She talked about her new products and why she prefers crystals over glitter and she said Sunset is her fave palette (mine, too!!!!!).  We got to ask questions and even take pics with her afterward!!!!!

SHE HUGGED ME, Y'ALL!!!!!!!!!! (note the crazy expression on my face as I try to hold back tears - I was ready to start bawling I was so overcome with emotion [in a good way!!]  Also note the glitter stuck to my leg and Hearts' neck... And finally, note how cute the model is behind us!) ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

I gave her a little goodie bag with a Boss Babe pin! ❤️

I think I was still stunned and in awe for a little while after meeting Natasha, so we all headed back downstairs, where I got to meet @DavidBD!!!

After that, we went to the Lip Lounge, where my daughter and I bought custom YSL and Sephora Lipstories lipsticks:

Naturally, @Mcakes, @ZombieMetroAnt and I used a pic from Friday night's dinner on our lipsticks!  My mini got a pic of herself on hers. 😉 

And, believe it or not, aside from the lipsticks and my daughter's foundation, the only other thing I bought was a Sephoria tank top (I didn't even visit the Sephora stores in Downtown Disney or West Beverly, although I may have stopped by MAC on West Beverly to pick up the new holiday highlighters - shhhhhhh!):

We got amazing swag bags as Gold Key holders (although my daughter's was missing the Charlotte Tilbury palette):

And we picked up so many samples and goodies throughout the event that I really didn't need to do much shopping (plus my luggage was stuffed to the brim already - shoutout to the dude at Southwest Airlines curbside who didn't weigh my luggage when he checked me us in yesterday!):

I also brought home some amazing gifts from my franzzzzz:

Spoiler

Thank you to @heartsmyface for the Coffin Crisp and BIC Babe hats for me and the mini, to @sister13 for the cute glitter hats and cat coin purses, to @Mcakes for the adorable Hall of Famer buttons and CHICKEN AND WAFFLES TAFFY!!!!! You are all the sweetest and it was so kind of you to think of my daughter, too! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

As I mentioned, in Part 1 of my Sephoria review, the best part of the weekend was meeting so many amazing people!  Everyone at the event, both the staff and the other attendees, were all so nice and friendly - people were constantly offering to take pics and smiling at each other and telling each other how beautiful they looked - it was an event full of love and laughter for sure! 

Kilian posed a critical question in their booth: 

Well, my kind of love is sharing this beautiful experience with everyone who attended and finally getting the chance to hug my girls in person after becoming such great friends in this very community years and years ago!

P.S.  We also got to cap off the night with ice cream at one of @ZombieMetroAnt's favorite places, Little Damage - it was the perfect ending to a perfect evening!!!!

Let's do it again next year, y'all!!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

[curlychiquita]

@Tamara76, this is so amazing.  I love the Fenty Fairy Bomb room!