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Today I’m writing my experience at Sephoria’s second annual event, which was held at USC’s Shrine Auditorium on September 7th and September 8th. Sephoria’s two-day event is broken down into four different sessions (morning and afternoon) to prevent overcrowding.
I can’t believe it’s already been a year! If you want to read my experience at Sephoria in 2018 click here.
For those of you unfamiliar with Sephoria, the best way to describe it is beauty heaven. Imagine all the brands you see every time you walk into a Sephora come to life in the same space with free samples and the most creative photo ops.
Surprisingly, my Sephoria post from 2018 got zero views at the time I wrote it, but a month prior to Sephoria’s 2019 event, it got a spike of views from people looking for what to expect at this amazing event. So, here’s my post for those of you who are attending the 2020 event!
Given the amazing success Sephoria had last year, it’s no wonder why this year they decided to expand into a much bigger venue. If you haven’t been there the Shrine Auditorium was huge!
Sephoria’s ticket prices were the same as last year: $80 for General Admission and $350 for VIP tickets.
The highlights of Sephoria were meeting the amazing Patrick Ta, who complimented my highlighter 😊 ,sneaking a selfie with Nikkie Tutorials, who was only supposed to interact wit VIP holders and and receiving a compliment about my shirt from Jhené Aiko!
Sephoria really went all out this year, but as much as I love this event, I have to point out that last year’s brands photo-ops had a more immersive experience. At La Mer you actually had to walk into a giant moisturizer tube and at Tatcha, small groups of attendees entered a recreated bamboo forest where free mini samples of the cleanser awaited them.
There was not a brand that really stood out from the rest because the brand experiences were held in the same open space, or perhaps because this was my second year, so I already knew what to expect and I wasn’t as impressed.
I loved the club-like underground area, where brands like Fenty, Pat Mcgrath and lipstick brands like YSL and Lip Bite kept the night going with more fun and mini rooms for photo opportunities. There was a really nice DJ area with disco lightning where you had to cross and elevated loft reminiscent of in Sex and the City series.
With the exception of a few, many of the brands at Sephoria could have had more exposure by gifting proper samples, and not packet samples. Tatcha did a great job and gave out the mini-jar size of their new silk peony melting eye cream, which retails for $60, and Melt Cosmetics gave away free full-sized lipsticks! I’m not saying that brands should be giving out palettes but they should have been giving out something more substantial for such a pricey event! If I want to try the Summer Friday’s face mask I can just go to Sephora and pick up a sample.
Because of this no sample policy many high-end brands like Natasha Denona, had practically empty booths. I wish you could have seen the face of the girls who were given the packet sample of Summer Friday’s face mask! They were like: “That’s it?! I’ve been waiting in line 20 minutes for this?” Nudesticks predicted this possible disappointment and gave away mini-size samples of their lipsticks and eyeshadow pencils, and therefore their line was really long.
Here are the brand’s photo ops from 2019:
At Herbivore’s very small booth, people were waiting in line not only for the free mini-sized new release samples of Herbivore Prism and Herbivore Bakuchiol, but also to interact with one of the founders Alexander Kummerow. The Lapis oil, a staple in my nighttime routine, has lasted me for over a year and I’m not even halfway through the bottle. Alexander said he gifted his mom one of their oils four years ago and she still hasn’t finished it yet!
Fenty Beauty
The photo op was so much more enjoyable last year, where you could enter a giant compact and throw around gold confetti for perfect Instagram boomerangs. This year there was a merry-go-round made of giant lip gloss tubes to promote the new Glossy Possy Gloss balm set and sadly, it was a little bit lackluster. Priscilla Ono, Fenty’s Chief makeup artist and brand ambassador attended last year and did a memorable Masterclass and meet and greet.
Charlotte Tillbury
No samples here but I loved this photo op! The setup was genius!
Sol De Janeiro. I loved how this booth encouraged body positivity with post-it notes from strangers.
Farmacy Beauty had a beautifully decorated booth with cherries everywhere to promote their new Very Cherry cleansing balm.
Laneige
If you were looking to get your hair or eyebrows done, brands like Benefit, Drybar and Amikah were on the second floor giving free makeovers. Or if you were in the search of a foundation or concealer, you could get color-matched on the other side of the floor.
La Mer
I got to meet the one and only Jhené Aiko! The samples of the moisturizer were in the actual jar, not in those tiny packets, which was super generous compared to other brands. If you go to Sephora regularly you will know that it’s pretty much impossible to get a hold of a sample from La Mer because they don’t allow it, and other beauty retailers will give you a mini pea-sized amount of the product. The wait time here was at least 30 minutes, but hey, who doesn’t want a free La Mer sample that you can’t just easily pick up at Sephora?
Devacurl They totally drowned me with samples! The girls were so nice.
OUAI
I loved Tatcha’s concept: you wrote your wish on the backside of a card with someone else’s wish so that you kind of shared the wish with a stranger! How cool is that?
I just wish they had recreated the same private space as last year, where it felt more personal and intimate away from the crowd and noise.
Sephoria created a special section where VIP attendees could chill, lounge, and meet and greet the Masterclass artists!
Last year, VIP’s and General Admissions were all crammed together in the same space, and the only difference was the swag-bag. This year, if you purchased the VIP ticket, not only did you go home with $350 worth of products, but you were able to enjoy a private area with lounge chairs, a bar, and a meet-and-greet area where you could meet the makeup artists like Nikkie Tutorials, Patrick Ta, Vicky Tsai (Tatcha’s founder) among others who were there giving Masterclasses. Hayley Williams from Paramore also attended one of the Masterclasses to promote her makeup line Good Dye Young. She attended a different day so I did not meet her. 😭😭😭
I wish brands like Supergoop had participated in this event! Last year, the swag bag included the invisible matte sunscreen, which I’m still using! I love the brand and I wish they had joined Sephoria this year immersing the goers in a sunscreen-themed booth. They have the best-selling sunscreen at Sephora. Anastasia Beverly Hills could have also benefited greatly by having its own booth.
Here’s what the swag bag for General Admission ticket holders ($250 worth of beauty products) included:
Huda Palette Obsessions Palette in blue. People were exchanging their palette at the exit and I exchanged mine, which was the green for the blue with a girl. This is the first Huda Beauty palette I own!
Full-sized of Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream moisturizer.
Marc Jacobs Gel liner in black
Bite Beauty Agave lip balm
Briogeo scalp revival
The 1kney list hyaluronic acid serum
Nars lipstick in Dolce Vitta. It’s crazy how a few days ago before Sephoria, I tried on Dolce Vitta and put it on my wishlist. It’s the perfect nude!
OUAI Hair oil
Urban Decay eyeshadow primer (original)
Hum nutrition Glow Sweet glow skin hydration
H2O Hydrating Boost Moisturizer
Here’s a photo of what the VIP swag bag ($900 worth of beauty products) included:
So, should you go to Sephoria next year? 100% yes! This event brings people together from all backgrounds and ethnicities to celebrate the love of beauty and makeup. It is pricey, yes, but the unbeatable return on investment you get from the swag bag, the samples and meeting such renowned makeup artists is worth it. Unlike Beautycon, unless you are a makeup artist doing a meet and greet, there is no pretentious attitude or snobiness and the staff couldn’t be any nicer.
