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    What Not to Buy at Sephora

    What Not to Buy at SephoraWhat Not to Buy at Sephora
    With its supreme sampling program and lifetime return policy, it's no wonder Sephora is one of the most popular and profitable chain stores-beauty or otherwise-in the world. Although we're huge fans of the one-stop beauty shop and many of the brands it carries, we found certain items you can snag elsewhere for significantly less-reminding that it always pays to comparison shop and to rethink whether a product is splurge-worthy or not. Following are four.

    1. Makeup Brushes
    Most makeup artists we've talked to swear by "a good makeup brush," and we found just that for a fraction of Sephora's price. The most affordable foundation brush we could find at the behemoth beauty store is $25-a great brush from the brand's in-house collection. However, we spotted other foundation brushes that work just as well for a quarter of the price, like Eco Tools Bamboo Foundation brush ($6 at Walgreens). Looking for good deals on entire brush sets? One of our editors recommends skipping the beauty store and aisle altogether and snagging super-affordable art brushes at your local arts and crafts store!

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    2. Tweezers
    We're of the mindset that you don't have to spend a lot to get your hands on a solid pair of tweezers. The most affordable regular-sized slant tweezers we could find at Sephora is $15 (a stylish pair featuring a floral pattern from Tweezerman). However, you can find an equally effective-albeit less cute-tool from Revlon ($3 at Walgreens)-which costs a fraction!

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    3. Lip Balm
    Unless you're a die-hard fan of YSL's or Fresh's ultra-luxe lip balms (which retail for $30 and $22.50, respectively), you're better off snagging a solid lip balm at your local drugstore. We searched Sephora for a bargain SPF lip protector and found the most affordable to be an $8.50 tube from Supergoop. Meanwhile, a quick walk down the cosmetic aisle at Walmart reveals lip balms as low as $2.95, including one of our favorites-Eos Lemon Drop lip balm with SPF 15!

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    4. Hair Dryers
    For the most part we found high-end hair styling tools priced the same at Sephora as at other online and brick-and-mortar retailers. However, we did spot a couple that are much better deals-like the T3 Featherweight Journey Travel Dryer, which retails for $130 at Sephora but only $117 at QVC.com. Plus, the QVC version comes with a towel and handy travel bag.


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    Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

    Photo: Flickr Michael Saechang

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    234 comments

    • Nunyadamnbusiness  •  7 months ago
      I would have to disagree on some of these things. I have certain makeup brushes that you could never find at any drugstore. Also there is nothing better than a pair of Tweezerman's. Believe me, invest in a pair and you will never buy any other brand again.
    • Yuri  •  7 months ago
      i disagree on some things

      1) Yes there are some brushes in sephora i wouldn't buy, BUT there are brushes like the Airbrush line FOR EXAMPLE their HD airbrush brush for foundation and their new Airbrush concealer brush and their Mineral foundation brush that was awarded by alure as one of the best brushes for 2010 after its release.
      2) Tweezers yeah am sorry drugstore? uhh yeah am sticking with my Tweezerman i know $25 is steep, but you can send them to tweezerman and they sharpen them for you and send them back. with that i would rather spend the money on it

      3) uhhh am sorry AGAIN but just because YSL and Fresh are great lip balms (I Own the fresh one)
      but steep in price doesn't mean sephora doesn't carry something lesser in price. Rosebud, Jack black, sephora collection?

      do me a favor do more research when you do a article like this, yes drugstore brands are just as great but there are things that people like me would rather spend the money with great client service for
    • S D  •  8 months ago
      I disagree with purchasing lip balm from Sephora. I've found the BEST lip balm there. It's affordable, $6.00, has a high SPF, 25, and comes in a nice scent. It's the Jack Black line and it has two flavors. I prefer the lemon and chamomile. It has shea butter, avocado oil, and almond oil - all great ingredients for luscious, supple, and protected sun lips.
    • Roger Huston  •  8 months ago
      They recommend: eos Lemon Drop Lip Balm with SPF 15 as one of their favorites.

      However, there have been other Sunscreen articles posted recently talking about how Oxybenzone acts like the hormone estrogen once it enters the system. It is especially harmful to children and should be avoided. There are hundreds of sunscreen that don't use Oxybenzone:

      http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/
    • MamaC  •  8 months ago
      Tweezerman tweezers are fab, as I just recently learned. I bought a pair at my local Sally Beauty for $5.39 with my Sally card. I got a bit more off since I used a 15% coupon I had. What a swinging deal. So, if you want Tweezerman but hesitated to buy because of the price, check your local Sally Beauty Supply. They might have them. :)

      Cheaper tweezers do get the job done, but the difference between them and Tweezerman is like the difference between a Pinto and a Bently. They both get the job done, but one is soooo much nicer to use than the other! :)
    • Angela  •  8 months ago
      Eco is not anywhere near as good as Sephoras cheapest brush. I have done makeup in one form or fashion for 20 years and I've tried them all. Sephora does have a really great travel set right now with 3 brushes and case in black w/hot pink or turquoise for only $18, foundation, eye, and blush/powder....got myself one and love it.
    • Ali  •  8 months ago
      Maybe you did not try the Walgreens $3 Tweezers but they are in no way comparable to the Tweezerman. One use of the Tweezerman and you'll se why they are much nicer and well worth the $15!
    • babe  •  8 months ago
      This is why i barley even wear make up ladies, it really is a waste of money. Just a little bit of eye shadow with mascara, and you should be good! All this crap that you need to wear makeup to make it look like you are not wearing makeup is crap. Just take care of the face and enhance the eyes and bam you are beautiful.
    • Peanut Noir  •  8 months ago
      Wow, what happened? Did this company fail to pay for advertising? Talk about trying to impair interstate commerce. Wow, just wow.
    • Michael M  •  8 months ago
      Art sore brushes and REAL makeup brushes have nothing to do with one another! I do makeup for a living.. and some of the brushes I bought (they were very expensive) 25 years ago have done over 70 film with me... and are still in GREAT shape.
      You buy good brushes only once. A $2 won't last.. and will shed all over your face.

      Keep them clean... shampoo and condition them once in a while.. and and a QUALITY brush is always worth it, and you CAN'T get 80% of them in a craft/art store... and when you can.. they're quite pricey
    • angeleyes  •  8 months ago
      sephore and sometimes ulta are WAYY to overpriced
    • J  •  8 months ago
      How about most of us don't have ENOUGH cash, we shop at the dollar store for these things, and I don't wear make-up, ha on you. yahoo article.
    • Cammy  •  8 months ago
      People can actually afford to buy this stuff with the economy the way it is?
    • megan  •  8 months ago
      As a former employee of Sephora, I can assure that they DO NOT test any of their products on animals.
    • Albiana  •  8 months ago
      Another THUMBS UP vote for the Tweezerman tweezers over any other brand. They're perfectly angled, and never fail to grasp even the smallest hairs. Also, add me as a THUMBS DOWN for Eco Tools Brushes....if you want inexpensive but wonderful, get the Sonia Kashuk line of brushes at Target, and some of the 'cheapie' ELF brushes work great too. But I love Sephora for the excellent their VIB shopper program and their non-intimidating sales staff, who are well versed in their many product lines and can offer great advice for what works best for you. Lastly, Sephora is the only place to get the Make Up For Ever line, which I adore.
    • Robinola  •  8 months ago
      YOU ARE A COMPLETE MORON IF YOU DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THESE "GREAT TIPS!"
      DOY!!!!!!
    • » SD «  •  8 months ago
      WOW.... Complete useless information. Women that didn't know before; I'm scared for you.
    • PurpleTzipi  •  8 months ago
      The Revlon tweezers will miss a lot of hairs that Tweezerman will catch. And pricier tweezers than Tweezerman will get even more hairs. Sorry.
    • IrieYaYa  •  8 months ago
      I don't have an Ulta or a Sephora in my town. I live in Lansing, Mi.
      I have shopped their websites, but not purchased anything. I am 54 yrs. young... and have been wearing makeup since I was about 13 or so , thanks to my older sister I guess. I love it and I just think that you should always try to look your best and well, just look well groomed. Now knowing that about Tweezerman , I wish I would have bought a pair of their tweezwers years ago. Great deal. Over my years of experience I have found that the price of almost anything you want to use has very little bearing on it's quality. Some companies spend millions on advertising on packaging on just plain average products, while 'great' products are waiting to be discovered unknown and unadvertised. Also, I saw something on a t.v. show many years ago that said all beauty products were all made by just a small number of large companies. Here is an article that explains it:
      http://www.makeuptalk.com/forum/thread/57013/beauty-industry-who-owns-what
      I have always remembered that, and it has infuenced my purchasing habits greatly. I started reading ingredient labels a long, long time ago! That's why I have sort of been chuckling at some of the comments on here. There is probably a factory making eyeshadow brushes and artist brushes side by side. Both using the same materials , they are just getting labeled differently! Because of marketing or whatever, some person won't buy the artist brush at probably more than 1/2, the cost, but another will, go figure. To me it means just more money saved to buy more goodies. Yay! Am I always cheap, no, am I poor, no. I am just not going to have the wool pulled over my eyes. I will use what works best for me at what I feel is the most reasonabe price.
    • Razan  •  8 months ago
      This is such a pointless article and the information is very misleading!

      Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those Sephora junkies who own a make-up supply that can last a hundred plus lifetimes, nor do I consider a $30 lip balm as ever being reasonable. What irritates me is a subject article that does not does list/consider what the upside of a product might be.

      So, a pair of Tweezerman tweezers goes for $15, while the cheapest pair of tweezers at a drug store is roughly $3. Let me explain why you should always go for the MORE EXPENSIVE ones. I have purchased multiple pairs of Revlon’s #1 tweezers. They are the black ones that can be found at every supermarket and drug store. They go for about $5-$6 and after using them for about a month they are completely USELESS. I seriously have about 7 or 8 of these things lying all over my apartment, and surprisingly, the cost really starts to add up. Compare this to a good pair of tweezers, which I’ve realized last me about a year and you decide what the best deal is.

      The same goes for make-up brushes. I’ve recently purchased my second Chanel foundation brush after using my first one for FOUR YEARS! The price is steep, it may be about $50 for that single brush but I did purchase both brushes on eBay for approximately $30 (I do not recommend anyone go this route unless you can absolutely differentiate between a real and fake Chanel brush). I was able to save a bit but I would fork over the fifty bucks if I had to. I’ve tried many generic and drug store brand brushes prior to settling on the Chanel and always had problems with the bristles falling out or being too frail. It doesn’t always occur after the first use but never fails to FAIL within a month. Also, keep in mind that a good brush tends to not be as wasteful as the typical drug store brand. That will also save you some cash so it’s another factor to consider when deciding on a brush.

      Why am I writing this? Because I’ve spent years wasting money and time on useless products that have always disappointed and frustrated me while I have 10,000 other things I should be stressing about. I find it very annoying that amateurs would write these subjective articles that only serve to further deepen the frustrations that many of us women experience in our quest to better maintain ourselves. I hope all those reading this understand that there are pros & cons for every product out there and fully considering each and every one could potentially save you a lot of frustration in the future.