Sephora

Sephora finally opened its doors to the public this afternoon and it was my first stop straight after work. As expected, it was quite crowded with many ladies trying out the various brands. The store seemed to be doing brisk business, which is a good sign. Even though it was disappointing that the store did not carry coveted brands like Nars, Laura Mercier, Tarte, Urban Decay and Philosophy, it still nevertheless has quite an interesting array of skincare brands that are totally new to Singapore. The makeup brand assortment could definitely have been much better but hopefully the management will listen to customer feedback and bring in more brands.



The great attraction of Sephora has always been the bright clean modern interior and easily accessible shelf displays that allow one to play around with the testers without pushy SAs hovering over your shoulder. In that respect, the Singapore store certainly did not disappoint. Once the crowds die down, it'll be a great place to browse leisurely. The testers were still in a pretty decent state, let's hope they stay that way!

One curious thing I found is that the Becca display was missing the Pressed Shimmer Powders but the Beach Tints (S$45) are in stock, at least for now. The Luminous Skin Color costs S$99, compared to the US price of US$42 (S$61), while the Loose Powder is S$73 versus US$35 (S$50.90) in the US.

Pop Beauty. The prices looked affordable but there's still a bit of a mark-up compared to the US. The Eye Cakes are selling for US$13.30 (about S$19.40) now on Sephora.com (down from the original price of US$19) compared to the price of S$29 in Singapore. The Beauty Eye Class 12-eyeshadow palettes are S$65 each, compared to the US retail price of US$32 (S$46). I'm not sure why Sephora.com has reduced all its prices on Pop Beauty products.


Nvey Eco, an organic makeup brand.


Hourglass


Juice Beauty, an organic skincare line.


I really wanted to try this Bliss Triple Oxygen Mask after reading about it on a few blogs but it was a whopping S$110, versus the US retail price of US$54 (S$78.60).


Sephora bodycare and candles



Pola skincare and base makeup


I ended up coming home with the Pop Beauty Rose Belle 8-blush kit (S$45). It was definitely much pricier compared to the US price of only US$19.50 but it seemed quite worthwhile considering you get 8 blushes inside.





I was also very tempted to splurge on the DKNY Be Delicious Golden Apple set which is exclusive to Sephora and comes with a Be Delicious perfume in a limited edition gold bottle and three smaller roll-on fragrant essences, Juicy Apple, Sweet Floral and Sex-A-Peel. But it was quite expensive at S$148 so I passed on it for now as my current bottle of Be Delicious is still more than half full. Perhaps another day! ;-p