Sephora VIB Rouge Skip The Line, Nab The New Event Review

See the latest VIB Rouge Event.

A new Sephora VIB Rouge exclusive closed-door event launched earlier today, June 5th, 2016. This private event granted First Access to Fall Launches. Unlike previous closed-door events that offer an actual shopping perk, like a discount or a point multiplier, this event only offered a chance to spend the same amount and get the same perks as everyone a little sooner than others. Like the open-door events for Face Mask Friday, Lip Boldly, and Flash Your Card, there was a gift available with a $25 purchase. It was promising to see closed-door events return, but I think they should return with a real benefit instead of a glorified GWP that we can get online with any order. I’d like to see the event return in August with the Point Multipliers or November with the VIB sale.

The Skip The Line concept does not appeal much to me, because while I have things I want, I find other things when my items are no longer available. I will never pay a fortune to a reseller, which is the current landscape for many limited edition products. Granted, I will stalk an item I want but initially miss to see if I can get it from the original seller for retail. Getting popular items before they release to the public does take away some of the necessary stalking, which I appreciate, but my need to get a deal is more important. That means I would rather stick as close as possible to the $25 minimum for the free gift and order other items later to maximize the deal I get on those as well.

The event, which took place this morning from 9am-11am at most Sephora stores, provided a VIB Rouge limited edition makeup brush bag. This bag is cute, but there were two reasons I wanted to go. I wanted to see if the Sun Safety Kit would finally be available. It is usually released in May. It seems some stores accidentally put it out too early and other stores were reporting a release date of 06/15/16. That is an odd release date for a kit of sunscreen. The main reason I wanted to go was to see if Caesars Palace, which has the most impressive store in Las Vegas had a better event than Sephora Summerlin, my usual store. I usually avoid the strip stores, because it takes forever to get there and these events are always early in the morning.

For those VIB Rouge clients who were unable to attend this morning, it looks like Sephora is granting First Access today only for select products online. This access includes: Benefit Cosmetics ka-BROW! Cream-Gel Eyebrow Color with Brush (which I’ve swatched below), Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks (which I swatched but did not photograph. I noticed the Shimmer Finish shades have patchy applications), the Clinique Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer (which I applied to my hand and thought it was hydrating enough to make a hand cream), and many more items.

I arrived at the store at 8:40am and saw employees setting things up for the event. When I arrive early to the Town Square or Summerlin stores, I usually see a group of people waiting to enter.

Other than employees and brand reps coming and going, I never saw anyone else until after the store officially opened.

The store actually opened a few minutes after 9am, but I was still the only one there. It looks like there were a healthy number of people signed up for the event, because I saw the list as the employee at the front checked me in. They all just decided to sleep in, and the list was technically still less than a page long (printed portrait style). I’ve never entered a private event without a never customer before this morning.

The private events all have a table with water and coffee. I never drink coffee and prefer my water cold, so I declined these.

The food selection varies slightly from store to store, but they are always light items you’d eat for breakfast. I love bananas but cannot bring them into my house (my son has a severe allergy). This event was a great excuse to have a banana while my son was nowhere near me. Nothing else appealed to me, so I started my adventure.

They did not have an official list or print out of anything happening in the store, so I walked around to see what brand reps were available. Sephora usually invites employees that represent certain brands to the store to offer their expertise and often special services. I chatted with the Dior rep at the Summerlin store for the private event in August 2015 (the last event before this one), skipped the April 2015 event altogether, went to Summerlin for the November 2014 event but did not talk to any reps, and received a mini facial from with the Ole Henriksen rep at Town Square in August 2014. Your level of interaction is up to you.

There was a DERMAdoctor table, but I never actually saw the rep for this brand.

The Caudalie table had a brand rep named Tricia. She was lovely. We talked briefly about some of the products. After telling me about the Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20, I decided to let her apply the light version. I purposely went in without any makeup on, so I could try things on (if I wanted to). It was also very early in the morning, so skipping makeup gave me a little extra sleep.

This formula feels comfortable and looks great. My biggest complaint is it has a heavy wine smell, which Tricia says comes from the grapes used for antioxidants. It does fade after about 20-30 minutes, so it is not a deal breaker. I did not sleep much last night, because I go to sleep late and had to wake early for this event, so my dark circles are more pronounced than usual. A little concealer could help with those, so I do not mind the very light coverage this gives. Unless you zoom in on the dry patches at the top of my cheeks, you cannot even see this tinted moisturizer. It looks that natural on. The finish is very matte. I prefer a more dewy finish for summer, so I will consider this in the future.

Other people were finally entering the store at this point, and it looks like someone solicited the work of the Too Faced Brand Rep.

Although I did not see the Beauty Blender Brand Rep when I passed the table, I do remember seeing a man there at other times. It is possible the man standing by the food table is the Beauty Blender Brand Rep. My Beauty Blenders are fully stocked, so I did not need to stop by.

Lancome was there, but I never saw a station. There were people doing makeovers, so it is possible the Lancome rep used the Beauty Studio. This is my all-time favorite brand, so it would have been cool to chat with a rep. When it comes to Lancome, I prefer to get it from a department store with a large GWP that Sephora never offers. It is probably better that I did not see the rep, because I would not have bought anything from them.

The amazing thing about shopping this event at Caesars Palace versus Summerlin is there were not a lot of people there even an hour into the event. This meant that the staff was able to spend serious time with customers. I met Annabelle early into the event and she continued to check on me throughout. She walked me all over the store showing me things and asked me what I was looking for or willing to try at the event. My options were open since I only went in looking the sun safety kit. There were two displays for Fall Launches. Even though the Sun Safety Kit was at the bottom of the first one, I completely missed it. Thankfully, she was diligent and grabbed one for me.

This is the item I purchased to get the free makeup bag, but I would have purchased it anyway. It is something I plan on buying every year and have purchased every year since 2013. I reviewed it separately, because the Sun Safety Kit stands on its own. Sephora officially released this on 06/12/16. Annabelle mentioned that they only put this out for the event, so people who attended the event were able to purchase it a week earlier than others (unless someone was lucky enough to get one at a store that mistakenly put it out too early). The bag retails for $32, includes 15 deluxe samples, and Sephora donates $20 to the Skin Cancer Foundation. If you need sunscreen, I highly recommend this set.

We also looked at the Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks together. The shimmer finish shades were disappointing, as I mentioned above, but the matte shades swatched beautifully. To remove the lipsticks, Annabelle had me use some Make Up For Ever Sens’Eyes Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser. It worked beautifully and easily removed even the darker lipstick shades. After telling her I am loyal to Lancome BiFacil for eye makeup removal, she suggested I take a sample of this and use it to remove face makeup. I initially declined the sample, because I hate samples that are not pre-packaged and sterile. She offered to open a brand new one, and make the sample from it (because the old one was nearly empty). That was an amazing offer, so I accepted.

While I was removing the lipstick swatches, Sonia came over and asked if I tried the new Make Up For Ever Aqua XL Eye Pencil Waterproof Eyeliners. I told her I had not, so she suggested a few shades. The swatches were impressive. We discussed the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil, which I’ve been curious about but afraid to try. After reacting to 3-4 of the primers, I was afraid whatever ingredient bothers my skin was also in the oil. I applied some to my hand to see if I would react to it.

Annabelle met me back over at the other Fall Launches display. She wanted to show me the Clinique Pep-Start HydroBlur Moisturizer. It was brand new. I even wiped the top into the container to prevent waste as I removed it. This is a thick and dreamy cream. It made my hand feel like I applied hand cream. That is very impressive for face cream. Considering it was brand new, I should have thought to ask for a small sample to take home. If I ever love a new item that much again, I will remember to ask for a sample.

I got an offer from Ulta for a free deluxe Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil Easy Shape & Fill Pencil right after placing an order. When I noticed the Benefit Cosmetics ka-BROW! Cream-Gel Eyebrow Color with Brush came in six shades like the new pencils, I decided to swatch them. They are probably the same colors, so swatching could help me figure out which one I should get. After swatching the first two shades, and settling on the second being the right color for me, I decided to swatch the others for other people who need to see which color may work for them.

It actually surprised me to see that shade 4 is darker than shade 5, but shade 5 is warmer than 4 or 6. Shade 2 looks almost the same color as shade 1 but it does appear darker. I almost wish I could get a sample of these, because they swatched beautifully. They look like they’ll be easy to work with. These were extremely hard to open. For the three that were not already opened, I had to grab random men walking by to open them. The first two were Sephora employees, but the third man was a customer. That was a little awkward, but they were all gracious.

It had been almost an hour at this point, so I decided to grab my Sun Safety Kit and go. They did not have all the June point perks available online out, which was odd given the nature of the event. I did get the 0.1oz Hourglass Ambient Light Correcting Primer in Mood Light for 100 Beauty Insider points. My primer stash is a little insane, so it will take me a while to try this.

The makeup brush bag is well made and very cute. I’m glad I picked this up.

It is full-size and opens on the top.

On my way out, Annabelle asked if I was still interested in getting makeup applied. She said the best makeup artist was available.

It turns out Sonia was the makeup artist she was referring to. I enjoyed Sonia when we discussed the Make Up For Ever items, and I thought her makeup was beautiful. My husband and sons were still exploring the Forum Shops and had not popped back in yet, so I decided to go for it.

Sonia asked what makeup I wanted to try. I told her I was open to anything, so I let her decide. She asked me if I liked shimmer. When I told her I am open to most makeup looks, as long as the shimmer does not highlight my wrinkles, she brought some items back. The items she selected were the Too Faced Natural Matte Eye Palette, Smashbox Brow Tech Matte Pencil (in Natural Blonde, I assume), Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and Christian Dior Fusion Mono Shadow in 821 Chimere. When it came to mascara, she asked which one I wanted to use. Lancome Definicils is still my favorite, so I requested that one. That is her favorite, too, so I knew she had good taste.

Just as Sonia was getting ready to start, my husband and boys popped their heads through the glass. The man who I kept seeing all over the store (and sadly never got his name) told me he would take care of them. He invited them into the store and took them over to the refreshment table for drinks and snacks. I decided to go ahead with the mini makeover, since my boys appeared like they were in good hands. After getting refreshments, they went back into the forum shops for gelato (now that the stand was finally open). It impressed me that the employee was able to convince my husband to come into the store. My husband insisted when we got to Caesars Palace that he would not come inside.

I was very impressed with my overall eye look, because while the cream shadow has definite shimmer, it actually looked somewhat natural. Surprisingly, the cream eyeshadow was still crisp and crease-free after four hours. It usually creases within the first 10 minutes. Dior powder shadows have not impressed me, but the cream shadow is the only one I’ve tried that still looks that beautiful many hours later. It surprises me that they were crease free with Too Faced Shadow Insurance. That is an eye primer I sampled in the past and never finished, because my shadows kept creasing. Too Faced either improved the formula or Dior cream shadows are just that good. I am really curious to know if both are true. When I sampled the shadow primer in the past, it was still in the blue tube.

The shadow did not remain crease free all day, but it only had light creasing on the left eye and bad creasing on the right eye after eight hours. It could be a great cream shadow for a night out, but this will not last all-day. By the end of the day, I decided not to get it. Sonia noticed that I never developed a rash on my hand, so she offered to make me a sample of the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil. This is the first time in over two years that I walked out with a sample that was not factory sealed and it turns out, I got two.

The same man who took care of my family and was all over the store offered to take a picture of us. I asked Sonia if she did not mind, because I would post it if she took it. She said she did not, so I happily present the beautiful, talented, and kind Sonia. It would have been nice to get a picture of Annabelle, too, because she was equally impressive. Even though I had to get up a lot earlier to attend this store, it was absolutely worth it. There was plenty of room to move around and everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. Some stores offer a special GWP or freebies. These are not advertised, so getting anything extra is a bonus. I’ve learned not to expect anything that is not advertised, and it will prevent you from being disappointed. Although I would love to see perks above and beyond what the event advertises at a Vegas store (which you can see in reviews of other stores), the amazing staff made the event worth my time even with no surprise items.

Events vary from store to store, so each experience is different. This is your official reminder that today is the only day to shop the special items above. After today, you cannot purchase them until their actual release date. Sephora does not inform a single Beauty Insider of all deal details. Certain offers are targeted and others have different purchase minimums based on the code. Remember to check New Offers and/or Recycled Offers before placing an online order. If you’re spending over $25, you can add a promo code to any order. See all Sephora articles. Read Tips For Getting the Best Deal When Shopping Sephora. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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