New Goodies from Sephora & Forwarding Service Review

I made an order from Sephora recently and wanted to share my new goodies with you beauties!

Some of you may ask how I ordered from Sephora when they don’t ship to non US addresses. Well, I finally gave in and tried a parcel forwarding service – WS1 to be exact. I’m so pleasantly surprised at how easy it is and will be using the service again without hesitation. You pay a joining fee ($25 US for a standard membership, so this is a one off payment) and then WS1 provide you with a US mailing address. You use this address as your own, whenever making orders online from sites which don’t ship overseas.

When your parcel arrives at your US post box, WS1 send you an email to alert you that the package has arrived. Then you have the option to pick a shipping method and once you have paid for said shipping, they ship it out to you very quickly. They only ship via courier, so that means that shipping is going to be a little more expensive then say regular economical post – but this also means your goods won’t take weeks and weeks to arrive. I picked express shipping for my first order since I want to try out all the shipping options available and see which suits me best. I paid $35 Aus dollars for my shipping to Aus (shipping from Sephora to my US post box was free). That is a lot (for the goodies listed below) but I have paid around the $20 mark before for slow shipping from the US, so at least the $35 included insurance and was incredibly fast! How fast? Get this – I picked a shipping option on Friday and paid for my express shipping that same day. My order arrived on Monday! It took one weekend to get to me from the US! That’s pretty friken amazing if you ask me! Next time I pay for the parcel forwarding service I will pick economy post, however I have a feeling it will be super quick also (maybe it will take around a week instead of 2 days?).

The one small glitch I have had with WS1’s service is that their site can be a little temperamental when processing credit card payments. I found that the site doesn’t function to well in my Chrome browser, but works much better when opened in Firefox. I have to give credit to WS1 for answering all of my emails in a timely fashion – even when I probably asked some silly basic questions. I don’t have any hesitations recommending their service at this point in time. I will of course let you know how their economy shipping option fairs once I place a second order (maybe I will order something from Nordstrom next? Hello cheaper Chanel!).

Some beauties may be also wondering why I am ordering from Sephora in the US when Sephora is planning to open a store here in Sydney in December (I’ve even seen where it will be located on Pitt St and they’re already building on the site). Firstly, while Sephora said they will match their Aus prices to those in the US – I won’t believe it till I see it lol I can’t see Sephora selling cosmetics for half price compared to department store prices here in Aus. I do think it will bring much needed competition to the Aus market, but I’m not getting ahead of myself just yet.

Now on to the extra fun part – what did I get from Sephora? Let’s take a look! 😀

Above: My goodies in their boxes

Above: My goodies without their boxes.

Urban Decay Naked2 Basics $29.00 US dollars.

I included the original Naked Basics palette in my August favourites post and so I was soooo excited to buy the 2nd version. All the shade are taupey- browns which should work super well on fair skin tones. Even the darkest shade in the palette (Undone) is a dark graphic grey instead of black which I love (it’s less harsh than black). I can’t wait to play around with this palette!

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Hyaluronic Moisture Cushion $58 US dollars.

I needed a new day moisturiser as my Dior Hydralife Pro-Youth Silk Creme is almost all used up. I love the Dior Hydralife range of moisturisers, but I just wanted to try something new! I haven’t tried Dr. Dennis Gross skincare before, but it looks like a decent cosmoceutical range. I love that this Dr. Dennis Gross moisturiser looks like a gel – it will be perfect for the upcoming summer and one of the main reasons I purchased it!

The jar is a heavy plastic – I do prefer glass as it’s more fancy (like the Dior moisturiser jars) but I’m sure I’ll get over this point lol the cream also smells super fresh and fruity (there’s lots of fruit extracts in the moisturiser which is cool). I can’t wait to start using it!

Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer $20 US dollars and Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer $29.00 US dollars.

I currently use the NARS Pro Prime eyeshadow primer but it’s running low and I was curios about this Smashbox 24 hour eyeshadow primer. I was even more curious about the under eye concealer primer – hopefully it makes my concealer look flawless! As someone who struggles with under eye circles, if this primer helps my concealer look better and last longer, I will be a happy camper!

Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer For Under Eye 1.5 $28 US dollars.

I mentioned above that I suffer from terrible under eye circles and am still looking for my HG concealer – here’s to hoping it’s the Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer for Under Eye! it’s supposed to be full/high coverage so I can’t wait to try it out along with my Smashbox under eye concealer primer!

Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eye Shadow $32.00 US dollars.

I’ve heard mixed reviews about these foil like eye shadows, however I read quite a few good reviews suggesting to not use the primer which comes with the shadow (a teeny tiny bit of primer is included anyway) and to either use the shadow dry or wet for added oomphf! I think also not using to much will be key. I tested out the shadow on the back of my hand and it’s amazingly shiny and different to anything else I’ve tried. It has like a gel-mousse like texture which is supper concentrated and super shiny (it reminds me of melted molten rock or something)! My ‘shadow’ came stuck to the lid rather than the pot itself, but this shouldn’t be a huge hassle. It’s kinda wet and gel like so it doesn’t go everywhere when I open it up (hence why I don’t mind it being stuck to the lid). You don’t get a lot for your $32 dollars – in saying that, it’s not a shadow I would use daily and it is very unique. I bought the colour Vintage Black Gold and it’s beautiful!

Sephora always includes a few samples in every order and here are what I got 🙂

So what do you beauties think of my new goodies? Have you tried any of the products above? Or perhaps you’ve used a parcel forwarding service before? Leave me a comment below 🙂

Until next time,

Beauty Bee~

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