Sephora's Custom Makeover + Fresh Start Facial Experience

For a personalized pamper/beauty sesh, Jen and I made a girl date to the newly remodeled and expanded Sephora South Coast Plaza location. I know what you're thinking, you and Jen went to Sephora to put on makeup from the tester displays as a date night?! No no, let me reassure you, we had quite a night of Sephora skincare and beauty services and expertise provided by the lovely staff. Our evening consisted of mini facials with the Perk machine, skincare product application, and a custom makeover in a private room. I love that we got to take care of our skin before having makeup applied (and I even learned a few beauty tricks along the way); the end result was beautiful glowing makeup and a new set of makeup application techniques in my repertoire. 

PERK! Frest Start 'Mini' Facial

I didn't know this until now, but with a minimum purchase of $75 (which you know is not hard to do - if you're tight on funds, wait until you need to replenish your makeup/skincare to purchase products), you can receive an in-store facial at a participating Sephora location. Sephora SCP is one of 20 locations to offer this service and it's one that you have to experience. Choose from a Face & Lip or Face & Eye facial; although the Face & Lip mini facial may not be available for much longer, I do highly recommend the Face & Eye mini facial. I had my Fresh Start mini facial done by the amazing Courtney! She's really great at explaining exactly what she's doing and why. 

How it Works

  • The hydration levels in your face are measured with a tool that looks like a thermometer. It is applied to various areas on your face to determine your hydration levels which can then be used to create a tailored skincare regimen for your skin. Most of my face was adequately moisturized, but I had lack of hydration in my t-zone area. 
  • The Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Pro Facial Steamer is turned on and as the steam releases, you place your face into the steam to open up pores, detoxifying and clarifying your skin and complexion. This contraption is really cool! It is a compact size allowing for use anywhere you go, and creates the perfect amount of steam at the right temperature. Best part is, you can purchase the pro facial steamer from Sephora and it's only $139, yes, you read right, it's under $200.  You can create a spa right in your home (or anywhere, heck bring it to the grocery store! the dentist or doctor's office during those long waits) with this pro facial steamer!
  • A Perk serum pen is then attached to the Perk machine via a hose, once turned on the pen is applied directly onto the face. While the serum is administered onto your face via a roller ball from the tip of the pen, the hose is suctioning the surface of your skin. The sensation was not abrasive at all and is quite mild with the suctioning on the skin, almost like a very, very simplified microdermasion service. Although Courtney made sure to test the suctioning on my hand first so she could adjust the suction levels as needed. Two serums were used for my face, a Nourishing Serum followed by an Antioxidant Renewal Serum; depending on if you choose eye or lip, a targeted serum will be used for those areas. 
  • After the serum suction application was finished, I was shown a jar in the back of the machine that collected the dirty top layer dead skin cells and anything else stuck in there. It was gross to know that that much gunk came off my face, but also quite rewarding because it is no longer on my face. Once finished, the machine goes through a sanitation cleansing cycle. 
  • This entire process took a little over 15 minutes, and it was liberating to feel like my skin could breath and was clean, hydrated and infused with nutrients and antioxidants. 
  • Post facial, I received a skincare product application dedicated to my skin's needs. 

CUSTOMIZED MAKEOVER WITH A BEAUTY ADVISOR

After my mini facial, I was treated to a 45 minute customized makeup session. What's great about this service is that it's truly customized; choose what type of makeup look you'd like done or to learn as well as receive suggestions if you're not quite sure. VIB Rouge members can receive this customized makeup service for free; if you're not a member receive this complimentary service with a minimum purchase of $50! My beauty advisor was senior artist Noz and she was an absolute pleasure to spend time with and have my makeup done by.

HOW IT WORKS

  • Jen and I wanted a private experience so we chose to have our makeup done in a Private Beauty Application room. Before we got started on the makeup, we went through different makeup ideas by looking up images and consulting with the Beauty Advisors. We settled on a glowing and natural beauty look, and decided that along with the makeup application we would also learn application tricks. 
  • We were taken to the color IQ tablets at the front of the store, and a separate handheld device captured images of the surface of our skin to determine a Pantone color and match our skin with the best shades of face makeup as well as lip and eye colors that would complement our skin tone. 
  • Once we selected which type of foundation we wanted we were led back to our beauty room for the makeup application and the beauty advisors gathered other products to achieve the makeup look they would be creating. You can adjust the makeup application as you go, and let the beauty advisor know exactly where you do or do not want make up applied (as I have read that some people only want a specific area done), which is the beauty (pun intended) of this service. 

While having my makeup applied, I learned how to properly apply concealer (as well as discovered my new fave concealer brand, NARS) with the correct brush and where to apply it on my face. I also learned that I should start applying bronzer or blush near my ear then work down along my cheekbones so the color is more evenly dispersed, as well, applying those powders in circular motions. The right brushes as well as the perfect motion on how to apply the makeup is exactly what I needed to learn to elevate my beauty skills. The evening ended with selfies and a Sephora goody bag which I can't wait to try out! I also had to bring home the Stila Stay All Day Foundation (I love the coverage from medium to full, the natural matte finish, and the dish pump dispenser), NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer, Sephora PRO Stippling Concealer Brush, and the Sephora PRO Small Brush #74. If you want to know all of the products that were used to create my glowing makeup look, I've linked them below. Book your Sephora appointments today and shop their new space! 

SEPHORA SOUTH COAST PLAZA

3333 Bristol Street (near Bloomingdales on the 2nd Floor)
Suite 2800
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: (714) 429-9130

HOURS
Monday: 10AM - 9PM
Tuesday: 10AM - 9PM
Wednesday: 10AM - 9PM
Thursday: 10AM - 9PM
Friday: 10AM - 9PM
Saturday: 10AM - 8PM
Sunday: 11AM - 6:30PM

MAKEUP USED TO CREATE MY LOOK

Thank you to Kitchen Table PR and Sephora South Coast Plaza for coordinating this experience. Amanda of Feast.Fashion.Faves was not given monetary compensation but was gifted this experience along with the gift bag items in exchange for publishing a blog post. All opinions expressed are of her own. 

Beauty, Costa Mesa CA, Orange County, Product ReviewAmanda N Hammondbeauty, makeup, cosmetics, skincare, skincare services, facial, sephora, sephora beauty, sephora south coast plaza, south coast plaza, makeup services, makeup artist, beauty products, beauty review, beauty services, beauty service reviewComment