Yay or nay? My Newest Sephora Makeup + Swatches!



I've been going to sephora for quite a while now, whether that be the shop or the website, for my high end beauty products and it's safe to say that I wouldn't go anywhere else; I'm whipped! But after all this time, I'd never stopped to to take a good look at their OWN brand products and after that dawned on me, I began to purchase items little by little until I'd gathered a reasonable amount of Sephora Goodies.

Today, I've selected a few of my newest purchases and am here to give you guys the down low on my new Sephora makeup. We all know they're a great beauty counter but is there makeup any good? Keep on reading to find out!



Wonderful Dreams Palette

Let us begin with my preferred item of the bunch and my latest Sephora purchase: the "Wonderful Dreams" palette.

This palette includes 8 shades (4 shimmers and 4 mattes) that come in a compact format that's IDEAL for any travel lovers! The colour range stays fairly neutral with the browns and the beiges, but there's still that element of shock with the dazzling silver shade "Crystal ball" and the marine blue shade "Midnight swim" on the top right hand corner.

And it's on to my favourite part: the swatches! All swatches were done without any kind of base coat/primer for the full effect. Now, over to you, Sephora. Bring it!



And I think they've brought it! They've definitely brought something to the party with these, pigmentation wise. Some of them may be a little faint but I never expected wonders considering the fact that, as far as I remember, this palette was inexpensive compared to most. The shadows work well when blended, however, "Midnight swim" is slightly chalky. One thing I will add is that the creamy shade in the bottom left hand corner (Soft cookie) is my all time favorite thing for setting my crease to brow bone area. Period. They really figured out the perfect colour, so major kudos to them.

Overall, I've had a pretty good experience with this palette and would recommend it to anyone that's looking for a small and fairly everyday wearable palette. This little gem has got your back!

Unfortunately, it is a limited edition product, meaning that I don't think it's available storewide any more but I'm quite confident that it'll be for sale somewhere on Amazon. So, if you like it, go and pick it up!

Beauty Amplifier - Smoothing and Brightening Powder Compact
Yes, the title may be a bit of a mouthful but, in reality, I don't have a lot to say about this product; it's just quite average.

After claiming to "smoothen and brighten' the face, I was so eager to test it out because, with my teenage skin, I still do have some texture that I don't particularly find quite flattering. And, well, everybody loves a brighter face, don't they? (Products that brighten the skin are my savior on those days where I've had little sleep and look like a walking corpse. Basically everyday.)

I can conclude that this transparent compact powder didn't really live up to my expectations; I looked SO ashy! I'm not sure if it's my darker skintone that made it appear ashy or if Sephora just didn't do a good enough job. If I'd been involved in any type of flash photography that day I would have been absolutely SCREWED.


So, sadly, for me this powder DIDN'T work and I can't say I'm going to continue using it. Maybe one day, if I'm in the mood to give it a second chance, I will; it did slightly minimise the appearance of my pores, which is always a good sign. However, the appearance of the product on my skin was anything BUT good, giving it a cross in my book for the moment.

Overcast Filters Palette

Being the palette fetishist that I am, I do have another Sephora palette here for you guys, and this one is the "Overcast Filters" palette. Retailing for 28$, this interesting little palette is described as "cool and breezy" but personally, I think it's just very weird. For me, none of the colours work in harmony and I keep having to reach for and add colours from other palettes in order to create a complete eyeshadow look. Here are my usual swatches:


So, as you guys can see, the colour range is slightly too versatile for me to be able to call this a palette: it's almost as if they were meant to be sold separately instead of within the same collection.

Nevertheless, the pigmentation did bring this palette up in my estimation and, to top that off, they actually blend out seamlessly. The stand out shades for me are definitely "Black lace", as it's a terrific slate black shade to work with and also "Smoke signals", for it's capability as a transition colour in the crease. (However, it would make a STUNNING cool contour shade for those who are pale enough! Sephora, make notes!)

Overall, this palette isn't bad at all; it's not a hit, nor is it a miss, due to the pros and cons that we've explored. It's just a bummer that I can't use it as a stand alone product.


I'm seriously stoked to have another post up on the blog; being at school full time have it's disadvantages in terms of time availability but I'm managing to do what I'm passionate about, despite the pressure. I love to write so I just hope you guys are enjoying what I'm putting out.

What were YOUR latest Sephora purchases? Let me know in the comments section of this post! Be sure to leave me some love and follow me on your way out for more content just like this!

Until next time,
Marina Rosie x

28 comments

  1. I've never bought anything from Sephora but all these look great! Will have to make an order. X

    Kate// itskaterose.com

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    1. Heyya Kate! Yes, normally I only use Sephora to buy in all of my high end products, but when I actually stopped for a minute and had a look at Sephora makeup, I realised that it's pretty affordable and there are some nice pieces! You should definitely make that order! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  2. Such pretty colors!! Looks like a perfect palette :)

    Enclothed Cognition

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    1. Yasss Keri, the colours on the wonderful dreams palette are definitely very beautiful! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  3. Thank you very much! xx
    Lots of love,
    Marina Rosie xx

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  4. I've tried some individual sephora shadows but they were a bit of a let down tbh... maybe I'll try one of these palettes. Thanks, awesome post

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    1. Yess, I do agree with you on that front leyla, the individuals can sometimes be quite disappointing! But never fear, these palettes are here! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  5. Sephora seem to have beautiful palette colours. When I'm buying makeup /beauty products I look for two things: quality and price. Sometimes, as long as the price us good then the quality doesn't matter and vice versa.

    Ps: I have nominate you for the One Lovely Blogger Award. Details for the above are on my blog.

    #sweetreats xx www.bakingboutiquebirds.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. They sound like pretty good prinicpals if I'm honest! Thanks very much for the nomination, however, I have, after being nominated 3 times, already done this tag recently so if you would like, go and check it out! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  6. Great post on sephora products. I'm always leery on how good their personal brand is too. Glad you wrote about your experience.

    Xoxo
    www.stylemefancy.com

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    1. Thanks so much for reading, so glad you enjoyed hearing about my experience with the products! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  7. I've never bought anything from Sephora actually, they've started shipping to the UK now so maybe I'll take a look at their website. Good luck with school, trust me I understand the struggle when it comes to balancing blogging with full time education. You go girl. xx
    Coco Bella Blog

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    1. I'm lucky because, living in France and only an hour away from a big shopping centre, I have a Sephora very near to me. Thanks so much for the kind words and support, I'm glad to know that someone is listening and understands exactly where I'm coming from. If you ever need anything of any kind, feel free to contact me love xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  8. That wonderful dreams palette looks so gorgeous! As I live in the UK I've never bought anything from Sephora but this has made me want to!

    Maddie x | thatplacecalledhere.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Yass, the wonderful dreams is incredibly usable and very beautiful! xx If you ever get a chance when you're abroad, go and snag some goodies! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  9. Sephora makeup is actually really good

    ephemeralfox.blogspot.com

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    1. Ah, April, although it had it's ups and downs, I'm going to have to agree with you; the quality is very high! x
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  10. Sephora is my go-to store for high end makeup as well - you just can't beat their return policy and their amazing selection! I've never actually tried Sephora's own makeup line so this was very interesting to read. Of the 3 items my favorite is the Wonderful Dreams - the colors are so beautiful and wearable! Shame that it's a limited edition item though :(

    Jenny // Geeky Posh

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    1. Why hello there stranger! x Just kidding, lotta love Jenny, thanks for reading another one of my posts! x Yes, as an avid buyer of high end makeup, I always use Sephora, but never thought of trying out any of their stuff until recently! The wonderful dreams palette is gorgeous, isn't it!? Well, as I said Jenny, no need to be upset, you'll find it on Amazon somewhere, I'm sure of it! x
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  11. Your blog looks great! Such an awesome review!

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    1. Thank you so much Ashley, this comment made my day! I happen to really love your blog too! X Stoked that you enjoyed the review,
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  12. I have never paid much attention to Sephora in-house brand, I know many love it but I am often distracted but other brands. I have tried a couple of stuff before and my experience weren't too great.

    Shireen⎜Reflection of Sanity

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    1. I do agree with you Shireen, some things are a disappointment, as I said about the beauty amplifier powder. However, there are those few gems though that stand out from the rest. You may need to just try again, you never know, you may like some of their products! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  13. Your blog looks great.very best reviews.
    http://www.wpbloggertricks.com/

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    1. Thank you very much Haseeb, means a lot! x
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

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  14. Replies
    1. Very welcome, always! xx
      Lots of love,
      Marina Rosie xx

      Delete

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