Sephora Haul and Review.

I happen to be a Sephora member, which means they regularly update me on the latest trends, releases, discounts and deals. On my birthday, I received an email from Sephora saying that, as I was a member, they were going to send me a birthday present and three samples of my choice (out of a selected range). Sounds like a scam, I know - but it wasn't. The only thing I had to do was to buy anything from the website. They had a great amount of deals on at the time (and still do!).

 After browsing through the entire site, I settled for the nude Sephora IT eyeshadow palette, (12 eyeshadow colours, a double-sided brush and an eyeliner pencil). I'd wanted it for a long time so knew I had to have it. That, along with my samples, ended up in my basket. Oh, my birthday present? It happened to be two NARS lip pencils *screams*; a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade Cruella and a Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Rikugien, which have a retail price of 19 GBP. The total of the palette, NARS pencils and samples came to 10 GBP. Once the shipping price was added, the total price came to 21 GBP which, considering it came from America, I thought was seriously good. I clicked pay and three short days later, it arrived at my friend's house. I've only just got round to picking it up but I've seriously enjoyed trying everything out. Here are my thoughts on the products...

• Nude Sephora IT Eyeshadow Palette: This is now my go to eyeshadow palette, especially for a night out. Not only does it feature 9 eyeshadows, two of which are eyeliner shades, and 3 highlighters/eyeshadows, but it also comes with a double sided eyeshadow and eyeliner brush, as well as an eyeliner pencil in a dark brown colour. There are only a few matte shades, meaning I have to use ones from other palettes but, as I am just like a magpie and drawn to anything sparkly or glittery, this doesn't bother me too much. My only complaint about this is that some of the shades are just not pigmented enough. The green, for example, is such a gorgeous colour and would look great with my complexion (blonde hair, brown eyes) but, once applied, it just looks like a dirty grey colour. Despite this, I am impressed with the majority of them. My favourites are the second to the left on the top row and the third to the left on the bottom row. I love both ends of the brush and the eyeliner pencil is extremely soft, it doesn't drag at all.

• NARS Lip Pencils: Love, love, love. I've found that Rikugien is the perfect subtle shade that makes it look like you're not wearing much, yet makes your lips look much better than they actually are. I've been wearing this most days to work! It's a good dupe for MAC's Spice though, as it is a satin edition, it doesn't last as long. Cruella, on the other hand, lasts forever. I once accidentally put it on before cleaning my teeth and couldn't be bothered to take it off, so decided to just clean my teeth and then reapply where needed, but I ended up not even having to touch it up! My toothbrush handle was a slightly burgundy, but my lips hadn't changed a bit. It also managed to survive five glasses of prosecco and a Christmas buffet on Boxing Day. It's a winner.

• Samples: Out of the three, Too Faced's Born This Way foundation was my favourite. I received three shades, of which there was only one that I couldn't use at it was a bit dark for me. I really enjoyed this and now fully understood what all the hype's been about. It has buildable coverage and is great for redness. One thing I'd say is to use a moisturiser or to avoid it if you have dry skin as it tends to cling to dry patches. The next item I tried was the Sephora Instant Moisturiser. I definitely have mixed feelings on this one. When first applied, it left my skin feeling hydrated and it just felt like it was doing everything a moisturiser is supposed to do. After it had soaked in, I felt like it made my skin feel tight and tacky but, after a few hours, when I absentmindedly touched my skin, felt really smooth and soft! Like I said, mixed feelings. One down side is that it has a bit of a soapy smell. The final product was Korres Greek Yoghurt Cleanser, which I used after a day out in the mud, snow and cold at Richmond Park, so I was in need of some pampering! It's quite hard to judge a cleanser on just one use but, if I were to guess, I'd say this might be worth a try. Within five minutes of using it, I could already feel the spots that had been festering under my chin coming to the surface (#TMI).

I honestly couldn't believe it when I opened the email and saw what I was getting. What an amazing surprise, and all because I'm a Sephora member (which is totally free to do!). After making my purchase, I was awarded club points which, once at a certain amount, will enable me to make another purchase without actually spending any money. Thank you, Sephora!

Are any of you Sephora members? Have they sent you a birthday present?

Let me know in the comments below!

*Not a sponsored post*