Sparkled Beauty

One of the most exciting events Halifax will see this summer would be the opening of the very first Maritimes Sephora at Halifax Shopping Centre. Yay!!!

I was fortunate to be invited to the Sephora press lunch last week and have all the deeds for those who are interested. The big date is August 12 (a day before my birthday, not that it's relevant lol). Halifax Sephora will be a full sized store that carries over 200 brands. I probably don't need to go on about how awesome this news is to all of us living around here, do I? A VIB (Very Important Beauty Insider) status might come sooner than I think, and I also don't have to miss picking up my Sephora birthday gift anymore.

Some fun facts about Sephora:
- History: Founded in France in 1969, acquired by Paris-based LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) in 1997. I thought the company is American the whole time :)

- The name: combination of 2 words: Zipporah (the wife of Moses, known for her exceptional beauty) and Sephos (a Greek term, attributed to beauty and vanity). Cool huh?

- The concept: open-shelf, broad range of brands and products (skin care, colour, fragrance, nail care, bath & body, hair care), plus its own Sephora brand.

- Training: There is Sephora University in San Francisco (established since October 2007) with "Science of Sephora" education program. I'd love to go there :)

- The stores: 1000 stores worldwide (24 countries), 280 in North America, 25 in Canada, plus 300 inside JCPenney. First US store was in New York (1998), first Canadian store was in Toronto (2004). More than 9000 employees, 740 in Canada.

- The website: launched in 1999 with its Canadian section in 2003.

- Beauty Insider program: launched in 2007, with VIB tier added in 2009.

Sephora is a lot younger than I thought. It's amazing how fast a beauty store can grow in such short period of time!

The luncheon was very cozy and casual, just the way we Haligonians like it. I was really excited to be part of the media crowd for Sephora at this little corner of the east coast, and to meet fellow bloggers from around here. I don't feel so alone anymore :)

Sephora VP and PR rep were really nice to talk to, and very inspiring. They love their job, I can tell.

It was a great time - great food and great company. And another great part: goodie bags :)

What's inside:
Tarina Tarantino Sparklicity Bronze collection - Eyeshadow palette (top), Sparkle Powder (left) and Shimmer Dust (right).

The shades in the palette, as described on Sephora website:
- Pearl
- Pearlized Nude
- Shimmering Bronze
- Matte Brown
- Pearlized Pink
- Taupe
- Turquoise
- Shimmering Brown.

Hello Kitty notebook, cosmetic bag and Memoirs of a Kitty palette (eyeshadows and blushes) with:
4 eyeshadows:
- Pearlized Pinky Beige
- Pearlized Tan
- Pearlized Honey
- Sparkling Brown
2 blushes: Peach and Rose.

Makeup Forever Uplight Face Luminizer gel #32 (sparkling golden pink) and Aqua Liner High Precision Waterproof eyeliner #8 (iridescent electric purple).

Nars Laguna Multiple (brown with golden shimmer) and Wonder lip gloss (sheer mandarin orange with pink and gold shimmer). Isn't that a summer colour or what?

Thank you Sephora for coming to Halifax and for treating us bloggers so well. Come August, I'll have more details to tell you about the store. Stay tuned!