SEPHORA AUSTRALIA OPENING DAY HAUL

December 5, 2014 was a historic day for all Australian beauty lovers like myself.  The very first Sephora store finally opened in Sydney (Westfield shopping centre in Pitt Street).  Being a beauty blogger, I felt it my duty to attend this momentous event. ;-)  I scheduled the day off work especially for it and drove a few hours to be there.  I arrived one hour after it had officially opened, and was surprised at how long the queue was ... still! Of course, you can only fit so many people in the two-storey store and I'm sure every one of us who waited (some overnight apparently!) in line, made the most of our time inside the store once we got in!  I must have waited about one and a half hours in line in the scorching heat to get in, and I must have spent four hours in the shop - swatching everything and having the makeup artist try products on me.  There was very little room to move.

The first 150 people in store were given a Sephora vanity case, etc - I wasn't one of those lucky and very determined people.  The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement.  There were chocolates handed out and music played by a DJ all throughout the evening.  I found the sales assistance were all very helpful and knowledgeable.  I was impressed that they had plenty of stock even with so many people.  If you found the shelves empty, they were usually either replenished with stock straight away, or you had no trouble getting them to get more if you asked for it.  So, don't be disappointed if you found the shelves empty - be sure to ask if they have more and chances are they do have them tucked away in the drawers!

Above: the massive queue at the opening of Australia's first Sephora store [this and the following four images below were taken with my phone camera].

I'm greeted first by the shelves of gorgeous holiday gift sets!

Without further ado, below are my beauty acquisitions.

1 // Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes Waterproof Mascara

2 // IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Wand Ball Brush

3 // Sephora Pro Airbrush (55) Brush

4 // Sephora Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner

5 // Bite Beauty High igment Pencil in Violet

6 // Bite Beauty Luminous Crème Lipstick in Rosé

 7 // Marc Jacobs Perfection Powder in Beige (300)

8 // Marc Jacobs The Sky-Liner (Seven-Piece Highliner Collection) [limited edition].  See also below for all the eye liner pencils in the set.

9 // Tarte Pin Up Girl Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush Palette [limited edition].  Below are the blushes in the set.

10 // Formula X Effects Top Coat in Demolition

11 // Marc Jacobs Re(Marc)Able Full Cover Concealer in Young (3)

12 // Sephora Nail Patch Art in 411.

Above (L - R):

// Chloé Eau de Parfum Roller Ball (for my sister)

// Sachajuan Volume Shampoo (I love their Hair Repair conditioning treatment, so trying these next!)

// Sachajuan Volume Conditioner

// Sachajuan Ocean Mist (hair texturising spray)

// Sephora Green Tea (Mattifying & Anti-Blemish) Mask - Pack of 5 (for my mum who has oily skin)

// Sephora Lotus (Hydrating & Soothing) Mask - Pack of 5 (for my sister)

// Sephora Lotus Mask - single.

There have been promises of a US price match, but disappointingly you will find many of the brands are still more expensive here.  I found the closest match were probably the Sephora brand.  Tarte and Bite Beauty were also comparable but, brands like Marc Jacobs Beauty had prices of about 25% more than in the US, and even our very own Australian brand Becca Cosmetics is approximately 20% more in Sephora Australia.  This is based roughly on today's exchange rate and comparing US Sephora online store prices (note the US prices do not include their state-specific taxes) with AU RRP minus the 10% GST.  While the markup could be worse, I'm sure none of us really wanted to pay more than the rest of the world.  It's great for incidental type purchases, but not so great for those beauty aficionados who buy regularly, or often in *ahem*...much larger, (albeit unhealthy) quantities.  ;-)

The other thing that disappointed me was that those of us who have acquired plenty of Sephora loyalty points in the US (either through online and/or through travels), cannot take advantage of it here.  Sephora Australia will have their own loyalty system, which will not officially begin until next January.  This is a bit of a bad blow on people like myself who splurged on opening day! :-(  Nonetheless, I have signed up for it in store to be notified of when it begins.  I've even asked the SA if I could somehow get the points for what I purchased on the day - after all, surely they can take in receipts, scan it in and their system can work it out retrospectively?  But, no.  Ah well...perhaps retailers aren't that clever even for something that makes simple sense.

Overall, I'm still displeased with a lot of the inflated prices (and lack of samples with my purchase), but at least we can now look forward to seeing more brands here in Australia and have a play!  I'm looking forward to having more Sephora stores opening, especially closer to me, and online purchasing would be terrific, too.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Urban Decay isn't sold in Sephora...but, I little birdie told me once they were going to be sold in Myer one day.  Fingers crossed it is true.  I was sad to not to find Beauty Blender there, or Caudalie.  I was also after the limited edition Bite Beauty "Best Bite Remix" mini holiday set of four High Pigment Pencils, but I didn't see it in store, and regret that I didn't ask!  Tsk! Tsk!  All the better for my wallet though. ;)

Meanwhile, looking forward to trying some new brands and new products in my haul! ^_^