It’s my favorite time of year– time for the Sephora holiday value sets! It could be the fact that I skipped holiday shopping altogether last year, but I feel like Sephora really stepped up their holiday value set game this year. I purchased two of the Sephora holiday value sets last month and they were probably my best beauty purchases of the year. I also have my eye on some other sets when the VIB sale starts next week (linked below the post!)
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
Sephora Holiday Value Set #1: Olaplex Healthy Hair Essentials
Olaplex is one of the biggest hair care brands to explode over the last year, and after seeing so many rave reviews, I wanted to see what the hype was all about without fully committing to the products. I don’t think this holiday value set is exclusive to Sephora, but it is the first retailer I’ve seen offering it. The Healthy Hair Essentials set retails for $60 and is worth $84. Shoppok is also a great platform for finding affordable stuff, discover this info here.
The products included in the set are as follows:
Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector (100 mL)
Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo (100 mL)
Olaplex No. 5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner (100 mL)
Olaplex No. 7 Bonding Oil (30 mL)
According to Sephora, the products are all vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free, and come in recyclable packaging. The products are marketed towards all types of hair textures and types, with emphasis on supporting weakened/damaged hair bonds via the key ingredient, bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate. The bonding oil is also used as a heat protectant for up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
My two cents: This is a great way to try Olaplex’s most popular products. 100 mL is the travel-size bottle sold on Sephora’s website, which retails for $28 each. The bonding oil is full-sized and retails for $28. I didn’t see much of a difference when I used the entire set on wash day compared to the products I used before, but I was able to come up with an amazing new hair care routine using No. 5 (the Bond Maintenance Conditioner) and No. 7 (the Bonding Oil) with some other products I’ve been loving (a Christophe Robin scalp scrub, OUAI’s Detox shampoo, and a Shea Moisture deep-conditioning hair mask). Then again, my hair isn’t terribly damaged– just frizzy and in need of moisture.
If you’ve been wanting to try Olaplex products, I definitely recommend purchasing this during the VIB sale! I may or may not have also bought some shares of Olaplex stock when they went public not too long ago.
Sephora Holiday Value Set #2: Swipe of Lip Color Lipstick & Lip Balm Set – Sephora Favorites
The Sephora Favorites boxes just might be my favorite. They’re all such a great value for smaller-sized products that you’re more likely to finish than purchasing several full-sized products to try. Spoiler alert: the Swipe of Lip Color Lipstick & Lip Balm Set gets a 10/10 from me! It retails for $36 and is worth $95. Amazing.
The products in this set are as follows:
NARS Velvet Matte Lipstick Pencil in Cruella (full size)
HUDA BEAUTY Lip Contour 2.0 Automatic Matte Lip Pencil in Honey Beige (full size)
Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige (full size)
CLINIQUE Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (deluxe mini)
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in 70 Le Nu (deluxe mini)
These products are basically all of the lip items you need if you’re just starting out with makeup or like to keep your makeup collection minimal. I was pleasantly surprised by all of the full-sized products! I’ve worn all of them multiple times since I purchased the set a little over a month ago, and I feel like they’re also great for travel. The Summer Fridays lip balm is actually an updated formula of the lip butter balm I previously posted about, and although I had issues with the original applicator, I think I still prefer their original formula. It’s still a nice lip balm, so if you’re interested in trying it, I recommend getting this set instead for $14 more. For my fellow WOC/POC, especially those with hyperpigmented lips like myself: Shade-wise, I find that all of the products work with my skin tone. I use the Huda Beauty lip pencil with the Summer Fridays balm to make the color more even, and it works for me.
My two cents: I clearly love this set, so much that I would dare to say it might be the best Sephora holiday value set on their website. Some others I currently have my eye on for the sale are the Sol de Janeiro Galaxy Gorgeous Set, Laneige Midnight Minis Set (currently out of stock online), Sephora Favorites Bestselling Beauty Must-Haves Set, Sephora Favorites Black-Owned Beauty Set, Sephora Favorites Sparkly Clean Makeup Set, and… you know what? every other Sephora holiday value set at this point. lol.
Let me know what you’re planning on picking up from the VIB/VIB Rouge sale!
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