To say the day I got the email with news that Luxola NZ was going to be relaunching as Sephora NZ was exciting, is a complete understatement. Firstly I thought someone was playing a cruel joke on a Sephora-junkie like myself, but as I kept reading I was over the moon at the news. Sephora NZ is actually here, in little ol' New Zealand, albeit not as a physical store, but it brings with it a host of new brands that we were unable to easily get our hands on - I know NZ beauty lovers are going to be going a little crazy over this! To celebrate the launch I got to pick out a few products from the vast line up of brands and share with you all a small sample of products now available to us in NZ.
I wanted to pick items from brands that I've heard a lot about, or have tried one or two things, but wanted to delve more into their products. There's also a couple of things from brands I've never tried before, and one I've never actually heard of (Luscious Cosmetics - more on that later). Sephora NZ has all the same brands as the recently launch Sephora Australia, with the exception of Make Up Forever and Tarte (sadly, but fingers crossed we'll get them here soon!) The ones I found most exciting are Kat Von D, Becca, Cover FX, Bite Beauty, Marc Jacobs Beauty and Sephora Collection just to name a few - you can find all the brands that are available at the moment here.
I've heard a little about Nudestix before and always wanted to try some of their products as the concept is pretty unique. All of their products come in stick form, with their own tins and sharpeners. The tins can hold a few of the sticks, so you could almost fit a whole makeup routine in one of the them. I decided to pick out the Magnetic Eye Color Pencil Set, in this awesome limited edition tin, as my first foray into the brand.
I'm a big fan of eye crayons as they make apply shadow so easy and you can get a bit more precision when you're working with a pencil. I find these ones amazingly pigmented, very smooth and velvety to apply and blend, but then they really set down. They remind me a lot of the By Terry Ombre Blackstar's in terms of the creaminess and how they set down on the lid. $72 might sound a little expensive, but it works out at $24.00 for each eyeshadow stick, so overall I really don't think it's that pricey at all. The Blackstar's are around $60 each anyway!
I'm a big fan of eye crayons as they make apply shadow so easy and you can get a bit more precision when you're working with a pencil. I find these ones amazingly pigmented, very smooth and velvety to apply and blend, but then they really set down. They remind me a lot of the By Terry Ombre Blackstar's in terms of the creaminess and how they set down on the lid. $72 might sound a little expensive, but it works out at $24.00 for each eyeshadow stick, so overall I really don't think it's that pricey at all. The Blackstar's are around $60 each anyway!
BITE Beauty Matte Crème Lip Crayon in Léché* | NZD $31.00
I own a couple of Bite Beauty lipsticks, but had heard great things about the Matte Creme Lip Crayons and they definitely don't disappoint. There is 11 shades overall and I went for Léché, described as a dusty pale pink, the photo above is leaning more nude/peach but it is definitely a more mauve tone. The formula is very creamy and well pigmented, and the lasting power was great with the matte finish not feeling drying.
Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita* | NZD $31.00
FINALLY. Finally I own this coveted shade! My parents went to Hawaii last year and I sent them on a wild goose chase to try and find this shade and it was sold out everywhere! Now I finally have it, I can understand why. Lolita is a 'chestnut rose', that's very nudey brown and I absolutely adore it. Thankfully it doesn't skimp out on the formula, as liquid lipsticks go this feels so light on the lips, almost like you haven't got it on, is completely non drying, and it only takes one swipe to have full pigmentation. There's a whole load of gorgeous shades (26 in total), and now I've gotta make the hard decision of deciding what shade I want to buy next... suggestions are welcome!
I might be the last beauty blogger on earth to get this much hyped highlighter from Becca in collaboration with YouTuber Jacyln Hill, and now that I do, I totally get the hype. Champagne Pop is truly stunning; I knew they did great highlighters but it's not until you try it do you realise just how good they are. It gives the skin a real 'lit from within' sort of glow, it's not too glittery or sparkly and the pigmentation is so good, you really only need a light hand. This could almost knock TheBalm Mary-Lou Manizer off the top of my all time faves, and if you love that one you will adore this. Becca are actually also now available on Beauty Bliss too, and they have a good selection of some of their products.
Luscious Cosmetics Rose Gold Value Set* | NZD $41.00
To round out my haul I went for a brand I've never heard of or seen before in the form of Luscious Cosmetics. I did a bit of Googling and found that this brand launched in 2007 and was initially aimed at women from South Asia and the Middle East, but have since branched from there. I chose this value set as it made for a great introduction to the brand with three separate products included.
In this three piece set you get a Powder Blush in 021 Champagne ($21.00 separately), Ultra-Smooth Lip Liner in 06 Natural Pink ($16.00) and a Super Moisturizing Lipstick in Breathless ($21.00), so overall the set has a value of $58.00 - you basically get one whole product free! The Blush has a very NARS Orgasm type look to it, with the pink base and golden shimmer through it. The Lip Liner I really like, it is smooth to apply but not too hard, or too soft. The Lipstick I'm not completely sold on the colour (a bit too glittery and frosty for me), but the formula is smooth and moisturising as it promises. It's really exciting to have these more unknown and obscure brands now available at our finger tips.
As you can tell there are so many amazing products available from a whole range of stellar brands. I hope that with this change over from Luxola NZ to Sephora NZ, we will get even more brands available for us to indulge in. There is free shipping for orders over $75, or it's $25 shipping for anything under $75, and it will arrive in 2-10 working days.
In this three piece set you get a Powder Blush in 021 Champagne ($21.00 separately), Ultra-Smooth Lip Liner in 06 Natural Pink ($16.00) and a Super Moisturizing Lipstick in Breathless ($21.00), so overall the set has a value of $58.00 - you basically get one whole product free! The Blush has a very NARS Orgasm type look to it, with the pink base and golden shimmer through it. The Lip Liner I really like, it is smooth to apply but not too hard, or too soft. The Lipstick I'm not completely sold on the colour (a bit too glittery and frosty for me), but the formula is smooth and moisturising as it promises. It's really exciting to have these more unknown and obscure brands now available at our finger tips.
As you can tell there are so many amazing products available from a whole range of stellar brands. I hope that with this change over from Luxola NZ to Sephora NZ, we will get even more brands available for us to indulge in. There is free shipping for orders over $75, or it's $25 shipping for anything under $75, and it will arrive in 2-10 working days.
Have you made an order yet? What brands are you most excited to see?
*Not sponsored, however I was able to chose the products which were sent to me by Sephora NZ to celebrate the launch.
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