A pint-sized digital camera will take their travel photos to the next level. There are quite a few that you can order overnight or same-day delivery, but if you’re really in a pinch, you can always go grab a good disposable camera to give them in the meantime—it’s the thought that counts, and we all know that there’s nothing like a grainy disposable snap, anyway. But if you are able to score a better digital camera, this one should do the trick—it has 4K video recording, built-in wifi and Bluetooth tech and so much more.
When I was growing up, people would go feral for a sale. Black Friday would roll around, and news stations would set up outside Best Buy, Home Depot, and Target to watch thousands of people at 3 a.m. fight for half-off TV.
I was never the type of girl who could endure the mall on Black Friday. My anxiety gets overstimulated in a regular mall on your average Tuesday…what makes you think I could handle the war that once was Black Friday?
So, I’d wait for Cyber Monday. I would do my online shopping in peace, hoping everything in my cart stays in stock until I’m ready to check out. But since the pandemic, in-person shopping is no longer the more convenient option.
Now that online shopping is the norm, sales aren’t exclusive to in-store shoppers. We can enjoy the mall without leaving our homes — and it’s not like I was trying anything on in-store anyway.
So, it all leads up to one of the best makeup sales in the game: the highly anticipated bi-annual Sephora sale. Since beauty products rarely go on sale — yes, that includes luxury skincare brands like Tatcha and even La Mer — Sephora shoppers are graced with a discount up to 20% depending on your membership status.
If you’re anything like me, you take this sale very seriously. It’s a great time to try that viral makeup product you keep seeing on TikTok, or to stock up on your go-to products. And since products sell out very quickly during the sale, it’s smart to have your cart ready for purchase the moment it starts.
When Is The 2024 Sephora Sale?
Starting April 5 – 15, 2024, all products sold at Sephora stores will go on sale. The Sephora Collection itself will be 30% off for everyone – and with great dupes, brushes, and basics, you’ll definitely want to take advantage.
For Rouge members (those who have spent over $1000 at Sephora in a year), all other products will be 20% off. For VIB members, 15% discount. And for your basic Sephora Insider, you’ll get 10% off your entire purchase.
What Are The Best Products To Get At The Sephora Sale?
Now here we are, on the precipice of a mega-beauty sale – where all of your favorite brands are on sale in the same place, at the same time…and you feel lost.
If you’re wondering what beauty products are worth spending the money on…luckily, I’ve tried most of them. I like to refer to my bedroom as a “mini Sephora” because of the sheer number of beauty products I own. If you need it, I probably have it.
Here are some of my favorite beauty products at Sephora right now!
Whenever I do a blowout with DreamCoat, people ask me if I’ve recently dyed my hair. If you want a no frizz style (even in the summer humidity), this is for you.
Kerastase is salon-worthy for a reason. While it may be on the more expensive side of hair care, it’s genuinely worth it. This will save your damaged hair and bring it back to life.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
For the past three months, my lips have been going through it. They’ve been flaking, cracking, and experiencing pretty much every winter lip issue you can think of but 10 times worse than usual. My ride-or-die products suddenly stopped working, and the state of my pout got so bad that I went down a spiral in the Google search tab and decided to ditch all of my go-to balms (and even my toothpaste at the time). After losing quite a bit of hope for my dry, crusty lips, I gave Tower 28’s new LipSoftie Lip Treatments a try, and all I can say is they’ve been true miracle-workers.
It seems like almost every brand is venturing into tinted lip balms and treatments—Summer Fridays, rhode, Naturium, and most recently, Ole Henriksen and Tower 28. I’ve been a long-time fan of Summer Fridays’ coveted Lip Butter Balm, making sure I never left the house without my Cherry tube. But one day, something about the brisk weather and my skin’s needs flipped on the product. My pout also started rejecting my Holy Grail Aquaphor Lip Repair (both the stick and the ointment!).
That’s all to say, I didn’t have much hope for yet another tinted lip product. How could Tower 28’s possibly be any different for my dry, irritated, peeling pout? As you can tell from the headline of this review, I was sorely wrong to assume anything about the LipSoftie Lip Treatment.
Whether your pout is also going through it this winter, or you simply want to know if Tower 28’s newest addition is worth the hype TikTok has been giving it, keep reading for my honest thoughts after wearing the LipSoftie for one week.
New
Tower 28 LipSoftie Lip Treatment
Left to right: Ube Vanilla; Watermelon Kiwi; Blood Orange Vanilla; Dulce de Leche; SOS. Courtesty of Tower 28 Beauty.
When lip balms and treatments are too thick, it can feel like they’re suffocating your lips and drying them out instead of hydrating them. My pout has felt that way about a couple of the most talked-about lippies on the market right now, but not with Tower 28’s LipSoftie Lip Treatment. They’re not super goopy at all, and once applied, the formula feels lightweight and not sticky. I also love how you only need to squeeze out a little bit of product to bring color to your pout. The sheer wash of color is so pretty and glossy on the lips, and I have a feeling these tubes will last me a while. I’m also a big fragranced skincare hater, but the LipSofties’ subtle scents are not only managable, but contain less than one percent synthetic fragrance. Additionally, the food-grade, non-artificial flavors are, not going to lie, pretty dang tasty. Blood Orange Vanilla reminds me of an orange creamsicle, and I am sooo here for it. Meanwhile, Watermelon Kiwi brings me back to those smoothie-flavored Lip Smacker chapsticks from when I was a little girl.
Going back to the cons, while I love the packaging of these cute little tubes, I wish the applicator was angled and pointed, similar to Summar Fridays and rhode’s alternatives. LipSoftie’s dome applicator is nostalgic and all (Carmex, anyone?), but if I want a precise application, I have to whip out my compact mirror for some extra assistance. Luckily, the formula is sheer, so if you do put on a little too much and it spreads outside of your actual lip line, it won’t be the end of the world. I also noticed that sometimes when I wear the LipSoftie Lip Treatment, strands of hair that blow into my face will get stuck in my pout for a hot sec. It’s certainly not a dealbreaker for me, but I don’t recall having this minor issue when I wear Summer Fridays’ Lip Butter Balm.
Left: Tower 28 LipSoftie Lip Treatment in Dulce de Leche; Right: Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige. Photos: Tower 28 Beauty; Summer Fridays.
Regarding shade offerings, reach for LipSoftie in Dulce de Leche if you’re a fan of the Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige. Try LipSoftie in Blood Orange Vanilla if you like the Lip Butter Balm in Cherry, and Ube Vanilla if you like Brown Sugar. This one’s pretty self-explanatory, but LipSoftie in SOS (clear) is the shade to go with if you’re a Vanilla Lip Butter Balm gal. That leaves LipSoftie in Watermelon Kiwi and the Lip Butter Balm in Poppy—these two tubes don’t have recognizable matchups in their rival brand’s shade lineups.
As for their feel on the lips, Tower 28’s lip treatment feels thinner, more lightweight, and more breathable compared to Summer Fridays’ balm. LipSoftie’s scents and flavors are also slightly more subtle, which I prefer. In terms of how these competing lip products look on the lips, they both offer the prettiest, sheer wash of color that leave your pout looking perfectly glossy.
Pricing
Is Tower 28’s LipSoftie Lip Treatment worth it?
Tower 28’s LipSoftie Lip Treatment costs $16 a tube, while Summer Fridays’ Lip Butter Balm costs $24 a tube. $8 is a pretty sizable gap for an everyday lip product, especially if you’re purchasing multiple shades. Tower 28’s other rival formulas will ring you up for anywhere from $10 to $22, so LipSoftie sits right in the middle. I absolutely adore Summer Fridays’ Lip Butter Balm, and probably always will, but if you ask me, the brand-new LipSoftie Lip Treatment is definitely worth both the hype and your coin.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, StyleCaster may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
According to Google, Summer Fridays‘ Lip Butter Balm was one of the most searched beauty products of 2023. And we’re not surprised. The cushiony balm is often sold out. Well, Summer Fridays fans almost have a new lippie to obsess over: Dream Lip Oil. With the popularity of lip oils in general (see: Dior, NYX Professional Makeup, etc.) and the fever for Summer Fridays lip products, you’re going to want to mark your calendars to shop.
The rollout of Dream Lip Oil was a new and interesting strategy. The brand didn’t post anything on its social media accounts. Founders Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland were silent. There was no teasing of the product. Just all of a sudden, select influencers, like Angela Park, who I saw swatch them first. Fans lost their minds. Park usually gets around 20,000 views per video but her Dream Lip Oil video has more than two million. Comments read “Oh Summer Fridays KNOWS what they’re doing” and others freaking out that they don’t seem to buy online. That’s because they don’t launch until January 18!
Park does a great job explaining each shade and the payoff, but you can also see folks of varying skin tones trying out new launch now, more than a week before they hit the Summer Fridays website and Sephora.
There are four sheer shades in total: Pink Cloud (a soft pink), Blush Dream (a sheer blush), Rosewood Nights (a sheer rosy brown), and Soft Mauve (a sheer rose). To say they’re getting rave reviews would be an understatement.
Just like the viral Lip Butter Balm ($24 at Sephora), Dream Lip Oil ($26 at Sephora) contains nourishing ingredients such as apricot kernel, jojoba seed, avocado, grape seed, and rosehip oils, plus squalane and castor seed oil. Expect tons of moisture with sheer color with a cushion-y doe foot applicator.
Set your iCal reminder for January 18 and check back here to shop.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When I first read Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour Workweek a decade ago, it planted a bug in my brain to always look for ways to balance productivity with sustainable life rhythms. I didn’t know if living like that was even possible, but I was intrigued. As a former pastor turned entrepreneur who values both healthy work culture and optimal performance, I was fascinated by the notion of shorter workweeks from the get-go. The statistics around 4-day workweeks were compelling.
But as the founder of a brand consultancy with limited cash reserves, I knew I couldn’t immediately offer everyone a 4-day workweek and expect cash flow to stay healthy in the short term. I quickly classified the 4-day workweek as something only big corporations could afford to do. With their exorbitant bottom lines, surely they could take the risk, “But not a sub-$1m revenue company like ours!” I’d mutter to myself, alone in my shed-office. Fortunately, I stayed haunted by the idea for long enough to press through my cynicism and find something intriguing to try.
I want to share a concept we implemented at our brand consultancy a few years ago that continues to reap rewards for everyone involved — we call it “Quiet Fridays.”
Imagine this: a bustling office (or burbling Slack channels) from Monday through Thursday, with teams collaborating, innovating and driving the company forward. You’re proud of the pace and productivity. They’re meeting with clients, pitching new ideas, selling future work… And then comes Friday — and all of a sudden — crickets. Slack is a ghost town. You check your calendar, and it’s wide open. Everything has slowed down by design. Fridays are set aside for uninterrupted deep work, reflection and rejuvenation. This is the essence of our Quiet Fridays.
We simply decided to stop scheduling client-facing meetings on Fridays to create a margin for ourselves. What a novel idea!
And the remarkable thing was — clients didn’t mind. They’re typically inspired by it. They respect the intentionality we have around creating (and protecting) margins. If they’ve trusted us to rework their brand strategies or articulate some new expression of their company, they want us to have uninterrupted time to dedicate to it. It’s for everyone’s benefit.
You might be saying to yourself, “Cool. Glad that worked for you, but there’s no way I could implement this at my ______ company.” Which is precisely why I’m writing this article. This concept is implementable across the board. All you have to do is define what “quiet” means for you.
With our brand consultancy, one of the most important things we do is meet with our clients. It’s essential to our success. Clients hire us to spend time with them. Apart from that, we’re out of business. But meeting with clients can be draining, especially if you’re giving them your best attention. It’s exhausting to sell ideas and inspire other leaders to dream of their brands in fresh ways. That is why I knew “quiet” meant no client-facing meetings. When I first shared the idea with my team on a Zoom call, I could see little pixelated tears of joy forming in the corners of their eyes.
One of the companies I’ve invested in is a cannabis farm in Maine. We breed, cultivate, and package products to distribute around the state. Those employees don’t meet with clients or sit around all day at desks talking on Slack. So, what does “quiet” mean for them? How can we implement Quiet Fridays for them? Ask them!
Maybe we plan Friday’s goals earlier in the week, and people can enjoy a self-guided day — productive yet paced a bit slower. Maybe Fridays become a time to focus on genetic hunting or rainy day projects that always seem to be pushed off to another day.
Our employees at the brand consultancy will sometimes use the time to work on internal marketing ideas — either content or updating our website. (Guess when I’m writing this article? A Friday morning.) And if people find themselves with very little to do, they quietly take the rest of the day off. They’ve clearly earned it if they’ve tackled everything on their lists.
If you’re in the startup world, there’s a good chance you have other stakeholders watching what you’re doing (or breathing down your neck), and if you proposed a 4-day workweek, your investors would lose their marbles. Quiet Fridays are a great way to invest in your internal culture without being too disruptive of others’ expectations of you. It’s a subtle enough tweak that hopefully doesn’t require anyone’s approval other than yours.
So, if you find yourself in a leadership position or leading a team within a larger company, I dare you to exercise that bit of autonomy and consider Quiet Fridays for your team. If you’re already scheduled for the next month or so, pick a Friday next month and ask everyone to begin guarding that day. Put a recurring event on the calendar called Quiet Friday and invite your whole team to it. Try it. Test it. Tweak it. And see what Quiet Fridays might add to the efficacy and joy of those around you.
Tinted lip balms are, in many ways, the unsung heroes of the makeup bag. Sure, they provide pretty, buildable sheer-to-intense washes of color without caking, creasing, settling into lines or leaving tumbleweed-level dryness in their wake. But the best ones do so much more than just look good.
The cream of the crop are enhanced with protective sunscreen, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid to work overtime as lip-focused skin-care treatments while they deposit a slick of color. They’re spiked with a smattering of ultra-fine shimmer for a luminous — but still minimalist — finish. Or perhaps they upend old-school understandings of “lip balm” entirely, taking the form of non-sticky “oil” formulas that just might make you forget all about that lip gloss stashed at the bottom of your purse.
Ahead, we’ve chosen 21 high-performing, multi-benefit tinted lip balms we’re loving right now — in shades for every skin tone, with price points for every budget. Scroll through to see (and shop!) them all.
Jones Road The Lip Tint in Valencia Orange, $26, available here
L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche Balm in Caramel Comfort, $11, available here.
Typology Tinted Lip Oil in 2 Powder Pink, $24, available here
Each month, Fashionista editors try a *lot* of beauty products. And while not every formula we test is a winner, we’re constantly unearthing new favorites. Here, we’ve rounded up our latest hair, skin, fragrance, wellness and makeup discoveries — whether fresh-to-market drops or merely recent additions to our personal routines.
It’s almost a new year, which will no doubt bring with it a whole crop of new beauty favorites with which team Fashionista will become obsessed. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we’re taking a moment to look back at some of the standout hair, makeup, skin, fragrance and wellness finds we discovered in 2022. Join us, won’t you?
Scroll through for a selection of our top product discoveries of the year, as well as our month-by-month roundups.
Crown Affair The Leave-in Conditioner, $48, available here: “Leave-in conditioners can be tricky for my fine hair and often weigh it down, but this ultra-lightweight one is a game-changer. It drenches my strands with hydration, making them smoother and less snarl-prone, but doesn’t compromise volume. And a little goes a long way — a nickel-sized dollop is all I need for my below-the-shoulder length hair.” —Stephanie Saltzman, Beauty Director
Topicals Faded Under Eye Masks, $22, available here: “I love these undereye treatment masks for those long days where I’m staring at my computer screen for hours on end. My skin is on the dry side, so after work, I like to treat myself to these bad boys. I know that the whole ‘tired’ look is a trend, but it’s not for me, so I like how this product reduces the puffiness and the darkness, too.” —India Roby, Staff Writer
Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment, $16, available here: “Despite the apparent naming snafu, Hailey Bieber’s new skin-care line has some excellent products. I’ve been obsessed with the lip treatment, which leaves my lips perfectly soft, plump and glossy without any annoying stickiness. It’s great under (or over) a lip color or on its own, and while the flavored versions are nice, I personally prefer it unscented.” —Dhani Mau, Editor-in-chief
Phlur Apricot Privée Body Wash, $30, available here: “The addition of tonka and sandalwood to this fruity body wash makes it less ‘Clean ‘N’ Clear microplastics aughts commercial’ and more sumptuous and lush, especially with the silky and moisturizing, serum-y texture.” —Liza Sokol, Sr. Audience Development Manager
Ami Colé Lip Treatment Oil, $20, available here: “I’d been wanting to try this product pretty much since the brand launched, and the wait was well worth it. The oil-to-gloss formula feels super substantial, and the really beautiful taupe color complements the natural color of my lips. It’s my everyday lip product now.” —Ana Colón, Deputy Editor
Flawless by Gabrielle Union Repairing Deep Conditioning Masque, $10, available here: “The first time I used this mask from Gabrielle Union‘s hair-care brand, I was happily shocked with how defined my curls looked. And it’s no wonder: Ingredients like castor seed oil, shea butter, avocado oil, rice complex and biotin make for a powerful formula — and for the price point, that’s especially impressive.” —Andrea Bossi, Staff Writer
Dieux Auracle Reviving Eye Gel, $44, available here: “The makers of social media’s favorite reusable eye masks have finally introduced an eye cream, after an intensive product development process. The result — a bouncy, fast-absorbing, serum-like gel that plumps, brightens and softens fine lines around the eyes — is a total keeper. It also layers beautifully beneath other skin-care products, like the heavy-duty moisturizers that become all the more crucial in cold weather.” —SS
Violette FR Bisou Blush in Inès, $35, available here: “I was first struck by how pretty this marbleized cream blush stick is in its tube — and it’s just as stunning on skin. The texture is soft and blendable, with intense pigment, so a tiny swipe is all you need. It also has a non-chalky matte finish, so it just looks like it could be skin’s natural flush.” —SS
Elf Cosmetics Putty Blush in Turks & Caicos, $7, available here: “My latest Target impulse buy was this inexpensive cream blush, and I’m now obsessed: It gives the perfect natural-looking — but noticeable — sunkissed glow.” —DM
Photo: Courtesy of Iris & Romeo
Iris & Romeo Weekend Skin SPF 50 + Vitamin C + Glow, $47, available here: “This hybrid mineral sunscreen/tinted moisturizer/vitamin C serum is literally my perfect summer skin-care product: It provides SPF 50 and antioxidant protection in one simple step, while also creating a glow-y, more evenly-toned finish — meaning I can go pretty much makeup-free. My skin has been garnering more compliments than ever since I started using it daily. One caveat is that it comes in a single shade, which the brand claims is transparent and universal, but I have difficulty imagining it doesn’t look at least a little chalky on darker skin tones.” —SS
BeautyStat Universal Moisture Essence, $40, available here: “If my skin is feeling dryer than usual, I’ll layer this squalane-based oil over or mix it in with my moisturizer at night. It adds that perfect boost of lasting moisture without the heaviness or greasiness of a typical face oil.” —DM
Loewe Paula’s Ibiza Eau de Toilette, $133, available here: “From the moment I smelled this perfume, I knew it would be my summer staple. While Loewe describes it as a ‘floral, aquatic and ambery scent,’ what drew me was its resemblance to that perfectly refreshing spicy margarita we all crave on a hot summer day – and who wouldn’t want to feel like a spicy margarita?” —Brooke Frischer, Contributing Writer
Sunnies Face Lip Treat in Poppy, $16, available here: “This sheer tinted balm is ultra-moisturizing, thanks to shea butter and medowfoam seed oil, and deposits the perfect wash of poppy red pigment, which can be layered for more intensity. It’s been a late summer go-to for me.” —SS
Youthforia BYO Color Changing Blush Oil, $36, available here: “*Lizzo voice* All the rumors are true, this blush oil is amazing. I love how it interacts with my skin’s pH for a natural flush, and the finish is so dewy and glow-y, but the color doesn’t transfer.” —LS
Kosas Revealer Skin-Improving Foundation SPF 25, $42, available here: “The first foundation from everyone’s favorite no-makeup makeup brand is creamy, blends beautifully and feels like nothing while effectively blurring away any unevenness on my skin. As a bonus, it’s packed with skin-care ingredients and UV and blue-light protection.” —DM
January
In January, we found new candles and perfumes that became instant favorites.
February
February brought us luxurious body creams, fancy scented candles, soothing bath soaks and hair-rehabilitating treatments.
March
Our March favorites included delightful spring candles, reparative hair treatments and at least one skin-care product all the TikTok cool kids convinced us to try.
April
During the month of April, we unearthed products that revolutionized our at-home blowout routines, enhanced our overnight skin-care regimens and livened up our Zoom makeup looks.
May
Our May faves? Cream and oil (yes, oil!) blushes, potent brightening serums and sunscreens.
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June
June gifted us an under-$10 mascara that seems far more expensive, innovative sunscreens and a nostalgic fragrance that’s a compliment magnet.
July
In July, team Fashionista fell in love with a non-irritating retinol, hair products that help us make the most out of our styles and a whole bunch of anxiety-soothing CBD remedies.
August
Amid August’s heat wave, we became obsessed with gentle skin-care formulas that actually do what they promise on their labels, hair products that revive our lived-in styles and tinted lip balms with multi-sensory appeal.
September
September was full of perfect-for-fall candles, pretty makeup we wore to weddings and hair care that has become a crucial part of our regular routines.
October
October’s finds included a face oil we’ll be slathering on obsessively through winter, eye-brightening makeup and a multi-tasking moisturizing balm that does basically everything.
November
In November, we discovered an overachieving nude lipstick, actually-good at-home hair color, winter skin saviors and a high-tech wellness gadget.
December
December delivered perfectly festive lip and nail colors, an innovative alternative to traditional perfume and a slew of winter-skin-calming treatments.
Please note: Occasionally, we use affiliate links on our site. This in no way affects our editorial decision-making.
The beauty realm is practically overflowing with skin-care and body products that are revered for their effectiveness but smell frighteningly reminiscent of children’s cold medicine or, worse, a straight-up pile of garbage on a hot summer day. (Sorry.) Allow us to provide a respite from all the medicinal, garbage-scented elixirs in your beauty routine: We’ve rounded up the very best smelling body products — lotions, creams, washes, bar soaps and scrubs — out there right now. These are the formulas that prove you don’t have to sacrifice efficacy to smell great.
From alternate vehicles for beloved perfumes (Le Labo! Maison Margiela Replica! Donna Karan Cashmere Mist! Phlur Missing Person!) to gourmand coffee-, vanilla- or coconut-laced blends, these picks were carefully chosen by team Fashionista for their superior smell. Sure, that distinction is rather subjective, but don’t worry, we have good taste (uh, good smell?).
Shop them all below.
Summer Fridays Summer Silk Nourishing Body Lotion, $27, available here.
Hanahana Shea Body Butter in Amber Vanilla, $30, available here.
Nécessaire The Body Exfoliator in Sandalwood, $30, available here.
We know it’s hard to find the right gifts for your loved ones, so we’ve compiled a ton of fashion and beauty-focused gift guides tailored to a range of interests and budgets. Check out our latest below and find more right here.
When it comes to beauty gift giving, there are plenty of routes to go. But allow us to suggest venturing down the path of skin care: Plenty of people in your life will appreciate any excuse to indulge in a little extra ritualistic pampering and self care — and everyone has skin.
But the realm of skin care doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being straightforward; it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed. A little advice? When in doubt, go for a pre-organized set.
These bundles — which range from curations of trial-size minis to fully comprehensive treatment routines — cover a wide range of complexion preferences and needs, and they’ll also suit just about any budget. Plus, some of them are so well packaged, you won’t need to do any wrapping.
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In the gallery below, we’ve rounded up 21 skin-care sets that are basically begging to be gifted. Click through to see (and shop!) them all.
Please note: Occasionally, we use affiliate links on our site. This in no way affects our editorial decision-making.
