Sephora 20% OFF F&F Plus an Extra 4% OFF!!!

Good morning sunshines! The Sephora Friends & Family sale starts today......wooohooo!!! Although it's only for those in the US....booooo. For my international readers, I feel your pain because I know there are so many European and Asian products that I have been wanting to try and they aren't even available here, let alone discounted.....but so is life.

So before I get to my recommendations, I just want to let you in on a little secret (don't you just love secrets....hehe). The Sephora F&F sale is for 20% anything online when you use the code FF2009.

The sale is only in-store if you are lucky enough to know a Sephora employee who will give you an in-store coupon. But what I am about to share with you will save you an extra 4%!! That's like getting everything at 3/4 of the original price...yay sales!!

So how do you save this wonderful 4%? It's through an online portal called Ebates. You simply register for an account, which is free, and then in their list of online shopping stores, you find the shop you want to shop at, i.e. Sephora, click on the store's link to start shopping, and the site will direct you to Sephora's site. Then you just shop as you normally would. The way it works is that when you click on Sephora's site through the Ebates site, there is a special tracking number that tracks your account. When you check out, Ebates tracks how much you spend, and they add a percentage of what you bought (in Sephora's case its 4%) into your Ebates account. Once a quarter (every 3 months) Ebates will automatically mail you a check, but you have to have at least $5 in your account. If you have less than $5, Ebates will wait till you accumulate $5, then mail you your check.

Ok, so my skeptics out there are wondering, is this for real? YES!!! I have been using Ebates for over a year, and like clockwork, every few months I get my check! They don't sell your email address or anything, there is no spam, no hidden weird things! They help online shops with their sales, and in return, we customers reap the benefits!

One more thing, when you register for your Ebates account, there is a field that asks if you were referred by someone. If you type in my email address kajalcouture@gmail.com then you will get an extra $5 in your account after making your first purchase with Ebates. Free 5 bucks is free 5 bucks! Gotta love it! There are TONS of online stores listed on Ebates, so I highly recommend using the site for your online shopping needs.

So now to my Sephora recommendations. I have been reviewing a few products over the past week, but in case you have extra money to burn (ok ok so thats wishful thinking) and want some ideas for what to get, here are some products I recommend, in no particular order:

1. Ole Hendrikson Three Little Wonders kit - I reviewed the serum here, and I recently tried samples of the 2 moisturizers and I am in luh-uhv...they totally cured the dry patches around my nose within 1 week!
2. Philosophy Purity made simple - check out my review here
3. Philosophy Hope in a Jar or any of the sets that include Hope in a Jar (I'm thinking the Makeup Optional sets, especially since they have different ones for each skin type)
4. Urban Decay Book of Shadows or any of their 24/7 eyeliner sets
5. Urban Decay Box of Potions - check out my review here
6. Anything by DERMADoctor - I reviewed their sweat wipes here, but I have also tried a couple other products, and I have so much faith DERMADoctor products actually do what they say. One of my recommendations, thought I haven't tried it, would be the POETRY in Lotion, because it contains Retinol, which I think is the best treatment for acne and aging
7. The Clarisonic skin care brush - a great deal at 24% off, and it is the best thing I have done for my skin in the past year
8. Holiday sets - they are already a good price and its rare to get an additional 24% discount so I highly recommend getting your holiday shopping done now
9. Anything else that floats your boat!!! =)

So what are you planning to get? I am going to get the Ole Hendrikson set, maybe some Philosophy skin care, and perhaps a holiday set or 2.

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum

I recently tried out the Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster and so far so good! It is a liquid, orange colored serum that is supposed to brighten skin and help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. I like that it is loaded with tons of antioxidants and natural ingredients like Vitamins C, E and Grapefruit Extract, so you know that you aren't putting a whole lotta crap on your face. The smell is a wonderful citrusy fragrance that does fade once the product is absorbed. The only negative is that it is slightly sticky, but the product absorbs quickly and so does the stickiness, so it really isn't that big of a deal. I have only used this for about 10 days or so, and I do see a bit of brightness in my skin. I am not so sure about the anti-aging effects, but it has rave reviews on Sephora, and I tend to trust Sephora reviews. I have been using this at night before I use moisturizer, but you can use this either day or night. The price is a bit hefty at $48 for 1oz, but I do find that a little goes a LONG way since this product is a liquid. With gel consistency serums, I end up using more because they don't spread out very well on the skin. Have any of you tried this? What anti-aging products do you recommend?