My 1st VIB Rouge Event at Sephora

VIB Rouge member here, and I've been long waiting(ok like 4 months) to get invited to a Rouge members only event.  I was starting to give up hope when a little invitation arrived in my mailbox.  Finally.  You'd think I'd gotten an invitation to join Soho House.  The first time is always special, isn't it? Fraught with what ifs, nervous energy, and high high hopes.  I expected champagne, macaroons, and unbelievable Rouge swag.

The invitation was adorable.  "Beauty Before Brunch"? Yes, please.  Oh, I can bring a friend? I sure will.  I invited my friend Carrie to join me.

Upon arrival to the store Carrie and I were greeted, checked off the RSVP list, and given name tags.  Right away the rep from Ole Henriksen offered us a refreshing eye treatment.  She was so beyond chipper and pleasant.  First, however, we had to check out these "light refreshments."

Not exactly champagne and macaroons, but a cute spread.  They had Starbucks coffee and if you look in the top left hand corner you'll see the cool VIB Rouge cups too.  Nice. 

We went ahead and met with the Ole Henriksen rep for our complimentary eye treatments.  She'd created a little area with shredded cucumber on ice and coffee filters alone with some Ole Henriksen products.  She prepared some fresh chilled cucumber eye treatments for us just like they do in the Ole Henriksen Spa.  Amazing.  I held it over one eye first and you can instantly see the difference.  I may be adding this to my Saturday morning routine.  She also gently applied some eye cream and sent us on our way.

The mini makeovers they offered were all about the contouring and eye looks.  The list to get a mini makeover was pretty long, even though we'd gotten there 30 minutes after the event began.  We had a great time browsing around and getting personalized samples made.  The rep from Cover FX demonstrated how the new Custom Cover Drops for us.  They seem like a lot of fun, and I may have to tinker with them myself very soon.  We ended up waiting about 40 minutes.  Carrie got contouring done and the makeup artist also took the time to do a wonderful eye look for her using Naked Basics. I'm not into getting makeovers, but I did ask her to try and cover my pesky inner eye area.  It worked, but honestly I really just find that hydration and yellow toned concealer is the key to my purple inner eye drama. 

Waiting in the store did give us a chance to walk around and check out things we'd probably never look at.  It was fun to compare what perfumes we used to wear or seriously consider if I can pull off deep purple lips.  The wait was nothing to me truthfully because I could spend days at Sephora and never get bored.  The cast members checked on us periodically and answered any questions we had.  We were at the Sephora in Naperville and I have to say that the cast members here know their stuff and always make shopping super easy and fun.  It wasn't very crowded either, which made for sort of a chill feel.

Right before we checked out I realized I'd forgotten the coupon that I'd gotten along with my event invite.  Leave it to me to forget something rather important.  Luckily the cashier had the coupon available at the register.  Oh, and she had ridiculous amounts of samples for us with NO minimum purchase.  Unheard of!  We had to go to Starbucks a few doors down to check out our hauls.

It came in the same fold over style make up bag as in the picture in the invitation.  Filled with samples? Um, it was stuffed!  Not even just samples.  There was a full sized Formula X nail polish in each bag.  Carrie and I actually traded colors because I'd gotten a jelly bean purple color that is really like a Marc Jacobs one I already have.  I ended up with Anomaly.  It's this amazing khaki green that I put on that very day.  Also the bag included a sample of my favorite Shiseido Ultimune serum. Winning.  We also got samples from Alterna, Nude, Buxom, Benefit, Marc Jacobs, and a super sick makeup bag.  That's not even all...

An ADDITIONAL bag of amazing goodies

Us Rouge members and guests got spoiled with another bag of deluxe sized samples in a bag with an amazing red ribbon.  Laura Mercier Setting Powder, Korres Black Pine Night Cream, Living Proof Full Thickening Cream, and Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream(0.5oz that retails for $16.50 at Seohora).

My first VIB Rouge event was a success and I cannot wait tip I get an invite to another one!