Sephora Sephora Sephora. What did I do before you came into my life? It's hard to believe that not so many years ago, I bought all my cosmetics and skin care without swatching or sampling them, and if (when) products didn't work out, I was just out of luck and out of money. I also thought my local drugstore had a great selection of products. And then came our Sephora store...

It's a love/hate relationship. I love being able to test and sample and touch the products. I love the huge selection of products I'd previously only seen online and talked about in YouTube videos. I love wandering around like a kid in a candy store and discovering something new.

But now that I've tried high end products with creamy formulas, rich pigmentation, beautiful packaging and just so many options, the drug store products I used to think were fine have now lost their luster. Unfortunately, my new appreciation of all that Sephora has to offer is a costly habit. Sales are infrequent and often only for members at a certain reward level.

Service is hit or miss. Sometimes you find a cast member who is attentive, knowledgeable and happy to make samples, sometimes you can't get anyone working to make eye contact with you. That said, their return policy is excellent - you can even return opened products if they didn't work for you. You can't say that for the local drugstore!

If you sign up for a Beauty Insider card, you earn points for each pre-tax dollar spent that can be accumulated and cashed in for some nice deluxe sized samples from time to time. There are additional benefits once you spend $350 in a calendar year (VIB) or if you break the $1000 mark (VIB Rouge). Everyone who signs up for a Beauty Insider card gets a free birthday gift - usually a deluxe sized sample set from a well known brand like Benefit or Marc Jacobs. Some years there have even been a choice between 2 sets! I think that's a pretty swell perk for a free membership with no purchase requirements!

A word of warning for Canadian shoppers to keep in mind - Sephora gift cards purchased in store cannot be redeemed online in Canada. This is a huge bummer, because some items are online only, some gift with purchase promotions are online only, and some people just buy someone a card thinking they don't need to be near a store to redeem it when in fact, they do. The fact that Sephora hasn't fixed this by now should embarrass them. It's disappointing, to be sure.

For better or for worse, though, I'm hooked. You might recognize other hopeless souls by the product swatches covering their arms and their credit cards in their hands. I think we're a pretty big club.

I could stay at this store for hours, there's just so much to see! Even if I can't afford most of the things there (quite pricey!), I just love walking around and trying cosmetics out, and admiring how well they work! Everything is just so enticing there, and if you look hard enough, you\ll get a really good deal!

I love this store and can be here all day. Just need a credit card to splurge lol.

Overall I love Sephora! All of the brands they carry are great, specifically Kat Von D, Benefit, and Urban Decay. I do find that they are often out of stock of a lot of items. Also, tends to be on the more expensive side but you get what you pay for when it comes to makeup.

Even though Sephora has a lot of high brand makeup products and a lot of it is great quality, the prices can be quite insane. I have purchased an inexpensive mascara from another store, then payed $25 for a mascara at Sephora. Not worth the extra $15. Whenever I walk into the store, the workers often ask too many questions and sometimes make me feel pressured to buy.

Absolutely love this place! Products are always in great quality, staff are very helpful and everything is easy to find.

I love this place! I'm like a kid in a candy store when I'm here. I want everything! Great selection and they probably have what you need or looking for!

I love sephora to death. It's the only place you can get such great make up in one place. The only downfall is most of the makeup is upwards of $40. It's great quality, just wish it was better prices.

Sephora offers a variety of products you can purchase, from makeup to skincare to perfumes. They have good gift sets during christmas, I love Sephora for all the brands they carry. Also they give samples for when you want to try any product which is great.

I love this makeup store! It is honestly a girl's favourite store. I always get great service when I come. The only downside is that the prices are expensive and sometimes they don't have the shade/product I am looking for but what can you expect, the products are truly amazing!