Beauty Thought Leader: Elise Marquam-Jahns
The Sephora Spring Sale is almost here and I can’t wait to hear what’s on your Sephora Sale wish list.
Today I’ll share with you what’s on my wish list as well as some favorite Sephora products whichI haven’t pulled out of my makeup drawer for quite some time.
The sale starts on Friday, April 4 for Rouge Members—who get a 20% discount. For VIB members—who get a 15%—the sale starts on Tuesday, April 8th. And Beauty Insider members–who get a 10% discount—can also shop the sale starting on April 8th. If you aren’t yet a beauty insider member, but would like to get a ten percent discount, it’s easy and free to sign up here.
Sephora 2025 Spring Sale:
So let’s jump right into my favorite eye product category which is eye shadow. I’m so sorry that Sephora no longer carries the Natasha Denona Retro Glam palette because it’s just such a quintessential spring palette with gorgeous pinks and greens.
“Since our skin gets duller as the years go by, adding some glow can make such a stunning difference.”
And although I love Natasha’s “I Need a Nude” palette, her “My Dream” palette, and her most recent Roxa palette, today I’m reaching for one of her mini palettes that I haven’t pulled out of my makeup drawer for quite some time: it’s her Mini Xenon palette. Now although this palette may look a bit intimidating, it’s actually possible to create some really soft everyday looks with it as well as an all-out glam look. I’ve already created an easy daytime look with the Mini Xenon palette, and in the video you’ll see how I can amp it up a bit to an evening look.
I’m a total champion of creating a makeup look that gives some glow to our mature skin. Since our skin gets duller as the years go by, adding some glow can make such a stunning difference. And there are so many easy ways to do it. We can use a cream, liquid or stick highlighter on strategic spots like the top of the cheekbones, mix a highlighter in with moisturizer or foundation, use highlighter as a primer or spray a liquid highlighter like Tatcha’s Luminous Dewy Skin Mist onto a dampened makeup sponge and tap it onto our cheeks.
Great Skin Glow Serum:
Most recently I’ve sung the praises of two products from Merit: their Great Skin Glow Serum and their priming moisturizer. And I still totally recommend these two products. But today I’m pulling out a product I haven’t used in ages which I also love.
It’s Westman Atelier’s Liquid Super Loaded All over Illuminator Drops. This product contains multidimensional pearls which reflect light but let the skin shine through for a natural looking glow finish and comes in three shades. I have the shade Peau de Rose which is a cool oyster pink.
As far as foundation goes, there are four foundations I absolutely love: Charlotte Tilbury’s Beautiful Skin Foundation—which works best for those of us with dry skin, the Kosas Revealer Foundation which is a clean beauty product that creates a lovely natural look, Georgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation which has been around for 24 years and looks amazing on just about everyone and the Light Reflecting Foundation from Nars.
This Nars Foundation provides medium coverage and what I love most is the natural radiant looking finish that it gives so that’s what I’m using today.
A Glam Concealer:
I didn’t hesitate for a moment with my concealer choice and actually purchased a backup of this concealer during the last Sephora sale. It’s the Natasha Denona Hy Glam concealer which provides outstanding coverage and is wonderfully cream. I’ll tap it on my most challenging age spots.
I recently did a video testing a number of under eye correctors and one of my favorites turned out to be the corrector from Bobbi Brown. So I’ll apply that on my dark under eye circles and over it I’ll tap on my favorite brightening concealer which is from Kosas.
When I first purchased this Westman Atelier Face Trace contour in the shade “Biscuit,” I bought the mini version since this product is pretty pricey. But since this is my hands down favorite contour I’ve ever owned, I’ve decided to purchase it in the largest size this time around. No other contour that I have comes close to this formula which is almost foolproof to apply.
And since contour application with a product that’s too stiff or dark can go very wrong, very quickly, this product is for me the absolute Goldilocks of the contour world.
Dream Cheek Trio:
The two blushes I’m using today are ones I’ve always loved, but they’ve just ended up buried in my makeup drawer under a deluge of other newer blush products. One is Tower 28’s Cream Blush in the shade “Party Hour” and the other is the blush in the Natasha Denona My Dream Cheek Trio. They’re very different because the Natasha Denona blush is definitely a very neutral tone and the Tower 28 Blush is a gorgeous, brighter lavender pink.
I also love the cream and powder highlighters in the Natasha Denona My Dream Palette so I’ll use those highlighters on one side and on the other side I’m going with one of my all-time favorite highlighters: the Saie Beauty Glowy Super Gel Illuminator in the shade “Starglow.” This is a great highlighter to mix in with foundation, but today I’ll just apply it on the top of my cheekbones.
I’m going to cheat a bit in the lipstick category because for this look I need to combine two lip colors. I absolutely adore the formula of the Merit satin lipsticks but since my favorite shade “Fashion” is fairly dark—and since I want to go a bit lighter today, I’m going to start with a lighter shade that’s also a matte product.
I’m choosing the matte formula since I don’t want my lipstick to migrate into the fine lines around my mouth. The pink matte lipstick that I’ve come to love is from the drugstore brand Catrice. It’s the shade “Good Intentions.” Over it I’ll apply the Merit satin shade “Fashion.” And to help my lips look fuller, I’ll add my favorite Lawless gloss in the shade “Daisette” on top of it.
“I’m choosing the matte formula since I don’t want my lipstick to migrate into the fine lines around my mouth.”
High Shine Lip Gloss:
My look is complete, so let me share my wish list with you. I’m truly excited to give all of these products a try and a couple of them are truly innovative. One of those innovative products is this first one from Fenty. It’s a new high shine lip gloss, but what’s really intriguing about it is the formula which is a stick. I’m going to go with two shades: N8 and N9.
The second product is from a brand I’ve never tried: One Size. It’s their B 12 Base Thinner Luminous Vitamin Pearl Boosting Serum. It’s described as being a pearlescent mixing medium and serum that transforms foundation by boosting radiance. It delivers intense hydration which helps plump the skin to reduce the look of lines and wrinkles.
The third product is a new foundation from Givenchy. Now do I need another foundation? Absolutely not. But am I going to buy this: absolutely yes. Because I think many of us—including me—are always on the hunt for that one perfect foundation that’s the match made in heaven. Doesn’t the description of this foundation describe what we’re all looking for in a foundation?
It says that it’s a lightweight, hydrating skincare infused foundation with a natural finish and buildable coverage that blurs and improves the skin over time. Too good to be true? Probably . . . but that’s not going to stop me.
Great Sephora Choices:
And I can’t believe that I’m interested in yet another blush, but this product has received so many rave reviews from people I trust that I have to check it out. It’s the Huda Beauty Blush Filter in the shade “Ube.”
This blush comes in an amazing shade range of 11 colors and is described as being a lightweight liquid blush with buildable pigments and finely milled micro pearls which create a soft focus high impact glow. And is there yet another blush on my wish list? Yes, but I justify it because it’s a color that’s a little different for me. It’s Patrick Ta’s Duo Blush formula which I love and it’s a cool, rose mauve shade called “She Goes to the Gym.”
And if you’re interested in some other great Sephora choices, you’ll want to check out this video about my Top All Time Best Sephora Purchases Which Are Great for Mature Skin. And if you’d enjoy working together via an on-line Zoom makeup consultation to learn the makeup techniques and types of products that will be a great match for you, be sure to drop me a line at bo*******************@***il.com. I would love to meet you and work with you.
I hope you pick up some wonderful Sephora products during the sale and I can’t wait to hear about your favorites.
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About the Author:
Elise Marquam-Jahns is a professional, working makeup-artist who is passionate about helping women 45+ get their glow back. In addition to her work as a makeup artist for a major cosmetics line, she founded Boomer and Beyond Beauty. Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 45+.
Don’t forget to subscribe! Elise is also an author and speaker and hosts Normandale Community College’s monthly Learning Well Edge Talk Radio show where she interviews experts in the field of health and wellness. And, if you’d like to receive more inspiration each week, check out my weekly newsletter. To get your copy, just drop me an email at bo*******************@***il.com to let me know you’d like to receive it.
