Millennials and Gen Zers grew up in the YouTube convention era, when events like Comic-Con, BravoCon, and Beautycon were created so fandoms could turn online communities into real-life connections. There’s a multitude of fan groups in the ether (does anyone remember Vine’s Magcon?), but beauty can be far too broad to condense into one singular convention center. To combat this, Sephoria was born in 2018—putting devoted Sephora shoppers in the same rooms as their favorite beauty founders, influencers, and brands, and I got a firsthand look at just what this beauty utopia had to offer.
Between master classes with celebrity makeup artists and hairstylists such as Mario Dedivanovic (Makeup by Mario) and Chris Appleton, meet-and-greet moments with founders/internet celebrities like Claudia Sulewski (creator of Cyklar), and the heaping tote of products attendees got to take home with their tickets, there was no shortage of beauty bliss at the convention center in downtown Los Angeles. When I parsed through my surprise bag of best-selling perfumes, travel-sized goodies, hot skincare launches, and more, I knew I had to share the wealth in order to test it all.
WWW associate beauty editor Alyssa Brascia with her take-home bag from Sephoria
Lucky for me, my parents and a set of their closest friends were touching down in NYC shortly after my return from L.A., which meant that I’d have a few extra helpers when it came to testing my haul. After a few weeks of experimenting with more than 120 Sephora products, my (very picky) mom and I put our heads together to discuss which products we’d actually buy again. Below, see our winners from Jo Malone, Makeup by Mario, and more.
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Top Fragrances
Jo Malone
Raspberry Ripple Cologne
My mom is a lifelong fan of Jo Malone fragrances, but that doesn’t mean she loves every scent the brand has come out with. In fact, she’s usually staunchly averse to sweet scents, so I got the shock of a lifetime when she texted a rave review of this fruity fragrance. “I love the new Jo Malone Raspberry Ripple,” she wrote, citing its freshly sweet scent as the reason. Its berry brightness is balanced with white musk—one of her favorite notes—which may explain this phenomenon. Still, it’s a new spring and summer favorite.
Phlur
Honey Moon Eau de Parfum
From the moment I sniffed this juicy floral perfume at Sephoria, I knew I’d wear it all summer long. There’s something about this honeyed citrus scent from Phlur that whisks me straight to the beach—perhaps because I promptly wore it in Miami just days after trying it at the convention. From the first whiff, the ripe blend of mandarin, manuka honey, sandalwood, orange blossom, and saffron smelled like a white-sand vacation in a bottle. Grab a travel size if you don’t want to commit to the large one yet. You’ll want to take it on every trip.
Ouai
St. Barts Hair and Body Mist
My mom’s friend texted me enthusiastically after snagging a mini version of the Ouai St. Barts Hair and Body Mist from my Sephoria stash. “It’s a light, tropical, warm scent that lasts all day,” she praised. “I actually had someone stop me who recognized it right away and said that it’s her favorite too! I will absolutely buy the full size.”
Top Skincare and Bodycare
Dieux
Instant Angel Lipid-Rich Firming Moisturizer
Editors everywhere sing the praises of Dieux’s noncomedogenic moisturizer, which is known for offering angelic skin with just one layer of this nourishing formula. The moisturizer is rich and medium-thick, which causes me to use it as a night cream over a makeup base, but my skin always thanks me in the morning.
ISDIN
Fusion Water Magic SPF 40 Sunscreen
I recently tried Isdin’s multitasking sunscreen on a warm trip to Miami and not only achieved optimal sun protection—a miracle for my sunburn-prone skin after a long NYC winter—but also was amazed by how well it hydrated and smoothed my skin. It also served as a fabulous makeup primer, giving my foundation something to grip onto without pilling or creasing.
Ultra Violette
Sheen Screen SPF 50 Hydrating Sunscreen Lip Balm
One of my biggest skin anxieties is burning my lips in the sun (if you’ve ever done it, you’ll understand why), so I try to use SPF lip balms whenever I can. However, this was a forced habit for years, as most were only available in gloopy formulas that left unsightly white casts and tasted like chemicals. That was until glossy lip balms like Ultra Violette’s entered the chat. The Sheen Screen offers SPF 50 without casting your lips in rubberized goop, instead glossing them in a pink, sparkly glaze. I’ll take 10, please!
Tower 28
SOS Daily Hypochlorous Acid Spray
I have rosacea, frequently experience eczema and inflammation flare-ups after testing new products, and run errands after working up a sweat at the gym, so this spray from Tower 28 was practically made for me. It only has three ingredients—water, hypochlorous acid, and sodium chloride—and keeps both breakouts and irritation at bay with just a few quick spritzes. It’s now a gym-bag essential.
Josie Maran
Whipped Argan Oil Firming Body Butter Jar in Topless Tangerine
WWW Beauty Director Erin Jahns has long sung the praises of Josie Maran’s body butter with this delectable citrus scent, so I jumped at the chance to try it for myself at Sephoria. I was over the moon when I smelled its sophisticatedly sweet scent—a chic, sensorial wash of sparkling citrus—and fell hard when I realized how easy it was to blend it into my skin. Some body butters are overly thick and leave a white cast, but this practically melted into my skin and hydrated it for hours.
OLEHENRIKSEN
Banana Bright+ Vitamin C Eye Crème
My mom’s friend also raved about this famous eye cream from OleHenriksen. Known for its visibly brightening and smoothing effects, this creamy elixir quickly earned a spot in her everyday routine. “I love the fresh scent, and my skin feels smooth and soft after using—not greasy feeling at all,” she texted.
Aestura
Atobarrier365 Cream
I’ve been a fan of this sensitive skin–friendly cream for quite some time, but my mom recently hopped on the bandwagon. She lauded the cream’s silky, comforting consistency and how great it felt on her skin. It’s my personal favorite for travel, as it is intensely hydrating as an overnight treatment yet can be sheered out for lightweight, everyday use.
Elemis
Dynamic Gentle Resurfacing Pads With Lactic Acid
“The Elemis Facial Pads make my skin look brighter in the morning,” my mom texted me after a satisfactory trial of these exfoliating pads. The circular woven pieces, each soaked in a cocktail of lactic acid and fermented probiotics, work to gently remove dead skin cells and resurface the newer, smoother skin below. My mom has sensitive skin, and these daily exfoliants have never caused her discomfort—in fact, quite the opposite. I’m gonna need to acquire a jar for myself.
Top Makeup Products
Eadem
Le Chouchou Peptide Lip Balm
Eadem makes some of the trendiest lip balms on the market, and I’d somehow not possessed one of these coveted silver tubes until my stint at Sephoria. I quickly got the gist after the very first swipe, and its formula is deeply hydrating without feeling sticky and supremely glossy. With both supreme moisture and a wash of sheer color, this quickly became my go-to lip topper.
Danessa Myricks Beauty
Colorfix Foils
I’m a big fan of Danessa Myricks’s matte Colorfix pigments, but this was the first time I got my hands on the famed Foils. The highly pigmented liquid works fabulously as a metallic eye shadow, but you can also dip a fine liner brush into the pigment to swipe it along the lash line for an eccentric eyeliner moment. If you really want to experiment, try swiping it onto your lips or blending it onto your cheeks for a multiuse moment.
Haus Labs
Color Fuse Hydrating Glassy Lip + Cheek Blush Balm
I haven’t been able to put down the Haus Labs Glassy Blush Balm ever since receiving it in my goodie bag. The impressively hydrating formula is easy to diffuse, offering a watercolor wash of color across the cheeks that’s great for the blush-blocking trend that experts predicted would dominate 2026. It’s easy to build the intensity for a stronger bloom without disturbing the layers below. Unfortunately for my credit card statement, I need every color.
Pat McGrath Labs
Liquilust: Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in Elson 4
Taylor Swift’s red lip of choice is rumored to be this classic blue-red by Pat McGrath Labs (Elson 4, for those who are curious), and we got to take the matte liquid lipstick home following our Sephoria visit. As someone who swore she’d never wear a matte liquid lipstick again after the drying formulas of her youth, I was hesitant to swipe this stuff onto my lips—until I realized how little it took to get a full red pout and how lightweight it felt. PML’s Liquilust is a testament to modern liquid-lipstick formulating, and I’m officially adding it to my collection.
Makeup by Mario
Soft Pop Plumping Cream Blush Veil in Perfect Pink
I’ve waxed poetic about Makeup by Mario’s cream blush more times than I can count, both in writing and to anyone who will listen IRL, but my mom’s friend was the latest to join the fan club after taking this compact home. “It’s very pigmented and stays on all day,” she wrote. You only need a sheer layer on your fingertips, a fluffy brush, or sponge to get the buildable flush of your dreams.
Top Hair Product
COLOR WOW
Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer
Okay, there’s only one hair product that I’ve fully integrated into my routine post-Sephoria, but you could say that I’ve saved the best for last. I’m always on the hunt for the next best volumizing product, and this hair-thickening mousse from Color Wow takes the cake. I used a few pumps of the mousse from roots to tips and watched as the foam visibly plumped my hair—the formula growing “fingers” as it was heat-styled to grip the hair, plump the strands, and volumize all around.