using my sephora points (mini haul feat. nars and clinique)

How many points?! It was only recently that I discovered my Sephora account had racked up tons of unredeemed points. Since it is rare that I actually leave the house these days (thanks to the pandemic)…when I visited an actual Sephora location, I redeemed 600 Sephora Beauty Insider points. It seemed like the most logical decision. Why not score some bonus products to test and try? Lucky for me, there were a few exciting items to choose from. The first was a 100 point item from NARS and the second was a 500 point set from Clinique. Not a bad way to redeem some points that had just been sitting there. Ready to take a closer look at the items and find out how they performed? Here is a mini haul featuring some high end items.

First up is the 100 point item that I selected from Sephora. It is the NARS High-Pigment Longwear Eyeliner Pencil. It is a matte black liner that comes in the shade Via Veneto. According to the Sephora website, this is a highly pigmented, gel-line eyeliner pencil that delivers long lasting wear that stays for up to 12 hours. This certainly delivers on the claims. It is a rich matte black that glides on easily and stays put. I love that I don't have to worry about my makeup budging or smudging when I put this on! Since my must-have makeup item is and will always be eyeliner....it has been really nice to test out something new. One criticism that I noticed online had to do with the pencil requiring sharpening. Personally, this doesn't bother me at all. Some of my favourite pencil liners require sharpening after a use or two. That being said, it seemed to bother some reviewers, so I wanted to make note of that. All in all, I have been enjoying this eyeliner pencil. It looks gorgeous, applies easily, and lasts.

Next was the 500 point item from Clinique. It came with four products in total. Now, if you have been reading my blog lately...you know that there have been an awful lot of Clinique products added to my beauty room recently. There is good reason for this. Not only do their products work well but they are especially excellent during this time of year. My dry skin needs all the moisture it can get! Inside this Beauty Insider box was the Take the Day Off Makeup Remover, Moisture Surge Moisturizer, Moisture Surge Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler Concentrate, and the Moisture Surge Face Spray. These are all items that I have tried and loved before. It is always amazing to have a makeup remover that works effortlessly and easily. This one removes makeup with ease! The moisturizer is one that I use day in and day out....so it was wonderful to have a mid-sized backup on hand. As for the eye concentrate, this is newer product to me, but it has been working well, and I am excited to have yet another decently sized sample to continue using. Finally, the face spray. I literally just ran out of my full-sized bottle, so this came at the perfect time. It will tide me over until I am able to purchase another full-sized version. 

It was wonderful to finally put some of those Sephora Beauty Insider points to good use. I was able to try out a new eyeliner and score some backups of Clinique skin care products that I love. It was a win all around.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?