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Best Deals at Sephora's Holiday Savings Event

Get ready to save on your favorites and find something new for less

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3 tags with Sephora logo Graphic: Consumer Reports, Manufacturer

Sephora’s Fall Savings Event is one of their biggest member-exclusive sale of the year, and it starts today—if you’re a Rouge member. Everything is on sale for Beauty Insiders during this semi-annual sale, and other members just have to wait a few more days to shop the sale.

The big savings event is for Sephora’s Beauty Insiders, and it runs through Nov. 9 for different members, so let’s break it down. It is free to enroll in the Beauty Insider program, and all Insiders will be able to get 10 percent off, starting Nov. 3. VIB members, those who have spent at least $350 in the calendar year, will get 15 percent off, and those discounts also start Nov. 3. Rouge members, who have spent at least $1,000 in the calendar year, can start shopping now, and they’ll get 20 percent off.

Rouge members will also be able to invite up to five friends to share their discount. Just look for a link in your email or on your Beauty Insider summary page to share with friends.

When you’re shopping online, you’ll need to be logged in to your Beauty Insider account, and then just use the code ALLONSALE when you check out to get your discount.

Sephora carries such a wide selection of makeup, skin care, perfume, and hair care products that it can be a little overwhelming, especially when you’re looking for a bargain. Thankfully, we here at CR have put a number of products available at Sephora to the test. So we’ve combed through the sale to look for the items we’ve tested that really excel.

If you don’t want to sign up for the Beauty Insider program or you want to wait for possibly better savings, hold off until Black Friday, when Sephora will have discounts for everyone. Not everything goes on sale, so you may not have the same options—but some deals could be better. And there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find the same products at other retailers for the same or better prices when the big shopping weekend rolls around too.

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Facial Cleansers

Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser

Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser

This cleanser received positive feedback from all five of our testers, with one calling it “soft and silky” and another describing it as “cloudy, bubbly pillows” on his skin. It also did a good job of removing makeup. Even the bottle received praise for its luxury appeal. It has a mild herbal scent, and you can get refill pouches rather than buying a new bottle when you run out.

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Innisfree Green Tea Amino Acid Cleansing Foam

Innisfree Green Tea Amino Acid Cleansing Foam

If you categorize your skin as “normal,” this cleanser might be perfect for you. Our tester with this skin type said the cleanser applied well and left his skin feeling soft and moisturized. It has a subtle green tea scent. Another tester mentioned it left his skin feeling tight and a bit dry, so it may not be well suited for those with a sparse skin care routine. And our tester with sensitive skin said it gave her an unenjoyable tingling sensation and left her skin red and splotchy.

Tatcha The Rice Wash

Tatcha The Rice Wash

Normal to dry skin? Give this cleanser a try.

“It goes on and feels slightly sticky, but you just have to dilute it with a little bit of water and then, suddenly, a teeny amount of it goes such a long way,” said our tester with that same skin combination. Her skin felt so clean, soft, and moisturized that she thought she might even be able to skip moisturizer after. 

It was also gentle for our sensitive-skin tester, and she even found it worked well as a makeup remover, thanks to its slightly grainy texture.

The Ordinary Glucoside Foaming Cleanser

The Ordinary Glucoside Foaming Cleanser

Prefer a scent-free cleanser? The Ordinary has your back. It has a manageable lather, it left our testers’ skin feeling clean and soft, and it’s also half the price of the other cleansers we tried—a price made even better by the Sephora sale. Some of our testers reported that it had a slightly slimy feel, but they did like that their skin didn’t feel dry after rinsing.

Hair Care Products

Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross Edge Control

Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross Edge Control

This edge control is best for relaxed hair. Our tester found it didn’t last on her natural, unrelaxed hair, as her edges began to curl after just a few hours. But after getting a relaxer, it worked much better, holding for over 6 hours—and without any residue.

Pattern Curl Mousse

Pattern Curl Mousse

This was a favorite among the mousses we tested. It left one of our tester’s curls defined, frizz-free, bouncy, and soft. On day two, she liked her hair even more because it had beautiful volume without being too obvious that she had slept without her bonnet the night before. By day three, she did need to spray water on her hair to minimize some of the frizz, but she still wore her hair out.

Hair Styling Tools

The T3 Featherweight Stylemax truly is maxed out. It has four attachments, including two concentrators—one that’s wide, for drying, and another that’s narrow, for styling—plus a diffuser and a comb. 

It has a plethora of settings that you can adjust to your hair texture (fine, medium, or coarse) and match to each attachment for optimal drying and styling. If you prefer to manage your own settings, the Stylemax has three speeds and five heat settings. We found them easy to reach while using the hair dryer, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally turning on the wrong setting or fumbling around to change the temperature. The Featherweight Stylemax has one of the longest cords we tested—good news for those of us in old bathrooms with too few outlets. Its max heat was right in the middle of all the temps we calculated, hitting 119° F on high. And it’s one of the quieter models we tested, reaching 80 decibels.

The Dyson Supersonic R is one of the top-rated hair dryers we’ve tested. It looks more like a plumbing elbow than a hair dryer. Its odd shape made this hair dryer easy to hold and maneuver around the head, and at only 0.8 pounds, it’s also light and thus more bearable to hold for long periods of drying and styling time. Despite its diminutive weight, it’s quite powerful and has a kickback at its highest setting when first turned on. The Dyson Supersonic R comes with a lot of features, specifically five magnetic attachments (“powerful air,” concentrator, comb, diffuser, and flyaway smoother) that attach without fuss and even remember your previous drying settings. So if you had a memorable styling session on a previous day, you don’t have to worry about remembering which settings allowed you to accomplish it (a boon to those of us who tend to get distracted thinking about our workday ahead while we do our hair each morning), making it the best overall. 

The Supersonic R—like all the Dyson models—is among the quietest of the hair dryers in our tests, with this one coming in at 77 decibels from a distance of 6 inches (about the closest you should hold your dryer to decrease damage to your hair). It’s the hottest hair dryer of the Dysons, reaching 121° F when on its highest heat and speed settings.

Hand Creams

Nécessaire The Hand Cream

Nécessaire The Hand Cream

Some hand cream ingredients lists don’t disclose their specific scent, making it easy to assume they’re fragrance-free, only to catch you off guard with a strong, unexpected scent. But this one from Nécessaire is truly fragrance-free, and it’s highly absorbent and intensely hydrating (its ingredients include shea butter, glycerin, and squalane). 

It ranks among the best we tested because it absorbs quickly and didn’t leave skin feeling greasy. One complaint our testers had was that the cap was fully removable, meaning you have to find a place to put it while you apply the hand cream, which can be inconvenient for some.

Lip Care

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm

Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm

Our evaluators unanimously agreed that this Summer Fridays lip butter balm went on smoothly, and many loved its hydrating and moisturizing nature. Its mild vanilla scent was another standout feature of this TikTok-famous balm, which is available in several flavors.

Rhode Peptide Lip Tint

Rhode Peptide Lip Tint

The Rhode Peptide Lip Tint is a solid, moisturizing tinted lip balm that comes in a delightfully wide range of shades (for a lip balm). Color payoff depends on the shade. Although not the most moisturizing of the balms we tried, Rhode may be the most long-lasting. Two of our testers even described its ability to outlast a meal without fading entirely, making it a great option for those who want to apply a tinted balm and forget about it.

Drunk Elephant Plump-C Tripeptide Lippe Mask

Drunk Elephant Plump-C Tripeptide Lippe Mask

This unscented lip mask is easily buildable, so you can apply a thick layer at night or a thinner (but still substantial) layer for daytime. When using it overnight, our tester woke up with soft, moisturized lips, and our daytime wearer said it stayed in place even when drinking water. It can also, according to Drunk Elephant, be used as a cuticle and eyebrow treatment, though we didn’t test those features. This lip mask is a good option for people with sensitive skin, as the brand claims the product is “100% free of essential oils, silicones, fragrance/dyes, and solvent alcohols.” 

Moisturizers

Dieux Instant Angel Lipid-Rich Firming Moisturizer

Dieux Instant Angel Lipid-Rich Firming Moisturizer

This moisturizer feels incredibly luxurious when squeezed from the aluminum tube: It somehow manages a light but rich texture, perhaps because it is beautifully silky and slightly fluffy. (Each order of Instant Angel comes with the brand’s proprietary Squeeze Key, or tube squeezer, to help get every last bit of moisturizer out of the package.)

One tester said the moisturizer left her skin feeling smooth and hydrated, and it was even great for daytime application, not interfering with her sunscreen or makeup.

It does have a unique and divisive smell, however. One of our testers didn’t mind it, while another was completely turned off by it. The owner of the brand, Charlotte Palermino, has addressed the issue on TikTok, calling it “the cilantro of skin care.” So if scent is a concern, consider this carefully before purchasing.

Aestura Atobarrier 365 Cream

Aestura  Atobarrier 365 Cream

Calling all lovers of Korean skin care. This midweight moisturizer offers hydration, and it has “ceramide capsules” that you can see in the cream but that dissolve instantly when you massage the cream into your skin. It takes a little while to absorb fully, but once it does, it doesn’t leave skin feeling greasy.

Shampoo

Sienna Naturals H.A.P.I. Shampoo

Sienna Naturals H.A.P.I. Shampoo

According to the brand, this shampoo is “proven for textured hair,” and our tester with this hair type liked it. But our tester with wavy, oilier hair did not. And the tester with straight, damaged hair had neutral feelings toward it. This shampoo receives a rating of 91 from SkinSafe, which means, according to SkinSafe, it’s 91 percent free of the top 11 common allergens, as determined by Mayo Clinic. It contains fragrance, balsam of Peru, and coconut, and is not baby-safe, according to SkinSafe.

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Samantha B. Gordon

Samantha B. Gordon is the senior deals editor at Consumer Reports. She has been covering the online marketplace for CR since 2019, helping readers save money and find the best prices on high-quality products. Previously, Samantha was the managing editor of the e-commerce team at Reviewed. In her free time, Samantha can be found crafting and playing her guitar. Follow her on X: @sam_the_editor.