Any City, Any Sephora, Same Routine.

Not what's trending, not a gifted alternative, just what works.

Today’s letter is in partnership with our friends at Sephora. The Sephora Savings Event is HERE. Everything is on sale; use code SPRINGSALE as many times as you want to shop from 4/10-4/20.

Air travel has been spotty at best lately. Twice already this year, I’ve landed somewhere without my luggage, both times with an event looming.

You know what’s in just about every city? A Sephora.

This is when everything I know about beauty products actually matters. I’m not browsing. I’m not curious. I’m not here for the new launch or whatever showed up in my TikTok feed on the plane. I’m in lizard-brain mode — power-shopping for the exact things I know will work, on my face, tonight, with no margin for error.

These are my ride-or-dies! The stuff that has survived every gifted alternative and every phase where I thought I’d found something better.

I’ve mentioned most of these products before, scattered across years of newsletters and recommendations. But I’ve never sat down and put them all together, and after the second lost-luggage incident, I figured it was time. Think of this as the text I’d send if you called me from Sephora with twenty minutes to pull it together. Because I’ve been there, sis.

The Sephora Savings Event is coming soon, 4/10-4/20! Everything is on sale; use code SPRINGSALE to shop as many times as you want, the code has no limit to how much you can use it. Rouge gets 20% off from 4/10-4/20, VIB 15% off from 4/14-4/20, Insider 10% off from 4/14-4/20. All Sephora Collection will be 30% off from 4/10-4/20.

P.S. You can shop my full Sephora storefront.

And remember, you can always refer to our skincare glossary to look up ingredients.

SKIN PREP

U Beauty — The BARRIER Bioactive Treatment

PDRN — polynucleotide — is a DNA repair ingredient that was, until recently, mostly used in clinical settings. U Beauty put it in an overnight treatment, and the result is legitimately noticeable skin texture improvement after one use. I apply it the evening before anything that matters, and my skin holds product differently the following day. It’s smoother and more receptive.

Dieux — Deliverance 3-in-1 Repair Serum

Niacinamide for redness, tranexamic acid for hyperpigmentation, peptides for barrier support — Dieux put three actives in one serum and somehow managed not to make it irritating. I have sensitive skin that reddens easily, and this is the one thing that has consistently improved my overall tone. I always like to have it on hand when I travel because it’s a fix-all for skin freakouts in new climates.

Tatcha — The Dewy Skin Cream

Hadasei-3 complex is Tatcha’s blend of green tea, rice, and algae — it sounds like a lot, but it reads on the skin as just very good hydration, the kind that plumps without pilling under anything on top of it.

Ultra Violette — Future Screen SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen Serum

Mineral SPF without the white cast or the texture of a cream — it’s zinc-based but formulated to apply like a serum, which means it actually layers under makeup instead of balling up under it. I press it in while my skin is still slightly damp from moisturizer. SPF 50, fragrance-free, and it disappears. A perfect primer.

BASE FACE

M.ph by Mary Phillips — Underpainting Face Highlight & Contour Palette

Mary Phillips built her technique around working with the face’s existing shadow and light rather than drawing on top of it — this palette is that philosophy in product form. The contour is cool-toned and matte, which is what makes it read as shadow rather than bronzer. I apply it with a fluffy brush under the cheekbones and along the perimeter of the forehead. My face looks better in person, but in pictures it’ll really knock your socks off.

Westman Atelier — Vital Skincare Complexion Drops in Atelier III

The formula is skin-care forward — hyaluronic acid, squalane, vitamin C — so it functions as much as a treatment as a base. The finish is dewy without being wet, and Atelier III is the exact shade of my skin when it’s behaving. Apply it with a damp BeautyBlender.

Saie — Sun Melt Natural Cream Bronzer in Light Bronze

Cream formulas pick up and blend with the skin’s own oils in a way powder never quite replicates; the result looks lit rather than dusted. I use my fingers, which sounds imprecise but is actually the best tool for this: a little product warmed on the fingertips, pressed across the temples, the top of the forehead, lightly over the cheekbones. It never reads orange.

Westman Atelier — Baby Cheeks Lip + Cheek Blush Stick in Bichette

The pigment is sheer and buildable, which matters — a blush stick that goes on too intensely is almost impossible to correct! Bichette is a cool-leaning rose that mimics capillary flush, which is why it reads as your own color. I tap it on with a finger, blend upward toward the temple. It works on the lips too, pressed directly onto the center and diffused out.

Laura Mercier — Real Flawless Translucent Pressed Powder in Translucent Honey

The technique is pressing, not dusting — the included sponge picks up just enough pressed powder to set without layering. I concentrate it on the T-zone and under the eyes, where creasing happens. Translucent Honey is specifically formulated to avoid the flashback and ashiness that most translucent powders deposit on medium-to-deeper skin tones.

Saie — CitySet Ultra-Fine Mist Setting Spray

The mist is ultra-fine, which means it doesn’t disturb what’s underneath; it just softens the edges between products. I hold it about eight inches from my face, two spritzes, let it dry without touching. My makeup looks the same at 10 pm as it did at 8 am. Boom.

EYES & BROWS

Glossier — Boy Brow in Brown

The wax-and-fiber formula coats and lifts each brow hair individually rather than mattifying the whole brow into one drawn-on shape. I’ve been using it since 2016, and I have genuinely never found a reason to rotate it out. One swipe, maybe a second pass on any strays. My brows look full, groomed, and entirely like mine.

Sarah Creal — Eyes Up 24H Creamy Kajal Longwear Eyeliner in Rich Cocoa

A kajal formula means it’s soft enough to apply on the waterline without tugging, and the Rich Cocoa shade is warm enough that it opens the eye rather than making it look heavy or aged, the way black can. I apply it along the upper and lower waterlines and lightly smudge it with a fingertip. The 24-hour claim is not marketing mumbo-jumbo — I have tested this many times in the elements of New York City, and it has held!

ILIA — Fullest Volumizing Mascara

The brush is a full, rounded doe-foot shape that deposits a lot of product without requiring multiple passes — two coats and the lashes are coated, separated, and visibly thicker without any of the clumping that usually comes with volumizing formulas. It also doesn’t flake by midday, which used to be my constant complaint.

LIPS

Sarah Creal — Lip Grip Peptide Priming Treatment

The peptide complex here does two things — it fills in fine lines on the lip surface so color applies evenly, and it creates a tackiness that keeps everything on top of it from migrating. I apply a thin layer and let it set for thirty seconds before going in with color. My lip products last visibly longer when I use this. It’s not a glamorous step, but it changes the outcome.

M.ph by Mary Phillips — The Overliner Lip Liner in Double Shot

The trick with overlining is shade selection — too dark, and it looks crazy. Double Shot is a warm, skin-toned nude that maps almost exactly onto the shadow just outside my natural lip line, so the effect is volume rather than pencil. I trace about a millimeter past my lip border, then press my lips together to soften. People ask about my lips being “done”. I credit this.

Summer Fridays — Soft Serve Lip Butter Balm

A shea and mango butter base means these wear like a treatment rather than a gloss — they condition while they color. Birthday Cake is my everyday shade. The scent is also genuinely nostalgic, a little shot of joy every time you apply.

HAIR

Crown Affair — The Hair Oil

Squalane and moringa oil are the formula’s centerpiece, both of which absorb quickly and don’t oxidize the way some heavier oils do — meaning no rancid smell after a few hours, which is something I did not know to look for until I encountered it. I use a few drops, emulsified between my palms, then work through the mid-lengths and ends on damp hair before I blow-dry or after I air-dry. The shine doesn’t come at the cost of volume!

Chris McMillan — The Smooth and Tame Hair Wand

What a nifty little tool. I use it to smooth zany baby hairs on my crown and the pieces around my face, then toss it in my bag. It’s also amazing for those slick-back days. Chris McMillan has been doing Jennifer Aniston’s hair for thirty years. That's enough credentials for me!

TOOLS

Beautyblender — Original Beautyblender

A damp Beautyblender bounces rather than drags, which means it presses product into the skin for a natural-looking finish. Product doesn’t sink into the sponge either, so a little bit goes a long way. It is not replaceable by any “dupe” I’ve tried.

Sephora Collection — The Total Brush Set

Brush density and shape determine whether a product diffuses or deposits — a too-sparse brush sheers out the color you wanted opaque; a too-dense one places product exactly where you don’t want it. This set is well-engineered for the price: the tapered powder brush is the one I use daily for bronzer and blush, the flat foundation brush doubles as a contour tool, and the smaller detail brushes are precise without being fussy. Everything you need, without an eye-watering price tag. All Sephora Collection will be 30% off from 4/10-4/20.

Shiseido — Eyelash Curler

The curl bar is slightly wider than most, which means it catches more lashes per press and holds the curve without crimping. I clamp at the base for three seconds, then walk the curler up the lash in two more passes. Nothing I’ve found makes my eyes look more open without any product involved. An un-skippable step!