Despite the surprise Beauty Insider Sale Sephora had in August, it looks like they've still decided to bring back the Autumn/Winter one (that's so well timed for the holidays)! I rarely have the gumption to put together my own recommendations post, even though I love reading other people's, but this time around there are a few surprising products that have landed on my "Love" list, and it inspired me. To start, here are the details of the sale itself:

And of course, my personal recommendations!
My hair favorites are short and sweet (which thank goodness something is at this point). The DevaCurl Gel has been on my autobuy list for a while, and lately I've been mixing it with different curl creams to get the best cast and end results for my hair. It doesn't go super crunchy, but it does tone down the frizz and encourage uniformity in my curls. And the Alterna CC Cream is a sleeper hit - I bought it originally as a leave-in to use during the winter when I more regularly heat style my hair, but what it does best is act as an overnight refresher for my curls. At night - not too long before I go to bed - I scrunch water through my hair to dampen the curls, and then scrunch in this CC cream. The next day I wake up with these touchable soft, super voluminous curls, and it is AMAZING. I'm still working on extending this into the third and fourth days, but for for now this is such a vast improvement that I highly recommend my fellow wavy/curly headed friends to try it.

Ok, and to close this mammoth (sorry) post out, I wanted to list just a few gift sets that you might be interested in keeping an eye on:

1) Sephora Favorites - Glow For It ($28 | 20% Off Sale Price: $22.40) , Best Hair Ever ($25 | 20% Off Sale Price: $20) , & Party Hair Styling Spray Collection  ($35 | 20% Off Sale Price: $28); The Sephora Favorite kits are some of my favorite, and are a great way to introduce friends (or yourself) to a bunch of different products at one time. Plus, they're always perfect traveling size, so sometimes I'll leave a product at work and throw it in my travel bag so I'm not always decanting stuff.

2) Tatcha Skincare For Makeup Lovers Obento Box ($64 | 20% Off Sale Price: $51.20); I'm not actually sharing this one because I'm a huge Tatcha fan (I actually find their products very hit-or-miss), but because so many other people swear by them, and this is a really great kit. You're getting very good sized minis of some of their most popular products (& their new Silk Canvas primer), without a huge investment.

3) Drunk Elephant Out of Office ($25 | 20% Off Sale Price: $20); I actually love this little set (& will probably be getting it for myself) because all three products are ones I've been interested in trying! This is another brand that I find slightly hit-or-miss, not because anything's particularly bad, just that I sometimes feel like it should do more at the price point.

4) ALTERNA Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Jumbo Kit ($99 | 20% Off Sale Price: $79.20); I'm only including this because of how much I love the CC Cream - it has me intrigued about the rest of the line, especially because the Davines curl specific conditioner is poop and I'm annoyed I spent any money on it.


WAIT. Ok, I know I said I was done, but I have one more recommendation for the Sephora sale - MAKE SURE TO USE EBATES. Sephora hovers regularly between 4-8% cash back, and that is no small discount when combined with the Beauty Sale (& feel free to use my link if you haven't already signed up - spend $25 and immediately get an extra $25 for you and for me).

Also, also, despite how exciting this deal feels, it might not actually be the way to save the most money on your favorite brands. Goals to Get Glowing has put together an amazing database that shoppers can use to find which online retailers carry which brands, and sometimes the discounts those other providers offer top this 20% off. I'd say get excited about this sale, but be smart about what discounts are actually worth taking advantage of right now.