Beauty Editors Agree: This Is What You Should Buy in the Sephora Sale (2024)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are cool and all, but I think the biggest sale of the year happens a few weeks before: The Sephora VIB savings event. There’s no other time of the year where you can get up to 20 percent off brands and products (Dyson Airwrap! Makeup By Mario! Prada Beauty! Glossier!) that basically never go on sale otherwise. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or bagging a few gifts for the holidays, you should absolutely grab it all while this sale is happening.

And if you’re not exactly sure what to buy, you’ve come to the right place, bb. The Cosmo beauty team has basically spent the last six months prepping for this very moment, rigorously testing and reviewing hundreds of products to tell you what’s actually worth your time and money, like spensy hair and skin tools we recommend, celeb-loved products, and the hall-of-famers worth stocking up on.

With the code SAVINGS, you can get...

• VIB Rouge: 20 percent off from 11/1 to 11/11
• VIB: 15 percent off from 11/5 to 11/11
• Beauty Insider: 10 percent off from 11/5 to 11/11

FYI: Every Sephora Collection product will be 30 percent off for all membership tiers from today through November 11. Just another reason to stock TF up. I consulted our full beauty team to get everyone’s absolute top picks from the sale in every single category (hair, makeup, skin, devices and tools, fragrance—you name it), and it’s all below for your shopping pleasure:

When this released earlier this year, all of Team Cosmo was shocked at how easy to use this tool was. “I’m truly awful at doing my own hair, but this has made DIY blowouts exponentially easier,” says deputy beauty director Lauren Balsamo. With two curling attachments (one for each side of your head), a round brush, and a blow dryer, it has legit everything you need to do your own hair, even if you're not a pro. “The blow dry brush is great for bouncy blowouts, and the wand attachments actually create a curl that holds,” she says.

Hella readers are obsessed with this. So obsessed, we awarded it the best treatment for thinning hair in our 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. It’s loaded with caffeine to help bring some blood flow to your scalp and potentially encourage some hair growth plus a ton of nourishing botanical extracts. Our readers have said they noticed their hair growing so much faster when they started using this.

This just in: Rachel Zegler wore this matte Dior lipstick in “999” for her Cosmo cover (and looked stunning, obvs). Dare I say, it’s the perfect classic red for all of your holiday gatherings this year. But I’m also a big fan of this lipstick formula in general—I wear “Grace” as my go-to pinky nude a few days a week. The matte version glides across my lips, blurring all of my lip lines and giving me a smooth, opaque look. Meanwhile, because the satin version is a bit sheerer, it’s so easy to apply and give my lips a slight glossy sheen.

When I used this eyelash serum religiously for six months, my eyelashes looked so long, fluffy, and thick. I basically stopped wearing mascara—that’s how good they looked. A slew of strengthening amino acids and hydrating niacinamide help make my lashes stronger so they’re less likely to fall out. Don’t just take me word for it: Readers ranked it as the best eyelash serum too.

Wanna finally try Sabrina Carpenter’s go-to lip balm without spending a small fortune? Buy it during the VIB sale (and fast because this will 100 percent sell out—’Brina’s impact!). It’s fully the most stunning lip balm you could pull out of your bag. The blue version imparts a sheer pink tint on your lips that adjusts to your pH, while the mint green is fully clear. I also love the natural shades for a minimalist lip look.

I got the pleasure of testing this months ahead of the launch in a facial (humblebrag), and at least once a week until it was in my hands, I wished I had it. You don’t know how much you need a battery-powered ice roller until you have one, y’all. With the click of a button, this device either cools down (to help depuff) or heats up (to help relax). I’ve brought it on three separate trips in the last two months, used it to help snatch my face after a late night during NYFW, and even massaged out a knot in my neck the size of a small country. I’m fully convinced this will be the hottest beauty gift this season.

Everyone who walks past my desk and smells this on me immediately goes “oooh.” The bergamot, jasmine, and musk scent is so sophisticated and cool—just like Merit’s makeup line. Beauty editor-at-large Julee Wilson is a big fan too: “I would describe this clean-formulated scent as follows: It smells like you live a stress-free life filled with days of giggling with girlfriends over midday cocktails.”

The Dyson Airwrap is the OG, k? Yes, it’s expensive, which is why getting it at up to 20 percent off is key. “If you’re gonna splurge on one thing during the Sephora sale, do yourself a favor and make it the Dyson Airwrap,” says Jasmine Hyman. Two curling wand sizes, two paddle brushes, a round brush (that’s the GOAT for styling bangs, btw), and a smoothing dryer attachment make doing your own blowout beyond easy. “I’ve had mine for nearly two years, and it never fails to give me the freshest, salon-level blowout,” says Hyman. “It takes me from damp hair to voluminous curls in less than 20 minutes—no joke.”

Um, just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can skip sunscreen. Buuutttt you can opt for something that offers up sun protection and coverage at the same time. “I’ve been using this every morning for a month,” says Balsamo. “It’s the ultimate one-and-done product—it combines my moisturizer, SPF, and skin tint so I can get out the door quickly in the morning,” she adds.

More than half (!!!) of the readers we surveyed for our Readers’ Choice Awards picked this body cream as their go-to. Not only is it rich, hydrating, and “feels like butter” (according to one reader), but it smells like a vacation with salted caramel, vanilla, and pistachio notes. Which, ya know, is pretty perfect for the dead of winter. Good idea? Stocking up while it’s on sale.

According to every makeup artist we’ve ever interviewed, the key to glowy skin is what you use before the foundation, concealer, etc. Smooth this serum all over your face before makeup, and you’ll glow—trust. "“If your favorite primer and serum had a baby, this would be it,” says Wilson, who swears by this. “It’s the perfect skin-perfecting base because it is super hydrating and gives my skin a truly stunning glow,” she says.

My vibe this winter is cloudlike, velvety matte skin but without all the patchy, dry, flakiness, ofc. I’ve been setting my entire face with this Makeup By Mario powder for the last month, and it makes my skin look smooth as hell, even when I’ve got uneven skin texture and breakouts. I dust it all over my face with a fluffy brush to set (and it def elongates the wear of my makeup), then pat it under my eyes and in my T-zone with a puff to help soak up oils and add a blurring effect.

I’ve been wearing this perfume nonstop since it launched, which is wild considering I could wear a different perfume every day with how many I own. But this soft, woody scent just smells so cozy and warm for the fall and winter. FWIW, basically everyone in our office loved it too when I forced my coworkers to sniff and review both Glossier You Doux and Réve.

Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with six years of experience researching, writing, and editing beauty stories that range from Dyson Airwrap dupes to no makeup makeup. She’s an authority in all beauty categories, but testing beauty products and telling you which are the most worthy to buy on sale is her bread and butter.