Skincare lines at Mecca and Sephora

Thanks for posting this question- I’m a pretty experienced buyer of products, but every time I walk in a Mecca I feel a bit overwhelmed and intimidated. There’s SO much stuff, and it always seems to be so busy, so talking to a staff member never seems to happen.

I hear these brands mentioned by ‘influencers’ a lot, but the price makes my knees shake. I was all set to pick up some Bumble and Bumble shampoo at Mecca until I realised they are around $80 a bottle.

Hi Mrs Robinson, I hope when you see this there was nothing intended or nasty in my first message to you & sorry for all the inconvience for all this on your forum there has been some misjudgement here I can only hope you can accept that for as I don’t know you as a person & you haven’t done anything to me.

Thanks beauties!
Drunk Elephant is something I’ve seen by beauty bloggers on YouTube.
I’ve just tried Sunday Riley and things on my hands which gives no indication of how it’ll go on your face and I do have sensitive skin. Next time I’m there I’ll ask for samples.
And in agreement about beauty counters in department stores and samples – the lady at Dermalogica gave me a heap when I was just browsing one day. It’s fantastic because they’re putting their money where their mouth is by saying, here’s a tiny bit of this product…We’re happy for you to try it, because you’ll want it afterwards.
These comments make me feel less like I’m missing out on something by not having a huge beauty budget! Haha
For those of you who do shop at Mecca, you can book their makeup applications which is fully redeemable on product – it’s what I plan on doing if I pick up some Chantecaille powder and Nars lip stick! Need to get as much value out of things as possible!

I love the Mario Badescu Skincare line sold in Mecca. It’s done amazing things for my skin. If you go in store, have a chatg to the employees about what you’re looking for and ask to take some samples home to try!

Just my 2 cents worth but you need to become a bit of a sleuth and research the products yourself and not just read reviews as age, skin type and personal sensitivity can be so variable when it comes to results. Go to ingredient analysis pages like cosdna.com and check for acne triggering ingredients, fragrance, preservatives etc

Try to get sample sizes first, most brands have them and they can be a good way to try it out without having to go full sized and expensive. I’ve had good and bad experiences at both stores – depends on who you get on the day I’ve found but as for advice I wouldn’t be getting it from employees working there. I much prefer to get advice from the brands actual beauty counters like in DJ’s or Myers as they are more helpful and will always give a consult and generous with the samples.

I spend heaps on money in both stores but 95% of the time for makeup. The last time I bought skincare was from Mecca and it was an expensive Drunk Elephant serum. It is okay, I like it but I find it difficult to justify the price. They do have some nice skincare brands but then again are they so non substitutable that I must get them at the crazy price that Mecca is charging? I don’t think so.

I don’t think I have ever bought skincare from Sephora… I agree the customer service from Sephora is terrible. The sales have no product knowlege at all. Usually I go in knowing exactly what I want to get otherwise it’s just a waste of time.

My daughter only buys a certain item(s) from Mecca at a random moment and I remembered stepping into the Mecca store for the first time and nearly got knocked back with the price range and they don’t have sales. With Sephora , it is like going to Myer so I think it is just exclusive brands you see there. At least they have sales.

I’ve tried Drunk Elephant stocked at Mecca. I have nothing to criticise about the entire range to date except that it is too expensive.

I have also purchased Alpha-H from Sephora only to realise it was much cheaper elsewhere.

And that goes for the majority of the skincare priced at Mecca and Sephora.

Spoiler alert: I don’t like Sephora at all. Everything is poor – price range, product range, accessibility, consistent stock, but mostly service (non-existent and sales staff are ignorant of the products they sell). Sephora website is also a joke if you’re trying to find a product – inconsistent with what they have in-store, in terms of either having it in stock or simply not listed on the website as available in stock in-store in the first place.

Mecca still has a chance with me as I’ve only ever received good service from there both in-store and online so far, but the prices are still too generally inflated to gauge my interest.

Ok that’s fair enough, I’m sure there are plenty of beauties on here who see this have tried those product’s once in there life time hopefully you can get answers your looking for. Best of luck.

Oh, more so that they’re super expensive to try, not that I think they’ll be that awful, just wonder if they’re good value and people get results from them.