Lancome Haul – May 2016

Ok, back to regular programming on the blog for a bit. I’m really backlogged from my May posts. I did a bunch of makeup hauls right before my vacation that I need to catch up on before the end of the month so I can get back into my groove. 😛

Lancôme isn’t a brand that I normally get too excited over, and I’m not sure why. But one fateful Sunday in late May right before my vacation, I went into Shoppers Drug Mart to buy some shaving gel for the SO and stumbled upon a beauty event where there was a live DJ and mocktails being served. They were having a bonus points weekend and there was also a gwp at Lancôme. So I ended up with these:
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Yes, yet another palette! What’s happening to me?!  This was a completely unplanned beauty purchase. I blame the lychee mocktail they plyed me with. 😉

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March 2016 Low-Buy Accountability

I felt like I did less shopping and browsing in March just simply due to being busier… but now listing everything out, I did in fact, do a lot of shopping! 😳
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I’ll be listing all of the beauty related items I bought in March, but only actual makeup items will be counted toward my budget.  First makeup item I bought in March was the Body Shop Fresh Nude Foundation $25:
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I’ve worn this a few times now and it’s quite nice. I’ll do a review after I’ve given it a more thorough test.

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Optimum Points Redemption Beauty Event Haul

Yippee! Another opportunity to get free makeup! The Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum Points Redemption event last weekend was all focused on BEAUTY – so what choice did I have but to get more makeup? 😉
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I had $200 to redeem. Yeah yeah, I just did a makeup purge and here I am, getting more stuff… (My stash was getting dangerously low with all the decluttering LMAO! 😆 )

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Spend Your Points Weekend at SDM!

I just found out that it’s Spend Your Points weekend at Shoppers Drug Mart coming up this Saturday and Sunday:
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Happy dance! 😀

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Random makeup haul: Shoppers, Rexall, Faces, etc

By now you’re sick of my hauls, right?  I’m sorry, but you realize January was NO HOLDS BARRED month, and I just came off a yearlong dry spell, so every makeup item looked mighty tempting.  This is the LAST of the January hauls (until I receive the items I ordered online).  Here are some random bits and pieces I picked up that I haven’t covered in my previous posts:
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Paul & Joe Beauté Loot

I’m trying to come up with post titles that don’t involve the word “haul”… it’s getting a bit repetitive. But repetitive doesn’t necessarily mean boring, right? 😉  Today I bring you some Paul & Joe Beauté loot:
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This was spurred on by a gift I received from my friend at Christmas:
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Le Bal Masque Set in 001 Oh! Carnival!
After receiving this present, I was compelled to go to the nearest Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) that carries the Paul & Joe line, and upon laying eyes on the glory of their display, lost my mind, blacked out for a bit, only waking up to find myself thrusting my credit card at the cashier. It was all my friend’s fault! 😛

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Beauty Blender Battle

[I’ve had this post in draft mode for ages!  Random timing to post this but no time like the present!]

The Beauty Blender needs no introduction.  These hot pink egg shaped sponges cost a whopping $26 each and have spawned a slew of BB-like sponges.  So is a $26 sponge 26x better than a $1 one?

For years, I refused to succumb to the Beauty Blender.  I resisted and bought the dupes to satisfy my Beauty Blender curiosity.  I simply could NOT justify paying $26 for a flimsy little egg shaped piece of foam.  So I bought some off ebay, and a few from drugstores before I finally decided to get the real thing during the Spring 2013 VIB sale.  I’ve been using my stash of makeup sponges for a while now.  Let’s have a look at how they stack up the the original Beauty Blender:
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L to R [These are arranged from the most airy / porous (L) to the most dense / heavy (R)]:
Beauty Blender (hot pink) – $26 [note: I paid $26 for mine but I see that it’s now $28 – damn that exchange rate!] (Sephora)
MAC Pro Performance Sponge (orange) – $24 (MAC)
Quo Blending Sponge (purple) – $5 (Shoppers Drug Mart)
Sephora Airbrush Sponge mini (teal) – $12 for 2 [bought this during Black Friday sale 2014] (Sephora)
• Blending sponge from eBay (black) – $1 (shipped from China)
Kit Super Blenders (mint) – $12 for 3 (Rexall)

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Blogmas Day 3: Gift Ideas

This isn’t just any ol’ gift ideas post – I’ll focus on gift ideas for the beauty addict – because that’s what I know best! 😛  There are 2 schools of thought on gift giving for beauty items: buy practical things that you know the person uses up and would want a replenishment.  Or, buy things which perhaps are a little frivolous and the person might not buy for herself.  I don’t see any issues with either of those strategies, you can even give a mix from each categories – so here are my gift ideas divided into: Sensible and Sensational. 😉

I’m not a fan of pre-packaged gift sets – I think it’s more thoughtful to pick items and package them together yourself.  I’m going to keep the gift ideas capped to below $100 so it’s realistic!

Sensible

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Shiseido Facial Cotton x6 ($11 each = $66)
I’d be pleased as punch if I received enough Shisedo cotton for an entire year!

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Optimum Points Redemption Extravaganza!

Since everyone is posting their Black Friday loot, I thought I’d post my Optimum Points Spend Your Points loot!  I did go into Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM) armed with a shopping list, let’s see how well I did sticking to the plan:
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Firstly, I ended up redeeming for $300 worth of products instead of $200. I had accumulated more points since hitting the top tier a little while back. And since I’ve been positively deprived of new beauty products all year long (too dramatic?) that I went all out and depleted my Optimum Points balance. It was worth it! 😀

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One month till Christmas!

Tick tock, it’s officially only one month till Christmas. 30 more days to finish (or start?) shopping.  I’m pleased to say that I’ve actually started my Christmas shopping!  I went to William-Sonoma when they had a 20% off Friends & Family event and bought a few things, one of which was this:
Williams-Sonoma Salty Nut Mix
The rest I can’t say because some people read this blog. 😉

I also mailed out my first Christmas card earlier this week – I don’t have many to mail out, thank goodness.  I have an idea about what I’m getting for pretty much everyone on my list – so it’ll just be a matter of buying the items.

And a bit off topic, but look what I just saw:
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Image courtesy of smartcanucks.ca
The long awaited Spend Your Points Event at Shoppers Drug Mart! Granted, it’s not the Super Spend Your Points Event but it’s better than nothing.  On Saturday only, 95,000 Optimum Points will be worth $200 instead of $170, and 50,000 points is worth $100 instead of $85. I’ll be redeeming for $200 worth of beauty products on Saturday. 😛

What about you, have you started to shop?  I guess with Black Friday coming up, it’ll be the official start of Christmas shopping frenzy. 😀