Sparkled Beauty

Grab some snacks, everyone. This is a long collective post of stuff I found in the last two or more weeks :)

This is my new love from the Bay. A good sized (if not large) Trapeze handbag, mint, studded, with a bow and on sale, enough said? This is Material Girl Romp bag in Mint, reg. $60, 30% off right now.

It was love at first sight and I took it straight to the cashier, not even thinking twice. Unfortunately, both versions of this bag (mint and white) went out of stock within a week, online and at my store. I am not sure when or if they would be back. Sorry if I enabled you with a hard to find item.

I have been wanting Lancome La Vie est Belle perfume (reg. $95 for 50ml) for a while, was happy to find the Spring gift set for $99 with:
- La Vie est Belle EDP spray (50ml)
- Body lotion (50ml)
- Shower gel (50ml) and
- Mini Hypnose Star mascara (2ml).

My pictures did not turn out well with the flash glare, so this is a stock pic which shows the items better.

There is another set called La Vie est Belle Hearts collection, with a mini EDP (5ml) instead of the shower gel and the mini mascara, same price. Both sets are LE, I heard.

And the GWP I chose:
- Bienfait Multi Vital SPF30 (15g)
- Color Design eyeshadow and liner palette in Mauve Cherie (not included in the pic, sorry)
- Blush Subtil powder blush in Brilliant Berry
- Absolue Rouge lipstick in Exotic Orchid
- Visionnaire LR 2412 4% Advanced skin corrector (7ml)
- Bi-Facil makeup remover (50ml)
- Hypnose Star mascara in Noir Midnight (4ml) and
- Polka dot cosmetic bag.
Also not pictured were the 3 bonus Juicy Tube glosses as I spent over $85.

Moving on to Sears with another GWP.

This is Estee Lauder Double Wear makeup lesson kit ($49.50, valued over $70) with:
- Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place foundation (30ml) - my shade is 2, the range is from 1 to 6
- Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear concealer in Light Medium (1.9ml)
- Matte Perfecting primer (15ml)
- Foundation brush, and
- Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex sample (0.5ml).

Considering the foundation itself sells for $42.50, I'd say this is an awesome score. I missed this set last time when Estee Lauder ran the promotion, not again this time :)

Also bought the Pure Color blush in The Siren, $32 to take advantage of the bonus gift and the $25 coupon (see below). An intense looking blush, sorry I forgot to take a pic of it opened :)

Now the gifts:
- Eyeshadow quad with Sugar Cube Satin, Amazing Grey Shimmer, Amethyst Spark Shimmer and Lavish Mink Matte, with Lilly Pulitzer print on the packaging
- Pure Color Crystal lipstick in Rose Petal
- DayWear Advanced Multi-protection creme SPF15 (15ml)
- Advanced Night Repair (7ml)
- Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume mascara in Extreme Black (2.8ml)
- Sensuous Nude Body veil (30ml), and
- Lilly Pulitzer cosmetic bag.

I'm happy that I now own something with Lily Pulitzer prints.

And more prints in the Deluxe gift, lots of pinks:
- Pure Color lipstick in Rubellite
- Double-ended Pure Color gloss in Mod Poppy and Shocking Pink
- Pure Color nail polish in Berry Hot (5ml) and
- Nail file with same Lilly Pulitzer print.

The $25 off $100 coupon was a bonus promo, I'm not sure if it's still on. Not redeemable on cosmetics and fragrances, so it was used on some swimsuits for Squirt and my niece (30% off), earrings on clearance (B2G2F) and an Attitude (by Jay Manuel) structured satchel in black and red (35% off) for me.

Yes, it resembles the famous designer bag that almost every fashion blogger owns one or several, just a lot smaller, fits my petite size :)

At Lawtons, I found Marcelle (LE) Nutrilux body line on 75% off. Only 3 products left:
- Supreme nourishing hand cream (75ml), reg. $10.96
- Supreme silky body lotion (300ml), reg. $16.96
- Supreme SOS replenishing butter (50ml), reg. $12.96.

I could not find the Supreme repair lip balm, which I heard good things about. Marcelle skin care products agree with my skin, so I'm excited to try this line out. If you tried it, let me know what you think.

I found the (untouched) Essence Vintage District display at Shoppers two weeks ago, just by luck. Surprisingly, I feel hard for the makeup and not the nail polish.

What I grabbed:
- Eyeshadows in I'm So Retro and Shopping @ Portobello Road, CAD2.49 each
- Blush in It's Popul-Art, CAD3.49
- Duo lipstick and gloss in Vintage Peach, CAD3.49
- Gel eyeliner set (the gel liner and mini brush) in Shopping @ Portobello Road, CAD3.99.

Note that Canada did not get the full collection (there is a red lipstick and gloss duo, a grey gel liner and maybe 2 more nail polish colours), but I'm happy with what I got. The blush is definitely a must have.

More items on sale at Shoppers this week:
- Neostrata Treat Yourself to Flawless Complexion set, reg. $72 (valued $109.50), 30% off.

The set includes a full sized Neostrata Intense Skin Brightener and 3 mini bonus gifts: a gel cleanser, a Night Repair cream and a jar of Vitamin C Concentrate capsules.

The box is super cute, with a white satin bow on top. There are two other sets with different main products, if you are looking for a treat to yourself or your mom this coming Mother's Day :)

- Gosh Waterproof Velvet Touch eyeliner in Ice Blue, on clearance for $3. I got it to compare with Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl liner in Light Blue since they are both light baby blue liners for the waterline.

- L'Oreal Caresse Wet Shine stain in Pink Rebellion, CAD6.99 right now.

On to the finds in Toronto. From a meet-up with some blogger friends, I received two The Balm palettes - Balm-jovi and Nude Tude CP'ed by Rasilla during Rexall's BOGO sale a while back. I'm so excited.

Jillojello found some nail polish on clearance at her Shoppers and picked some up for me - Maybelline Color Show, Quo spring (LE) shades, even a Cover Girl Outlast, only $1 each.

Note that these shades are still on full price at other SDMs last time I checked, so don't run out to find them for cheap just yet, but keep an eye on the display :)

Rasilla also brought me a gift of the two holo nail polish and the sparkly black bow hair clip on the left. The rest were part of the bunch of goodies ettuandyou brought in for us to fight over lol. All around, it was a lot of fun chit chatting over beauty products and good food.

I also met my blogger friends over at My Numerous Diversions and Swatch and Learn for some Thai food and a 3-hour shopping walk for nail polish, fragrances and everything else. I was holding off and not getting anything, but that success did not last. See below what I brought home with me :)

I wandered into a Winners near my hotel and found a bunch of Smashbox makeup. I assume this was a new batch cause I can't recall seeing them at my location before.

I grabbed the Studio Pop eye palette from the 2012 Holiday collection ($19.99, reg. $56) and a Blush Rush in Gingersnap ($9.99, reg. $29).

Also saw the Photo Op Eye Enhancing palette ($14.99, reg. $44) and some liquid bronzer/ highlighter, but I passed. There were some Givenchy makeup too, from $25 and up. A quick check at my local Winners here did not yield the same result, unfortunately.

Found a Shoppers Beauty Boutique near there too, I grabbed Annabelle i-Tranformer (with bonus Studio Pigment) on clearance for $3 each (reg. $10, not including the pigments). Again, my local Shoppers did not even have these on the shelf.

And finally, a shout-out to Dixie Outlet mall. Awesome bargains I found.

Example: The Dynamite store had a "Almost Perfect" section for items with missing buttons or broken zippers. I paid $17.50 for a $60 blazer and $7 for a $40 pair of pants (which are currently on sale for $35 and $22 at regular Dynamite). I just had to sew the backup buttons back on, which I did not mind doing for the price.

Another example: Clearance handbags at the Aldo store there were extra 30% off and selected styles of bags and shoes were up to 50% off. So general conclusion: when there is an outlet mall, go! :)

We'll end this post with some eye candy who is also a do-gooder :) Don't you want to own one of those products with his autograph?