New in My Vanity :: MAC Warehouse June 2013 Haul

Hello Everyone!!!

Today I went to the MAC Warehouse! My mom managed to score 2 tickets for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as a gift from the security guy from her office. Unfortunately  I was unable to go Friday, so I gave the tickets to my friend and asked her to pick up a charity bag for me (which I have yet to find out the contents). 

However, if you have been to the MAC warehouse sale before, you will be disappointed by the warehouse sale now. Personally, I am more interested in makeup pigments (ie: eyeshadow, blush, & lip products) opposed to foundations, concealers, and skincare. The MAC warehouse was surprisingly not packed and the selections are definitely shrinking as the prices go up.

Notable Changes from Previous Warehouse Sales:

• There are approximately 4 tables for eye pigments, and the price has increased to $12 per product and one table for palettes. Unfortunately, I do not recall the price of the palettes. They were mostly the quads from MAC and previous holiday collection palettes.
• There are now 2 tables for blushes and bronzers - ringing $15 per product.
• Lastly, there are now a sparse 2 tables longer tables for lip products - $10 per product.
• Although not to complain about charity items, but charity items are now 3 for $5 opposed to 4 for $5.
• The $3 bins (although $4 bins for quite some time now) have pretty much nothing - this time they had sample sizes of Clinique Flirty Honey, an empty pattern travel jar, 2 types of false lashes (one I picked up, one super short ~1cm), Clinique Happy Fragrance Mini, and Clinique Mascara Samples. Unfortunately  on Saturday they do not have anymore $4 eyeshadow/blush pans.

There were a lot of fragrances (DKNY branded especially) and a lot of skin and hair care from brands such as Origins, Bumble and Bumble, Ojon, MAC, Bobbi Brown, and Estee Lauder.

Anyways, now to my haul!

I picked up the following:

• Clinique Chubby Stick in 07 Super Strawberry - $10 + tax
• MAC 42 False Lashes - $4 + tax
• Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Always Sunny - Gift for trading in entrance ticket
• Eye Shadow in Heaven & Earth and Pretty & Prim and a Mattene Lipstick Semi-Mat in Nocurnal Insticts - $5 Charity Bag (no tax)

All in all, I used to spend hours at the MAC warehouse - and I spent a record 25 minutes in and out. There was no line, so I will probably cash in my Sunday tickets for the Sunday gift and to check out the Sunday charity bag.

Bottom Line: If you don't have the tickets, they aren't worth the $20 you normally pay to get them off Kijiji (although ticket holders are not supposed to sell tickets). The selection of this warehouse has gone down quite a lot, in terms of the products that I am interested in, and the prices have also gone up. If you haven't been before, it may be worthwhile to check it out if you are able to get your hands on some tickets (or super cheap ones) but otherwise just save your $20 entrance fee and spend it towards stuff you really want from the actual MAC stores. If you have been to the warehouse before, it's not worth your time if your just browsing for a good deal. You're better off going to the NARS/Shiseido Warehouse if you want to save your time.

Hope this helps!

With love,
elle xx

[edit]
I went back on Sunday - the free gift was the same product & so was the charity bag (with the Pretty & Prim eyeshadow swapped out for Sage & Wisdom). Additionally, there was last day sales, where selected palettes were BOGO and $2 cosmetic bags were $1. I may have missed it yesterday, but there were $4 eyeshadow pans - but only Plumage - and all of the pans were in bad condition, shattered, touched, etc. I was only able to find 1 decent one, which needed to have the surface wiped and sterilized.

Haul :: Lisa's Cosmetics Spring 2012 Warehouse Sale + Mini Reviews

Hello Everyone!

So all my Canadian readers who live in proximity to the Lisa's Cosmetics Warehouse Sale may be familiar with this sale. However, after not attending this sale for awhile, I decided to peek in quickly with my friend, F, to check out if they had anything new a couple days ago.

The regular stuff hasn't changed at all:
- They still sell full sized perfumes at a discount. Some popular fragrances brands that I saw at the sale included DKNY, YSL, Gucci, CK, Burberry, Escada, Chloe, Nina Ricci, etc
- They still sell designer sunglasses: Ray Bans (all $130), Fendi, Juicy, etc
- They still sell Elizabeth Arden, Smashbox, Marcelle, and Annabelle Cosmetics - I no longer see Red Earth Cosmetics here (probably due to the fact lead was found in their products)

However, something new that I saw at the sale was that they now have ~H2O+ products! Super happy since my mother is a religious user of this product! They had mostly anti-aging products by the time I got there (I went there on the 4th day of sales) but I still saw some of the Face Oasis products.

Anyways, here's my haul :: (And no iPhone 4 Instagram Pictures :O! [Instagram: bambistyle] I was graciously gifted with a Nikon J1 camera and I'm testing it out :P)

My haul from Lisa's Cosmetics Warehouse Sale ::
H2O+ Face Oasis Shine Neutralizing Gel & TiVOLi Magnetic Nail Polish

So I picked up the following:
- 2x ~H2O+ Face Oasis Shine-Neutralizing Gel ($20.00)
- 1 TiVOLi Magnetic Nail Polish in Talia (~$2)  [It is a deep navy colour]
- Caramilk Fruits & Nuts Mega Chocolate Bar (~$4) [Not pictured]

I picked up the ~H2O+ Face Oasis Shine-Neutralizing Gel (right) by accident since I was so excited that a $48 product was on sale for $20. I'm not sure what the Face Oasis Shine-Neutralizing Gel is supposed to do but I read online that it is for more oily skin consumers, which does not apply to me. I have extremely dry skin. Note that the packaging is the older packaging, so I don't know how long the product has sitting around.

I actually wanted to purchase the h2O+ Oil-Free Marine Hydration Hydrating Gel (left) which I have used previously. I prefer the texture of this gel for a daily moisturizer since it isn't heavy. I've used it when I was in elementary school briefly and ceased to use it shortly after. I have never indulged myself in skincare, nor would I consider myself a skincare user. However, since graduating from my 3rd year of university, I've noticed that my skin is not longer as robust as it used to be and I decided it was about time for me to take care of my skin again. I do not use any foundation or concealer nor do I use any skincare products (with the exception of Clinique Toner when I have the occasional zit) - I actually just wash my face daily with a washcloth and water. I don't (unfortunately) even use sunscreen on a daily basis *gasp*. However, I'm attempting to change my lifestyle for the better as previously mentioned in my pior post regarding my exercise habits and decided to pick up a moisturizer for myself and my mother. (And I picked up a Shiseido Sunscreen!). Note: I did not get the Hydrating Gel from Lisa's Cosmetics, however, when I visited my local h2O+ store, they allowed me to exchange my Shine-Neutralizing Gel for the Hydrating Gel which is the same price. I now have to return with my mother's tub and exchange it for the Hydrating Gel. I would highly recommend this product as a moisturizer based on my way ancient and current experiences with this product. The packaging on left is the new packaging and logo.

Lastly, I purchased the TiVOLi Magnetic Nail Polish. I was so excited about this product!!! Especially when Sephora and the drugstore sells a similar product for ~$12. I was greatly disappointed! The magnetic feature of the nail polish did not work and just looked like regular dark navy nail polish. In addition, there was a horrible pseudo-toxic (I don't know if it is toxic fumes), metallic smell. I'll try it one more time on a piece of paper, but I would not recommend this product at all. [Edit: I tried the nail polish again on a piece of paper - it works only when you hold the magnet to a wet nail polish for longer than 10 seconds - then you will get a very faint magnetic pattern. The pattern is not very distinct, but visible. ]

I hope this post was informative and as always, thanks for reading!
elle xx