Clarins Warehouse Sale

In the post previous to this I mentioned the Clarins warehouse sale that just passed. This was my first time going to this event, and my general impressions are mixed. I would consider it comparable to the l'Oréal sale versus the Lise Watier sale, in that the selection is very hit-and-miss - they seem to have mostly skincare and perfumes, especially sets, and very little makeup aside from recently discontinued products and past limited editions (and very, very few of the latter). I went on the FnF day before the general public days, so I imagine the selection just got worse, as the employees told me they did not restock. The lines were long but not unbearable - about 30 minutes or so.

That said, there were a few nice finds, and the prices were generally very good, between 50% to 75% off retail. I will definitely go next time, mostly because a Clarins SA recently told me that the mono eyeshadows are being discontinued this fall (SOB!) and I want to load up if they end up at the sale.

I'm putting up some pictures of my haul with price points, as well as a few quick and dirty swatches for some of the items, to give you an idea if this might be worth your time.

So. The makeup selection was paltry, but they did have all of their glosses in the old packaging. They're terrific, so I grabbed a few. Their current in-store versions are 20$ CAD, and these were 8$.

Left to right: Colour Quench Lip Balm in #15, #13, #2, #17

They only had a couple of LE palettes, including the Smoky Passion quartet that Rae from the Notice has blogged about. (I haven't had the time to swatch these yet.) Their palettes are usually around 42$ CAD. This was 13$.

Smokey Passion Eye Quartet Mineral Palette #07

They didn't have much in the way of staples, but they did have the Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate, which was recently featured in a Pixiwoo video, so I pounced on that. As far as I can figure, it seems to be a line-and-pore filling wonder product. I'm very curious to try it.

A powder came along for the ride. Both are normally 32$ CAD, and were 13$ at the sale.

Poudre Douceur in 20 Natural beige, Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate.

Then there was the Anna Sui makeup! I was not expecting that, so I was quite excited. I only walked out with a small sampling though. I have no idea what the retail prices for these items are, but the gloss and eyeshadow were 8$, while the polish was 5$.

Lip Gloss #603, Eye Accent #103, Nail Color N #305

And my surprise love from the sale, the Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire perfume in Lys Carmin. This is GORGEOUS. An intensely pretty lily/carnation, and I really regret not getting her Iris and Gardenia sisters. Retails for 185$ USD. It was 70$ CAD at the sale. 

Yeah, that's right. WIN.

So do did any of my fellow Montrealers attend the sale? If so, what did you snag?