Cheapies and Freebies - A Roundup Haul

Since I blew most of my seasonal budget on The Makeup Show, I've been trying to stay thrifty with my makeup spending in the last month. I did manage a small haul by taking advantage of GWP offers, Optimum points and some drugstore deals.

This is just a quick pull from my Instagram featuring some of these finds, more in-depth reviews (or at least swatches) forthcoming.

From my local Jean Coutu drugstore, I picked up these Jumbo Glossy Balms from Marcelle. They were discounted 50% off from 12.49$, so 6.25$ each. A little bit less than comparable stick glosses from Cover Girl and Revlon at full price, and I'd been eyeballing that display for weeks.

Also from that same Jean Coutu, I noticed a limited edition nail polish display from Maybelline. Half of the polishes were this polka dot type texture, and the other half were holos. (HOLOS, people. Though  they looked almost like a cross between duo chromes and holos.)

These weren't on sale, but at 3.49$, it was a nice option to temporarily curb my lemming for the Illamasqua speckled polishes. Because I desperately want nails that look like bird eggshells.

And from my local Pharmaprix drugstore, I hauled these goodies - for free, y'all. God bless their Optimum Points program, especially the Beauty Bonus Splurge days. I turned in my points for some lemmings  and impulse try-outs. I saw Caroline from beautymouth.com ardently recommending the Hydraluron Moisture Booster (which is like a super shot of hyaluronic acid to put under moisturizer), so when I spotted it I almost squealed. And I had to try some Shiseido after watching Dick Page's inspiring seminar.  So 90 000 points later, I had me some hooch!

The other day I received an email from Sephora, informing me that as a VIB I could get a free, full-size Bare Minerals duo (The Perfect Storm) with a 35$ purchase. Faster than you can "lunch break" I dashed across the street. I've been wanting to try the Bare Minerals concealer (especially since I'm on a concealer kick with the non-sleep I've been getting), and this gorgeous hot pink (what else??) lipstick also sucked me in.

The duo itself is very nice, with a satin-finish white and a grey-taupe matte, both pigmented like crazy, so it was 30 minutes and 50 bucks well spent. If you can't get to a store, use code VIBREADY to add the duo to your cart.

And also at Sephora, I raided the Charlotte Ronson end cap over the past month to get ALL THE PALETTES, as the whole line is now discounted. (These went from 26$ to 18$, though a few of them were 10-15$. Those the SA actually had to look for in the back, since they weren't even on display any more.)

So all in all, not a bad month for me in terms of getting the most out of my beauty dollar!

What about you guys? Did you come across any great savings or deals? Or conversely, did you haul big?

Clarins Mono Couleur Eyeshadows - #9 Chestnut Freeze, #12 Icy Turquoise, #22 Midnight Blue

As promised, these are the swatches for the other Clarins eyeshadows I currently have. As mentioned in the previous post, these are being discontinued to be replaced by an all new range. While I'm always in for something new and improved, these do have a fantastic formula - smooth, dense, pigmented and long-lasting. I'm stocking up on the shades that attract me the most, and hoping that the others show up at the next warehouse sale.

As I already did a review and these don't differ, I won't go into much detail here but rather invite you to read the previous post for more information. 

#9 Chestnut Freeze

#12 Icy Turquoise

#22 Midnight Blue

Chestnut Freeze is a perfect neutral - warm taupe with a very subtle mauve undertone.

Icy Turquoise has the softest texture and is a beautiful summer shade.

Midnight Blue is a rich, shimmer shot navy. It does have some tendency towards fall-out upon application, but the pay-off is so wonderful that it's worth the more careful technique.

Indirect natural light.

Artificial light.

Directs sunlight.

I am incredibly curious to see what the new formulation has to offer compared to the current one, because the Mono Couleurs that I have are so darn excellent. We'll see soon enough!

(I purchased these from Pharmparix.)

Clarins Mono Couleur Eyeshadows - #23 Silver Green, #1 Vibrant Violet, #6 Jungle Green

A Clarins regional sales rep recently mentioned to me that they will be discontinuing their current line-up of single eyeshadows by the Fall season, and debuting a whole new range. (Some of the shades already seem to be gone from both the Clarins website and The Bay website, and I've heard some regular counters have already moved them off.)

While I am excited to be getting new things from Clarins (and from the press previews I've seen, I am VERY much looking forward to the Fall 2012 collection), I am sad to see the Mono Couleur eyeshadows going. I discovered them not too long ago, and they are pretty damn stellar. I figured now would be a good time to put up some swatches as well as my thoughts, in case anyone wants to snap these up before they're gone. (I did the same when I found out they were going and I will post swatches of those shortly.)

The packaging is the old-school red and silver that Clarins seems to have largely phased out, replaced by a more modern and minimalist aesthetic. I know Clarins can come across as a little, as we say, Madame, but the packaging has always felt distinctly French to me. 

Either way, what's inside the compacts is anything but staid. Just LOOK at that violet. It is so gorgeous. And really, almost all the shades are beautiful, particularly the ones with a shimmer finish.

Jungle Green is wonderfully pigmented green with a golden shimmer throughout.

Vibrant Violet is a lovely violet, leaning red in the base color but with a bluer almost-duochrome overlay. It takes two layers to  achieve optimum opacity, but unlike a lot of purples it is very smooth and builds easily.

Silver Green is a stunner to my eye, that HG mix of green and taupe and silver. I don't own the mythical Erika F to compare, but Silver Green looks like it might be a close relation.

All of the shades have a butter-soft, smooth texture that yields good to great pigmentation. They wear well on me, and last well past a regular workday with primer. If you've only tried the Clarins eyeshadow palettes and found them a little dry or faint, you will find these to have a consistently nicer texture.

Indirect natural light.
Jungle Green, Vibrant Violet, Silver Green.

Artificial light.

Direct sunlight.

Availability: Limited, unfortunately. The Clarins site, The Bay, some Pharmaprix/SDM and Murale counters. Price is 20$ USD, 22$ CAD. If you live in Montreal, you may want to chance these being available at the next Clarins warehouse sale in the Fall.

Pros: Wonderfully soft texture, generally good/great pigmentation, beautiful colors.

Cons: The pigmention for Vibrant Violet could be stronger.

I will be posting more swatches soon, thought I won't be review those in depth, only noting any significant differences.

(I purchased these at Pharmaprix/SDM and Murale.)