Awesome deals for the early present buyers~

I know I haven’t done one of these in a while, but there have been some really awesome deals around the net lately so I feel I have the obligation to share (aka enable) them with you.

  • Strawberrynet currently has YSL Ombre Duo Lumieres (duo eyeshadows) on sale for $20! That’s 50% off. Products are boxed, have no problems and they’re the current ones being sold at the counter (not discontinued), so its an amazing deal. Free shipping on everything and 5% off if you buy 3 or more items (as usual).
  • Strawberrynet is also currently having their unboxed sale, with products discounted as much as 65%. The products won’t have boxes (which is why its an unboxed sale…), but don’t worry, its not because they’re testers or anything. Deals include Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nectar for $21, Bobbi Brown Protective Face Lotion for $23.50, Diorskin Nude liquid foundation for $33, Dolce & Gabbana lipgloss for $22, and MORE.
  • ASOS is currently having their mid-season sale on cosmetics. This includes whopping 50% off deals on brands like Paul & Joe, Illamasqua, Steamcream, etc. If you’re looking for Paul & Joe holiday collection, it has already been released on ASOS (yes, already). Shipping to North America is $6 flat rate.
  • Sasa is selling Chanel Rouge Coco and Rouge Allure lipsticks for $26. Shipping is free over $100.
  • Cosme-De has Anna Sui Luxury Face Powder on sale for $39 (usual price is $56 I believe, in stores) and Dejavu mascara for $10 (Selling on Sephora for about $28). Also you can pre-order Barbie Hsu’s HG face mask, the For Beloved One Melasleep Bio-cellulose Mask for 50% off. Shipping is free on any order.

That’s about all the deals I can remember right now. If you know of any, please feel free to comment with the information and URL.

If you bought something, please let me know what you bought!! I love to hear about other people’s purchases =)

Online deals: Crabtree & Evelyn half-year sale; ASOS Clearance

Crabtree & Evelyn's half-year sale started yesterday! Shop in-store or phone-in to get your order shipped.

ASOS Summer Clearance Sale! Tons of really good deals on designer goods for a fraction of the price.

Click on the images for links to the website!

Deals + news around the net

Recent deals from around cyberspace!


Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Nectar (left) and Rose (right) are now on sale for $19.50 on Strawberrynet. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks are known for their smooth texture, beautiful pigmentation and of course intense shimmer. Nectar in particular is a gorgeous burnt copper-coral colour that was just released as part of the Bobbi Brown Spring 2010 collection. Not surprisingly, I bought Nectar =)

Strawberrynet has a variety of other products on sale for up to 65%. These products are sold without their box (which makes for cheaper shipping and more environmentally friendly). Since you don’t keep the box anyways, why not buy discounted. Products include a variety of Bobbi Brown lip liners for $10, Dolce & Gabbana lip glosses for $21.50, Chanel eyeshadow palette ($45) and lip glosses ($22.50), and Lancome Le Crayon Kohl eyeliners for $12, and more.
If you want to try Lancome‘s new BB cream called the UV Expert High Potency Active Protection BB Base but you don’t want to splurge $60 on it just yet, Cosme-De is selling 5mL tubes of it for $5. This gives you the perfect opportunity to try out this new product without breaking the bank. If you do decide that you like it, you can always still buy more of the 5mL sample as the full size is just 30mL but almost double the price. Again, they offer free shipping worldwide.
Love Hello Kitty? The Japanese drugstore brand Rosette previously released a line of basic skincare products with Hello Kitty packaging. These were ridiculously marked up on sites such as YesStyle and eBay, but Cosme-De just stocked these at prices that are pretty close to retail and include free shipping worldwide with any sized order. Products include the Collagen Cleanser, Acne Cleanser, Apple Gommage and the Hyaluronic Acid Gel Cream.
Other random deals at Cosme-De include Laneige Star White Pure Treatment Mask box set of 4 for $15, Stila Gift of Glamour set of 5 full size products for $45 and the Etude House Moistful Collagen Cream set for $18.
You’ve might have already seen this floating around due to her very successful giveaway, but fellow blogger Nic has opened her online boutique, A Pop of Kawaii, selling Japanese cosmetics that are very hard to get ahold of overseas. She currently has the limited edition, and very coveted, Visee Brilliance Forming Eyes in the special packaging. I want the blue one =D
Sasa has finally started to stock Jill Stuart. There is only one item out right now but from experience and past precendent, once Sasa introduces a new brand of products they will usually release more products from that brand. The one product out right now is the Perfumed Body Powder.
All prices in USD.

MAC To the Beach collection now available on MACCosmetics.ca

MAC To the Beach collection, one of the most hyped collections of this summer, has now been released on the MAC Canada website.

A “category” hasn’t been created for the collection yet, but you can search for the items individually by looking through each of the product categories, such as “Brushes,” “Cheeks,” and “Powders.”

I strongly recommend going to check out Marine Life Highlight Powder first, because according to Temptalia, Marine Life was sold out within 2-3 hours of its release on the MAC US site. So if you want it, you might want to grab it ASAP.

What did I get?

I just got the MAC 131 Duo Fibre Powder/Blush brush. Its like a flat 187 brush and can be used for literally ANYTHING on the face.

I also got the Prim & Proper blush from the MAC Liberty of London collection. I missed out on this in person and when I saw more swatches online, I knew I must have it. MAC describes it as a neutral nude so I’m likely going to be wearing this with dark liner and red lips.

No, I did not get Marine Life because I already have Ripe Peach which is really similar. Plus I think its kind of ugly without its overspray…

Happy shopping!

[Images from Temptalia and MAC]

I’m a lucky lucky girl… when it comes to shopping!

I like to think of myself as a smart shopper, always comparing sales and the various deals online or in person. I remember when my friends would always say they want to go shopping with me, not because I was the most stylish, but because somehow I would very often find some really good deals.

My previous entry on My Beauty Diary masks is a good example. I managed to snatch the masks at $20 a box when just a few hours later, it was sadly raised up to $31 a box.

I think today is another really great example.

I bought these gorgeous grey True Religion straight leg jeans for just, wait for it… £30 on ASOS.

True Religions are my favourite brand of jeans, their denim is really soft and hold their shape really well. I only have 1 pair of True Religions at the moment (in addition to to these grey ones) because normally they are really expensive. A pair of True Religion jeans can range anywhere from $200USD to $400-500 for a nice pair, so I’m really happy I got these for just £30. (If you don’t know me that well, then you’ll start to learn that I’m also a huge jeans fanatic on a budget, I currently have about 10-15 pairs of jeans, nowhere near the craze of some people, but I’m hoping its a start!)

Maybe I just have a LOT of free time on my hands so that I can browse freely on these sites, but I think its all about randomness.

I dislike shopping when there are advertised sales, unless its a friend’s and family sale or warehouse sale or something the like, because often you’ll be fighting it out with other people for the same products, and the quality of service may not be as good as if you went during down-time. I managed to grab a pair of Rock & Republic jeans for $85 at the local Aritzia (a chain of boutiques in Canada that specializes in… I don’t even know how to describe it, “chic” clothes? no idea…) after a major sale was over. The price of those jeans during the sale was $100 but after the sale was over it got cut even lower.

Here are some tips when you are shopping on a budget, both in person and online:

  1. Like mentioned above, don’t go during a major sale, unless its like a friends & family sale (only happens once a year on REGULAR priced items and you KNOW the prices are going to go up after the sale) or warehouse sale (temporary set-up). You won’t get very good service and you’ll most likely settle for something less, like a torn seam or something just because its “on sale.”
  2. If you have some extra time on your hands, check the e-store or in person randomly because you’ll never know what you’ll find. Stores are always getting new stock in and they’re constantly trying to get rid of old stock (old stock can be anything from last year to last month!). Its not worthwhile, expenses-wise, to keep stock for a long time, so if you have your eyes on something, 75% of the time it’ll end up in the sale section.
  3. Being a student trying to pay tuition with my measly earnings, its not worth it trying to buy something full-price (of course unless you really want it, or its something that never goes on sale, like high-end cosmetics). I spend most of my time shopping in the discount section. Contrary to popular belief, one item isn’t just going to be in style for one single season, it’ll likely drag on through the year or even more (like leggings and skinny jeans). Does it matter if you buy it at the very beginning or near the middle?
  4. If your e-store doesn’t hold whatever inventory that you have in your cart for you, then make sure to have your credit card information readily stored in their system so you can check-out as fast as possible. In a scenario where you only have one left of something, you really want to act quick before someone else checks it out first. If you feel uncomfortable saving your information with a company, then at least have it memorized (you should have your credit card information memorized anyways!).
  5. Compare various stores! If you know Holt Renfrew and Aritzia both carry what you want, then compare the prices of the two to see which one is better. Also for a lot of e-tailers who carry virtually the same stock, like the ones that sell Japanese cosmetics, always compare prices (including shipping) product for product. Some stores mark up certain products higher than others, so you may be getting a deal with one product, but charged more for another.
  6. Join an online shopping community. My regular one is Mallvibes, but in Canada there are also Smart Canucks and Red Flag Deals. There are a ton in every country, so just search for the one that have users that have purchasing habits very similar to yours. These forumers will post up unadvertised deals regularly so you’ll always have the most up to date information about the latest events.
  7. Follow me on Twitter. Like I said above, recently I do have a lot of free time on my hands so I scour the net for good deals. If I find them, I will tweet about it for your enjoyment.
So thats enough of me talking. Any tips you want to share for smart shoppers?
Happy shopping!

Awesome My Beauty Diary deal on Sasa!

Are you a big My Beauty Diary fan?

Sasa now has the My Beauty Diary Treasure Hunt sets on sale for just $20 a box!

There are two versions Treasure Hunt set, one is the European Treasure Hunt and the other is the Asian Treasure Hunt. Inside each set you get a whopping 30 regular masks – 10 each of Lavender, Bulgarian White Rose and Red Wine in the European set, and 10 each of Natto, Japanese Cherry Blossom and Sake Yeast in the Asian set.

Each set also comes with two Platinum Nanocolloid Masks as well as 5mL of their new, unreleased hydrating serum.

These masks are currently selling for $11.70 for a box of 10 on Sasa, which is pretty cheap for the web as these masks to as high as $30 per box. By getting this set, you’re like getting a free box plus the two premiums masks and the serum.

If you think you might be interested, I would snatch these up immediately as 1) they will very likely sell out soon and 2) the price will be raised to around $30. I’ve noticed that with a lot of Sasa’s new releases, they put them out for the first time at a super low price and then raise them after a few people’s purchased them (It happened a few days ago with a Clinique compact foundation that was selling at $11! But then today it went up to $41, which is probably what its regularly priced at).

Of course I bought some. I got two boxes to stock up, plus some other randoms as well so I can get free shipping. Oh and if you didn’t know, they offer free shipping for purchases over $100USD.

[Images from Google]

Jill Stuart Eye Palettes restocked at Cosme-De!

I know a lot of you are big fans of Jill Stuart cosmetics. Especially because they are very rare outside of Asia, they have become more valued among makeup lovers than every before. Recently I’ve been stalking the Cosme-De website for Jill Stuart products because they tend to release the products at random.

Well, today was just my luck! I stumbled upon new Jill Stuart Brilliance Eye, Seductive Eye and Illuminance Eye stock! Of course I immediately purchased two palettes after some research.

Brilliance and Seductive Eye palettes have officially been discontinued after the release of Jewel Crystal Eye, so if you missed out on any of the previous palettes, this is a good time to get them.

If you’ve been a long-time reader of my blog, then you’ll know how much I love shopping on Cosme-De. They offer free shipping for any order of any value, plus excellent customer service and good product variety with good prices. Also, the promotion now is that if you register a new account, you can get $5 off your next purchase of $25 or more. All of the Jill Stuart eye palettes are priced at $55, so if you minus $5, then its only $50 which is only a few dollars more than what they sell for in Hong Kong (its actually even cheaper than if you had bought it in Japan!).

You should definitely check it out, they make perfect gifts for any makeup lover, and with Mother’s Day coming up, you can even get it for your loving mother.

Of course I bought something… =D

I got the Brilliance Eye in #02 Crystal Jade

And the Brilliance Eye in #07 Jewel Violet.

I had been looking at the Illuminance Eye in Midnight Dazzle but that one is not discontinued (though sold out now on Cosme-De… it was still in stock yesterday). I’ll probably swatch it in person first when I go to Hong Kong and then decide.

[Images from Daimaru]

Cellnique 20% off everything sale! & IQQU sale…

Cellnique is having a 20% off sale that started yesterday! You guys might remember my review of their Skin Action Sebum Gel that I just really loved. Right now you can get your hands on this product for just $44USD (orig price $55) with free shipping anywhere in the world. There is no code, everything is already deducted.

I purchased the full bottle of Skin Action Sebum Gel as well as the Advanced Bio Renewal Mask, it was a total of $88 for the two products. I am really looking forward to trying out the mask. The sale ends tomorrow so go grab grab grab!!

Additionally, you guys may have heard of Michelle Phan and her skincare line IQQU. She is pretty famous in the blogging/makeup/Youtube world. Currently IQQU is having a sale on all of the products still in stock on her website. Shipping is extra, and depends on where you are mailing it. There have been mixed reviews of her products, some love it, some not so much, but this is the same as all beauty products. However since because it is on sale, it is a better time for you to try them out without breaking the bank (too much). She has said via her Twitter that she is trying to get rid of all current stock so she can bring in new formulae and packaging for the new stock.

Happy Shopping!

Awesome deals from Cosme-De! 45% off Guerlain!

Hey guys, I’m still ultra busy lately, so this is just going to be a short post.

Are you still looking to get Christmas presents for friends and family? Cosme-De is offering a few products are REALLY good prices.
  • Guerlain Ombre Eclat (4 shade eyeshadow) is on sale right now for just $34USD!! There are 5 shades to choose from, but one is currently sold out. Get it now because I’ve never seen a deal like this. These palettes are usually $62CAD, so you save about 45% once you factor in taxes and currency exchange.
  • Guerlain Les Voilettes Pressed Powder is $35. This is pretty much 50% off! Get it fast before it sells out!
  • The Face Shop pack of 5 face masks on sale for $16. There are 5 varieties, one of each type of vitamin. I generally like products from the Face Shop, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is pretty good.
  • Dior HydrAction sample set is $26. HydrAction is one of my favourite lines from Dior and this set is really awesome because it allows you to try deluxe samples of their products. It also comes with a pouch and a mini lipstick.
  • Lancome Oscillation is on sale for $27. These are usually around $30-40, so you do save a bit.
  • Etude Bright BB Cream is $14. I’ve never tried this, but I have heard good things about it.
  • Bobbi Brown Nude Eye & Lip palette is $55.
  • There are a few Laneige products and gift sets on sale as well. I won’t list them all, but you can check them out here.
  • Shu Uemura lipsticks are $18, their eyeshadow pans are $17 and their blushes are $19.
  • Dior lipsticks are $23 and eyeliners are $25.
Cosme-De sale stuff sells out VERY fast, so I recommend getting them early. Last time the My Beauty Diary Mask sold out the second day it went on sale. One of the Guerlain eyeshadow palette variations have already sold out as I’m writing this, so GRAB YOURS at Cosme-De NOW!! Don’t forget that you get FREE worldwide shipping from Cosme-De too =)
I would buy another palette if I didn’t get Bal de Nuit a few days ago. I really like Rose Boise, Bronze Dore and Turquoise Cendre…

OMG free shipping on Jill Stuart products… FINALLY!

On of my favourite online beauty retailers, Cosme-De, now offers a wider selection of Jill Stuart products. Before they only had around 4-5 items, now they have 12. The colour selection is still a little minimal, but because they now offer the Mix Blush Compact, one of my favourite blushes, I have officially deemed them totally awesome.

Previously, I did a comparison of all of the online Jill Stuart retailers. At that time, because Cosme-De did not have the Mix Blush Compact, I didn’t include them. But now that they do have the Mix Blush Compact, I can say that they are now offering the most INEXPENSIVE prices for Jill Stuart. They are very close to what Jill Stuart is actually selling for in stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. They are even cheaper than what Jill Stuart sells for at the NYC store, so my American friends, this is awesome for you!
Another reason they are awesome? They offer free worldwide shipping. That is always a major plus for me.
Happy shopping!
What am I getting? probably a Mix Blush Compact, as I’m not a fan of glittery eyeshadow. Once the lip products come out, I might grab a lipstick. Also if you missed out on their 5th Anniversary products from earlier this year, Cosme-De also offers their diamond powder and the nail polish coffret on the site.