Bourjois Gift with Purchase

Three words that are kryptonite to someone on a spending ban: gift with purchase. Especially when the conditions are reasonably relaxed (spend $19, score three full-sized products). I've seen the current Bourjois promotion at Priceline featured on a couple of Aussie blogs (see Kat and Mishelle), and I was resigned to the fact I'd most likely make my own post about it. Sure enough, after coming across a Priceline that stocks Bourjois (my local one doesn't), I found myself casually disregarding my supposed spending ban with minimal to no resistance.

What's inside a gold makeup bag:

• Délice de Soleil Bronzing Powder SPF 15 in 14 
• Effet 3D Gloss in 03 Brun rosé academic 
• So Laque! Ultra Shine nail polish in 27 Beige Glamour

To get the GWP, I briefly contemplated picking up another blush pot in Cendre de Rose Brune, but settled on the Healthy Balance Unifying Powder in 52 Vanille. I've been using the Australis pressed powder in Deep Natural but I'm not fully convinced of its mattifying properties. It only tones down initial shininess but doesn't do much in terms of oil control for the rest of the day. I also think it's perhaps a touch too dark and a little heavy (not light/translucent/undetectable enough for my liking). I'm hoping this Bourjois powder will fare better. I use and love Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, so I'm already partial to the matching powder. I also like the compact shape and mirror which makes it convenient to carry around in your makeup bag for touch ups.

The Délice de Soleil bronzer comes in two shades (12 and 14). The included one is the darker shade, which is described as being for olive/tanned skin. It contains a mirror that can pivot 360 degrees, though I'm not sure why you'd need the mirror to face away from the powder itself. The nifty thing is that it can also lie perfectly flat, so you can transform the compact into a portable mirror (with the powder inside) if so inclined.

I've had my eye on Bourjois bronzers for a while (particularly the one that looks and smells like a chocolate block), so this gift with purchase seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally get my hands on one. The only issue is that the shade is much too dark. The only way I could use it is if I dabbed some product onto my wrist/hand first before putting it on my face, then blended everything out with my foundation brush to soften the colour. That seems like an awful lot of effort when I could just use my Stila bronzer (or even Benefit Hoola) straight from the pan.

I'm not a lip gloss girl, but the Effet 3D gloss is good quality and a very wearable neutral colour. The shade 03 Brun rosé academic is a medium brownish pink with faint silver shimmer. It's a touch too dark for my liking, though the colour is very similar to the natural pigmentation of my lips. It feels plumping and slightly heavy on the lips, a sensation common to lip glosses which puts me off wearing them. The applicator is a small floppy brush that is loaded with product each time you use it.

The nail polish is almost like the matching colour of the lip gloss. A medium to dark brownish rose. I can't say this is my favourite colour, but it's a safe, office appropriate shade with a really nice formula (very reminiscent of the Rimmel 60 Seconds range). It was opaque in one coat, but I did two here. The polish glided on and dried very quickly. However, I find that I don't wear reds or neutrals with hints of red very often, mainly because those shades really accentuate the natural redness in my hands/cuticles.

The lip gloss and nail polish aren't really my thing, and the bronzer is too dark for me, but I'm such a fan of Bourjois products that this gift with purchase still seemed like a good deal. I'll probably give away the other two products and keep the bronzer. If you are thinking of already buying something from the Bourjois range at full price, then this deal would be a pleasant bonus. But I don't think that it's such an amazing offer that it's worth rushing out to the shops to take advantage of (unlike the time Target were selling Bourjois blush pots for under $5).