Monday, November 12, 2012

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:



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).

52 comments:

  1. Great purchases! I love the nail polish! Such a pretty colour! xo

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  2. the nail polish reminds me of OPi dulce de leche a little! i've banned myself from priceline LOL

    à la foliee

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  3. Wish we had that bronzer in our stores. Seems like I can only find it online :/

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  4. I loved the Nail Polish so much I reapplied it a second time :) The bronzer is quite dark though. I love the packaging of the bronzer.
    x

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  5. Nice neutrals, I think the gloss looks lovely on you..not really a fan of the polish though, a little too brown for my liking however, I do like light nude nail varnishes.

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  6. Hope the Healthy Balance powder works well for you! The nail polish color looks so pretty, though. I guess it's nice to cheat a little on a spending ban sometimes. ;)

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  7. That nail polish is such a gorgeous colour!!!It's such a shame about the bronzer, as it looks so gorgeous - I love the mirror too :)

    xoxo

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  8. This is a really good bag, the color of the lipgloss is really cute and neutral, the bronzer looks soft, and the nail polish is a really natural looks in your nails...

    Xoxo

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  9. Great purchases. I also recently bought a couple of Bourjois products. I got the Bourjois powder in 53 and hopefully it will be a better Alternative to mz MAC MSF. xx

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  10. Love the nail polish!

    Thx for stopping by. Wanna follow each other?

    Kiss,
    Laura

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  11. The gloss is really pretty! :)I haven't bought anything from Bourjois in ages apart from one of the blush pots.
    xo

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  12. Loving the nail polish and lip gloss! Great neutrals! Sephora used to carry Bourjois but they discontinued it!

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  13. These look really pretty :) I wish we could get Bourjois in the US

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  14. We don't have Bourjois here but I've seen it on duty free shops when I travel so I'll keep an eye for that face powder, seems really nice ^^ Too bad you don't really like the gloss, I love that kind of lip product with fine shimmer, they're my favourite, I have a NYX girls gloss in Strawberry and it's my most beloved one of all times : ) xx

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  15. I have the nail polish and bronzer as well :)

    Actually the nail polish is one of my favourites as the shade looks great with shorter nails :)

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  16. I don't think I've ever tried a Bourjois nail polish before, the formula certainly sounds good :) x

    http://wewereraisedbywolves.blogspot.co.uk/

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  17. I miss Bourjois being in the US. I will be looking this brand when I am overseas!

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  18. what an amazing picks.... DELICE DE SOLEIL BRONZING POWDER is the best and what a pick Beige Glamour is so amzing

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  19. The packaging looks so sleek! Love the gloss shade, xoxo.

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  20. The nail polish from your swatch kind of reminds me of OPI's Dulce de Leche but more red toned, I like it :P The packaging of the bronzer is so cute! I like how the mirror is twistable haha oh and I have a confession to make....I bought the Too Faced's Chocolate Soleil bronzer LOLOLOLOLLLL BUT, i didn't plan on it though (expect further explanations when I get it in my hands and put up a post hahaha). Right now, I'm feeling guilty when I look at all the bronzers I have in my drawer. :S

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    1. I totally see the similarity - it's something that I thought about as well when I first saw the shade on other people's blogs! I wanted to get that OPI shade for ages because I saw it on a colleague's nails and loved it - but on me it looked really brown and a bit too dark :p

      Hahaha, as long as you like the Too Faced bronzer, it's not a total waste or reason to feel bad about your lack of restraint! LOL. You know how it is ... the more you deny yourself something, the more appealing it is! I'm really accumulating a good number of bronzers myself - it's shameful :p

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  21. I love Bourjois products, but this didn't really appeal to me. The individual products alone look gorgeous, but doesn't persuade me to go out and get my hands on this GWP. Amazing review and photos as always, dear. :)

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  22. Oh the nail polish is really my ally. I love nude nail polishes :-D
    and the bronzer looks nice! I've heard a lot of good things about bourjois' products, but they are only accessible online here,so I don't have any of their product .. ( yet? ) ;P

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  23. It sucks that it wasn't really your thing. I would have prefered the lighter bronzer too, but I apply bronzer these days with the giant real techniques face brush, and I find you can make any dark bronzer work for you with that brush!

    http://kitschsnitch.blogspot.com.au

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  24. omgosh I was about to get this! I read Mishelle's post and made up my mind to get it last Friday because I've been eyeing the exact gloss and the bronzer but I'm glad you noted that the shade's really dark. A lot of other GWP posts are just happy 'yay gwp gogogo'. I'm less keen now that I know the bronzer is going to be dark. But I may still get it hehehe. I've found my way around the RT Blush brush, and that's using it on really pigmented, non-baked blushes. It doesn't work too well with the Bourjois formula but with blushes like the Essence and BYS (my only non-baked blushes, clearly I need more!) it picks up the right amount of product. What brush do you normally use for bronzer?

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    1. I'm interested to see what you think of the powder- I've been undecided about whether or not to buy one on ASOS, because I've got quite a few powders going atm but I think it was Alix at icovetthee that said they're pretty similar to the MAC MSFNs.

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    2. The shade is dark but it's not hopeless. I just prefer bronzers to be almost undetectable on me so for me, it's too dark in the sense that I have to be a bit overly cautious not to overdo it, even when that caution is probably not warranted in the first place :p I think you should get it if you've been eyeing two of the products! They seem to be more up your alley - in terms of the colours (more darker, rosy/neutral shades, which are universally flattering and more polished, rather than the occasionally gross peachy, pastel pink stuff that I'm forever drawn to like the 9 year old I am :p). I use the RT Multi Task!

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    3. Also, it's great you managed to find a way to use the RT blush brush! Does that mean you're warming to it? :p I do like it for pigmented powders - especially since it seems to be particularly good at diffusing product over your face, so it doesn't look too harsh and concentrated in one area.

      Oh, I didn't know they were said to be similar to the MAC MSFNs. I've only used the powder for two days but so far I'm really liking it. Oil control is great and it looks natural/non-cakey on, while still providing pretty good coverage. I think it'd be ideal for touch ups on the go :)

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  25. im loving the nail polish! the shade is really pretty and I can myself wearing it almost everyday! ^_~

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  26. The polish and bronzer look beautiful! Is priceline an Australia site?

    xo

    Letskisstomakeup.blogspot.com

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    1. It's basically like the American "drugstore" which sells those kinds of brands (Revlon, Maybelline, Covergirl, Max Factor, Almay, etc. and Aussie brands). It is where most Aussie beauty bloggers spend inordinate amounts of time and where their money disappears - i.e. it is the devil :p

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  27. Wow, love the colours in the bronzer/lips/nails combo. A little smokey but very feminine. Too bad Borjouis is ridiculously over priced here >.>"

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  28. That's too bad you didn't really like the polish or lippie! The polish is very up my alley though, I'd find use for that! Maybe use the bronzer as a shadow since its too dark?

    Powder should be good though, bourjois hasn't failed me yet on their foundations powder and liquids. Haha...and I know what you mean about breaking a spending ban...its just too difficult not to completely.

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  29. It drives me crazy when brands do great GWP's, but have super dark shades. Surely it would appeal to a broader fan base to have a lighter shade available, even those with darker skin could just use more to great effect?
    If the bronzer were light I would probably give it a go, as the gloss is really pretty. I've been wanting to try that powder as well, would love to hear how you go with it.

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    1. Yeah, I guess the point is to try to get rid of excess stock because the darker powder is much less popular than the lighter one? If only the bronzer were in the 12 shade - I'd be so happy :p Will do about the powder - I have been eyeing it for a while now, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity to finally pick it up!

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  30. The reason why I didn't get the GWP is because the bronzer is too dark as well! Otherwise it would be an amazing deal!

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  31. I'm such a sucker for a good GWP. The bronzer would be way, way too dark for me and the lipgloss and nail polish colours are already well represented in my stash, yet I still want to rush out and buy something, anything, so I can get a GWP I won't use. Madness.

    You really do take the most fantastic pictures.

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  32. I've heard so many great things about Bourjois, I really do have to try it out! Seriously :D But they are pricey in Hong Kong.. but then again, anything that involves imported goods are pricey xD

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  33. I love the nail polish colour. I don't have anything like it so even though the bronzer will be too dark, it's still very tempting to buy.

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  34. I adore the colour of your nail polish - so pretty!!! I really like Bourjois, so totally understand your little shopping adventure (especially with a freebie involved) :)
    xxx

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  35. Wonderful items! I think the nailpolish looks wonderful! :D
    x

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  36. wish we had this in the States. pretty.

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  37. I'm not a lip gloss girl, but this one looks really lovely!

    Sandra from The Puzzle of Sandra's Life

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  38. It's a great deal, so I can see why you could not resist. :-)
    The polish is a great shade on you!

    ~ Yun

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  39. thats a really cool gift ^^ i love the gloss :)

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  40. love it!
    http://theartist-mona.blogspot.com.es/2012/11/denimandgrey.html

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  41. yay for deals! omgosh, i'm a total sucker for those types of deals ;o; i really like the products, this kinda looks like a school/office/work appropriate makeup set! sucks the colors didn't go too well for you! but hey, a deal is a deal ;) i think the colors look great & natural!

    alex @ carouselstreet.com

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  42. Great blog! I'm a new follower, and hope you would like to follow back!

    Thanks,
    Gina

    http://beautyloveandlipgloss.blogspot.com/

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  43. Thanks for showing us this items, looks so nice!!
    Do you like to follow each other? Let me know, would be nice!

    X Annewil
    lovetolittlethings.blogspot.com

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  44. i really love the packaging of the bronzing powder and the shade looks gorgeous! Bourjois always have such amazing bronzers :) lovely lip product as well.

    and i know what you mean, it's so hard to resist something that has "gift with purchase" written all over it =D

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  45. very very good post :)
    http://she-is-the-1.blogspot.ch/

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