Priceline 40% Off Haul

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, my most frequented store Priceline was having a 40% sale off all cosmetics, both in store and on their website. Two non-beauty obsessed friends even text messaged me about it, such was the rarity and excitement of such a sale. In an effort to not get swept away by the oncoming mania, on Monday night I attempted to make a modest list of things I hoped to pick up the following day. I actually was still awake and surfing the Priceline website when the clock ticked over to Tuesday, but couldn't see any price reductions, so I gave up on the notion of shopping online. A part of me was contemplating waking up earlier that morning so I could browse my local Priceline before going to work, but when my alarm rang, continuing to sleep for an extra twenty minutes seemed infinitely preferable.

I popped into the Priceline in the area that I work during my lunch break, and it so packed I could barely move past the aisles or take a look at the stands. From what I'd written down the night before to buy, I couldn't find Australis Lambada lip gloss, but I managed to grab Australis Glitter Strikes Back nail polish. I was about to pay for it, but decided to leave empty-handed when I saw the length of the queue.

I ended up buying everything after work from the Priceline closest to where I live. Unfortunately, my local Priceline doesn't stock Face of Australia, otherwise I would have picked up a few of their newly released Glitterati nail polishes. The store also didn't have any more of Australis Glitter Strikes Back, which made me regret not buying it earlier in the day. Instead, I opted for the neon pink of Australis #Totesamaze and one of the Maybelline Color Show nail polishes in Twilight Rays (240).

Australis #Totesamaze is an incredibly bright, bordering on radioactive, highlighter/fluorescent pink. The picture shows the colour to be more muted than how it appears in real life. It's such a loud colour that I was nervous I might even be reprimanded for wearing it to work.

Maybelline Twilight Rays, which I first saw featured on Kate's blog, is the only polish (along with perhaps Wined and Dined) that really caught my eye from the Color Show collection. I was excited to paint my nails with it the very night I bought it. It's a black polish with the added interest of greenish-gold glitter flakes that really come alive in direct sunlight. I can see myself wearing this a lot in the coming cooler months.

Despite hating myself for having just bought four Maybelline ColorSensational Vivids lipsticks, I found myself purchasing two more lipsticks, including one more from the Vivids range. What can I say — it's nothing short of a horrendous compulsion. I had to get Savvy by DB Long Lasting Matte Lipstick in Bali after seeing it on Angela. Lately, I'm finding myself drawn to deeper, almost vampy berry reds slightly out of my comfort zone. It's probably not a shade I'll wear often, but I don't mind spending $4.17 just for the fun of experimenting. I'd previously agonised over whether to buy Maybelline Vivid Rose or Hot Plum, and while I ultimately picked Hot Plum, I still wasn't sure I made the right choice. At least with 40% off, I rationalised I could feel a teensy bit better about making Vivid Rose mine and removing the need to choose altogether.

I was thinking of picking up a Savvy by DB bronze eyeliner, but they'd all sold out. Then I remembered that I'd been curious to try the Australis 10 Hour Waterproof Eye Pencils I'd seen a few Australian beauty bloggers write about, including Mishelle, Karen and Michaela. Despite reservations that I already had about 5 bronze eyeliners at home (more on this in a post to come), I took Bombastic Bronze to the counter.

I hoped that Real Techniques would be included in the sale (for no other reason than to purchase a backup of the Core Collection), but it wasn't. Apparently only brushes by Models Prefer and Nude by Nature were 40% off. I'd always wanted to buy an angled blush brush, but the only options I'd considered were either too cumbersome (Sigma F40 — didn't want to pay for the shipping or wait a month for it to be delivered) or out of my price range (MAC 168 — I didn't even want to pay $35 for it while I was in the US, let alone $65 in Australia). Enter this angled blush brush from the Models Prefer Mystique range. It didn't look amazing quality, but the shape seemed promising, and it was just over $10. I thought I'd give it a go.

l-r: Maybelline Vivid Rose, Savvy by DB Bali, Australis Bombastic Bronze

Overall, I spent just under $40 for these six products. While not exactly dirt cheap, I'm fairly pleased with my purchases and the variety of what I bought. Afterwards, I asked myself whether it would've been better to have spent the money on one luxury item (I've been intently eyeing the Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Odyssey from StrawberryNet). At least when I posed the question, I felt my preference was to have more to play with. At the end of the day, I didn't need any of it, and I don't need another expensive eyeshadow palette either, but that's what you get for being an addict.