Skin Care Sale Stock Up

Is it a bit tragic to look forward to a twice-a-year skin care sale? Well then, tragic I am. Back in May when I purchased the Antipodes Anti-Ageing Minis set, I mentioned I was eagerly anticipating Priceline's next 40% off skin care sale, given they now stock brands like Bioderma, NUXE, La-Roche Posay, Avène, Trilogy and Antipodes (all they need to do is include Caudalie in the mix and I'm pretty much set). On Tuesday, July 29, that day finally arrived. I actually had no clue beforehand and a friend I was meeting for lunch told me about it in the morning. I literally made a dash to the nearest Priceline within an hour of hearing the news.

Though I made it to Priceline at about 11am, I was surprised to see all three items I'd jotted down on my list to be completely gone. I wanted to buy the Trilogy Rosapene Night Cream, Sukin Purifying Facial Masque and a backup of my NUXE Rêve de Miel Ultra-Nourishing Lip Balm, but everything was unavailable or sold out at the store I visited. I left empty-handed and a bit peeved.

I checked out another Priceline after work but it was exactly the same story. The sale was only for 2 days, so I contemplated making a trip to the city on Wednesday to survey other stores, but instead asked friends who were in the city to check for me. One managed to find NUXE Rêve de Miel, but had no luck with the other products. That night during the remaining few hours of the sale, I made one last visit to my local Priceline and the irrational side of my brain took over. It was thinking, "CHEAP! GOOD DISCOUNT! 40% OFF, THAT'S BASICALLY HALF PRICE, RIGHT?!" rather than "Was I planning on buying this in the first place?"

The Trilogy night cream I wanted still wasn't there, so I settled for the Balancing Face Lotion. I figured it's a generous size (100ml), making it good value for money and something that would last a long time, it's packaged conveniently and attractively in a heavyish dark frosted bottle with a pump, has quite a few overlapping ingredients with the night cream, and can be used day and night, year-round. I find it similar to Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream but lighter, more fluid in consistency and less rich, and easier to spread over the face. It absorbs well and doesn't leave the skin feeling heavy or looking shiny. It has a pleasant, relatively subdued, sweet botanical scent that's not cloying or irritating. It's probably more suited to summer use but I've been trialling it the past week during winter here in Australia and I haven't felt it lacking in the hydration department.

I picked up another Antipodes Anti-Ageing Minis set because at $12, the Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum (10ml) and Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream (15ml) were $6 a piece and I simply could not say no to that. Speaking of a price that can't be refused, I managed to nab one Grown Alchemist Regenerating Night Cream Neuro-Peptide & Violet Leaf Extract for $12. Yes, $12. Considering the cream is retailing on the Myer website currently for $84.95, I think I did well. It was already hugely slashed down to $20, but a further 40% off was entirely welcome. The consistency and colour remind me a bit of cake batter. It's one of those "natural" creams that take a while to be worked into the skin (Yes to Carrots Daily Facial Moisturiser with SPF 15 had the same issue). It leaves the skin slightly tacky to the touch but absorbs fairly well. I don't find it overwhelmingly hydrating and nourishing, nor have I noticed that my skin looks markedly better in the mornings, but we'll see with prolonged use.

Finally, an addition to my list of products for which I have a backup, namely NUXE Rêve de Miel. My existing pot is far from empty, but I use it every evening as an overnight lip treatment. Despite initially finding it odd and somewhat uncomfortable when applied, I've since embraced its thick, paste-like texture and weird exfoliating beads, especially when the result is dry, chapped, flaky lips are kept at bay.