Lots of New Products and GWPs Courtesy of the New Bloomingdales Makeover Catalog!

The flagship Bloomingdales on 59th and Lex has just completed a massive renovation of their beauty floor. To celebrate, Bloomingdales sent out a very nice catalog featuring new products and is offering extensive Gifts with Purchase October 15th-25th. The store will be offering new brands and has a full calendar of events throughout October including makeovers, facials, skincare classes, and opportunities to meet makeup artists such as Dick Page and Poppy King. You can call 212-705-2000 to get more information on the events and look below for some of the Gift with Purchase information and highlighted products.

Gifts with Purchase:

• Lancome: Choice of 7 piece gift with any $35 Lancome purchase. 3 sets to choose from.
• Dior: 5 piece gift with $100 purchase
• Clarins: Choose 2 deluxe travel size treatments when you purchase any 2 skincare products
• Trish McEvoy: Must Have Lips 3 piece gift with any $75 purchase plus a Deluxe Makeup Planner with $250 purchase

• Shiseido: Skincare bonus with purchase of any 2 High Performance, Benefiance, white Lucent, The Skin Care or Pureness products plus a travel size The Skincare Instant Eye and Lip Makeup Remover and mini Perfect Rouge Lipstick with any foundation purchase
• Shu Uemura: Best-Of 6 piece gift with any $125 purchase
• SK-II: Full size Signs Uplifter with $325 purchase, plus a limited edition golden and Swarovski compact with $500 purchase
• Giorgio Armani: 6 piece Glamour Kit with exclusive full size Lip Shimmer shade with $95 purchase
• Benefit: Creaseless Crea Shadow in Bunny Hop and mini Bad Gal Lash with $65 purchase
• Laura Mercier: 5 piece Flawless gift with $85 purchase
• Estee Lauder: 7 piece gift with purchase of $29.50 or more. Large navy tote when you spend $55
• Prescriptives: Essential Makeup 5 piece kit when you spend $65. Full size Flawless Face Primer when you spend $95 as well as a pink tote and full size Intensive Rebuilding Cleanser when you spend $125
• Yves Saint Laurent: Must Haves 8 piece gift with $125 purchase
• Clarins: Eye Opening 5 iece gift with cosmetic bag with $200 purchase
• Bare Escentuals: 4 piece Radiance Gift with $35 purchase

New Products:

• Shu Uemura Planet Cat Palette ($65), Planet Ribbon Palette ($65), Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Jupiter Brown ($25).
• Dior Serum de Rouge Lipstick ($32) contains 10 times more active skincare ingredients than other lipsticks. In 8 shades.
• Giorgio Armani 2009 Crustal Palette ($98) has matte and sparkling color for the eyes and a powder in a translucent golden shade. ArmaniSilk Lipstick in a limited edition shade ($38) is also available.
• Trish McEvoy Bejeweled Collection ($95) includes a Petite Makeup Planner in quilted white with black stitching, Petite refillable makeup bag, refillable makeup page, Dual Resort Bronzer, Easy Going Blush, Delicate Pink Eye Shadow, Sable Bronze Glaze Eye Shadow, Amethyst and Deep Aubergine Definers, Eye Base Essentials in Bare and Beauty Booster Lip Gloss in Brightening Pink.
• Laura Mercier Color Wardrobe ($98) is 2-tiered and contains 6 Eye Colours, 3 Cheek Colours, 6 Lip Stains, 2 Lip Glazes, a double ended Eye Colour brush, and a double ended lip brush.
• Lancome Oscillation Powerfoundation ($48) is a micro-vibrating, polishing mineral makeup.

There are a number of other Gifts with Purchase available in addition to more new products and fabulous-sounding events. I'm definitely checking out the new store tomorrow!

Images from the Bloomingdales catalog.

Dior Forever Extreme Wear Flawless Makeup Foundation

This foundation really is a bit of a treat, not just because of the luxury price tag (£28.50 for 30ml) but because it’s a fabulous product and just feels special. The packaging has its pros and cons. On the one hand I love the heavy frosted glass. It looks and feels weighty and expensive. The pump is hygienic and makes it easy to squeeze out just enough product so there is no waste. I find one and a half pumps is all I need for reasonably high coverage. On the other hand the weight and glass mean that you wouldn’t want to travel with it. 

The formula is quite thin and runny and it blends easily. I have the lightest shade (010 Ivory) which is a pretty good match for my super pale skin. This shade does pull ever so slightly yellow but not noticeably so on my neutral toned skin. Unlike some of the other long wear foundations I have it sets to a very natural satin finish rather than a heavy matte one. It looks fantastic but doesn’t do much to control oil production so I do set it with an oil control powder. It does last the work day as long as I set it and doesn’t seems to disintegrate when my skin does inevitably get oily. 

The coverage is medium to high depending on how much you apply, certainly not as much as things like Revlon Color Stay but high enough for me. I wouldn't reccommend it for picture taking as the SPF 25 may cause ghost face. For me this foundation is absolutely worth every penny and I’d happily buy it again x

*Bought with Boots points!*

Diorskin Nude Skin Perfecting Hydrating Concealer

I have combination skin with oil slick areas and Sahara dry patches. My under eye area, as well as being ‘blessed’ with dark circles, falls into the super dry category. I was on the hunt for a concealer that would help stop the skin becoming too dry as well as covering the darkness and preferably doing all of this without settling into any fine lines. I don’t ask for much do I?

I have the shade 001 Ivory. You get a teeny 10ml of product for £19.50 so it ain’t cheap but a little does go a very long way. I love the packaging. Whilst beige isn’t exactly the prettiest colour for the packaging the squeezey tube with the tiny little nozzle is very hygienic and allows you to easily control how much product you get out. 

The colour is just light enough for me (I haven’t found a MAC foundation in a light enough colour for me) and it is quite well pigmented. Those of you used to industrial strength concealers might feel the need for a colour corrector underneath if you have really bad circles but this is enough for me. The formula is relatively thin so it blends easily and it takes a while to set. I do need to set this with my Benefit Powderflage or I find that it slips a little during the day.

 The main down side has to be that as far as I can tell there are only 3 colours to choose from. Frankly Dior that just doesn't cut it!

It is certainly more hydrating than any concealer I tried thus far though I wouldn’t start skipping your eye cream just yet. It doesn’t cling to any flakey bits and providing I set it with a powder there isn’t any noticeable creasing. Overall I’m a fan and I’d seriously consider repurchasing it if I weren’t sure a sucker for trying new things! X

*Bought with my Boots Advantage points*

Bloomingdales Spring Beauty Guide

Bloomingdales wants you to you to get happy (with bright new pops of color), get glowing (with soft shades that shimmer) and get ready (with the freshest skincare solutions) and January 28th through February 7th the store at 59th and Lex is having a beauty event! It seems that almost all of the lines are offering some sort of gift with purchase or incentive to stop by. NYCers can call 212-705-2000 for more information! For everyone else, ring 1-877-485-8462. Here are some of the most intriguing products from the new catalog I received:

• Laura Mercier Radiant Creme Color ($35), Eye Color Duos ($22), Satin Lip Color ($22) in Barely Nude, Pink Cocoa and Maple Brown and Lip Shine in Crystal Pink ($22). That Radiant Creme Color is absolutely calling my name!
• Bobbi Brown is all about coral for spring as indicated by the stunning Nectar Shimmer Brick ($38), Cabo Coral Pot Rouge ($22), Cabo Coral Lip Color ($22) and Sunset Beach Lip Shimmer ($20). The lip products are all limited edition. They are pairing the Shimmer Brick with the Face Blender Brush ($45) which I have and really like!
• Dior's vinage lace collection looks stunning, but I'd be too scared to mar the beautiful imprints! For those of you braver than me, the new 5 Color Eye Shadow in Coquette ($57), Lace Highlighting Powder ($55) and Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect Lip Color in Beige Veil ($26.50) are your options!
• I am a big Lancome fan (even though it may not be what the cool kids play with anymore) because their products are top-notch. The new Color Design Quad ($42), Teal Ink Artliner Delight ($23.50), Coral Flight Pop'N Cheeks ($29) and La Laque Fever Gloss ($26) scream spring. Personally, I'm partial to the liquid liner version of the Artliners and wish they'd release new shades in that formulation.
• YSL is offering new Ombre 5 Lumieres #9 Palette in Parisian Sky ($56), Palette Y-Mail ($65) in 3 colors to choose from and for lips, Rouge Volupte #29 Opera Rose ($34) and Gloss Volupte #2 Chilled Rapberry ($30).
• Shiseido is all about bold color for Spring with Luminizing Satin Eye Color ($25) in 5 new shades including Peach and Sky, Perfect Rouge Glowing Matte blush ($30) in 6 new colors and Perfect Rouge Tender Sheer Pout ($25). there are 8 new shades in this range.

Has anything caught your eye? What do you intended to check out for Spring?

Sephora Coupon Haul and Some Other Deals

My Sephora (48th and 5th) currently has a number of cheap treats at the registers. NARS Silent Night (metallic yellow gold with gold sparkles) is $9, Bare Escentuals 100% Natural Lip Glosses are $7 and Dior Show Mascara is Plum is $10. The NARS is available online as well.

If you shop online, you can use the following codes:

• JURLIQUE for a mini Herbal Recovery Gel with $25 purchase
• CLUTCH4U for a metallic clutch filled with samples with a $25 purchase
• CLOUD9 for a mini Tarte Cloud 9 cheek Stain with any purchase
• BUXOMKISS for a mini BE Buxom lip gloss in Sugar
• WISHME for a choice of NARS mini gloss, YSL mini mascara or mini Amazing Grace product

I received a gift card from Sephora both in the mail and online. I'm not sure if they were only sent to VIBs or anyone registered with them. I've used the one mailed to me ($15 off $50) for another Laura Mercier Eye Basics (one of my holy grail products), a mini Sephora Nano Eye Pencil ($5) in 06 Glitter Brown and a Dior Crayon Eyeliner in 063 Elegant Taupe ($26).

The day I bought these I was in a rush to get to work and skipped eye liner that morning, only to of course have an impromptu meeting come up and I needed to look more put together! A chocolate brown eye liner was needed STAT and for only $5 the Sephora one fit the bill. It's surprisingly creamy and is an overall lovely shimmery midtone brown without the coppery red tones that Urban Decay Bourbon has. The color name implies that it's glittery but it's really just shimmer. I thought the Dior Elegant Taupe would be good for definition on days I'm going for a softer look, but I'm finding that it's not doing much for me. You can barely see it once it's applied (I'm not sure if that's more the formula or the shade) but I'll keep trying to make it work!

Now what to do with the rest of my gift certificate money? Did anyone else receive coupons and what are you buying with them?

Sephora left, Dior right: