Estée Lauder Warehouse Sale — Summer 2013

It's that time again — yes, the Estée Lauder warehouse sale! Steph is now obsessed with them since I took her to her first one a few months ago, so she went with me to the summer sale last Friday.

Origins Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser, Ginger Cloud Smoothing Body Balm, and Ginger Gloss Smoothing Body Oil
Origins Soufflé Trio
By now, you probably know my slight obsession with Origins. And Origins at a seriously discounted price? I cannot resist. Since I had already stocked up on a lot of Origins skincare in April and May, I only got a select few items. The only skincare product I picked up was the Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser (for $12 from $24!), since my skin gets really oily during the summer. The rest of the items I picked up were body products: a bottle of Ginger Cloud Smoothing Body Balm for $15 from $27.50, a bottle of Ginger Gloss Smoothing Body Oil for $12 from $25 (I've fallen in love with this stuff since I bought it at the last sale), and their Soufflé Trio (which includes 125 ml jars of Gloomaway Grapefruit Body Soufflé, Smoothing Soufflé Whipped Body Cream, and Ginger Soufflé Whipped Body Cream) for $30 from $47. I wished that they were offering their "Buy one, get one free" deal again on the Origins sets like last time, but alas, no such luck. Had that been the case, I probably would've bought like, four of those trios.
Smashbox Shades of Fame Eye Palette
Smashbox Shades of Fame Eye Palette (inside)
Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara, Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara, Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara, and MAC Steamy Nail Lacquer
Okay, so I typically avoid buying make-up items at the warehouse sales because I have way too much make-up as it is, but I eyed this Smashbox eyeshadow palette (from their Summer 2012 collection) at the last sale (which I had convinced Steph to buy) and passed it up then, so I was like, "Okay, if it's at the sale this time, I will grab one." And of course, they had tons of it there, and it was on sale for $25 from $48. So I couldn't resist. It includes nine beautiful summery shades of smooth, buttery, pigmented eyeshadow, plus two shades of Cream Eye Liner, an eyeshadow brush, and a mini Photo Finish Lid Primer. God knows I do not need another palette, but it's so damn pretty. I also picked up three mascaras for $12 each: Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara (originally $22), Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara (originally $19), and Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara (originally $28.50). And I completely bypassed the $5 MAC grab bags this time around because I already had all the products that were in them (and I do not need multiples of anything that isn't absolutely a must-have), so I just left with the free gift, which was MAC's Steamy Nail Lacquer.
God, these sales are like crack.

Estée Lauder Pure Color Gelée Powder Eyeshadow: Cyber Teal and Cyber Green

About a month ago, Estée Lauder came out with a new formula of eyeshadow in six shades by make-up artist Tom Pecheux, called Pure Color Gelée Powder Eyeshadow. It's a tri-blend formula that's powder, gel, and liquid in one. Usually, Estée Lauder's make-up products don't really intrigue me, but I was bored on my lunch break so I stopped by my local Estée Lauder counter, saw their new display, and started swatching the colours. I was so ridiculously impressed with these Cyber Metallic finish eyeshadows that, even though I have an arsenal of more than 150 eyeshadows, I bought two of them without even hesitating. I'm still unsure of whether they're limited edition or not, because the beauty advisor at the counter said her rep told them they were being added to the permanent range, whereas their website states that they're limited edition. Hopefully, it is the former. Each eyeshadow comes in a gold plastic mirrored compact, contains 0.9 grams of product, includes a mini eyeshadow sponge applicator, and retails for $28.

Cyber Teal and Cyber Green

Cyber Teal and Cyber Green

Cyber Teal is a medium smoky teal with a silvered shimmer-sheen in a Cyber Metallic finish. It goes on smooth and silky, and has phenomenal pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. When used dry, it has a smooth metallic sheen. When used wet, the colour intensifies and it almost looks like liquid metal. I don't personally have a dupe for this; it is less bright and more grey than MAC Steamy.

Cyber Green is a blackened olive-brown with gold and olive green micro-shimmer. It goes on smooth and silky, and has phenomenal pigmentation and opaque colour pay-off. When used dry, it has a smooth metallic sheen. When used wet, the colour intensifies and it almost looks like liquid metal. This shade used wet would make a phenomenal eyeliner colour. I could not think of a dupe for this; it looks kind of like MAC Pro Longwear Eyeshadow in Legendary Black but more metallic and mixed with olive green.

I am completely and utterly in love with this formula. I was so tempted to buy all six shades, but I ended up with these because they were the most unique... and mostly because I didn't have $168 to spend on eyeshadows, and the third shade I wanted was sold out. It surprised me how dry the texture of these shadows are, because usually colours that look this intense and metallic have a very buttery or velvety feel to them, almost creamy. And it's so pigmented that a little goes a really long way. If these do end up being limited edition, I say snatch these babies up as soon as you can!