Image courtesy of Holt Renfrew

Next up on the Holiday Collection (and Cheap and Chic) is Holt Renfrew’s Paramount Beauty Bag.

From Holt Renfrew:

For the ultimate beauty buff or even the girl on the go, it doesn’t get any better than the Paramount Beauty Bag. Complete with two luxe removable pouches —one patent and one mesh— and deluxe-miniatures including a shu uemura mini eyelash curler, Sisley Hydration Intense Moisturizer, and Laura Mercier Foundation Primer, its truly the must have of the season! Plus, you’ll receive a $10 beauty voucher that goes towards your next purchase at Holts!* Over $100 value^†, only $25.

Okay so for all of my non-Canadian readers, Holt Renfrew is our version of Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, etc. It’s a Canadian luxury department store. My dad was recently in Calgary and I told him that he had to stop by Calgary’s Holt Renfrew because a) the store is gorgeous (they recently renovated it I believe), and b) I wanted this bag!  We have a Holt Renfrew where I live but it’s not like the other ones in larger markets. It’s basically just personal shopper suites and they sell some cosmetic lines like Laura Mercier, La Mer, Deborah Lippmann, etc., nothing like the offerings of regular Holt Renfrew stores.

I believe that Holt Renfrew puts out a beauty bag every year (I may be wrong). I remember seeing last year’s in Montreal but it is nothing compared to this one.  This product comes with three bags, a mini-sized Shu Uemura eyelash curler, a sample of Laura Mercier Foundation Primer, a sample of Sisley Paris Hydra-Global Intense Anti-Aging Hydration moisturizer, and a $10 voucher to use off any beauty purchase of $10 or more.  Oh, and did I mention that it’s all $25?  According to the hang tag, it has a value of $129.50.

I don’t often get excited over bags themselves because I have a million of them.  They are seriously like a dime a dozen, but this bag is very impressive.   You actually get three bags with this item.  The biggest bag is plastic and has that patent feel and look.  I love how it has feet on the bottom so that the bottom of it won’t get dirty and it adds a luxe feel to the whole look.  As for the inside, the lining is the same colour as their iconic shopping bags, a burgundy with the HR logo and the best part, it’s actually plastic so if something spills you can easily wipe it up.  There is also a back zippered pocket and a pocket inside. The second bag is a standard sized cosmetic pouch with the patent look and feel on the outside and with a fabric lining.  The shell of the pouch also has Holt Renfrew embossed in black all over it.

The third pouch is a mesh one that snaps inside the largest bag.

As for the goodies inside the bag, you get deluxe samples of Laura Mercier Foundation Primer (.5 fluid-ounce) (full size retails for $40 CDN) and Sisley Hydra-Global Intense Anti-Aging Hydration moisturizer (0.35 ounces) (1.4 ounces- the full size- retails for a whopping $250 USD.  That makes the sample worth $62.50) as well as a mini-sized Shu Uemura eyelash curler (I believe this is actually discontinued as it is unavailable on their website, I have heard it retails for around $15).

Sized compared to Laura Mercier's Silk Creme Foundation

Mini Shu curler compared to full size Sephora brand

And last but not least, you also get a $10 voucher to use towards your next beauty purchase of $10 or more.  I don’t have the voucher as my dad used it to buy my mom a YSL lipstick, but basically you are getting the bag for $15. Crazy, hey?

I think this bag would be a phenomenal gift for really any beauty buff or anyone.  They are only available until December 31, 2011 or while supplies last.  Last year’s bag only included the bag itself and the $10 voucher, so with the samples here you are getting it for a steal.  I still cannot get over the price of the Sisley Global moisturizer.  The sample is 10 ml and a full-size is 40ml, so even if you wanted to get a full size you might as well buy four bags, it’ll be cheaper and you can use the rest as gifts for family and friends, plus you will have four vouchers to use towards other goodies.  That’s totally what I would do if I used that moisturizer on a regular basis.  Also, I really like the Shu mini curler (basically the reason I bought the bag), it gets those hard to curl lashes.  I’m going to do a review on that on an upcoming post so I will reserve my comments until then.

Have you gotten the Holt Renfrew Paramount Beauty Bag?  What were your thoughts?

So I went to Sears Canada’s beauty gala last night and picked up a few things for my mom and myself (a holiday present for her and skincare for me).  The Clinique counter at Sears Canada currently has a Gift with Purchase (GWP) going on (ends today) where if you spend $26.50 or more on Clinique products you get a bonus gift with your purchase.

Now a little side note, I have never gotten why they call it “gift with purchase”.  Isn’t a gift free?  It wouldn’t be a “gift” if you have to spend money to get it.

Anyways, moving on…  Compared to other GWPs this one is mediocre.  I have definitely seen better sets.  I find that the Sears ones aren’t as good as The Bay, but unfortunately I only shop at Sears for Clinique products.

The gift includes the standard floral bag as well as these goodies:

• Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer SPF 20, 15ml
• Liquid Face Soap Mild, 30ml
• Lash Doubling Mascara in Black, 4ml
• Different Lipstick in Different Grape, 4ml
• Long Last Glosswear SPF15 in Air Kiss, 2ml
• Soft Pressed Powder Blusher with Brush in New Clover, 2g

I don’t know about you guys but I think the only thing that excites me here is the blush and even then, it’s not that amazing.  I’m surprised that there is no Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion, as that product seems to be a GWP favourite.  There is, however, a mini sample of the Liquid Face Soap which is perfect for traveling (I use the bar which takes up too much room in my cosmetics pouch).  Other than that, the lipstick is the usual dark shade that I probably will never wear, I’ll probably give the gloss a try, and the mascara is on my list of mascaras to try. I was really hesitant to get this GWP, I didn’t really need any Clinique skincare cause I had just bought some a month ago, but with the Beauty Gala ticket I got $8 off my purchase so I figured I might as well get backups as I’ll need them eventually.

Is this a GWP to skip?  I would say so.  If you didn’t need anything from Clinique then I wouldn’t bother spending money just to get the bag.  I have definitely seen better gifts from the company in the past.

Did you get Sears Canada’s Clinique Gift with Purchase Fall 2011?  What were your thoughts?

So we had our first snow fall in my city last night and I woke up to a winter wonderland outside. Instead of being all bummed about it like everyone else was, I got all excited. Snow means holidays!

The holiday season is my favourite time of the year.  I love the lights, the music, and most of all, the shopping!  I can honestly say that I get more excited about buying other people gifts than receiving them myself.  And I have to say, I’m an awesome gift giver, not going to lie.

Anyways, in honour of the first snow fall I thought I would launch a series of posts (aptly titled The Holiday Collection) which will feature products that I think would make excellent gifts for family, friends, co-workers, etc.

First on my list is the new eos (Evolution of Smooth) Share the Love Holiday Lip Balm Collection.  I blogged about the eos Lip Balm Spheres a while back and I am halfway done my Summer Fruit one (these things last forever!).

Just to recap, the eos Lip Balm Spheres are 100 per cent natural, enriched with jojoba oil and shea butter, are petrolatum-free, gluten-free, and paraben-free, and best of all, are not tested on animals.  The smooth egg-like casing twists open to reveal the rounded balm inside.

The holiday collection features three different pastel yummy flavours: Strawberry Sorbet, Sweet Mint, and Passion Fruit.  The Passion Fruit flavour is limited edition and the Sweet Mint (which I can’t stop smelling) is a celebrity favourite which leaves your mouth minty fresh.  It’s as if you just brushed your teeth; it’s the same feeling. I love these things and the set of three, which retails for $9.99 in Canada, I think would make a great stocking stuffer or a great gift for one of the nights of Hanukah.  You can either give the three together or split them up amongst your friends.

I think the thing that really appeals to me about these is that they are fun to play with and eye catching.  Also, I love that they are organic, if you have a friend that is very much into organic things, this would be the gift for them.

Please note: I did receive this product for review, however, it did not affect my opinions on it.  All opinions are my honest own :).