Beauty Haul, GWP & Swatches (Lancome, Clarins, ArtDeco)

Ok, this is quite the haul! I have GWP's, swatches and even comparison swatches, so there's a lot to get through and I'll get stuck in right away. Last month I got a mailer to let me know Lancome were having a gift with purchase offer at Debenhams (the offer has just ended). I can't resist a good ol' GWP, but even better when I actually need a couple of things anyway. Plus I waited until they had 10% off too, b,b,b,bonus!  I say 'waited', I mean I didn't actually have any money until that moment, so struck lucky! 
(I think) I'm on my last tube of Baume Eclat cleanser and was starting to reach panic-stations at that, plus I was desperately trying to squeeze the last drops out of my Teint Miracle foundation which I've been using non-stop in recent weeks and didn't fancy the thought of living without that either. So Mum and I popped through to Debenhams because I'd noticed the cleanser wasn't available online...this had me a little worried. I've looked online in a few places including the official Lancome site and couldn't find it. So off we trot and my Debenhams has had a makeover recently, so I have no clue where anything is, all the makeup counters have new stands and have switched places with each other just to confuzzle me. Anyway I was glad to see the tester out for Baume Eclat, phew! I didn't see my shade in the foundation though, so I have a good chat with the Lancome lady while she looks for it and end up leaving with nothing but a distraught feeling. We reckon Baume Eclat is indeed being discontinued.  A moment of silence please.  I've asked Lancome directly, but haven't heard anything back. It was promising that there was a space for it on the new stand, but they haven't had actual stock of it for ages and the fact it's gone online (not just sold out but disappeared completely) it looks likely it's going. There's no 'official' word it's been discontinued nor is there a 'replacement' coming out anytime soon, so I guess we just have to wait and see, but I don't think there's much hope. Yep, I'm sobbing.  
I'm devastated. I could not rave enough about that cleanser. I loved that it removed everything, heavy eye makeup included without the need for a separate eye product, plus it felt and smelt divine. Had I known it was going to disappear, I'd have bought bucket loads to keep me going a while. Gutted! Anyway the girl was going to ring me when they got the foundation in, but I said not to bother as I'd seen it online. It meant I could still get the 10% off but would have to find another item to qualify for the free gift. Firstly the GWP is pictured above and includes a full-size version of Bi-Facil which is excellent.  I was slightly disappointed there wasn't an eye cream included (purely because I was getting low on eye cream samples) and I do say this every time, but I wish Lancome would switch up their GWP's, so we could get different shades/items instead of the same olds!  Anyway, here's the foundation, this is the very lightest shade (005 Beige Ivoire) and I've spoken about it before on the blog, it's one of my favourite foundations. I haven't swatched it because I've done so many times before.  I find this version slightly lighter than 005 in Teint Idole and much lighter than 005 in the new Teint Visionnaire.  
So what for my second product?  Well, I mentioned I've been getting into highlighting and contouring the face. So I started browsing possible products for that and came across the Blush Subtil Palette which already includes the three basics you need for HaCing. You get a bronzer/sculpt powder, blush colour and light shimmering highlighter. There are two colour versions available and I purchased the pink(er) one 01 Rose Flush.
If the other two products weren't to my liking, then at least I was pretty much guaranteed to like the blusher as I already own the very pretty Rose Sable in the classic Blush Subtil line. I haven't compared the two, but they are very similar, I think this palette version is more pink though. Anyway, I do like all the pieces separately. The highlighter is just the prettiest darn thing and not your standard white or pink.  This means it's not the most noticeable for HaCing, so I wouldn't use it as a highlighter alone for HaCing, but it's pretty as a standard highlighter on the cheekbones and under the brow.
The blush is super shimmery and actually could be used without any additional highlighter because it already creates rosy, sheeny cheeks. I wouldn't say it's as pigmented as Rose Sable (which I have to use a very light hand with), so you have more control and can build the colour somewhat gradually.
The sculpting shade is great for lighter skins as it's not scary-dark like most bronzers. I've been using it as my contour colour quite a bit since buying it. It doesn't look muddy or lean orange which is good, I'm just not sure if it's dark enough. To be honest though I'm still finding my feet with HaCing and trying new products all the time and I'd say the most difficult part is between finding something that looks natural but that also makes the statement you're trying to make.
You can see a faint shimmer in the pan of the contour shade but I don't notice any when applied. The highlighter barely showed up in my swatches (aside from the last image). I held my hand in and out of direct sunlight so you could really see the sparkle.
Ok, now that's not all. I'd been uhhming and ahhing over placing an order on Debenhams previously because they had these fabulous goody bags filled with fragrance and some makeup samples. I love trying new things, but on the day the 10% offer started, the goody bags disappeared. However if you purchased two beauty items on this one day, you got a complimentary fragrance goody bag. My Lancome purchases didn't seem to qualify, probably because they already came with their own GWP, so I wanted another couple of things anyway and managed to score the good bag. This is what I got....
Worth it for the YSL Manifesto alone, which I've become obsessed with! My Daddy was pretty chuffed at getting a sample too (see it wasn't all me, me, me)! To qualify for this, I ordered another Clarins Instant light Natural Lip Perfector, which has come out in three new shades!!! This could almost (but not quite) make up for losing Baume Eclat. I freaking love this stuff and already have three tubes, but bought one of the new shades, 04 Petal Shimmer, which is a soft coral.
It's brighter than I expected, I was imagining pale pink, but still oh so pretty. Again I held my hand in and out of the light because you can really see the shimmer in the light, which isn't usually noticeable on the lips, despite each colour being called 'x shimmer'.
I had another shade of that, in and out of my basket and eventually decided I'd be 'good' and buy an ArtDeco eyeshadow instead which came in at £3.46. You can't really go wrong at that price can you? I was swithering between two grey shades but one was cheaper than the other (by £1.46!), so my decision was made. 04 Mystical Grey is a medium silver grey and if you hold it in the light, it has the most beautiful multi-coloured, micro shimmer. It looks pretty boring out of the light if I'm honest, but it's the type of colour I wear all the time.
I already own 02 Anthracite which I absolutely adore. Both are a pearl finish and I've included the shade names and numbers because on the actual packaging it's only the number. However rather unhelpfully, Debenhams only have the shade names!  So it's difficult to know which ones you already own unless you know both! 02 is darker and leans taupe, whereas 04 is a blue-grey. I don't love the latter as much as the former, but have already been wearing it non-stop for the past couple of weeks, so I still really like it. I've compared and swatched the two for you to see.
They're great items to stock up on if you need something inexpensive to qualify for an offer, so it's handy to remember that. I told you I'd gone makeup-crazy recently! I have since placed a YSL order because there was an offer too good to miss (that post will come next), along with some bits and bobs I've been eyeing for ages and some unexpected bargain extras. Plus this week, I placed another Debenhams order (hopefully arriving today) for a couple of Dior pieces as they have 10% off again and 500 bonus points along with a super cute mini lipstick free! Then I made a gigantic order at Escentual, who are my newest BFF's! I am ridiculously excited for it to arrive (it literally arrived just a minute ago) because it contains some super, duper items and I already have my eye on more. Well I do need to find an alternative cleanser now don't I?