Lancome Haul & GWP (Debenhams)

It's funny how much can change in a week or two. I recently thought I hadn't written many beauty posts, so actively sought out something to write about and photograph. Now I'm drowning in new beauty bits and pieces and can't photograph, swatch, review and write fast enough! They are all very exciting, so you've got lots to look forward to! 
I received this postcard through the mail letting me know of a new Lancome 'Gift With Purchase' (GWP) at Debenhams. I love a good ol' GWP and was especially keen to see the new Christmas colour collection anyway and I've been the most eager beaver trying to find out about the 2013 Beauty Box after buying it for the last few years. Nobody seemed to have any info and I was at the point of panic, thinking they weren't releasing one this year, but alas it eventually launched and I have more on that in another post.
I actually ended up placing this order online before the new collection came out. The GWP landed online a few days before it's release instore and Debenhams were also running a 1000 bonus points offer on Lancome at the time. I just couldn't resist taking advantage of a free gift and an extra £10 on my beauty card! So I bought a couple of regular items and one from the autumn range which for some reason my counter never got.  I love looking at the little pile in the photo above that I bought and then seeing the massive lot that I got free below!
First I just have to tell you about the gift, as Lancome have outdone themselves this time. The thing I bang on about every time there's a GWP is how I wish they'd change up the contents of it a bit. If you're a sucker fan like me, then there's only so many lipsticks in Rose Nu, the same cleanser and toner, the same choice of moisturisers and 'Fraise' Juicy Tubes one can own! It doesn't matter if it's the annual beauty box or GWP from any store, they are always the same. I would think it would be in a brands favour to let customers try different items each time to hopefully get them hooked on something new. Although I guess some like getting their staple favourites in mini form to travel with.  Anyway, Lancome have eventually taken this on board and come up with this fabulous gift. You need to buy two things to qualify and with any third purchase you will receive a full size Bi-Facil eye makeup remover too, worth £21. The gift itself is worth up to £77 (depending on which moisturiser you opt for) and thankfully you're not being pressured into buying a skincare item if you don't want. I used to buy my Baume Eclat cleanser, but with them discontinuing it (sob), I'm at a loss what to get now especially when you've got the eye makeup remover and a cleanser within the gift.
So speaking of that, you receive a full size Gel Eclat cleanser worth £22. That's a big 125ml tube and I'm loving using it thus far. Ok, so it isn't a replacement for my beloved Baume Eclat, as it isn't safe to use on the eye area, so I'm unable to remove eye makeup with it (I'm back to using Bi-Facil for that purpose as nothing is living up to Baume Eclat), but I do really like it. The Gel Eclat is a rich pearly cream cleanser and I wet my hands, apply a little product (you really only need a tiny pea sized amount for the whole face) and lather it in my hands before applying to the face. It has such a rich lather and I love that about it, plus it smells lovely. I don't add too much water as I like this almost mask like application. Once rinsed off, it leaves my skin feeling ridiculously soft and it really feels so clean. I've used this in the morning or at night to take off my face makeup and it works wonderfully each time. I've definitely been converted to this, proof that purchases are made from getting to try something new in the GWP!
The other new item in the gift that I'm kinda ridiculously excited about, is the brand new DreamTone, beautiful skin tone creator. It's £69 for the full size 40ml version and in the gift you receive a 7ml in shade 1 (the retail version is available in three shades to best suit the needs of each skin type), worth around £12. You apply this product in a similar fashion to a serum, before your moisturiser or alone, morning and night. You can either use it on specific areas or all over the face. It's designed to even skintone, correct dark spots, blemish marks and brighten the skin. Shade 1 is aimed at reducing redness in fair skin (shade 2 helps brighten sallow skin in medium skin tones and shade 3 targets blemish marks in dark skin) and during trials for this new product, two out of three women dared to go bare skinned after use! It improves and perfects your skin that much!  Redness is something I do suffer from, so I would love to feel confident enough not to wear foundation every day to even that out. I'm really keen to use this properly and see what results I get and I'll keep you posted.
The image above shows the other skincare items you receive. The full size Bi-Facil as I mentioned is only when you buy a third item.  All gifts though include mini sizes of Hydra Zen Neurocalm (you get a choice of moisturisers, the other is Renergie Multi Lift), Tonique Douceur (toner) and Genefique Youth Activating Concentrate. You tend to get these regularly in GWP's, but I didn't expect everything to be new and like I said it can be handy to have travel sizes.
I really thought from the postcard that the lipstick was different this time (it looked plum), but it is indeed L'Absolu Rouge in 06 Rose Nu and you also get a mini Hypnose mascara. The mascara can vary in GWP's, sometimes you'll get a newer launch to try, but I genuinely don't mind which I get and the original Hypnose is a favourite of mine anyway.
You get your choice of makeup bag, either red or black and inside are two makeup brushes of a decent enough quality. Not pictured on the postcard but included in the GWP is a 1ml spray of La vie est belle fragrance too. All in all, I think that's a pretty worthy gift!  It's still available online and instore while stocks last, until the 17th November. If the gift doesn't add to your basket automatically online, then it is out of stock and your moisturiser/makeup bag are random online, you can't choose.
Ok, so I got out all my Lancome lip products to suss out exactly what I already owned and the limited edition lip products either haven't been to my taste lately or else they'd sold out. So I went for Rouge In Love in 200B Rose The. I haven't tried any of the RiL lippies yet, but I'm loving that cute design on the case.
Rose The is surprise, surprise a nude! Wow, how unlike me (!) The lighting wasn't too good for an accurate likeness the day I took these photos. I'd say it's lighter and less orangey-brown looking than it is here. This lipstick is intended to provide pigmented colour that feels light, with 6 hour perfect wear.
The other one I bought was L'Absolu Rouge in 250 Beige Mirage and I always thought this one sounded familiar so never got it. However when I checked, I don't seem to own it! This is a hydrating lipstick which moisturises for up to 8 hours and the finished colour and intensity tends to reflect the shade in the tube. So mine is obviously a bold red...oh no wait, it's another nude.
I laughed out loud when I opened this and Rose The and realised there was very little difference between them. Hmmm, how did that happen! I want to add that I absolutely adore the casing on the L'Absolu Rouge lipsticks, they feel so sleek and have magnets in the lid and base, so the lid pops back on itself. Ah, it's the simple things in life that please me!
Colour wise the image below is a little closer to real life, it's a soft beigey nude. When swatched though, this is when you can see the difference between the two, despite them looking alike in the case.  Beige Mirage applies more sheer, although they are both in the same tone.  
The other item I picked up was from the autumn range which as I said, never seemed to hit my counter. I've been in a few times recently and looked for it and never saw it, so I don't know why they didn't get it. In the collection there were three nail polish shades which essentially all look black. One leans slightly purple, the other brown and the one I got, grey.
It's Vernis In Love 485N Grey Lumiere and it really does look black.  You can just see in certain lights, like the one below that it is actually grey.  I wore it last week and on the nails, it's a gorgeous glossy black.  I'd say it's even harder to see the grey element on the nails.  It's lovely anyway, but I think you'd only need one of the three as I think they would be rather similar.  
That's it!  I'm loving the new items in the GWP and think generally it's a great free gift.  As I mentioned before I bought the Christmas box last week (whoop whoop) and again it's filled with some 'new' items, so I'll photograph all that and the haul....oh and there was another Lancome lot I ordered online and some unexpected Dior items too, ooooooh!  Stay tuned!