A Shoppers Optimum Haul (That Didn't Hurt My Wallet!)

Hi, everyone! I realize you've been seeing a lot of haulage on the blog of late (take my Detox Market and Saks Fifth Avenue loot, for example), so to add yet another today might have you mourning for my wallet. But today's haul is something different- it was almost entirely free!! If you live in Canada, you probably know that Shoppers Drug Mart (our largest drugstore chain) offers an Optimum Points program that ultimately lets you redeem points for free product. This time around, I had gotten to the top tier of points not through makeup splurging, but via strategic purchases of the necessities: toilet paper, cat food, ibuprofen. Totally glamorous. But given my patience, when Shoppers held one of their Spend Your Points events a couple weeks ago, it was time to tackle the beauty department. The top tier of Optimum Points typically affords you $170 free (amazing already), but the event upped this limit to $200. So I headed down to my nearby Shoppers that stocked both Chanel and NYX and the rest was history! 

Whenever I'm set to redeem Optimum Points, my first stop is always the Chanel counter. I mean, what's better than free Chanel?! (Seriously, it's hard to think of something ;)). I already had my sights set on their new Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation, as I'd heard that it offers a luminous finish that actually provides fuller coverage and long wear. Yes, please! My favourite Chanel SA who works that that Shoppers location also pointed me in the direction of the new Le Blanc Light Creator Brightening Makeup Base in Mimosa, a yellow-tinted, SPF-based primer designed to cancel redness, protect the skin, and add extra glow. Sounded like a perfect companion for Les Beiges (as well as for my red, sensitive skin), so I snagged it also! 

My second stop was at the Clarins display. I find Clarins  to be a totally underrated brand, with beautiful seasonal offerings and relatively affordable price points as compared with other department store brands. I am a huge fan of their Ombre Matte cream shadows, so I was eager to check out their new Ombre Iridescent Cream to Powder Eyeshadows for Spring. The shade I fell for was Silver Green, a beautiful pale-to-mid-tone icy sage green. Unique in my collection and so very pretty! I had also heard countless raves for Clarins' Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, which are moisturizing tinted balms in handy squeeze-tube packaging. When I saw that they'd released a slightly deeper shade for Spring, Plum Shimmer, I finally added one to my basket! 

Finally, I had to peruse two of my favourite slightly more affordable brands, Bourjois (which I wish were a bit more affordable, as they are in the UK), and NYX, which had just launched at Shoppers  a couple days prior. I am a huge fan of the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets (one of the best matte liquid lipstick on the market), and the only reason I don't own more is, at $24 CAD, they're much pricier than you'd want a drugstore lip product to be. But for free? Absolutely! The shade I snagged this time around was Nude-ist, which is not so nude, but rather a soft, muted, neutral peachy pink. And from NYX, I selected one completely practical item, and one totally off the wall. The first is the Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, which is supposed to be excellent as an eye shadow base, especially with brighter shades over top. The second is their Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Stone Fox, a mid-tone blue-toned muted grey. I am determined to wear it soon! 

And before wrapping up, here are swatches of the eye and lip products I purchased: 

(L-R): Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in Plum Shimmer, Clarins Ombre Iridescente in Silver Green, Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in Nude-ist, NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Stone Fox, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk 

All totalled, I got this entire lot of beauty goodies for about $40 (the cost of the tax plus a little extra), which I'd say is a pretty freaking amazing deal! Especially given that I'd earned the points by stocking up on necessities at strategic times. You can convert toilet paper into free Chanel? Yes, you can! :) The sales associates also kindly included a gift bag with my purchase, which consisted of a free Glow magazine (Shoppers own publication) and a couple cute little minis. A very nice bonus! 

Any fellow Shoppers Optimum Points junkies out there? What brands to you gravitate towards when you are set for some freebies? Which store's loyalty program do you think is the most worth it?

Did I tempt you with any goodies here?

Have an ultra fantastic weekend! xo

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