Estee Lauder bazaar haul!

First time I visited the highly controversial Estee Lauder bazaar was in May 2012 and I haven't missed one since.

If you are in Athens I highly recommend that you visit it as well!
You descent at the Holargos metro station and you walk two blocks towards Athens, you 'll see it on the right.

Working hours are:

• Monday to Friday 11:00-20:00
• Saturday 22 Nov (last day!) 11:00-19:00

If you go try not to have a big bag with you, try a little messenger instead,  something that will keep both your hands free and won't get in the way in case you need to squeeze in a little.

Each time I go I do it in a specific frame of mind:

• If it is too crowded or if I have to wait more than 10-15 minutes in line I leave
• I purchase whatever I like within my budget, I don't search for a specific item

Keeping these in mind, I have never been disappointed so far!

So, I went last Friday after work with a few of my colleagues and yesterday at 16:00 with my sister in law and our mothers. 

• First wow factor: no waiting line to get in!
• Second wow factor: the shelves were fully stocked and they kept unboxing stuff!
• Third wow factor: I found LE items that usually dissappear at the first day!
• Fourth wow factor: the checkout line was long both times but I didn't waste more than ten minutes, they have 10 cashiers and they're fast!

Now, you may wonder: sounds too good to be true. Where's the catch?

There is one undoubtedly: Mac and Estee Lauder counters, lol!

At first you approach gently and stand behind these that are in front of the counter. You try to see over their shoulder and if anything catches your attention ask them to pass you the tester, they'll be happy to oblidge.

Then, when you see that someone is preparing to leave, try to slide in their place. You may exercise a gentle shoving to other people that are trying to do the same thing, use a couple of well meant excuse me with a smile and no one will hold a grudge. 

When you finally arrive in front of the counter be kind to those behind you, help them out by passing on to them any tester they're interested in, or do a swatch on your hand and show it to them.

In case someone tries to displace you and deliberately uses all her body weight on you in order to achieve it, there are two ways to respond: 

• you withdraw or
• you do exactly the same thing to hold your place

There are also subtle (or not so subtle) differences between these two counters:

• The Mac "mob" was more gentle and thoughtful of others, I spent almost 30 minutes in front of the counter (the MUAs were opening a ton of boxes and I couldn't leave without seeing what was inside it, you feel me, lol!) and while we were waiting a sort of camaraderie formed among us, we were good sports, helping each other out, commenting on the poor MUAs that had to tolerate us, etc.
• The EL "mob" was more like it, there was real pushing and shoving there. For the first time ever someone tried to really push me away, a statuesque lady that probably thought she had the minion and leaned aaaalllll her weight on me, for a good 2-3 minutes (but guess what, I am a mighty minion, dumb bitch!) but I kept my ground by doing exactly the same thing. She withdrew complaining that people were pushing her. 

So sorry dear, may I fetch you an Earl Grey with a couple of πιτόγυρα to ease your suffering?

So enough talking (I promise I will restrain myself) here's what I purchased!

Mac Maleficent quad, LE 12€ 

EL Heat Wave highlighter, LE 12€ 

Mac Sea me Hear me blush, LE Alluring Aquatics collection, 7€

EL Bronze Goddess dry oil, LE, 25€

EL Sumptuous black mascara, 10€

I also got an EL quad at 15€ and a Mac christmas kit (the one from last year, with 3 eye shadows, powder, two lipsticks and an eye pencil) at 19€, for my sister in law and she loved both of them.

As for skincare I didn't get much because the memeboxes are arriving at an overwhelming pace (between vip codes and memepoints waiting to be spent I overdid it a tiiiiny bit!)

I did get a Darphin anti-age kit at 9€ though (the grey perforated bag was my goal TBH) 

If you've been following me for a while (here or on twitter or instagram) you probably saw a while ago that I 've been whining about the Origins Make a Difference + toner that I got a long time ago at a previous EL bazaar but I hadn't seen it again at the next bazaars. 

I love that toner, I mean LOVE it but I didn't want to spend 25$ at strawberrynet to buy it so I was hopping that I would see it again at an EL bazaar.

And, lo and behold, this time it was there!

So, at first I snatched two bottles but then I went back and got one more, then one more and I ended up with...

Yes, you counted correctly: 5 bottles!!!

At 12€ each it summed up but last time I experienced withdrawal syndrom (lol!) so I decided to stock up. They are now resting in the back of a drawer, away from sun, heat and all these bad things so as to keep them in top condition for a long time.

That's my EL bazaar haul and experience, if you want to read the according posts to my previous visits, just type Estee Lauder bazaar in the search box on the left and you'll see them.

If you have visited the EL bazaar, what would you advise to someone who has never been there but wants to?

That's it for now,  I hope you are all well and thriving!