Estée Lauder bazaar!

Every year about this time I planned on going to the annual Estée Lauder bazaar but I never actually did because I always got dishearten after reading how panicky situation it was, with hordes of crazed women, looooooong waiting hours in order to get in, etc etc. I mean, I love my makeup but I wouldn't go to extremes to get it.

This year I decided to give it a try nevertheless and the plan was just to get on location and if it was like rumored, I would turn around and leave. I was not expecting to get anything, it was like a tourist excursion on a very popular monument, lol!

The day before I went I also read that a lot of good things were sold out, but, although I was dying to get my hands on some Jo Malone fragrances, I was ok with it, I wasn't expecting to made it in anyway.

So, at five thirty, on a rainy Friday afternoon I disembarked the metro on Holargos station and while walking towards the venue, I spotted women (and men) of all ages carrying blue bags, so I ventured to ask one if she had shopped in the bazaar. She confirmed my suspicion and also informed me that I would be waiting a lot in order to get in.

Arriving there I spotted a crowd but I felt my hopes surging because the crowd at that time was not that big (I 've survived through worst situations, in public services etc) so I decided to take a plunge into it and made my way to the security guard that gave me the precious ticket!

After 30 minutes or so, I was allowed to enter and at first I got dissapointed because all I could see were carroten sunblocks and various other drugstore products (including trash bags and toilet disinfectants, lol!) and I started to question myself "what the heck am I doing here?"

I also saw a ton of Clinique skincare stuff, not my cup of tea either.

Then, I saw the true light on the deep end of the aisle where I spotted the Mac counter. But, if you believe my dumbness, I was so overwhelmed by the very low prices that I didn't know what to buy! So I just stood there, gazing, and although I did get a couple of items, they were kind of random purchases. My friend got an eyeshadow palette from this Christmas collection, the one with the six plummy colors for, if you believe it, €15!

Moving on I saw the Estée Lauder counter, it was a big one, but, I'm not really into Estée Lauder so I was clueless what to get. I was slapping myself because I couldn't remember a gorgeous lipstick I had seen in a blogpost by Kerasia, so I swatched in random some stuff and that's it.

Moving on I saw they had a lot of Tom Ford's Voile de Fleur EDT, so I gave it a sniff out of pure curiosity and BAM! I was hooked for good!

I 'm not a flowery sort of person when it comes to fragrances, with one or two exceptions (Lovestruck by Vera Wang is one) but when I smelled the Voile de Fleur it was love at first sniffing. I immediately grabbed one and then I continued with exploring my surroundings.

Moving on, I saw from far away a Jo Malone bottle on a shelf and I sprinted towards it. And behold, there was a Jo Malone counter stocked with products! I was soooo happy to see them, but more so, to smell them! There were four fragrances from a limited edition collection (if I knew that they were limited edition I would also get a couple of backups) and out of the four, two stood out to me, in a very impressive way, meaning that it was love at first sniffing too! It is very rare to me to find in such a short amount of time three perfumes that are so appealing and unique to me!

After that, I was like a happy kid after having smeared chocolate icecream all over my face! I was more that happy, I was, I don't know, very happy!!!

I browsed some more, I saw La Prairie skincare (not my cup of tea either) I also sniffed a few other fragrances from Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfigher, Cavalli, etc, nothing impressed me.

I decide to go to the cashier and while waiting there I sniffed again at the wrist where I had sampled the Tom Ford perfume and I was so impressed by the scent and the way it evolved in a more earthen, still flowery but more solid form that I rushed over and also got the body shower gel and the body moisturizer. Thinking back, maybe I should just get a backup of the EDT, but, that was the choice of the moment. I 'm still happy I got them but I'm seriously thinking of going back just for it, I'm head over heels for it!

Bottom line: if you can handle a little (or more) discomfort, go by all means, stop reading and just go! There's something for everyone and most importantly, you simply can't beat the prices.

If you're still reading (lol!) here's what I got.

My jewel of the crown is the Tom Ford Black Orchid Voile de Fleur EDT (50ml). I got it for €19 while in store the price was €62 (yep, 62 euros!)

I accompanied it by the matching shower gel and body moisturizer, €9 and €12 respectively (or the other way around, I'm not sure) while in store they were priced €32 each. Insane, I know!

My next precious purchases are these Jo Malone EDT: Sweet Milk and Sweet Lemon (30 ml), €15 each while the actual price was €45 (at least that's what the sales assistant said, there were no price stickers on them like there were on the Tom Ford boxes).

I was on the hunt for new fragrances because the one I was using is almost empty and with these purchases I'm good until next spring: Sweet Lemon is perfect for now, Sweet Milk will be my summer scent (I get images of palm trees, hammocks and secluded beaches when I smell it, lol!) and Voile de Fleur will be my fall/winter perfume.

The last two things I got are from Mac. I grabbed the Unconditionally Fabulous nail polish as soon as I laid my eyes on it! I wanted to buy it last Christmas but €15 seemed too expensive for a glittery nail polish (and instead of it I got Snow Globe from China Glaze, it was quite similar). But when I saw it on the counter at €4 I just couldn't leave it there, I had to have it!

I also got a suntint from last summer collection, also at €4, I didn't have any suntints and was curious about them and at €4 it was very affordable.

I 'm seriously contemplating of going back and get a backup of the fragrances and maybe take a closer look to the rest of the stuff now that I know where and what to look for because, again, the prices are unheard of. Even stocking for presents for family and friends seems a good idea.

Last thing I wanted to mention is the service I received. The staff, although the mayhem, was kind, helpfull and demonstrated loads of patience and good will. Well done ladies (and gents)!