EL Sale 2006

After waiting for so long, it is finally here! The annual EL sale was held today, and I managed to get tickets for the event! Thanks angels *muack* I got the PM tickets (unlike last year where I had the AM tickets as we were considered partners for MAC), but decided to try my luck with my gfs for the AM session. Thank God and friends/angels that we all managed to get into the AM session.

It was much stricter this year. Everyone has to enter in a single file, show the ticket, get it punched with a hole, then queue again to enter the main hall. Bags have to be deposited. At the door to the "treasures", huge plastic bags are issued for buyers to stash their goodies. Tickets are surrendered to the cashiers during payment.

I guess this came about after complaints from last year. It was messier, everyone dashing into the hall, and tickets were sold on ebay. This year, tickets issued to employees are recorded, so that if the holder of the ticket is deemed to be bulk-purchasing for sale online, the employee will be taken to task.

There certainly seemed to be a wider variety of cosmetics and skin care from the brands under the EL stable. The quantity seemed bigger too. However, the prices have increased across the board. My guess is that they did not sell as much as they would like in 2005, hence the increased quantity, and to meet their target, the items were pricier too. Either that or they are trying to discourage people from buying LE stuff at very low price and then find the items being floated around in ebay or yahoo auction.

After last year's experience where I spent a bomb, I was trying to minimize my spending. Unfortunately I did not succeed with the price increase. My target was the MAC olive brush set, and I got that plus others. It was crowded inside the hall, everyone was sweeping the counters clean. I figured we were there for around 5 hours total. I circled the place so many times, debating what to keep and what to release. In the end, I got these:

I bought mainly Stila items, plus some MAC stuff and just 1 Origins product, and 3 fragrances (yes, again!) and a teddy bear. I bought Clinique Happy to Be, DKNY Women and Beyonce True Star (these 3 perfumes came to about the cost of 1 fragrance in retail price, but still less than my Vera Wang Sheer Veil). I believe the total value of the stuff is around $1000 if I got them at retail prices. But since it is a sale, I got all that for a fraction of the cost. No, I won't mention how much the total is, but it is less than what I spent last year.

I bought the Stila Pussycat Dolls palette again as I love the colors in it. It is very easy to use, and I have been using the palette almost everyday. It is foolproof. It will be my replacement once my current palette hits pan. I have a feeling it will be doing that by end of this year, at the rate I am using it. I just hope the e/s won't turn bad.

Thank you Celest, for controlling my spending, and for making me dump several items into the "reject" bag.

Of all the items I bought, this teddy bear produced by Gund for Tommy Hilfiger is my favorite. It is so cuddly and soft and just so huggable. I love it!