Marcelle Sale Haul: Fall 2014

Over the weekend I had a chance to go to the Marcelle and L'Oreal warehouse sales, and I have to say, Marcelle blows L'Oreal out of the water. Over the years, the L'Oreal sale has become more and more pathetic. The prices are going up each year, and in the end, you don't save as much money as you think. It's not a blowout warehouse sale so much as a small discount. The items L'Oreal offers at their sale are pretty terrible too. I don't like Maybelline mascaras, and they're still $4 anyway - chances are you can get that on sale at Pharmaprix. The blushes and eyeshadows they have are usually bad quality (low color payoff, barely pigmented). The only thing the L'Oreal sale is good for is Essie nail polish, and even at that, they still go for $4.50 each. You can buy Essie at TJ Maxx for $3.99.

So, needless to say, I won't be doing a L'Oreal sale haul because all I bought were 3 Essie polishes and some shampoo. Onto the better stuff: Marcelle. Marcelle is a Quebec-based makeup brand that I've truly grown fond of. It doesn't get as much love as the massive American brands, but the quality is great. They're also the makers of Annabelle products, and you can buy their makeup at most Quebec pharmacies.

The Marcelle sale discount prices are incredible. Every makeup item is $2.50. Nothing more. Skincare items are more expensive, which makes sense, but the makeup is cheap. On top of that, you don't need to have a ticket to be able to access this sale (whereas the L'Oreal sale is invitation-only).

The two items I beeline for at the Marcelle sale are the foundation and mascara. I used to adore their Hydra-C foundation, but then they discontinued it (which I'm still upset about!). Luckily, they had their New-Age foundation on sale at $2.50 and the shade range is exactly the same as the Hydra-C so I knew which color I had to get. As you can see, I bought a grand total of three of these foundations... Why, you ask? They cost $20 at the pharmacy. Yep. $20. That's a $17.50 discount.

I'm also obsessed with the Annabelle Big Show mascara, so I picked up two of them. The formulation is perfect. It's not too wet, and the brush is just the right size. It reminds me of a slightly smaller version of Benefit Bad Gal. I can use one tube for months and months because it retains its quality really well.

The next thing I wanted to pick up was a basic black kohl eyeliner, which they were selling individually for $2.50.. Until I realized they were selling sets of four for $2.50 that included black in them, so I picked up the set for blue eyes and the set for green eyes. I already own the set for brown eyes.

The last two items I picked up are the Annabelle Skin True foundation and a Marcelle velvety powder blush. The good thing about Annabelle foundation is that it's only $8 in-store, so the Marcelle sale is a good time to try out different shades. I like knowing that there's a cheap foundation out there that I can go to in case I ever run out, but it's definitely crucial to know your shade. As for the blush, I have this exact blush in the shade Blossom and I'm obsessed with it, so it was only natural that I picked up another.

I don't think I'll go to the L'Oreal sale next time. Marcelle all the way!

Fall/Winter L'Oreal Sale & Marcelle Sale Haul

Hey everyone! Looks like I accidentally did a bit (read: a lot) of shopping... Oops! Doing hauls of the L'Oreal sale is always a good idea because people who've never been before can get an idea of what they might expect. I also went to the Marcelle/Annabelle sale this time which was fabulous. Everything was extremely reduced in price, even moreso than the L'Oreal sale!

Despite the 45-minute wait to get in, the L'Oreal sale proved to be quite fruitful. Having the knowledge of what I did/did not use from the previous sale really helped me decide what to choose. My only complaint is the sheer mass of people that were present at this sale... If you're intimidated by crowds, maybe opt not to go on a weekend.

The best part of the L'Oreal sale this year, hands down, was the Essie section. The nail polishes were reduced to $4.75 each, whereas they were $6 previous years. They cost, on average, $9 at Canadian drugstores. They also had nail wraps at $4.75, which was great, because I've been wanting to try them for a while but it just never seemed worth it in-store. They also had a deal where you could buy 5 and get one free, which I definitely made use of. I got two nail polishes: "Stylenomics" and "Fishnet Stockings", and three slick stick nail wrap kits: "Love to love you", "Glam it on", and "Show me your stuff".

I also got the L'Oreal Go 360 Clean facial cleanser, two new Maybelline Super Stay 10 Stain Glosses in "Refreshing Red" and "Cool Coral", and this amazing little perfume kit from Kiehl's that cost $25.

From the Marcelle sale I got a pack of four Annabelle glitter eyeliners ($1.50!), 2 for $5 Marcelle makeup wipes, the Annabelle Custom Look Kohl Kit containing 4 eyeliners for hazel eyes ($4), a Marcelle blush in "Blossom", two Marcelle Hydra-C Foundations, an Annabelle concealer set, Annabelle lip pencil in "Concord", Annabelle eyeliner in "Honey", Annabelle liquid liner, and Annabelle "Le Big Show" mascara.

All of the makeup at the Marcelle sale was $2.25, with the exception of the items noted above (in brackets). I was so happy they had the Hydra-C foundation because it's discontinued, but it was (and remains) one of the best drugstore foundations I've ever tried.

I hope this haul was helpful to those who are debating attending these sales! Overall I spent $75 at the L'Oreal sale (a good chunk of that - $25 - is attributed to the Kiehl's perfume set), and $35 at the Marcelle sale. If you can only attend one I definitely recommend the Marcelle sale. They have great quality products and the location isn't as tight/packed as the L'Oreal sale.

PS. I also might have picked up a few more items for my holiday giveaway! Don't forget to enter! :)