Winter Sales in Paris: Just a little taste

The Naughhtniess 
I have been naughty. The famous Soldes happen twice a year here in Paris and the winter version began on Wednesday, 6 January. I went a whole week without making any purchases but cracked at Printemps on Wednesday for a Diabless cardigan at 50% off and a Chantelle bra at 27€: great bargains, though unplanned.
Anyway, I had intended to attend a MAC sale in the 7th arrondissement since receiving an invitation in the mail a few weeks ago. The sale proposed 50% off for clearance of MAC's famous limited edition items left over from 2009, and the invitation was for me and one friend; I brought Lucia, my best make-up shopping partner. We arrived at rue des Saints-Pères to a line of women down the block but happily chatted out the wait for about 45 minutes under the relatively warm late afternoon sky. What awaited us inside was MAC heaven. The selection was huge and included all of the products that make them famous, in particular eyeshadows and lipgloss of all shades and shines. 
My Steals
Although this scoop won't be of much use to readers as the products are no longer available, I think I should share because they're so good! I scored two beautiful shadows, both in neutral shades: one in Crème de Miel from last spring's Naked Honey collection and another called Warming Trend from the Cool Heat collection which one Makeupalley reviewer called, 'light-shimmery brown with neutral-grey tones'. I love neutral shadows for everyday wear and my funky color collection is already stocked, and tapped into ever so infrequently. At a 40€ retail value, I also bought a six-shadow palette in a flashy red bejeweled case with a great mirror inside and a mix of neutrals and rich dark colors, which I will give to a friend for her birthday. Finally, and rather shamefully, I actually paid money for an item on which Hello Kitty is printed: a cream nail varnish in Vestral White. I haven't tried it yet but love quality polishes so look forward to sporting some white in the near future.
All of this for the reasonable price of 43€ and a quick Sunday outing with my best make-up girl. I will certainly make a point of attending MAC's events in the future.


Note: I am working on my labels for my posts and will eventually devise a rating system of some sort, both of which will hopefully be understandable to all readers. Once I have done so, I will retroactively change labels and add ratings as necessary.