One of the nicest things about travelling and stepping into airports is the duty free shopping. I don’t always end up buying things – in fact, I usually end up buying nothing at all at duty free! But there will always be things that catch my eye – stuff you don’t always see at the regular counters.
And these things are the duty free travel exclusives – exclusive makeup palettes, skincare sets etc. Here are a couple of items that caught my eye as a matter of interest less than as a matter of wanting them.
Shu Uemura Travel Exclusive eyeshadow palette – S$77
I don’t know if this eyeshadow palette is available at all airports or on all other airlines. I saw this on Singapore Airlines and would have gotten the Cool palette if I could wear Shu Uemura eyeshadows. If you are a collector or a fan of this brand, you might want to place this on your wishlist if anyone you know is going to fly SQ! :)
Yves St Laurent French Manicure set – S$60
I was quite fascinated by this product. The instructions say you are to draw a white line with the white pen then use the pink pen to apply a layer of light pink on your nail to have a french manicure. I would have liked to see how it really works or if it lasts. Gimmicky but a fun gift I reckon.
Dior Travel In Dior Makeup Palette – S$69
For some reason I really wanted this Dior palette. I spotted it on the way to Vietnam but did not get it. Then on the way back for some reason I was so caught up watching CSI on the plane I forgot about it. When I got to Changi duty free, I saw the same palette in the store for S$72.50. I decided to pass as there was no tester around and I did not like the price difference :P Haha… I do have another chance to get it soon so I just might! :)
Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Mascara set – S$39
What I did end up getting was a set of Elizabeth Arden Ceramide mascara. It came in a boxed set of 2 with an All Gone eye and lip makeup remover for S$39. I was told it usually retails for S$39 for one mascara so I guess it was a steal? The story behind my getting it is a strange one.
I somehow thought that Elizabeth Arden was Helena Rubinstein and I’d heard a lot about Helena Rubinstein mascara (we don’t get the line here in Malaysia) so I decided to get what I thought was steal. It was only on the plane on the way back to KL that it suddenly struck me that it was not the same – doh! :P Anyway, I have heard some good things about the Ceramide mascara so it would be interesting to try this one – I did get it for a bit of a steal after all ;)
Did you grab your free samples and are you going to?
I’m so glad its the weekend coming up again soon! I need to unpack and distribute gifts and recharge for the coming week ahead. Do you have anything planned for this weekend? Are you going to get your Elemis free samples and hit up the I Nuovi cosmetics sale? (Its in the same mall after all!) Have you grabbed your Lancome Blanc Expert samples? :)
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
keke i have similar experience of buying one brand/thing thinking it was another …
Hi Karen
Great I’m not the only one lol… Lucky it was a good buy else I’d kick myself
I wanted the Dior set as well and saw a few of fellow women passengers snapping up the set on my last trip to Taipei…
Hi Reese
I was a bit hesitant over the colours because I didn’t see any testers/sample sets at all. They had sample sets of the other travel palettes. Maybe its too new :)
Ohhh, Paris, I was all set to drive all the way to Sunway, and this morning when I woke up, there was thunder everywhere and when my little girl woke up, it poured rain like nobody’s business. It’s still raining in my place now. Don’t know how’s the traffic on the Federal Highway…..sigh!
Taking your advice and planning to go there early and come back before the Friday lunch hour and afternoon jam starts.
Will update you.
I like looking at travel exclusives too, but they do often strike me as rather gimmicky often. I have some Singapore Airlines Krisshop vouchers burning a hole in my pocket, but nothing has really struck me as worth buying inflight yet, which is probably a sign that I already have too much makeup!
Hi Stickles
Ooh if I had Krisshop vouchers I’d get the Dior in a heartbeat :P heh…
I can’t blame you about the Helena rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden mix up, the products they offer are almost the same :) Classy! :) But I think you will love the lash extender, I am using Elizabeth Arden’s Lash Optimizer and I love it :) So I think they won’t fail you, I HOPE :)
Hi Nikki
Yay! Glad to hear that something from Elizabeth Arden is worth trying. I’ll update when I test it out.
Duty free stuff is always so tempting, but I never know if I’m really getting a good price since I hardly do research before I check them out! The last time I saw the Guerlain travel set of 3–I stood there for so long deciding, and in the end, didn’t get it–regret!
The Shu palettes look nice :-)
Hi Monstro
I usually do my research before going anywhere. Rule of thumb is that duty free is cheaper because its tax free – duh! hehe… – but sometimes because of exchange rates, it may not be that way.
I’m flying to Singapore soon… might want to check out the duty free shops in Changi if I had time… but affording them is a different thing altogether :P
Hi Synical
Try to get to Terminal 3 if you can – its awesome!
I just might :)
I just love shopping at the duty free..you can find all those things that hardly sell in shopping mall… I am targeting the sunway pyramid for the sale! really can’t wait for it! \^0^/
Hey PinkD
I must agree with you – duty free stuff always seem so much cooler and fun. Hope you enjoy the sale.
Hi Paris,
I love love love the Dior palettes. I basically grew up with them as my dad would buy them for my mom. Nowadays my mom buys them herself.
So yea.. while in high school I toted around my mother’s Dior palette. I never thought much about it either. =P
I don’t get to travel much myself, so now I just take one of whatever my mom gets. =P
Hi Gloria
Lucky you to have your Mom’s Dior stuff! I don’t own a Dior travel palette yet. Perhaps now is a good time :)
hey i agree with you on that Dior thingy! it’s the best among all. those Shu ones look crap IMO. :P
Hi Jojoba
Yeah I’m still dithering over that Dior compact! LOL…
now i am interested in this Yves St Laurent French Manicure set, looks really funky! but given a choice, doubt i will purchase it, unless it is free!
Hi prettybeautiful
Yeah I was terribly fascinated by it! Maybe if someone you know travels you could drop a few hints ;)
I’m so wanting the Dior palette and ur EA ceramide mascara! I love the smooth texture of Dior and Shu Uemura also seems not bad… I’ve never tried Shu Uemura b4, somehow the colors never attract me much…
Hi Synaesthesia
Shu Uemura has very nice eyeshadows – I just can’t wear them. I used to like their bright colours – they had amazing pigment and staying power.
I love duty free shopping, who doesn’t? :D I always get skin care products from the airports when I’m on biz trips. I wait till “the time of the year” (flying home!) and use my Enrich Vouchers to buy cosmetics/perfume on the airplane.
Hi Amanda
I can’t agree with you more about enjoying duty free shopping! I usually just browse though – gone are the days of my higher end skincare.
I tested the YSL French Manucure today (it’s available in stores in Austria). I really, really like the white felt tip pen. It’s so much easier to get the white tip right with this pen. The light pink polish shade isn’t special, but I think I am going to buy the set just for the white felt tip pen. I wish some drugstore brand made this, too, as the set is 45 Euro here! :o Unfortunately I can’t comment und how well the polish lasts yet.
Hi Bastet
I’m so glad someone has tried the YSL manicure pen! I don’t have nail long enough for a french manicure but this sounds like an idiot-proof way of doing one if I ever get round to growing my nails :)
i want this dior set http://www.inskyshopping.com/item.php?item_id=51&category_id=5&ioffset=17&sort_column=i.is_new&sort_direction=DESC
but i’m worried that travel set might mean = poor quality
Hi Lyn
Generally, I’ve found that the sets are of decent quality. However, I don’t like big palettes because it can get a little bulky. See if you can test it at the airport before buying.
i have 1 Dior Travel Studio…..RM212!i love it so mach!!bought at KLIA Airport