My friend and I were wandering around Shoppers Drug Mart (Coal Harbour location in Downtown Vancouver), and we randomly walked inside the store and greeted by someone who told us they were having a “gala” event. You can pay $10 for a ticket which will get you $5 off your beauty purchase, $5 donated to charity, a free gift with any purchase, and a complimentary makeover. This sounded a lot of fun, because all the Shoppers I’ve been to in Richmond never does anything exciting.

Needless to say, I was hooked immediately. Hearing “makeover,” “gift,” and “$5 off” sold me- I could get a small item from the beauty purchase and not spend as much! (However, I am not sharing what I spent, if you want to know, PM me!)

Here’s a mini fact about me before I begin talking about my experience:
I avoid all eye contact with makeup counters in department stores (The Bay) because I find the people too pushy and they don’t really care unless you buy buy buy. The people at Sephora are either very busy with others, or immersed in their own little world. I’m too intimidated by these people! But everyone at Shoppers were very friendly! Also, it was quiet (since this Shoppers is located a bit out of the busy area) which meant less people, and more attention to YOU.

The experience:

I had my makeover done by a guy named Shane.  I felt bad because he was about to go on his break, but he was previously showing/describing Guerlain products to me and was very detailed. I waited until he was finished doing a makeover on another customer. And then, so begins my full face on makeover! I wanted everything!

He began cleansing and setting my face with Dior Micellar Cleanser, then Guerlain Super Aqua Toner and then Guerlain Super Aqua Serum.Hello, instant hydrated skin! To start on the face, he used Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Fluid Foundation in 02. Then, he used Guerlain meteorite pearls powder to give a nice soft glow for the face and to set the foundation to prevent it from melting. Afterwards, he used Guerlain Blush in 02 (Sunny Pink) for a nice rosy glow. To complete the blush, he also complemented it with Dior Shimmer Powder 001. I think the whole blush application took 5 minutes, with all the sweeping and buffing with Dior’s blush brush. Now I know I need to spend more time in making those cheekbones glow! When I stared at the mirror after all this, I was already amazed at the transformation.

Afterwards, Shane worked on the eyes. he used Dior 5 couleurs designer palette 508– a beautiful palette that includes a base, liner, and other shades of pink, rosewood, and a purpley-pink- taupe. It was gorgeous and I wished it was mine, but it’s not. He then used Dior waterproof liner Crayon 090 to line my eyes. Because I have naturally thick brows, he dabbed a bit of black shadow from Dior 3 couleurs smoky shadow 09. For mascara, I had Guerlain Noir 6 Mascara– that is smudgeproof, helps separate lashes, helps with curling, lengthening, and voluminzing.

Lastly, the lips! My lips were extremely dehydrated, because over an hour has passed since the beginning of the makeover, and I spent the whole day talking and walking with my friend in Downtown! To save those chapped lips, Shane dabbed some Dior Creme de Rose Lip Balm, and then he added a Guerlaine cream gloss which was my absolute favourite! The gloss was Guerlaine Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss 461. It is an absolutely beautiful rose shade- it was creamy and moisturizing. If I ever splurge on a Guerlaine product, it’s the first on my list.

image from Guerlaine

I was extremely happy with the final result, and this whole makeover experience took well over an hour. Shane was absolutely detailed in showing me and explaining the product, and I managed to pick up some tips too! And, I didn’t feel pressured to buy everything he used at all. And thank goodness at that, because this whole collection would’ve costed me close to $1000 I think, and I don’t think my paycheque could cover it. 🙁 But, hopefully in the future, I can go down the list and tick off some of them! 😀

Oh, how did I manage to remember every single item? He wrote it all down! Here it is for all of you to see!

The result:

And, this is how I look! I did notice smudging under my eyes, and I have a feeling its is the eyeliner. Pencil eyeliner does not work well with my hooded eyelids, no matter how good the brand is. 🙁

I think this is the most makeup I ever had on my face, and I’m not sure how often I would go out with it, but I was surprised how natural I still managed to look in the end! This first makeover experience was fun and I learnt lots of new things and I have a bunch of things on my I-wish-I-had-money-to-buy list! I feel like one of the girls on America’s Next Top Model or something. How I wish I could wake up everyday and look like I had a makeover!

I’m still in love with that Guerlain Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss! Even the name “kiss kiss” in it is adorable!

Oh- and the free gift with purchase was:

Thanks to everyone who read this LONG post and hope you enjoyed my first makeover journey at Shoppers Drug Mart!

What do you think of this look? 🙂 Has anyone used these products before? 

ETA: Omg! Shoppers Drug Marts called me and said I won one of the baskets in the raffle draw! First time I won anything EVER- September 15, 2012.

I’m so excited to try these! A full sized perfume, and other skincare products I never tried!