Duty Free Makeup Addiction

I have an addiction to duty free shops in airports. I find it next to impossible to walk by without a quick look, even if it means dragging an unwilling 5 year old in with me. The thrill of all those travel sized , multi-buy and travel exclusive packs are what gets me. Purchases made at this time are usually done so in a rush. I totally blank out and suddenly can't remember what I already have and what I need, which is in fact nothing. If I try to be systematic and go in armed with a list, inevitably what I want is not there and once again I drift aimlessly, yet in total time restricted panic ... and I usually come away with lipsticks. Lots of lipsticks.

Behold Guerlain's Rouge Automatique lipsticks which are cap free meaning you can apply with one hand! Genius.

My trip home from Dubrovnik last weekend included a typical stint of duty free shopping before my flight. Stalking the aisles in confused panic lead me to come away with a box of 3 Guerlain lipsticks, none of which were actually needed, and a 'Clinique to go' pack which includes a powder compact and lipstick which is a duty free exclusive!

Superpowder Double Face Powder in 02 matte beige

Long last lipstick in 12 'Blushing Nude' 

Clinique do such a good job of multi-packing products and making it seem totally reasonable to buy 3 mascaras at the one time. The other brand who wins packaging awards is YSL. Have you seen their travel eyeshadow sets which come in a reusable hot pink wallet? Gorgeous!

Armed with my goodies I sauntered back to the lounge feeling satisfied and completely able to shrug off the raised eyebrows directed at me by my husband. Job done. May she who has the most lipsticks win!

Can we just take a moment to admire Guerlain's Coque D'or lipstick? Sparkly perfection in a tube.

Duty Free Bits n Pieces ….

So I managed to pick up a few 'essentials' as I departed London for Sydney last week. Ok, there was actually nothing essential about what I bought, but I was about to embark on 24 hours of hellish torture so I needed a little something-something. 

Tom Ford Lipstick in 'Indian Rose'  - oh mother, this is good. It is as close to my beloved MAC Cosmo lipstick as I can find except the price is substantially steeper and the packaging is more luxe.  It is a gorgeous rose shade like my lips only better and I love it in all it's beautifully packaged glory. 

The duty-free price of this was £30.60. Tom Ford cosmetics are sold in David Jones in Australia. Unfortunately they don't list prices on their website so i'm unable to link it for you.

Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in Lavish Lilac - purple is definitely the new brown for me and I would encourage any green-eyed girls to try it if you haven't already. Purple tones really bring out the green in your eyes, and as weird as this sounds, many of the ones I have discovered have a brown undertone so they just work. It is very sheer so perfect on its own for daytime, and for a night look I ramp it up a little by adding some deeper purple powder shadow in the crease. 

The duty-free price of this was £14.15 and you can find this product here in Australia for $35.00.

I also repurchased the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara which I tried earlier this year. What sets this mascara apart from the others for me is it's incredibly fine applicator which makes coating each and every lash ultra-easy. 

The duty-free price of this was £14.15 and you can find this product here in Australia for $38.00.

I've gone cold turkey on the makeup purchasing front while i'm in Sydney. Even an obsessive like me can't justify the crazy prices over here.