Everyone loves a bargain, especially me! What is a girl to do, when the media bombard her with tons of advertisement of beauty products ranging from cosmetics to skincare from different companies? There will be the typical consumer range such as L’Oreal, Maybeline and Nivea, and there are also upscale range that cost a lot more such as Stila, Bobby Brown, Lancôme and Estee Lauder.

A normal college student or a yuppie (young professional) that just started working would most probably be not able to afford these much nicer upscale brands. So when there is this thing called “warehouse sale”, ears would perk up everywhere. The prices of these ranges would drop and are comparably cheaper to the market price.

These warehouse sales would usually pop out of nowhere, and in a short notice. One would need to get ready and be prepared for bargain hunting. Yes, during the sale, you HAVE to be dressed up with appropriate gear.

Firstly, you have to wear comfortable and presentable clothes. Jeans, cargo pants and even sweat pants is most appropriate along with a baby-T. Do not wear clothes such a flare/miniskirts with frilly blouse and chunky jewelry. Sneakers or any closed-toes shoes would be highly recommended as well.

This is because, the women you normally see in cafes or shopping mall would turn into wild cats in these sales. Everyone and I mean EVERY SINGLE one of them would push and shove to get the best bargains. It would definitely be an eye opener to newcomers who attend these cosmetics/skincare warehouse sales, witnessing how proper ladies turn into savage beast scrambling for anything that looks nice.

Another useful tip: be there early! If possible, even before the door opens. The more popular brands, such as Stila and M.A.C would have people lining up outside the door before 7am, even when the flyer printed the opening time is at 9.30 am. This is to ensure that you get in first, and get first priority in grabbing the goodies. If you can’t be there early, and can only reach there after lunch hour, or the second day, then might as well not go because there won’t be anything remotely nice left.

Can’t imagine that? I went for the Stila warehouse sale, and was one of the first batches who got it at 8plus am. By 11am, people were trying to grab the stuff in MY carrier bag for the really cute things that I grabbed earlier. It IS that bad. But you can’t blame a girl for desiring, can you? A Stila Lip Glaze which would normally cost RM65 for a small tube in the departmental store near you, would cost only RM60 for 3 tubes at the sale! Another really good bargain I got was Bobbi Brown’s Liquid Foundation for a mere RM30, when it actually costs RM135 at normal price!

Do keep updated for these sales, and I usually check for it at:

1. Promotions and Sales in Malaysia (http://promotionsandsalesinmalaysia.blogspot.com/)
2. Shopping and Sales (http://shoppingnsales.blogspot.com/)

One would think that all these hassles and effort are not worth of the cosmetics and skincare. However, after you get such great bargains and low prices, you can’t help it but to walk out of the place, hands full of products with a grin on your faces, thinking how much you saved!

Last 5 posts by Elaine Loke

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