I had planned to sit out the Barneys fall beauty bag event in spite of the fact that I have really enjoyed and used the items in the past “gift with purchase” bags I received after making a significant fragrance or beauty purchase at Barney’s. But when I went to Boston to get my hair colored and cut, my colorist was wearing a new fragrance, and I asked her what it was. Odin 12, another gender neutral scent, the kind that appeals to me.
So I strolled over to Barneys and headed for the fragrance department. A nice sales associate, Jackie, came over to help me because the Odin fragrance testers were not out on the counter, but behind the counter on a shelf, boo. She brought over the bottle of Odin 12, and I sprayed some on my wrist and she sprayed some on a fragrance strip. She also suggested a number of other scents from other brands, and she sprayed me with all of them 🙄 Unfortunately, Barneys is stingy with fragrance samples to take home. The sales associates never offer a sample, so I probably should have asked her outright about giving me a sample of Odin 12 to try out. Just walking around the store for a few minutes wasn’t enough time to give the fragrance a chance to see how it would develop on my skin and how it would last. Plus, I had on so many scents at that point that I couldn’t tell which was which. However, I did ask her for a sample of Frederic Malle’s Musc Ravageur Body Butter, and she made one for me. I left without making a purchase. I thought I was “safe”, meaning I held strong against making a purchase 😉
The beauty bag event was supposed to end a week ago Sunday, but I guess they didn’t make their sales goals because it was extended by several days. Unfortunately, I got an email from Barneys alerting me to that fact. I caved, and I ended up ordering online and using Ebates for some cash back (though I’m rather ticked off that Barneys hasn’t confirmed my purchase via Ebates, so I am concerned that they may try to cheat me out of my $12+ rebate.) I bought the Musc Ravageur Body Butter that, though pricey, I will thoroughly enjoy layering with the eau de parfum this coming fall and winter.
I also picked up a Hourglass Mechanical Gel Eye Liner in the shade Meteorite.
I am always in the hunt for grey eyeliners, and I own several. MUFE XL Long-lasting Waterproof Eye Pencil in shade M14, a very dark charcoal, is the one I’ve been using for the past year. I love it, but the color is almost black and I wanted something lighter. I have an old Estee Lauder DoubleWear Stay-in-Place Eye Pencil in shade Graphite, a much lighter shade than the MUFE. Both of those pencils have to be sharpened with a pencil sharpener, and I’ve had them so long that they won’t last that much longer. The Hourglass is a mechanical pencil, and that appealed to me because I won’t have to sharpen it.
Meteorite is a nice medium grey shade.
It’s a breeze to apply to both the upper and lower lash lines, though it isn’t good on the waterline like MUFE is. It is definitely long wearing, and it stays put. Good purchase.
So let me show you the goodies I got in the Fall 2018 Barneys Beauty Bag. The bag itself is just clear plastic this time, but I’m pretty psyched about most of the stuff inside. The value of the samples in the bag is well over $200.
Fragrances
In the Fall Beauty Bag, I received 6 fragrance samples. Many of the samples are worth $10-16 each.
- spicy, rather masculine Byredo Eleventh Hour
- the perfect rose Une Rose from Frederic Malle
- beachy Mutiny from Maison Margiela
- gender neutral, classic Andromeda from Tiziana Terenzi
- flowery, feminine, spring-y Fleurs d’Oranger from Serge Lutens that I always wanted to try
- powdery, but deep and earthy Royal Earth from The Harmonist: my personal favorite. I adore this scent, and I would buy it in a heartbeat, but it is sooooo expensive. It’s only sold at Barneys and on The Harmonist website so there are no deals to be had. I will have to wait till the next Barneys Beauty Bag before taking the plunge.
Bath and Body
- Molton Brown bath/shower gels: I lucked out, I think, because I got two different scents in two different sizes: Rose Absolue Bath & Shower Gel 1 fl. oz. and Orange & Bergamot Body Wash 3.3 fl. oz. Not sure what the difference is between Molton Brown’s Body Wash and Bath & Shower Gel?
Skincare
- La Mer Eye Concentrate
- Rodin Olio Lusso Jasmine & Neroli
- 3Lab M Cream
- Zelens Hydro-Shiso Balancing Moisturizer
- Verso Day Cream
- YSL Youth Liberator Face and Neck
- Malin+Goetz Brightening Enzyme Mask
- Sisley Rose Infusion Cream
- Chantecaille Rose de Mai Cream
- By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder
Makeup
- NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil shade Let’s Go Crazy, bright raspberry
- Givenchy Gloss Interdit Révélateur in shade Noir/Black, a black purple: not quite sure about this, but I’m thinking I’ll try it over a bright red lipstick and see what happens
- Hourglass Extreme Lash Mascara
- Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation samples in 3 shades from Gucci Westman, MUA
- Koh Gen Do Cleansing SPA Water, my favorite!
Haircare
- David Mallett Mask No. 1 L’Hydration
- davines The Quick Fix Circle Multi-tasking Hair Mask
- Rene Furterer Karite Hydrating Shine Leave-In Cream
- SachaJuan Hair Repair
- Vitabrid Scalp Shampoo
I’m just a little disappointed in the makeup offerings. I think I already have the NARS Lip Pencil so I may give that away. And the black lipgloss, just why? I wish there was an eyeshadow or blush sample.
All in all, a lot of good stuff to try especially skincare, bath and body, and fragrance. If you missed the Fall Beauty Bag, the next one is in the spring, usually in April.
Have you ever been tempted by the Barneys Beauty Bag?
I am actually quite surprised that you did it given that you had decided to sit this one out. I went back and forth, and then I got busy at work and forgot about it– so I never made a purchase. Your purchases are lovely! I have that Hourglass Gel Liner in black, and love it!
I didn’t intend to, Helen, but I succumbed. You were probably wise to pass this time. Now I’m having a dilemma about The Harmonist Royal Earth fragrance that I discovered in my beauty bag. The sillage and lastingness is not that great, so I’m on the fence. But it’s such a lovely scent. Oh well.
I’ve been waiting to see what you got in this bag! Oooh, that body butter sounds heavenly. I’ve never understood why Molton Brown labels some products as shower gels and some as body washes! The formulation is alike! I haven’t tried those two, so you’ll have to tell us how they work for you, especially Orange and Bergamot. Good to see a NARS sample that isn’t an Orgasm/Laguna mini. Enjoy your goodies, and do review the ones that you try!
I have never even been in a Barney’s store so not temped at all!
barneys.com only a click away…. 😛
I don’t think I’ve ever been into a Barneys either, actually. Not that there’s one to visit anywhere near here anyhow. The closest location to here is the five hour drive to Chicago!
Rach, I am in Michigan and that would be closest to me too!
Barney’s, especially the main store in NYC, is a fabulous store. Their windows were renowned. The one in Boston isn’t quite as fabulous and it is smaller than the NYC store, of course, but their merchandise is wonderful. Their jewelry department especially makes me drool. I’ll bet the one in Chicago is nice. Barney’s Warehouse sale that may be twice a year online is really worth a look.
LOL, that’s probably a good thing, Sandy! Barneys in NYC is/was a legend. When I was a student, Barneys was on 7th Ave at 17th St. in an area that at that time wasn’t very cool at all. I had a well-to-do boyfriend back then who used to go to Barney’s for his suits that he had tailored for him and his Scottish ties. I thought it was quite grand. Then in the 1980s, Barney’s moved to midtown and became a cutting edge store with fabulous merchandise from emerging designers. Their windows were so creative. I used to enjoy going to Barneys though I didn’t buy a lot. The Boston store is smaller, but they carry luxury cosmetics and fragrances as well as jewelry that’s out of this world. I still don’t shop there a lot, but Barneys has a warehouse sale once or twice a year and it’s online too, and it is really worth a look. That’s when you can score some bargains!
That’s a lovely assortment, too bad you’ve already got the Nars pencil though. I love their Velvet Matte pencils but that colour would have to go in my giveaway pile too- not my shade at all, lol. Nice to know the new Byredo is spicy. I remember getting an email about it but I didn’t pay much attention, so now I’ll have to try it!
I half kicked myself for not waiting on my Chanel fall purchase until the Barneys bag came out but in reality that would have made me spend twice as much money on things that were not on my list. But you can bet if I was as close to the spend threshold as you were I would have added another lipstick to the cart and hit the checkout button. If you’re gonna drop that kind of cash you should definitely get the accompanying goody bag!
I will now forever be on the lookout for gwp offers including the Molton Brown travel sizes- glad you finally convinced me to try them! 😀
Although the Eleventh Hour by Byredo is spicy, it doesn’t work for me. If you get a chance to smell it, I’ll be curious about your reaction. BTW, I just saw something on FB today about scents that smell like fires, campfires etc. and I thought of you. Wish I could remember what site it was! You were right to just buy your Chanel goodies and not try to spend the $200 to get the Barney’s beauty bag. I did have to add in the Hourglass eyeliner, but that wasn’t too bad. It was a definite splurge to buy the Musc Ravageur body butter, but that scent truly is my fave. Now I’m on the fence about getting the Harmonist Royal Earth 50 ml refill that’s more affordable. A guy in a fragrance group on FB that I’m in said it wasn’t long lasting and that the village isn’t great. I’ve been using my little sample sparingly, and I found the same thing. I was thinking if I sprayed on more, maybe it would work better but I probably should just save my money. On a different topic, I’m glad that you are liking Molton Brown – I feel guilty being an enabler but for that brand, it is really worth it, and the bottle lasts me a long time – hope they will for you too!
I seriously thought about this but I knew I’d be buying just to get the gwp bag and now that I see it I know I wouldn’t use most of it. What you bought sounds perfect for you. I hope you can get a vial of the Odin12 next time you are in Barney’s.
This beauty bag really was made for scent lovers like me with 6 perfumes and 2 Molton Brown shower gels. You were wise to pass this time.
I don’t have a Barney’s anywhere near me and I wouldn’t use most of the samples but I’m glad you got what you needed and then some!
For a fragrance lover like me, with 6 perfume samples and two scents of Molton Brown that I haven’t tried before, it was a good one. I always discover something or things new in the Barney’s bag, like the scent I’m considering and the Gucci Westman Stick Foundation just so far. BTW, Barneys Warehouse Sale that happens twice a year is online and is definitely worth exploring.
I have discovered so many great products and brands (that I mostly can’t afford) through the Barney’s beauty bag. I am definitely having fun with them.
Why am I smiling w/ the stinginess, we don’t have Barney’s here but like you, I enjoy browsing fragrance aisle. That’s actually a generous GWP!
Barneys NY is a store that you would definitely love. Too bad there are still so few of them. The Barneys Warehouse Sale, an event that I think happens twice a year that is also online, is something you should check out. I’ll try to remember to post about it.
I really want to try the Molton brown body washes. I hear such amazing things about this brand.
We don’t have one of those so I’ve never been. Fun to see what you got!
We don’t have a Barney’s here (no shock in the midwest, lol) either, but I’d be tempted to snag a beauty bag if I were close! That hourglass liner looks awesome.
So many great samples! The Givenchy gloss is really pretty as it transforms on lips to be a sheer plummy shade.
Wow, that’s an impressive sample bag! The Orange & Bergamot body wash from Molton Brown is one of my favorites.
That’s quite the bag! Looks like a nice variety of products to try.
ooo I’d love to try the Vitabrid C shampoo sometime. I love Mail + Goetz
The Vitabrid C Shampoo is really good. I couldn’t wait to try it.