My boyfriend's going to the Bahamas and I demand duty free goodies! But what to get?

[littlepickle]

Hey everybody - my boyfriend is 90% sure he is going to the Bahamas for business for 3 whole months starting March. This is a big deal for him

and also for me! Aside from how proud I am of him, this means massive dutyfree opportunity! He may be going over to New York at some point too

So as he is missing my 21st during this expedition, I have told him he can make it up to me in make up. In New Zealand we can't get (or it is very difficult to get) quite a few brands ie. Make Up Forever, Bourjois, MAC (can get but you have to travel for it!), any Sephora specific stuff (most New Zealanders haven't heard of Sephora!). I'm going to make him an illustrated list which will be as thorough as I can manage (product name + code, picture of it, where to buy) and I would love your help! I'd love to sample some of the brands we can't get here and I always want MAC!

Here are my top 3 brands: MAC, Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior

Can you reccommend absolutely ANY must haves? Any links would be awesome too. I'm dying to try both Bourjois and Make Up Forever and of course there are a tonne of brands available to you guys I haven't even heard of! Thanks everyone in advance

I don't have a MAC foundation number, but I use Revlon Custom Creations Fair/Light on the lightest click for my pale skin. I love pin up girl style - winged eyeliner, rosy cheeks, red lips. I'm also a big fan of a bright lip or a bright eye - I don't really do nudes except to counteract a bright lip. I do smokey eyes pretty rarely. I have green eyes and dark blonde hair which I dye red but occassionally try and go back to! If this helps in any colour recommendations, yay

 

[anita22]

Haha, we have much in common... I'm also a Kiwi (though I'm in the UK right now) and my husband is also travelling right now, so I have also given him a duty-free shopping list!

In terms of what he will atcually find in duty-free on the way to Bahamas / New York, it will most likely just be the more mainstream brands like MAC, Dior, Bobbi Brown, etc. I think there might be a few airports in the US that have Sephoras (and will stock NARS, MUFE, etc) but you might be best off sending him to an actual Sephora store if there isn't one at any of his stops. In any case, it will still be a heck of a lot cheaper than it is in NZ, even if it's not duty free.

In terms of brands and products, I would try to minimise buying things like foundation, concealer etc unless you can test out the colours in NZ, since you won't be able to return anything. But here are my suggestions:

Duty Free

• Travel palettes from Dior or Chanel (there is currently a Chanel one called "Romantic Destination" that is very pretty!).
• Dior or Chanel's spring collections... both droolworthy, especially all of the eyeshadow palettes. I've asked hubby for the Dior Coquette quad, and already have the Pearl Glow palette from this collection, it's stunning.
• MAC - Brushes. For some reason, when they jack up the prices on MAC in New Zealand, they seem to add the most margin onto brushes, more than any other product. Grab 'em while you can!
• Bobbi Brown - Gel eyeliners, palettes, cream blushes

Sephora

• Stila - value sets (as listed on Sephora), convertible colours, lip glazes, eyeshadows. If you live near a Mecca Cosmetica (Auckland/Wgtn) then you can check out the colours in advance
• NARS - Blushes (Orgasm being the general favourite, but Deep Throat is an equally nice shade that works on most people)
• MUFE - eyeshadows, eyeliner pencils, HD powder. If you do feel like taking a stab at ordering face products, I LOVE the HD concealer pen! Highly recommend.
• Sephora own label brand - I find this a bit hit and miss but I like the "Flashy" eyeliner pencils
• Urban Decay - Alice in Wonderland palette (if it's still in stock!), 24/7 eyeliner pencils, eyeshadow primer potion

If he also has the chance to visit a Target in the US, definitely send him to pick up some ELF Studio products, especially brushes (Makeup and Cosmetics | Shop Eyes Lips Face) and mineral eyeshadow primer. It's all dirt cheap!

I'm not sure if Bourjois is sold in the US as it seems to be primarily in Europe, but maybe someone else can answer that one!

I hope that helps!

 

[littlepickle]

Hi,

Thank you so much! That is a huge help

That gives me lots of ideas to start on my list. Great advice about the foundation too - my boyfriend's sister is a MAC user and says she thinks I'd be an NC20 but it's probably better not to risk it.

 

[ashley8119]

We have a similar style (red hair, both love the pin up look) so here are some of my favorites:

I agree with the NARS rec from Sephora, particularly Orgasm blush and since you like red lips, Bloodwork lipgloss! It's what I'm wearing in my profile/avatar! I love it, so I highly recommend it!

As far as MAC goes, definitely Blacktrack fluidline! This eyeliner changed my life! "Pink Swoon" and "Dollymix" are gorgeous M.A.C blushes! And of course, a red M.A.C lipstick. There are so many to choose from, "Ruby Woo" and "Russian Red" are both beautiful blue-reds. I also like to do the pin-up look with a different bold lip, like M.A.C lipstick in "Girl About Town"!

 

[littlepickle]

Okay girls, here's what I've got on the list so far. Thanks for all your suggestions, still open to more

• Benefit Beauty to Go Bestsellers
• Too Faced Liquif-Eye Liner
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• Yves Saint Laurent Palette Y-Mail
• Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte #17 Red Muse
• Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils Mascara in 01 High Density Black
• The Best of Make Up Forever Set
• MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Ruby Woo
• NARS Bloodwork Lipgloss
• MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
• Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette
• NARS Blush in Orgasm

Need to have another look at the MAC site and covet some more

Also UD

 

[panda0410]

Ooooh duty free!!! nice opp to get a few fragrances - well I would anyway...ROFL!

 

[littlepickle]

Heehee, tempting but the boyfriend's one of those 'every scent hurts my nose!' types - so I very rarely wear fragrance. Wish I could wear it more though.

 

[girloflowers]

those urban decay 24/7 liners are meant to be amazing- i'd give a few pairs of shoes to be able to try them!!

also, i'm in australia and we get bourjois here... if you get really desperate pop me a message and i might be able to send you some!

 

[littlepickle]

Thanks girloflowers! One of my best friends lives in Aus and is coming over for my 21st this year, I think she's bringing some over for me. It's official, he's got it. Gonna update my list some more