Friday, September 24

Marketing Gimmicks

I am a complete sucker for Neiman Marcus Beauty Events. They always have the best samples put together in a cute tote and I just can't resist :) Well, this time around I was in bad need of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer anyway (Fred Segal has been out of these for weeks now) so I decided to check out the NM site. They're having their Fall giveaway so I took advantage! (Or did they take advantage of me...)

The deal is... buy $85 worth of beauty and get free shipping and the Fall gift:

• FRESH Sugar Blossom Hand Cream
• PAUL SMITH London for Women for Men Eau de Toilette
• NATURA BISSÉ Inhibit-Dermafill
• DARPHIN PARIS Purifying Balm
• PRADA Eau de Parfum
• LAURA MERCIER Eye Basics in Linen
• FRÉDÉRIC FEKKAI Glossing Cream Shampoo and Conditioner
• MOLTON BROWN Invigorating Suma Ginseng Bath & Shower Gel
• ORLANE PARIS Pure Jeunesse
• KIEHL'S SINCE 1851 Ultimate Strength Hand Salve
• LANCÔME PARIS mascara

They always happen to be items I want to try anyway... like the Prada perfume or the Kiehl's hand salve.

But then, they also have a special beauty offer with Laura Mercier where if you buy $100 worth of Laura Mercier, they give you this gift:

• Full-size Eye Colour
• Mini Lip Colour in Amaretto
• Mini Primer
• Mint Leaf Gel Body Wash

So, you can essentially spend $100 in Laura Mercier and take home both gifts with free shipping! :)

Of course, there is a sneaky side to all of this. You can't really piece together a shopping cart of exactly $100 in items you want. I absolutely needed the tinted moisturizer ($38) and a regular moisturizer ($38) so I had $24 to fill and the items I wanted were Lip Silk ($18) but then I was missing $6. I could have gotten the bronzer for $30 but then I'd go over AND I don't really need a bronzer. I decided to shell out $35 for the eyedration cream since it's an anti-puffy anti-dark circles cream and, well, being the big cry baby I am, puffy eyes are pretty regular :)

So... Neiman Marcus got a few extra dollars from me (I guess if you really count it that way, they got an extra $73 since I originally planned on buying just the tinted moisturizer) but I am walking away with 2 more products and 2 bundles of gifts. We both win right?

I can't wait for my goodies to come.