a yen for style.

it's neiman marcus beauty event time!

i am a sucker for gifts with purchases. it is is my vice; my sickness; my addiction. i have made some pretty stupid purchases just to get the impractical gifts with purchase. the sickness goes even deeper when it comes to gifts of sample sizes of makeup, body and skin products that i will save in my box o' samples, but never get around to using. i just hope that this isn't a foreshadowing for a sad future where i save everything from emtpy toilet paper rolls to dust bunnies and old t.v. guides.

since i love getting free cosmetics i will never use, i really look forward to the neiman marcus beauty events that they have a few times a year. not only do i get products that will probably go rancid before they are opened, i get a bag that is actually not too horrendous to use in a public setting. while i won't be seen carrying them like a handbag, i like to use them to carry lunch, transport small jewelry orders from point A to point B, etc. this time around the bag is a pewter colored tote. some of the great samples i won't use include some estee lauder mascara (i prefer shu uemura), prada perfume that i will never buy since my last prada perfume evaporated completely, laura mercier lipstick in a color that i am sure that looks good on 5% of the population and some other goodies. while this event is pretty darned glorious, the only downside is that now i live in a location that doesn't have a neiman marcus locally (moment of silence, please). usually the bags have additional coupons for free gifts that are redeemable when bringing the certificate to one of the counters in the store. it isn't shabby stuff either. once there was an offer for a free jay strongwater purse mirror, complete with the designer's signature enamel and crystal adornments. it is bittersweet, indeed.

so, if you are local to a neiman marcus, get there now with your amex or neiman marcus card, or a crisp $100 bill (bring some extra for sales tax), so you can not only get your bag but redeem any certificates in them before the goods run out (and they will run out fast, if not gone already). if you are like i, get any of your major credit cards ready and go to the neiman marcus website and get to shopping!