Makeover takeover

MANILA, Philippines - A trip to the beauty section of a department store usually ends in two ways. For some, it means stepping out with a handful of swatches and a purse filled with product samples. When you’ve talked to the sales clerk long enough, they tend to give you small packets of products you really wanted to try. (Yes, even a small bottle of that expensive serum if you laugh at all her jokes.) But let’s be honest. While samples are there for a lot of good reasons (read: testing if you’re allergic, matching with your skin tone, shamelessly retouching our lipstick after eating a burger), we can’t survive by hauling freebies alone. (Just kidding, we can but we don’t want them to know that.)

For others, a trip to the beauty department means business. It’s coming in with the goal of investing in skincare but also going home with more products than what you intended to buy and an even longer credit card bill. The struggle — and guilt — is real, my friends.

But last Sept. 3-4, everyone was schooled in style at Belle de Jour’s Luxe Camp: Discover Beauty Around the World. The Palm Grove in Rockwell Club was transformed into a beauty department where young girls and grown ups alike bonded over items from brands like Shiseido, Guerlain and Elizabeth Arden. If there’s one thing we like more than free samples, it’s anything that is on sale. Lucky for us, every item was sold at a discounted price. There were even makeover stations with professional makeup artists that helped us try out the products.

But after endlessly debating whether to get a red lippie or a pink one, we felt like we deserved a little more pampering. Thankfully, there was a hand massage station by Elizabeth Arden and a signature facial station by Shiseido. And as if that wasn’t enough, your usual over-the-counter consultations just got a little bit better with a full tutorial from beauty expert Charmagne Garcia-Laconico. Some of the other workshops included perfecting skin routines and achieving that day-to-night look. The beauty-filled weekend taught us that there’s more to building a beauty routine than just fearing our credit card bills or leeching free samples. We can actually be pretty smart about it and not be a hoarder if we know more about the things we spend on.

After experiencing Belle de Jour’s Luxe Camp, trips to the beauty section will never be the same again.

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Visit www.bdjbox.com for more info.