Real You: When a free gift looks cheap
One of the guilty pleasures of cosmetics shopping is the gift with purchase, which has been luring us into retail stores since the beginning of time. I remember the good old days when the gifts were amazing: real leather totes; a full assortment of real-sized cosmetics; or a simple, but classy, special compact. And while I realize it is the time of cut-backs, the lipstick economy is stronger than ever. Attempting to tap into that small splurge mentality is Clinique, with the buy something for $5 and get the gift above. Sure, the gifts looked cool when they were all stacked up everywhere around the counter: happy purple-sided glossy boxes, an interesting design on the front panel and on the back, a glamour shot of three products included inside. Caught my eye, and created a purchase. But. When I arrived home and opened my box, [...]