When the pinstriped giant awoke

As every Jane and Jeanette whooped and cheered the grand opening of Sephora on Pitt Street, complete with free ice cream and all sorts of pinstriped festivities for the unyielding queue of ladies (and gents).. something else was happening in town. You see, when Sephora arrived on Aussie shores with its promises of price equality with the USA, it was setting a bar for department store giants Myer and David Jones. For existing brands including M.A.C., Clinique etc., the prices will remain on par with local prices but for newly introduced brands, it will be at the American price.

And so, for those of you with keen eyes, you may have noticed an influx of promotions and exclusive deals on beauty and cosmetics in the department stores. That was them doing something about Sephora's entry into Australia.

From today's BenefitXMessina gelato pop-up store to the new beauty clubs and brow bars set up, Sydney-siders with a love for beauty are sure having a ball!

One of the deals I cashed in on was Benefit's #LinerSwap. Essentially that involved bringing in any old eyeliner and swapping it for their new 'They're Real Liner!'. The service was lovely in that they showed you how to use the liner (squeeze it up the tube), and they also applied it on you (using the marker-like tip).The photo below doesn't do it justice (ignore my clumpy mascara). I don't know how to take make-up selfies. The general result was that it was easy to apply close to the lashline and good, quick cosmetics for sedentary people like me though a little on the dry side.Anyways, that's all from me before I head down to camp in Canberra for NTE (National Training Event). Afterwards, I'll be heading out on a short term mission with Campus Bible Study to work in partnership with churches to help with their Christmas events. So.. see you in a few weeks, more rugged, bright-eyed and scot-free of cosmetics.Until next time!