KUNG HEI FAT CHOY + A PACKAGING QUESTION
Lucky Rooster wallpaper art by Victo Ngai
If you celebrate Chinese New Year, chances are you finished all your good-luck shopping days ago. For those of us who don't really celebrate the lunar new year, I'm thinking about leftovers...
In makeup-and-skincare world, there was a selection of big-name brand items available with commemorative packaging, such as a brightening pressed powder from Giorgio Armani, a compact from Yves Saint Laurent, and a specially edited eye-shadow palette from MAC in a festive and flocked Chinese New Year box.
A selection of makeup and skin care offered as Chinese New Year 2017 editions
Estee Lauder released a limited-edition red bottle of Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II in honour of Year of the Rooster; Guerlain offered up a red-boxed Abeille Royale Face Treatment Oil and a beautiful limited-edition Rouge G lipstick in a peony-splashed case.
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair in Chinese New Year dress.
Now, when it comes to special-edition packaging (as in the actual bottle or compact or jar, vs just a themed box), often there are leftovers after the related event or day has passed. I like this Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II Chinese New Year edition ($118 CAD at thebay.com and $95 USD at nordstrom.com). If I had to re-stock next week and was offered the option of this bottle instead of the standard version, I'd choose this one, even though I don't really celebrate Chinese New Year. It's a pretty red!
What about you? If you're about to re-purchase a staple, and are offered a choice between the usual packaging and limited-edition packaging from an occasion that has already passed, what would you choose?
Worth considering: A red bottle of Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair might do very nicely as a Valentine's gift...
Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in 28 Genna, housed in limited-edition Chinese New Year 2017 packaging.
... and what about this gorgeous thing? A vibrant orange-red lipstick laced with mango butter and hyaluronic acid spheres, this is a limited-edition Chinese-New-Year-2017-collectable Rouge G Lipstick in 28 Genna ($60 CAD at thebay.com). If your sweetheart bought this as your Valentine's Day present, would it matter that it's a leftover from Chinese New Year merchandise?
Guerlain Rouge G lipstick in 28 Genna
I asked a friend: This beautiful, $60-lipstick is in limited-edition lunar-new-year packaging. Would it bother you if your man were to buy this for you for Valentine's Day instead?
Her answer: $60?? I wouldn't want him to spend that much on a lipstick, no matter how fancy!
Thoughts? About packaging leftovers? And how much is too much for your Valentine to spend on a beauty gift for you?
