Never Can Say Goodbye: This Month's Clearance List

And so the economic downturn begins, with a look at the online sale racks and clearance bins at your favorite beauty stores....

Sephora: There really is a couple of schaedenfreude-licious entries here, like the No!No! and SkinFusion (although I'll admit that I've got my eye on this set, and I'm hoping against hope that it's still available when my tax refund rolls in). I'm also sad about all the Vincent Longo stuff here, although I'm probably just hoping that it's just a matter of the brand moving, to, say, Ulta or Bath and Body Works instead, and not because the company itself is losing money. Otherwise, there are good deals to be had here, especially when it comes to the sets for makeup and body products. Also, get those on10 lip balms while you can; it's the perfect combination of scent, flavor, SPF and price.

MAC: Website redesign notwithstanding, the Featured Goodbyes are a good place to look at a few things you may have missed from the last, oh, ten billion color collections they've issued last year. Yes, it's a pity that they're still selling the regular stuff at regular price (standard practice, I realized, after looking at the bye-bye lists at other department-store brand sites), but if you're the kind of person who did find the most perfect shade of eyeshadow ever but couldn't come back to the store for it, this is always a good place to start. There's also a feature where you can plug in the name of your fave now-discontinued MAC product and check out their recommendations; it's not as accurate as, say, doing a search on Specktra, but it's a good start.

Bath and Body Works: Here's a confession - I like going to the clearance bins at the actual B&BW stores because I always find better deals there than I would online. Unfortunately, since there's no Mainland trip in the future (unless I'm crazy enough to convince my sister to pay extra for a suitcase containing nothing but Bath and Body Swag), I'll have to content myself with sifting through the online sales and clearance bins. Take this page, for example: Some of the stuff are cheesy leftovers from the holidays, and the lipglosses - with the exception of the Bigelow Mentha stuff, of course - leave much to be desired... but just mention the words "Japanese Cherry Blossom" and "Velvet Tuberose" to me, and I'll start raving like a madwoman. Since I'm also easily amused, I find myself drawn to the Lippmann Collection nailpolishes, especially Stop and Stare (what, no "Apologize"?) and Shut Up and Drive (very Rihanna-ish, dontcha think?). Also: lambs!