When patience is rewarded (AKA: My Ross haul)

There's a lot to be said for seeing something you want and buying it on the spot. It's fun to be spontaneous and sometimes you just deserve to treat yourself with a bit of instant gratification.

But sometimes, you can be greatly rewarded for having a bit of patience. Any bargain shopper will tell you that the key to the best deals is waiting. Waiting for a sale, waiting for a coupon, waiting for a clearance or, in this case, waiting for the things you want to end up at Ross.

Here are a few things I purchased at Ross over the weekend and I have patience to thank for these deals:

 Elizabeth Arden Pretty Hot eau de parfum

(Retail: $52; Ross price: $14.99. 1.7 oz)

I'm not usually a fan of Elizabeth Arden fragrances, but do you remember back in October of 2012 when Kohl's started selling the Candie's nail polish line? I went to Kohl's shortly after I posted about the Candie's line to check out the polishes in person, and naturally I made a stop at the fragrance counter to check out their wall-of-testers. That's when this pretty red bottle caught my eye. I instantly fell in deep "like" with this fragrance, but I obviously didn't like the price tag (the 1.7 oz bottle above retails for $52 at Kohl's, Ulta, etc.). 

But here's the thing--we all know that most Elizabeth Arden fragrances eventually find their way to Ross/Marshalls/TJ Maxx. So I told myself to make a mental note of this fragrance, wait several months, and start checking around. So when I went to Ross this weekend, I went straight to the fragrance shelves and lo and behold! I found ONE bottle of Pretty Hot on the bottom shelf, tucked behind the usual Paris Hilton and Mariah Carey fragrances. And it was $14.99. SCOOOOOOOOORE! 

Look at the pretty lid:

From the Elizabeth Arden website:

Fragrance Mood: Mesmerizing. Fearless. Sultry. Pretty Hot is a sultry fragrance of unmistakable confidence that exudes a sensuous, alluring warmth. 

Lush red fruits ignite a daring floralcy against the backdrop of smoldering amber and woods for a fragrance that turns up the heat. 

Latina Beauty Award Winner 2009 - Best New Fragrance 

KEY NOTES 

Top Notes: Red currant, Blood Orange, Juicy Mandarin, Freesia, Red Apple. Middle Notes: Red Peony, Belle de Nuit (Queen of the Night) Scentrek™, Pimento Blossom, Petalia,™ Georgywood.™ Dry down: Sensuous Amber, White Patchouli, Tonka Crystals, Sandalwood, Cosmone.™

And finally, I scored this: 

 Color Club Spring 2013 Fiesta Collection

(retail: $48 on the Color Club website; Ross price: $7.99)

We all know that Color Club collections show up at Ross/Marshalls/TJ Maxx quite often, but the Spring 2013 Fiesta Collection was one that I really, really wanted it first debuted (you know I love my cremes). But since I know that entire Color Club collections often show up at discount stores for about $8 (the price of one Color Club polish at some places) I told myself to just wait it out and hopefully, someday, I'd get lucky. And lucky I got!

Mamba, Flamingo, Wild Cactus

 Sunrise Canyon, Endless Summer, On The Rocks

Check out some swatches of this collection here. *Swoon*

So...are you patient when it comes to your beauty purchases? Do you wait and hope to get a good deal eventually, or do you tend to be a bit more impulsive?