Thousands of shoppers lined up at the Oaks Mall Tuesday and Wednesday for beauty that, for once, didn't come at a price.
Residents flocked to Dillard's and Macy's, the only two department stores taking part in a national $175 million settlement that forced the stores to give away foundations, eye shadows, lipsticks, skin creams and moisturizers.
The stores involved in the settlement include Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus. They were accused of conspiring with cosmetics companies to fix prices.
On Tuesday each store began distributing one free item for each patron who claims to have purchased cosmetics between May 29, 1994 and July 16, 2003.
The freebies are distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis and include high-quality brands like Chanel, Christian Dior, Lancome, Givenchy and Calvin Klein.
Bert Ferrer, who works in the fragrances department at Macy's, said the store received thousands of calls Tuesday from interested consumers and attracted a line out the door.
Supplies went quickly and were gone by about 4 p.m. Wednesday.
"I'm just glad it's over," he said.
Danielle Sarno, beauty advisor at Dillard's, said Dillards had 2,983 products to hand out, and about 1,600 people came on Tuesday to stake their claim.
Customers chose between 22 products, including popular items like a Chanel Coco Mademoiselle body lotion, which usually costs about $50, and a Lancome mascara, which usually costs about $24.
By Wednesday afternoon, the line at Dillard's diminished to a steady trickle and two types of products were left.
Ashley Malphurs, a freshman at Santa Fe College, stopped by Dillard's Wednesday to claim her Clinique Moisture Surge.
Her mother told her about the freebies, so she decided to check it out, she said.
"I was just like, hey … free stuff," she said. "I'm going!"
