By coincidence, Sephora sent me their V.I.B. discount coupon for the weekend that I would be in Buffalo. 20% off + US retail prices + lower retail tax? Yes, please! My haul includes:
Urban Decay Naked Palette
NARS Blush in Super Orgasm and Oasis; Fresh Sugar Lip Balm in Passion and Plum
Nails Inc. London Magnetic Polish in Trafalgar Square and Houses of Parliament, and Special Effects 3D Glitter Polish in Bloomsbury Square and Connaught Square
Fresh Sugar Lemon Body Lotion, Soy Shampoo, Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum; and Philosophy Happy Birthday, Beautiful! Shower Gel (free VIB birthday gift!)
I would have bought more, but I didn't want to risk bringing too many things over the border. However, I finally succumbed and bought Urban Decay's Naked Palette as well as the much-hyped magnetic polishes by Nails Inc. London, and then just stocked up on my favourites. I'm glad I ended up using the 20% off coupon in the States, because there's quite a difference between the retail prices even though our dollars are nearly on par.
Cape of Good Hope by Claude Dir and Taverns & The Hague by Caroline Sabas Eau de Parfum
I also went into Anthropologie to take a look around, and while the clothing never really appeals to me (it's a little too... hippie-boho for me), I do enjoy their gift and beauty sections for more unique items in pretty packaging (always in pretty packaging). What caught my eye this time was their "A Rather Novel Collection" perfumes. It's a series of six scents created specifically for Anthropologie by five perfumers. Each fragrance was inspired by a different flavour of tea from six different locales. They're housed in gorgeous boxes designed to look like hardcover novels, and each fragrance is named after the tea's place of origin. After much sniffing and spraying on the skin, I decided on two scents. Cape of Good Hope by Claude Dir is a floral scent with "a steeped blend of red tea leaves and lemon, gardenia petals and musk," and Taverns & The Hague by Caroline Sabas is a fresh scent with "exotic Oolong spiked with mandarin and lemon zest, violet leaves and rich musk." Beautiful. And the boxes? Look so pretty lined up on a shelf.
Method hand wash!
Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus and Red Dahlia
Proving that I can't go anywhere out of the city without buying a new mug, I bought two super-cute Momiji + Hello Kitty ones, as well as knitted fair isle gloves (with moose!) with super warm, fuzzy lining from Urban Outfitters. And then we hit up Target to stock up on some random things, mostly snacks and drinks that we can't get here (like Simply Limeade, which is one of the best drinks, ever)... as well as six bottles of Method Hand Wash that I haven't seen here and those Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balms that everyone's been raving about. Oh, man, I cannot wait until Target opens up next year.
I am so lemming those Special Effects 3D polishes, especially that Connaught Square one...is that purple and blue glitter?! <3
ReplyDeleteAnd I have to say, I'm not a fan of Cdn Sephora. The prices are riduculous!! With the exception of the good service and variety of brands, I'd rather go to Shoppers these days. But I just LOVE the US Sephoras. Such better prices. :(
Yes, it most certainly is purple and blue glitter! :D I will do a swatch soon! Did you end up getting MAC's Unconditionally Fabulous?
ReplyDeleteUS Sephoras also seem to carry way more brands than we do here! I agree with the prices, though. There is a whopping $10 difference for the Naked Palette! How ridiculous is that? Some other items, like the NARS Blushes, only have a $2 difference, but hey, grab it cheaper when you can, right? At least I got to take advantage of the 20% discount coupon they sent me!
Ah, I would love to see your opinion of the Naked palette! Everything looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, you got awesome deals!! I'm jealous of US prices too. They also put up flash sales online that aren't available to us at all. NOT FAIR.
ReplyDeleteI love Fresh. We also need a Fresh boutique in the city.
You'd think I did enough shopping but looking at your post makes me want to haul again!
You got the palette!!! How is it?
ReplyDeleteI totally thought you referred to Anthropologie's style as "hippie-hobo"! LOL I love that those boxes almost look like book spines!
I almost never shop for clothes here any more. I'd love to support the local businesses and, erm, you know stimulate the economy. But it's almost like the government doesn't want my money with the insane taxes we pay and unfair price mark-ups (damn those tariffs)!
Dire -- Hi! Thanks for commenting! I will do a Naked Palette review soon. :)
ReplyDeleteLiz -- What flash sales?! I loooooove Fresh. I know the boutiques offer the full line and spa-type services like body treatments and the such. I've been to the one in NYC and they're gorgeous! And Liz, I bet you're gonna get tempted by one of the MAC collections coming out before the new year... ;)
Mary -- Yesssss, I finally got the palette. I will do a review soon, but let's just put it this way: it's worth the hype. LOL, Anthropologie could be soon as hobo-esque, actually, not gonna lie... But yeah, the perfume boxes are meant to look like novels. Pretty cool, eh? I do still buy some clothing here (mostly at Aritzia, actually), but I actually do most of my shopping online... :P And I know we pay a lot of taxes, but it does go towards free highways (except 407) and free healthcare, etc. There's really no winning!
hey they have method handwash at shoppers! and i cannot wait for target to open too!
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous -- I know they sell them at Shoppers (lol, I pretty much have every single one from there), but they don't get the limited edition scents that only America seems to get! :( But maybe when Target opens, they'll bring all that fun stuff with them (and all the cosmetics lines with them, like Pixi, NP Napoleon Perdis, Sonia Kashiuk, etc.)! :D
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