Ah, finally, my September haul post! Which is basically my NYC trip haul post because all my purchases in September were from NYC, but I've been ridiculously busy since coming back from that trip, so I haven't been able to post this earlier. I really had only one rule when shopping in NYC, and that was: only buy things that are unavailable in Canada. The Canadian dollar is depressingly low right now, and most things are actually cheaper to buy here than in the US, even with their lower retail price and lower retail tax. This meant that for the first time, ever, I didn't buy anything from Sephora on a trip to NYC (!). But don't worry, I totally made up for it.
Fresh Love Eau de Parfum and Honeysuckle Eau de Parfum
Fresh Oval Soaps in Waterlily and Freesia
Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments in Plum and Passion
The first purchase I made in NYC was from the Fresh boutique in West Village (after lunch at The Spotted Pig, in fact). Yes, I know that Fresh is available in Canada through Sephora, but I have found that the freestanding stores (that don't exist in Canada) carry some products that we don't get, so I decided to see if they had anything new. I discovered that they added a few new perfumes this year that are exclusive to their stores, and ended up loving two of them: Love (notes: bergamot, red currant, mango blossom, tiare, jasmine) and Honeysuckle (notes: ylang ylang, black currant, golden peach, French honeysuckle, jasmine sambac). I usually go for more citrusy scents, like my beloved Sugar Lychee, but I felt like something a little more floral and more sophisticated for fall this year. Along with Cucumber Baie and Pear Cassis (which I picked up a couple years ago), Love is one of the perfumes that they have to distill in store for you (which is why it's not available online), so I got a 30ml bottle of that, plus a 100ml bottle of Honeysuckle 'cause it's great for layering. I also picked up two of their big shea butter Oval Soaps in Waterlily and Freesia, both of which I haven't seen at any of the Sephora stores here, and because both my mom and I spent over $100 each, they gave us two free tubes of their Sugar Lip Treatment in Plum and Passion (my mom gave me hers, 'cause she doesn't go anywhere near red shades for her lips, even if they're sheer).
Sabon Shower Oil in Rose Tea and Delicate Jasmine
You might remember me going a little crazy at Sabon earlier this year and raving about how great their products were and how fantastic my experience was in the Soho location. As we were already in Soho waiting for an open time slot at Bite Beauty Lip Lab, I decided to make a quick stop in there. Despite wanting to pick up about a hundred things, I had to be realistic because their glass packaging is heavy and we only had so much luggage space (and again, our dollar is so shitty right now that everything is much more expensive than it was in better economic times). So I left everything except for a couple bottles of their Shower Oil, which are my favourite Sabon product. I got one in Delicate Jasmine (again, because I love it so much) and Rose Tea, which I swear they didn't have last time because I smelled every single one of them in February and I would've snatched it up back then. Guys, if you ever go into a Sabon store, you must try the Shower Oil (they offer you a hand wash the moment you walk in). They are beautifully scented, gorgeously foamy, and amazingly skin softening, and I now consider them cold weather essentials.
Bite Beauty Lip Lab Custom Lipstick
After our Sabon detour, it was time for our appointment at Bite Beauty Lip Lab. You can read about my first experience of going there in February, and I had such an amazing time that I knew I needed to go again. The girl that helped me this time (I think she's a manager there) actually recognized me from having gone there with Austin seven month earlier, and we immediately bonded. There was a specific colour I actually had in mind going in, a cross between MAC's Viva Glam II and Faux (two of my most used colours of all time, making a kind of nude-ish pink that leans a bit mauve but not too cool), with full colour pay-off, and a demi-matte finish. She was spot-on with it. My mom originally wasn't going to get one, but then got intrigued after I made mine, so she got one as well, a semi-opaque brownish plum that she can wear everyday. After the girl made our moulds, she poured the rest of our colours into little pots for us so we could use it with a brush or mix it with other colours or lip balm. She said they don't normally give this out (and I didn't get an extra pot of my lipstick colour last time I went in there), but she liked us and didn't want the rest of the colour to go to waste. Again, to all lipstick fanatics: if you are in NYC, you must stop by Bite Beauty Lip Lab. It's an amazingly fun, unique experience, and you won't regret it.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Illuminator in Starlight, So Hollywood, Riviera, and Peach Nectar
Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadows in Pink Champagne, Dusty Rose, Rose, and Truffle
Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadows in Glisten, Birkin, Fresh Peach, and Copper Shimmer
Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadows in China Rose, Burnt Orange Matte, Wine, and Sangria
Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadows in Metal, Truffle Glitter, Dragonfly, and Rosette
I made a trip to Macy's Herald Square specifically to check out the Anastasia Beverly Hills kiosk because, for whatever reason, Sephora only carries a small selection of ABH, which basically includes their eyebrow products, contour palettes, and limited edition eyeshadow palettes. The only place you can buy their other products in-store is at select Macy's. Ironically, the products that I am most interested in by ABH is not their brow stuff or their contour palettes, which are what made them so popular to begin with. For me, it's all about the eyeshadows and the highlighting powders. The new illuminators were not actually available in-store yet when I was there, and was available online only through Macy's and ABH's websites, so I ordered them online and got them shipped to my brother's apartment for free. I had to put a lot of faith into online swatches here, because they didn't even have testers for me to play with. But I am a highlighter fiend and can make anything work, so I ordered all four of them (review to come, but just so you know: no regrets!). In store, they did have the majority of the eyeshadows available (again, there is a bigger selection online), and they have an in-store promotion where you can build a four-pan palette for $40 (each pan is $12 on its own), so I built four.
Makeup Geek Duochrome Eyeshadows
I got a few other things shipped to my brother's for me to pick up on this trip, and these included Makeup Geek's gorgeous new Duochrome Eyeshadows and a couple of Z Palettes. Because I really needed more eyeshadows, guys. (On that note, though, notice how I've slowed down on blushes and lipsticks? I am in an eyes phase right now.)
Uniqlo Faux Shearling Quilted Parka and Ultra Light Down Hooded Vest
Uniqlo Flannel Check Long-Sleeve Shirt and MoMA Special Edition Room Shoes
And, finally, what visit to NYC would be complete without a trip to Uniqlo? Yes, despite our shitty dollar, it's still worth it to shop at Uniqlo (at least, until it arrives in Toronto next year) because I truly believe that their apparel is amazing quality for the price. When we were there, all their new Fall items had arrived, so I found myself stocking up on some cold weather basics despite NYC being in a heatwave while we were there. Aside from getting a few new pairs of my favourite Leggings Pants and a bunch of new Drape Pants, I also got a lightweight quilted hooded parka lined with faux shearing, an ultra light down vest (making me realize that I had never owned a vest before but they are awesome and I should be getting into them), a couple of shirts including a long-sleeve flannel button-up (I am obviously going to layer this under the vest to go for that lumberjack chic look), and two new pairs of limited edition Room Shoes (a.k.a. their fancy name for slippers) for which they collaborated with MoMA (one of them features a turquoise-and-yellow Keith Haring print, and the other features the iconic Andy Warhol Campbell's tomato soup print and I am obsessed with them). I would've bought more, but you know, we didn't wanna buy an extra suitcase...
What clothing and make-up essentials are you stocking up on this Fall?
I have a flannel Uniqlo shirt and one of the vests! Vests ARE awesome and I live in them in the colder months, because they really keep you warm without limiting your arm movement - plus you can wear them indoors without people thinking you're a freak. The Uniqlo ones are really nice, and they wad up small for packing too, which is excellent. I also love flannel, lol.
ReplyDeleteThose shower gels look gorgeous! I would pick one up if I ever made it to NYC :P I bought some clothes this month (a new bralette and cropped sweater from AE/Aerie, a couple more things from Uniqlo that I am waiting on, like a shirtdress and a quilted skirt, and new TOMS booties that I am also waiting for :P). But next month is my birthday so I'm trying to be reasonable. Fall is my favorite though! For clothes and makeup!
I am so jealous that you get access to Uniqlo year round. :( I swear, I can never walk in there and not come out with something. And yes to vests! Though I find that there's only a very small time frame in which we can wear them here (basically October to November, and then April to May), because then it gets WAY TOO COLD and you gotta bust out your parka or WAY TOO HOT and you basically gotta be naked. LOL.
DeleteThe shower oils are AMAZE. You gotta experience them. You can order them online because they ship anywhere within the US, but I think you have to smell and feel them for the first time in store. Also, your comment has reminded me that I need to buy more underwear from Aerie and also that I need to go on the hunt for new booties. How are your TOMS ones?
Next month is also my birthday! :D YAY SCORPIOS!
I have two pairs of TOMS booties already...red suede wedges (desert wedge I think?) and open-toed suede ones. They are both super comfortable and I traveled everywhere this summer in the open-toed ones. I think the ones I ordered are gonna be good, too - the Lunata in black. They're supposed to get here tomorrow so I will let you know! I don't love their iconic flat but their boots always catch my eye and the two I have so far are great!
DeleteLet me know how the Lunata goes; I'm eyeing the Leila ones because the heel isn't as high and I want to be able to wear them to work and be able to stand in them for eight hours a day. :P But I really like the style of the Lunata.
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