In the morning, I was delighted to see the site was up and running, although at a glacial pace. I saw all the new possibilities that were not included in the catalog, and rethought my strategy. I filled my cart, checked it twice, and placed the order to be picked up in store. The order online, pick up in store option is genius. I can spend all the time I want looking at items without my husband dying of boredom and he isn't standing with me at the beauty counter convulsing at the total. There is also the nearly instant gratification of selecting your items and receiving them (almost) right away rather than having to wait for shipping and processing.
Onto the goods:
The item I was most anticipating and was certain I was going to buy it as soon as I learned of its existence:
The NARS Joie de Vivre Palette $65 ($107 value). Includes Laguna Bronzer, Albatross Highlighting Blush and 4 blush shades: Gaiety, Orgasm, Luster, and Anjelika.
Next up, I had never tried Lancome, so I was excited to see this gem included in the Beauty Exclusives:
This Brightening and Defining Collection includes $80 ($197 value - what?!?!): full-sized Taupe Craze Color Design Palette, full-sized Definicils mascara, full-sized Le Crayon Kohl Eyeliner, blending brush, -dual ended shadow and eyeliner brush, sample-sized Bi-Facil eye makeup remover, sample-sized Cils Booster XL mascara base, and sample-sized (I think) Aquatique Eyecolour Base.
What made me bite the bullet was the GWP with any Lancome purchase of $39.50 or more (up to $113 value):
There were both a Warm and Cool GWP available, I wanted the Warm but didn't realize I ended up with the Cool until the husband and I were on our way home. The Cool GWP includes: purple makeup bag, deluxe-sized Color Design Palette in Mauve Cherie, Curtain Call lipstick, sample-sized Hypnose Doll Lashes macara, sample-sized Bi-Facil eye makeup remover, and a 0.5 oz wrinkle cream which was mistakenly left out of my bag.
The enticement of a GWP sucked me into a big purchase for Kiehl's products.
I selected a 1 liter sized Creme de Corps moistuirzer, Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Reparative Hair Pak, and Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. The GWP came with a clear make up bag and the following samples: Midnight Recovery Concentrate, Midnight Recovery Eye , Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution, and Super Fluid UV Defense Sunscreen. The last two items differ from those listed on the website, but I've been quite curious about the Corrective Dark Spot Solution so it worked out well.
The last purchase was from MAC. Although I own a fair amount of MAC products, I have only recently begun to dive into the world of lip liners and lipsticks. The lip bag sets were a good value and I chose the Nude kit.
For a mere $39.50 ($54.50 value) this kit included: an adorable makeup bag, Creme D'Nude lipstick, Natural Talent Dazzleglass Creme, and Sublime Culture Cremestick liner. Much to my surprise, there was a lip conditioner thrown into my bag as well.
This was a giant purchase, and I am currently giving my bank account a break until the holiday season. I will keep you posted on what I think about these items as I try them.
I would love to hear what you picked up from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale - let me know in the comments!
