So... I know I said November was going to be an expensive month, but it looks like it's turning out to be an expensive season in general. I'm going to split December's haul into two posts, one for pre-Christmas and one for post-Christmas (because you know Boxing Week shopping is going to be crazy). As we all know, Black Friday happened. And then Cyber Monday. Which turned into Cyber Monday Week. And every single retailer both in-store and online are having pre-Christmas sales right now. I don't know what's going on, but I had to succumb to at least some temptations, you know? It all started with Indigo's Black Friday sales, which featured 40% off nearly all of their Voluspa candles. I actually love Voluspa because I think their scents are more sophisticated and way less overpowering than Bath & Body Works' candles. But the reason I don't buy them as often is because they're typically quite expensive and they only go on sale a few times a year (compared to Bath & Body Works, which puts their candles on sale like, every damn month). I've been tempted to get a lot of candles form Voluspa's Japonica collection, so I decided to snatch up two of the travel trios and an extra French Cade Lavender travel candle because it's one of my favourite scents and it was only $5.
Voluspa Japonica Collection Mini Travel Candle Trio with Baltic Amber, Santiago Huckleberry, and Goji Tarocco Orange
Voluspa Mini Travel Candle in French Cade Lavender and Japonica Collection Mini Travel Candle Trio with French Cade Lavender, Eden & Pear, and Crème de Peche
On that same Black Friday weekend, Hautelook was having a Miss Sixty outerwear event, and since I bought a couple of Miss Sixty winter coats two years ago from Hautelook that I love to death and wear all the time, I decided to take a look to see what styles they had on sale this time around. I saw this lovely double-breasted wool peacoat with pleating and belt detailing that is feminine without being girly and is nicely tailored and polished. It was on sale for 60% off, for $109 from $270, so I decided to get one in black (surprise, surprise) with gold hardware (it also came in silver, but I thought the gold look more sophisticated). My shipment arrived a couple weeks later, and I got not one but two of the same coat due to a shipping error. My mom really loved the style of the coat, so I gave the other one to her as her Christmas present. Thusly, my coat was only $54.50. Can't beat 80% off, am I right? And then Aritzia was also having their Black Friday sale, so I finally picked up the online-exclusive black Wilfred drapey Japanese crepe blazer that I'd had my eye on for two months because it was on sale for $150 from $225. Love, love, love.
Miss Sixty Pleated Wool Peacoat (front and back)
Wilfred Snowdon Jacket
And then I went on a nail polish rampage. It was inevitable. I went to Wal-Mart one unassuming evening just to pick up some essentials (e.g. hair conditioner, anti-bacterial wipes, gum, magazines, etc.), and was casually perusing their nail polishes when I saw that a couple brands were on sale at their Roll Back prices. I don't typically get tempted my drugstore nail polishes, but Essie was going for $7.47 each from $8.97, and Sally Hansen was going for $6.97 from $8.47, so I picked up some fun shades that I'd had my eye on. Then, I was at Loblaws buying some K-Cups for the new Keurig MINI Plus brewer that Ronsee got for me as a late birthday/early Christmas present and spotted some lovely new Joe Fresh nail polish shades that are out for the holidays. They weren't technically on sale, but as they're always at a bargain price of 3 for $10, I snatched up the six that caught my eye. Finally, I got an e-mail from Nail Polish Canada announcing that they were finally stocking Rainbow Honey, an indie brand that I've been wanting to check out for ages, so I picked up five shades from them, too. They weren't on sale or anything... I just wanted them.
Essie Encrusted Treasures Nail Lacquer in Lots of Lux and Peak of Chic, and Luxe Effects Top Coat in Jazzy Jubilant
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Holiday 2013 Nail Polish in Fa-la-la-lavender and 3, 2, 1derland and Sequin Overcoat in Over the Rainblue
Joe Fresh Nail Polish in Topaz, Copper, Quartz, Peacock, Mulberry, and Ruby
Rainbow Honey Nail Lacquer in Tiny Ruby, Koi Pond, The Kraken, Sapphire Weapon, and Emerald Weapon
A week later,
Beyond the Rack was having a
Michael Todd True Organics sale event featuring nearly all of their skincare products, wherein everything was 40 - 60% off. I've been intrigued by the brand for a while now since seeing it pop up all over in magazines and YouTube videos, so I decided to take the opportunity to try out some of their products. I ended up getting their
Honey and Oat Gentle Deep Pore Cleanser and
Charcoal Detox Deep Pore Gel Cleanser for $14 each from $23, the
Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub and
Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner for $12 each from $18.50, and the
Hydration Boost Facial Serum for $18 from $37. All of these products have gotten amazing, glowing, raving reviews, so I'm pretty interested to see what the hype's all about. I've never been one to be drawn to organic products, but if these work well, I might just be a convert.
Michael Todd True Organics Honey and Oat Cleanser, Charcoal Detox Cleanser, Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub, Blue Green Algae Antibacterial Toner, and Hydration Boost Facial Serum
One of my good friends who works at Lush offered to grab some things for me with his discount, so I went into the store last week to pick out the goodies I wanted plus some Secret Santa gifts I had to get. On the top of the list was my favourite
Big Sea Salt Shampoo (I finished my last jar a few weeks ago), and their new limited edition
Celebrate Body Lotion, which smells like sweet limes and champagne. I don't typically like Lush's body lotions, but this one reminded me so much of my favourite (and limited edition)
Calacas Shower Jelly that I knew I had to get my hands on it. I also wanted to get some gentle bar soaps because my hands have gotten so badly cracked and chapped with eczema flare-ups that I've decided I need to stop using liquid anti-bacterial soaps for a while (Bath & Body Works, I'm looking at you), as I think they're the main culprit. After looking (and sniffing) through their huge selection, I ended up deciding on
Miranda,
Sultana of Soap, and
Snow Globe. And, finally, I chose two Bubbleroon Bubble Bars in
Green and
Yuzu & Cocoa because I'm obsessed with taking bubble baths right now, and they were too cute to resist.
Lush Celebrate Body Lotion and Big Sea Salt Shampoo
Lush Soap in Miranda, Sultana of Soap, and Snow Globe
Lush Bubbleroon Bubble Bars in Green and Yuzu & Cocoa
A few weeks ago, Sephora sent all their VIB members an e-mail containing a coupon to get $20 off any $50 purchase to further tempt us make-up hoarders/fiends into debt. As if we didn't do enough damage during their VIB sale last month. I knew I wasn't going to go on some crazy spending spree again at Sephora, but I knew exactly what I was going to get with that coupon: Urban Decay's highly-anticipated, highly-coveted Naked3 palette. I already knew that I'm going to love it more than both the other Naked palettes because rose-toned, bronze-y golds are my favourite shades of all time (e.g. MAC's All That Glitters and Honey Lust, Urban Decay's Chopper and Toasted), so the launch of this particular Naked palette was especially exciting for me. Sephora announced via Twitter that they were going to release the palette on their website at midnight on December 6th, so being the obsessive palette fiend that I am, I went straight to the website to order it. If there was one thing on my Christmas wishlist this year, it was the Naked3 Palette.
Urban Decay Naked3 Palette
Urban Decay Naked3 Palette (inside)
So, did you guys get anything in these crazy December sales? And what's on your Christmas wishlist this year?