Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2015 – Beauty Finds

I just recently got a Nordstrom store credit card two months ago and have recently been bombarded with daily emails about Early Access to the Upcoming Anniversary Sale – just 8 days away!  Now 7!  6!  and so on.  It was getting to be a bit too much, but hey, I guess it was effective since it got me in my pregnancy haze to log in and check it out.  You can get early access if you have a Nordstrom card now, but if not, everyone can access on July 17th.  In all honesty, I’m really glad I did.  They have some AMAZING baby deals (better than Amazon – yes really; I’ll do a separate post it.) and similarly amazing deals on beauty.  You can see that my focus for the moment is really on skin and hair – not so much color cosmetics.  Here’s what’s in my shopping cart at the moment:

Gehwol Biosana Swiss Foot File, $14.90 – A foot file with ~150 5 star reviews?  I was about to stop by Target today to pick up a foot file, but the e-commerce gods must have intervened to show me this.  First, who doesn’t want smooth feet in the summer time?  But more specifically, being that I’m 38+ weeks pregnant and have gained almost 30lbs at this point, I’ve developed weird calluses on the balls of my feet that hurt when I walk barefoot.  I’m guessing it’s due to the weight, but whatever the reason, I want it GONE, and I’m getting this for sure.

GLAMGLOW GLAMAZING Set, $69 – I’m going to do a pregnancy skincare routine post very soon, but let me just say that not everyone gets glowing skin during pregnancy.  All the hormonal fluctuations can wreak absolute havoc on your skin, but more on this later.  I’m now very in the market to try out masks that are safe for breastfeeding, especially since you wash them off, so I can start back on my skincare regimen.  This set has the BRIGHTMUD Eye Treatment, YOUTHMUD anti-aging mask, and THIRSTYMUD moisture treatment, so I’m looking forward to trying this out.

T3 Compact Styling Set, $150 – My hair is actually really low-maintenance.  I don’t have any style to it right now whatsoever (lazy), I don’t color it, and I actually stopped using conditioner (super lazy)… but I AM planning on getting a haircut after birth so I am in the market for some high-quality hair tools.  I saw beauty blogger RaeView talking about the T3 Featherweight Compact Dryer in a recent video and made a mental note to pick it up (I prefer travel size that I can bring with me on trips vs. a full-size).  It might seem bold that I’m even contemplating the possibility that I will have time to blow-dry my hair with a new infant, but in Chinese culture, the one month post birth is a time where the mother has to take special care of her body to recover from birth, and one of the most important things to do is to NOT HAVE WET HAIR to avoid catching a cold (actually it’s to not wash your hair, but I am most definitely washing my hair, sorry Mom).  The dryer itself is $150, so this set for the anniversary sale basically gives you a travel-friendly flat iron for free – score.

[As an aside, I picked up the GHD Classic 1-inch Styler Flatiron back in January when I first jumped on the lob (aka Long Bob) bandwagon and have really liked it.  It’s on sale for $145 vs. the regular price of $185, so I HIGHLY recommend you pick it up if you are in the market for a high-quality flat iron, which I prefer for putting waves in my lob.]

Clarisonic Mia 2, $119.20 – I recently just threw my Clarisonic Mia in the garbage.  Yes, you read that right.  It was still working fine, but I hadn’t used it in maybe 1 month?  2 months?  And apparently it started growing  mold from being in my shower, and I can’t have any of that near my face, so I tossed it.  Now I’ll be picking this Mia 2 up.  [Aside – I did briefly consider the Foreo Luna for Combination Skin and decided against it.  Maybe I’m too old school, but shouldn’t a cleansing mechanism have bristles??  Has anyone tried any of the Foreo Lunas before?]

Clarisonic Ultimate Brush Head Set, $64.90 – My favorite Clarisonic brush head for my oily/combo skin is the Deep Pore (the one with the blue bristles), but this set lets me try out 2 other ones that I haven’t yet used before – Cashmere and Radiance, so might as well pick this up to go with my new Clarisonic Mia 2.

Supergoop Forever Young Hand Cream SPF 40 Set – You know that hands always show how old you are, right?  The smaller size of this hand cream has been on my Sephora wish list FOREVER, and it’s ALWAYS sold out.  This set is a great deal – you get 2 of the smaller sizes (one for car, one for handbag) and 1 large size to keep at home.

So the above are things I am picking up FOR SURE.  The below are things that are on my maybe list:

Omorovicza Detox Set, $155 – This set comes with full sizes of the Thermal Cleansing Balm and the Deep Cleansing Mask, which I’ve had many samples of and really like.  Given I’m on my mask kick right now I’ll probably scoop this up as I like that it’s a natural Hungarian-based line.

Smashbox Studio Pro 10-Piece Brush Set, $89 – I mean, I know I have had over 200 brushes (lost count by now – this isn’t the net count as I’ve given a bunch away by now), but can you believe I have never owned a single Smashbox brush??  I hear they are pretty amazing.  This kit means you basically get each brush for less than $9 – pretty good deal, so it may end up in my cart.

Trish McEvoy Power of Brushes Collection, $158 – …and can you believe I have never owned a Trish McEvoy brush either??  These sets always tempt me.  Might cave.

Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Home & Away Duo, $75 – My favorite body and hand (yes, it’s moisturizing enough) moisturizer, and it’s UNSCENTED thankfully.  This duo gives you the big daddy 1L pump to keep at home and a little bottle to refill on the go (I have a little bottle ready in my hospital bag).  I still have some left, but I might stock up.

Diptyque Philosykos & Figuier Set, $185 – For those that are into fresh, fig scents, you will love this.  I’ve had a few of the Figuier candles, and it’s one of the few scents that I can keep burning and don’t find overly cloying.  This set comes with the Figuier candle, and the Philosykos eau de toilette and solid perfume, which are the perfume equivalent.  There are other sets like the L’Ombre dans L’Eau & the Baies (which I’m guessing will be the one to sell out, since Baies is everyone’s fave), and Do Son & Tuberose Set (who doesn’t love Tuberose?), so it’s worth checking out.

Any beauty deals from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale that catch your eye?

Review: Sarah Chapman Facial Lift

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My mother has been tooting the benefits of facial massage for forever and I thought it was totes an Asian thing – you know pressure points, acupuncture, etc.- until I saw this post from Lisa Eldridge where she demonstrates her twenty minute facial massage routine. My mom is all about using her hands, but when I saw that the Sarah Chapman tool was sold out on net-a-porter – I knew I wanted to get my hands on it. I ended up getting mine at a SpaceNK. After you purchase one, you should definitely watch her how to guide so you know how to use it, because it’s not super intuitive. My mom is all about the benefits of massaging her neck – she swears that her neck is now thinner because of daily massage. I have had my Sarah Chapman tool for about a week now and I’ve been using it everyday. It really just feels great and is easy to use. I often get soreness in my neck and this really helps work out some kinks if I go a little further back. It also really helps with the soreness in my jaw which I didn’t even know I had. As a side note, even my boyfriend loved it and he’s totally not into any beauty products/tools/etc. I don’t think it does much for your forehead, although you can use the other end of the stick to tap your forehead. Also, the eye area is delicate so i think you are supposed to use your fourth finger for that area – at least that is what the SpaceNK rep told me. If you want to just use your fingers for free here is another facial massage tutorial from Into the Gloss. Happy massaging!

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