Unboxing: Boxing Week Haul and Holiday Gifts

This post probably seems a little late given that we're already mid-way through January, but I did quite a bit of online shopping during Boxing Week and all my items finally arrived.

Rebecca Minkoff Edie Maxi Crossbody Bag
I'd been eyeing the Rebecca Minkoff Edie Maxi Crossbody bag for months now, and they finally had a sale — 25% off sitewide! — during Boxing Week, so I decided to bite the bullet and splurge on it. Frankly, after paying for the shipping (which includes the taxes and duties already), it came out to the same retail price of the bag without the discount, so it was really just getting free international shipping. But still, at least I saved $140 CAD and the bag is exactly what I hoped it would be.

Quay Australia High Key Extra Large Sunglasses in Gold/Brown Fade and Wired Extra Large Sunglasses in Milky Tortoise/Smoke

I was looking for some new sunglasses and decided to check out Quay Australia after a while to see if they were having any Boxing Week deals, and lo and behold, they were having a BOGO sale — the best deal I've ever seen from them. So I got a pair of my favourite High Key Extra Large sunglasses and got the Wired Extra Large sunglasses for free. I did have to pay some duties at Canada Post when they arrived, so it was more like Buy One, Get One 50% Off, but it was still a great deal.

Shiseido Limited-Edition Holiday Eyelash Curler + Clarins Supra Volume Mascara and Supra Lift & Curl Mascara

This one isn't really a Boxing Week sale, but more like I randomly went into Shoppers Drug Mart after work one day to buy a carton of half and half, stopped in the cosmetics department and picked up the Shiseido Limited Edition Holiday Eyelash Curler to replace my old MAC curler, and then realized I had $100 worth of Optimum points to redeem at checkout. So I decided to look for some new mascara, and the Beauty Advisor highly recommended two from Clarins, of all brands. Now in the 15 years that I worked in the cosmetics industry, I never, ever thought to try Clarins mascara. To me, they've always been a skincare-focused brand so I never gave their makeup a second thought — but then again, when I worked at MAC, no one even realized they made some great skincare, either. So I decided to give Clarins the benefit of the doubt and bought both the Supra Volume Mascaraand the Supra Lift & Curl Mascara. I redeemed my $100, and all I paid was the tax and my coffee cream. But I gotta tell you, I regret not trying Clarins mascara sooner because these might just be my new holy grails.

COSRX Propolis Synergy Toner Double Pack, Propolis Light Ampoule Double Pack, and Propolis Light Cream Double Pack
COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence, The Hyaluronic Acid 3, Cica Serum, and Cica Cream

Then, Olive Young — my kryptonite, apparently — had a huge Boxing Week sale where they were giving a 25% discount for all purchases over $190. I've been really interested in COSRX's Propolis line because I've been suffering from dry, irritated skin this winter. Coincidentally, COSRX was on a promotional sale already, so with the extra 25% off, the discount was closer to 60%. It would've been churlish not to stock up. So I got double packs of the toner, the ampoule, and the moisturizer, and also picked up a few other products for extra hydration and calming because when in Rome, you know?

BTS x AmorePacific Lip & Pop Edition Lip Sleeping Mask Set
BT21 x The Crème Shop Chimmy and Cooky Hydrogel Undereye Patches + Universtar Printed Essence Sheet Mask
BT21 x The Crème Shop Printed Essence Sheet Masks
BT21 x Chatime Colour Changing Cup (Outer Box)
BT21 x Chatime Colour Changing Cup (Empty vs. Filled with Cold Water)
BTS Album Cover Ceramic Coasters
Finally, I got some holiday gifts! Like, really belated holiday gifts. (And that's okay because New Year's gifts are so much more fun and unexpected than Christmas gifts.) Between Ying and Iris, I got another set of BTS x AmorePacific Lip & Pop Edition Lip Sleeping Mask Set, a variety of BT21 x The Crème Shop Printed Essence Sheet Masks and Hydrogel Eye Patches, the BT21 x Chatime Colour Changing Cup, and a beautiful set of BTS album cover ceramic coasters. All I gotta say is, ARMY friends never disappoint.

Anyway, I think Boxing Week was pretty successful. 🙃

Photolog 2021: Day 360 of 365

It is tradition that we go for Sunday family dim sum when my brother comes to visit, so of course, we made reservations at Casa Victoria.

Steamed mushroom and snow pea dumplings
Jumbo steamed shrimp dumplings
Pan-fried turnip and preserved meat patties with sesame crust
Steamed jumbo shrimp and yellow chive rice noodle rolls
Chicken feet in chu hou sauce
Braised beef offal with turnip
Seafood dumpling soup
Deep-fried golden taro dumplings
Baked BBQ pork pastries
Black sesame mochi
Who needs to go shopping on Boxing Day when you can have a dim sum feast instead?

Casa Victoria

8601 Warden Ave., Unit 4-6

Markham, ON L3R 0B5

(905) 948-1618

Photolog 2019: Day 360 of 365

Went over to Chelsea's last night for some Christmas dessert, and her parents packed turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing with peas, and a boatload of gravy to take home with me. So guess who got to have Christmas dinner after all?

Pick-Ups & Deliveries: Haul No.72

Welcome to 2018! What better way to start off the year than a haul post? December wasn't really that exciting for me in terms of shopping because I bought so much in November (and also because it's that time of year to give to others, so I did buy more gifts for others than myself), but I did get score a few really good deals and received some sweet Christmas presents, too.

Etude House Baking Powder Pore Cleansing Foam, It's Skin Supersize Pore Tightener, It's Skin Aloe Relaxing Toner, and It's Skin Pure Moisture Snow Blossom Essence
May Coop Raw Sauce
The Face Shop Rice Water Bright Cleansing Set
The Face Shop Love All the Wishes Hand Cream Set
December was the month of Korean skincare. On a trip to Pacific Mall with my friend Viv, we discovered that It's Skin was having 40% off all of their products, so I picked up an Etude House Baking Powder Pore Cleansing Foam, a bottle of their Aloe Relaxing Toner, a jumbo bottle of their Pore Tightener Toner, and a bottle of Pure Moisture Snow Blossom Essence. Sephora sent me a coupon for $25 off a $50 purchase for being a VIB member, which they do every December (I guess it's to keep up the shopping momentum after their VIB sale in November). I ultimately decided on a bottle of May Coop Raw Sauce which helps considerably with hydration and skin texture (and I found out that Sephora has just stopped carrying it, much to my dismay). Finally, The Face Shop was having a Buy 1, Get 1 Free sale on all of their holiday sets, so I picked up two of their Rice Water Bright Cleansing Sets (which comes with full size and travel size formats of their Foaming Cleanser and Makeup Remover for Eye & Lip) for $19, and two of their Holiday Hand Cream Sets (with Sweet Berry, Love Blossom, and Romantic Musk scents) for $15. 
Bath & Body Works Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in Birchwood & Juniper, Garden Sage & Mint, and White Cherry & Thyme
Bath & Body Works Wallflowers in Turquoise Waters Fresh Bamboo, Midnight Blue Citrus, Cucumber Melon, and Blue Ocean Waves
I also took advantage of Bath & Body Works' Semi-Annual Sale, along with my $10 off coupon and snagged some Gentle Foaming Hand Soaps and some new Wallflowers. Nothing that exciting, but I love the aesthetic of these particular hand soaps, and the much more luxe, sophisticated scents. Wish they had decided to keep them permanent.

Fruits & Passion Cucina Lime Zest & Cypress Olive Oil Hand Soap and Crabtree & Evelyn Pomegranate & Argan Oil Nourishing Hand Therapy
NARS NARSissist Wanted Eyeshadow Palette
Sonix iPhone 7 Plus Ice Cream Case 
I got some lovely Christmas gifts last month. My Secret Santa at work got me a huge bottle of my favourite hand soap (I have been raving about this stuff at work for the last couple months) as well as a tube of Crabtree & Evelyn's Pomegranate & Argan Oil Nourishing Hand Therapy after she found out that it was my go-to hand cream for years (the only reason I stopped buying it is because I no longer lived near any Crabtree & Evelyn stores). My friend Chelsea got me the NARS NARSissist Wanted Eyeshadow Palette that I'd been eyeing, along with a new tube of my favourite Urban Decay Perversion Mascara. My mom, who got me for our family Secret Santa, got me two big bags of Starbucks ground coffee and a cute coffee mug because she knows my caffeine addiction is real. My friend Viv got me the Sonix Ice Cream phone case I wanted for months (as it turns out, she sneakily bought it while we were at Pacific Mall together).

BTS Love Yourself 承 'Her' EP
And finally, my friend Shannon got me the BTS Love Yourself 承 'Her' EP after hearing me go on and on and on about BTS for the last two months. (She told me, "In the years that I've known you, this is the fastest and most intense I have ever seen you get obsessed over something." It's totally true.) I haven't bought a physical copy of a music album in a long, long time (I pretty much exclusively use Apple Music these days), so I was surprised and absolutely delighted to see how gorgeous the latest BTS record is. Along with the CD (that has two bonus tracks!), it comes with a beautifully bound photo and lyric book as well as a mini book of notes written by the members (apparently there are four different versions of the physical album and each one comes with a different book of notes and they all tie in to the insanely elaborate story that they've been telling through their music videos and short films for the past two years; it's one of the most intriguing concepts I've ever seen by any musical artist), all in stark white with a holographic abstract floral design. It's honestly the most gorgeous physical music album I've ever owned.

If there's one thing I can predict, it's that I will only become more obsessed with BTS in 2018.

Pick-Ups & Deliveries: Haul No. 62

Happy New Year! I'm not going to ruminate on 2016 here, suffice it to say that there were a lot of ups and downs and I'm glad 2017 is here. Which, of course, brings me to my first real post of the year, which just so happens to be my December haul. Last month proved to be incredibly busy for me so I didn't have a lot of time to spend on my computer, and you may have noticed that I've just been posting YouTube videos and memes here for the past couple of weeks, but January is a much slower month for me so I should be back here more regularly with beauty posts. Surprisingly, I didn't do an incredible amount of shopping in December, maybe because November took most of my money, and also because most of my December budget was spent on Christmas gifts. But I did manage to make a few cheeky purchases for myself, and received some lovely goodies along the way.

Violet Voss Holy Grail Eyeshadow Palette
Violet Voss Glitters in Wendy, Goldie, Golden Fairy, and Copperella
I finally got my hands on the Violet Voss Holy Grail Palette, which I'd been on the hunt for, for at least four months. I got an e-mail notification that they were finally re-stocking it, which has been re-designed in their new holographic packaging, so I immediately went to order it from their website. And since I was going to have to pay for shipping, anyway, I decided to get several glitters from them as well (in Wendy, Goldie, Golden Fairy, and Copperella) 'cause, you know, 'tis the season for all things sparkly. 
Makeup Geek Fair Highlighter Bundle: Lit, Midnight Sun, and Luster
Makeup Geek Foiled Eyeshadows in Nostalgic, Curtain Call, and Legend
As you know, I've been obsessed with Makeup Geek's highlighters since getting the Kathleen Lights palette, and when they finally came out with single highlighters permanently, I knew I was going to want to get all of them. My friend Chelsea did get me the Makeup Geek Medium Highlighter Bundle for my birthday, but I really wanted the Fair Bundle as well (I actually quite like the Porcelain and Deep sets as well, but I know I won't use them often, so I'm going to forego those for now), so I ordered that as well as three of the new Foiled Eyeshadows that they launched in the fall. I was tempted to order the whole expansion set, but I knew, realistically, that I wouldn't make use of all of them so I just ordered my three favourites (Nostalgic, Curtain Call, and Legend). You see, I can totally be reasonable.
Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow Peach-Infused Highlighting Palette
Too Faced Papa Don't Peach Peach-Infused Blush
There actually weren't a lot of new launches in December that I was excited for, but both of Too Faced's Sweet Peach Highlighting Palette and Blush were on the top of my Christmas list. (I'm incredibly annoyed at how the Sweet Peach Eyeshadow Palette was so limited and so coveted and everyone scrambled to get one when it originally launched, and now Too Faced just decided to make it permanent.) My friend Chelsea who works at Sephora ended up getting them for me for Christmas so I didn't have to worry about getting them for myself. (But now, do I want some of the Creamy Peach Oil Lip Glosses? Hmm...) I did get a bunch of other things for Christmas as well, including gift cards for Starbucks and Cineplex and Wal-Mart, lots of Bath & Body Works hand soaps and fuzzy shea-infused lounge socks (my favourite!), way too much chocolate, and money from my family. Oh, and that coupon for $25 off a $50 purchase at Sephora that I got for being a VIB Rouge member? I used that on a new full-size bottle of Fresh Sugar Lychee Eau de Parfum (no photo, because there are only so many photos of the same damn thing I can post in my hauls). 
MAC Mariah Carey My Mimi Extra Dimension Skinfinish
MAC Mariah Carey Touch My Body Loose Powder
MAC Mariah Carey Powder Blush in Sweet Sweet Fantasy and You've Got Me Feeling
MAC Mariah Carey Eyeshadow x 4 Palette in It's Everything and I'm That Chick You Like
MAC Mariah Carey Lipsticks in All I Want, Bit of Bubbly, Dahhlinggg!, MCizzle, and I Get So OOC
MAC Mariah Carey Lipglass in Rainbow Interlude, Dreamlover, It's Just Like Honey, Little Miss Monroe, and Butterfly Bling
Most of my December beauty budget was blown on the MAC and Mariah Carey collaboration. Weirdly enough, I'm not a massive Mariah fan (I grew up with and enjoy some of her music, but I'm not die-hard), but I am a MAC collector and I have to say, this collection was really beautifully done — definitely one of my favourite launches this year. The packaging is stunning (especially for Christmas), and the shades are, for the most part, incredibly wearable, both alone and with other products in the collection. (All of my reviews on these products are up: Extra Dimension Skinfinish, Loose Powder, Powder Blushes, Eyeshadow Quads, Lipsticks, and Lipglasses.) No regrets on this collection — MAC and Mariah totally nailed it.
MAC Glitters in 3D Pink, 3D Brass Gold, and Gold
MAC Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour Collection (Extension 2016)
And in some post-Christmas MAC shopping, I got some more glitters (MAC's 3D Glitters are stunning; I wish they carried them in all stores and not just at PRO) and snatched up all the shades in the new Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour extension (in earthy, neutral tones — MAC is finally catching up with their liquid lipstick game), which I will be reviewing by the end of this week.
Kate Spade Cameron Street Stacy Wallet in Emerald Ring and Hawthorne Lane Roses Stacy Wallet
The only Boxing Week shopping I did was at Kate Spade. My old bright yellow Kate Spade wallet is getting really dirty-looking so I decided to see what kind of sales they were having online (because there was no way that I was gonna fight the crowds at any mall and risk death by trampling — seriously, why do people do this to themselves?). I was perusing the sale section and ended up getting two wallets in the same style as my old yellow one (called the Stacy). Since I wear all black in my day-to-day life, I like my accessories to be colourful, so I decided on a bright emerald green one to replace the cheerful brightness of my yellow one, and then one in a girly rose print that I thought would be really cute for the spring. Best part? They were 30% off originally, and Kate Spade was giving an extra 30% off all their sale items, so I ended up getting both wallets for about $60 CAD each.

What was at the top of your Christmas wishlist? What did you end up getting for Christmas? Did you do any Boxing Day shopping? If so, what kind of sales did you score?

Pick-Ups & Deliveries: December 2014

Obviously, the holiday season is all about giving and receiving... and buying yourself gifts. I mean, what's the fun in shopping for presents if none of them are for yourself, right? Plus, all the holiday sales happened, and we knew I'd get tempted to get one or two (or a million) things. So last month's haul started pretty much right on the first weekend when I went to the Estée Lauder warehouse sale, which was thankfully really disappointing so I didn't spend a ridiculous amount of money there. I only came out with six Bumble and Bumble products, which were on sale for 2 for $15.
Bumble and Bumble Surf Creme Rinse Conditioner (x2), Let It Shine Conditioner (x2), Let It Shine Shampoo, and Gentle Shampoo
Sigma E35 and E40 Tapered Blending Brushes
Cirque Colors Nail Lacquer in Dark Horse, Josephine, Boudoir, Le Invader, XX, and Stella
A-England Nail Varnish in Crown of Thistles and Fotheringhay Castle
TokyoMilk Dark Bittersweet No. 83 Shea Butter Handcreme
One day, around 2:00 in the morning, I was browsing online stores as usual and decided to peruse the Nail Polish Canada site. I was actually on there to look at Z Palettes, and ended up getting four Sigma eyeshadow brushes, plus six Cirque and two A-England nail polishes instead. None of it was on sale; I was just impulse buying. Okay, I had been wanting the eyeshadow brushes for a while (I was hoping to get some during IMATS, but no one was selling them separately and I didn't want to buy sets), but as you all know, I have no sense when it comes to nail polish. I've been on a Cirque kick lately, and having been so impressed with all the shades I bought a couple months ago, I decided to see what other ones I missed out on. I picked up four from older collections, and then two from their latest collection, Burlesque. I also took the opportunity to take a look at the new offerings from A-England while I was on there. I haven't been 'wow'-ed with A-England's releases in a while (their Ballerina collection was disappointing to me, if only because all the shades looked so similar to each other, much like their Gothic Beauties collection), but when I saw their latest Elizabeth & Mary collection, I knew immediately that I had to have these two shades. At least all my shopping on that site paid off: I had enough Polish Points to redeem for a full-size tube of TokyoMilk hand cream (which retails for $22).
Boscia Luminizing Black Mask and Black Charcoal Blotting Linens
Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum
MAC Ultimate Lipsticks
I decided to go into Sephora when I got e-mailed a coupon for $25 off any purchase of $50 or more. They still had some of those Boscia Black Friday kits that included a full-size pack of my favourite Black Charcoal Blotting Linens, plus a 30 ml tube of their Luminizing Black Mask for $12 (which is actually cheaper than a pack of those blotting sheets on their own), so I snatched one up. And then I decided to use my coupon on a new bottle of Caudalie's Vinosource S.O.S. Thirst Quenching Serum. I finished up my last bottle in September, and it's become an essential for me in the winter (I like to use it all year round, but I really feel the difference in the winter when I layer it under my moisturizer). It's one of my favourite serums of all time, and definitely the most effective hydration serum I've ever used, so if your skin feels tight or parched at all, you should definitely look into this one. Plus, it smells good. Kinda boring purchases, but I was so proud of myself for using the coupon on something I actually needed (especially after November's VIB sale)... until MAC released their new Ultimate Lipsticks (which I have reviewed here, here, and here), and I proceeded to buy all of them...
Rebecca Minkoff Bowery Crossbody Bag in Ink
Wilfred Mayet Jacket and Talula Soho Blouse
I randomly got an e-mail from Bloomingdale's saying that I had a $75 rewards gift card that was going to expire soon. I got really confused because we don't even have a Bloomingdale's here in Canada. And then I remembered the little shopping spree I had with my mom when we were in NYC last Spring. Apparently, we spent enough money that I got $75 worth of rewards points. So I went on their website to check out what was left of their Black Friday sales. I found this Rebecca Minkoff bag on sale for $206.50 from $295, and then used my $75 electronic gift card. And got free shipping to my brother's apartment in NYC (he was coming back to Toronto for Christmas, anyway). A few weeks later, Aritzia was having their Boxing Day sale, which usually doesn't excite me because they typically have terrible markdowns (like, $5 off a $125 sweater). But I guess they finally decided to up their game, because for the first time in the 12 years I've been shopping there, they actually had legitimate price reductions. After perusing for nearly a hour on their website, I ended up getting a black Wilfred Mayet Jacket (for $149 from $225), a black Talula Soho Blouse (for $19.99 from $40), and a pair of black Paradise Mine High Rise Jeggings (for $99 from $135).

David's Tea David's Top 3 Teas Set and The Nordic Tea Mug
David's Tea The Winter Collection: Apple Custard Fruit Infusion, Bubbie’s Baklava Oolong Tea, Vanilla Chai Organic Black Tea, Sugar Plum Forest Rooibos, Cocomint Cream Fruit Infusion, and 20 Filters
David's Tea The Perfect Tea Mug and Forever Nuts Tea Scented Candle
I was at David's Tea getting a Christmas gift for my mom and decided to get a little something for myself, too, 'cause it's hard not to get tempted in there (even if you don't like tea, you somehow start to like it after you leave). They were having a bundle deal that included a Nordic Tea Mug and a set of three teas for $35, which worked out well because I was looking for a mug that included a tea strainer. So I got one with a cute bird design, and picked the David's Top 3 teas trio, which includes their Mother's Little Helper, Cream of Earl Grey, and Forever Nuts. Because I spent over $50 including my mom's gift (and also because I joined their Frequent Steeper program), I also got their Winter Collection tea set for free. And I guess I made my love for David's Tea pretty well-known, because then I got a Perfect Tea Mug and a Forever Nuts tea scented candle from my Secret Santa a couple weeks later.

Bath & Body Works Champagne Toast 3-Wick Candle and Bear Hug Shea-Infused Lounge Socks
EOS Smooth Sphere Lip Balms in Vanilla Mint, Coconut Milk, and Passion Fruit
NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anita, Urban Decay Perversion Mascara, Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue, and Formula X Effects Nail Color in Capricious and Devious
Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture, Rush, and Fiend
Lush Snow Angel Luxury Bath Melt, Celebrate Hand and Body Lotion, So White Shower Gel, Each Peach Massage Bar, and Snowcake Soap
Other Christmas gifts I got this year include a Bath & Body Works Champagne Toast 3-wick candle and a pair of my favourite shea-infused lounge socks, plus three EOS Smooth Sphere Lip Balms from another Secret Santa; a NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anita and a tube of my favourite Urban Decay Perversion Mascara from my friend Viv; and Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue and two Formula X nail polishes in Capricious and Devious from my friend Suze (seems random, but I actually made her a wishlist with these). I also got a Sephora gift card for Christmas, so I got three more Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks in Rapture, Rush, and Fiend (I'm really into muted rose and plum shades right now). My friend Fran, who works at Lush, gave me a really cute gift box set that included a Snow Angel Luxury Bath Melt, Celebrate Hand and Body Lotion, plus Snowcake Soap, and then added an extra bottle of So White Shower Gel ('cause she knows it's my favourite), plus an Each Peach Massage Bar (which I've wanted to try for a while).

Nikon 1 J4 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm F3.5-5.6 PD Lens
Finally, my brother got me a brand new camera! I have been using a Nikon 1 J1 for a couple years now, but I dropped it a few months ago and broke the battery latch (the thing that holds the battery in the camera), so it won't work unless I tie like, six rubber bands around it. So my brother ordered me the Nikon 1 J4, which is the latest version of the J1. What can I say? I was spoiled this Christmas.

What did you get for Christmas this year? And did you do any Boxing Day shopping?