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. 🙃

Unboxing: Quay Australia Sunglasses + Rx Glasses

My Quay Australia package finally arrived! I was looking for some new sunglasses because one of my old pairs have really scratched up lenses now and the arms have become loose, and the other pair is totally crooked because I may have kept them in my purse without a case (whoops), so I decided to take a look on Quay Australia to see what was new. I've become a Quay Australia convert since buying my first pair of their High Key sunglasses several years ago because they have a great variety of styles and, most importantly, excellent fits for my face. I have a big head and a flat nose bridge, and their sunglasses fit the width of my face perfectly and don't fall down my nose. I saw that they were having a huge sale on a ton of their sunglasses, so I picked out two styles: my favourite High Key in Gold/Fade on sale for $39 from $65, and Icy in Black/Fade on sale for $19 from $55.

Quay Australia High Key Sunglasses in Gold/Fade (front) and Icy Sunglasses in Black/Fade (back)
Quay Australia High Key Sunglasses in Gold/Fade (front) and Icy Sunglasses in Black/Fade (back)
Then I noticed that they were having a sale on prescription glasses, too! I didn't even know Quay did prescription glasses because they've always been known as a sunglasses brand, but their sale was two pairs for $95 including lenses, which is cheap as fuck for prescription glasses, so I decided to take a look. I've been on the lookout for the perfect oversized, rectangular black plastic frames for a long time, and fell in love with two: the Algorithm Rx Oversized and the Wired Rx Oversized. I figure if their sunglasses fit me so well, then the prescription glasses wouldn't be too far off. It's a little risky without trying them on beforehand, but I usually judge the fit by seeing what it looks like on the model — if it looks really oversized on the model's face, then they'll fit just right on my face. And I was right. I don't need to adjust either pair at all, which is really rare for me. 

Quay Australia Rx Glasses Cases
Quay Australia Wired Rx Oversized Glasses in Black (front) and Algorithm Rx Oversized Glasses in Black (back)

A bonus that I wasn't expecting was that the nose pieces are actually raised (Asian optometrists call this "Asian fit" because we generally have much flatter nose bridges) so they don't slide down my nose like other plastic frames would and they don't touch my lashes, either. However, Quay doesn't offer choices in the lens type, which of course reflects in the lower price. My old Ray-Bans are fit with Nikon lenses, so they cost a lot more but are extremely thin for my prescription (-5.25 OD, -5.00 OS) and have incredible clarity. The Quay ones aren't bad, of course, but the lenses are way thicker (double the thickness of my Nikon lenses) and don't take my astigmatism into account (I noticed this when looking at my digital clock). Still, they were a quarter of the price of my old glasses and they make me look like an awesome nerd, so no regrets.