Yep, you read it correctly :) If you offer me $50 to buy whatever I'd like in Nordstrom - I'm coming!
It seems they randomly select Nordstrom card holders for this promotion. All I had to do was schedule an appointment with a stylist and share my agenda. I told them I wanted to try on that Ted Baker dress I blogged about earlier, see if I could find matching earrings for my new Alexis Bittar bracelet and be informed about markdowns in the designer handbag/shoe departments. This time of year nothing is on sale in Nordstrom (yet) so I figured I should ask about a beauty stylist as $50 can buy me a few things in the beauty department. I've been hunting for an under eye concealer as well as the perfect red lip for some time now. Plus I had a $40 Nordstrom Note so I essential had $90 in free money to play with :)
My appointment wasn't until 1:30 so I had some time to kill that morning. After my regular trip to the Rack and a cute $6 necklace I headed to the mall.
First stop was H&M to check out Isabel Marant's collaboration and by the time I got there they were already dismantling the displays because there was next to nothing left. All I got to see was the window display. I did find one of the dresses I wanted to try on by the changing room but they only had a size 2 and that's just not going to happen.
My picks from this collection include a couple of her dresses (I'm a sucker for a pretty dress) and shoes (as always). I wasn't going to buy anything but I just wanted to see what they hype was all about. I'll wait patiently until they turn up in the thrift store :)
I decided to take a peek in Neiman Marcus to see what was going on as sale season is approaching. I checked out some dresses on a sale rack and then headed down to my favorite spot - designer shoes and bags :) Around 15 years ago I picked up a Balenciaga in Barneys NY and made the mistake of walking away. I've been thinking about it ever since. I decided to revisit the brand and see what I would get should I happen to win the lottery this week.
Very pretty but this lovely caught my eye on the neighboring display...
Say hello to the beautiful Givenchy aubergine Nightingale. If this baby ever magically gets a crazy markdown she's coming home with me :)
But then reality set in and I left empty handed.
After those unsuccessful missions I headed to Nordstrom to do a little scouting of my own. I headed to the dresses only to find that they don't carry Ted Baker at that location and then in the jewelry department all I found was Alexis Bittar's ugly lucite stuff (not a fan). I met my stylist in the designer handbag department and she was late so I had time to discover they had 20% several designers but nothing of interest. After exchanging contact info we headed to beauty to meet my beauty stylist. Luckily my pre-shop allowed me to focus in the beauty department where I planned to spend most of my time and free money anyway.
We started with under eye concealers. I wanted to try Cle De Peau (not available at that location, ugh) and Kevyn Aucoin as they were highly recommended. I have very sensitive skin/eyes so I have a hard time wearing eye makeup in general. I probably should have mentioned that to the stylist as after several attempts my eyes teared up and nearly swelled shut. Luckily I had already purchased Benefit's Erase Paste from Sephora the week before thanks to a generous online friend who shared her 20% VIB code with me - and so far it's the best I've found for color and coverage.
Next we decided to conquer the red lip. She brought me litany of lipsticks. I tried brands I'd never even heard of before. And then she brought me Guerlain's Rouge Automatic in Chamade...the most beautiful shade of PINK. And yes, it's the perfect rosy lip but it's in the same color family that I always buy. And yeah, I got it. The bullet pops up which is great - you don't have to worry about loosing the cap. However, I'm worried I'm going to snap it off when applying so I have to be more careful than I'm used to. For $35 a pop you'd think they'd come up with a better design.
After a few more attempts I gave up and grabbed my favorite concealer, Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage in SC-2. I discovered LM years ago when I had my adult acne problem and I found that this was the only concealer on the market that would perfectly cover the mess on my face. My skin has since cleared up thanks to Murad (amazing stuff!) but I still love me some Secret Camouflage for tiny imperfections.
I also grabbed a Nars Gypsy lipstick - it was my wedding lipstick. I remembered it being red but it's actually more berry.
I really did try to find something new but it's funny how one always gravitates to what they know.
We spent a few minutes in the perfume department to try to find a new sent. I took home a sample of Valentina by Velentino and it's very pretty but it does not last very long. It reminds of me of Michael Kors which used to be my signature fragrance. I have a feeling if I can't find something else soon I'll end up back with Michael LOL.
And then it was time to pick up the kiddies. Total cost for my day: $6
Not too shabby for a day of fashion and beauty :)
-Shoppinggal
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