The Shopping Diaries: Black Friday 2014

Hi all!

I know this is waaaaay overdue for a Black Friday haul post, but hey, better late than never right? :)

I'd say that this past Black Friday was really enjoyable because I felt that the sales were really good this year. I know some people say otherwise, but as an annual partaker of the tradition, I do believe the sales at the stores that I went to were fantastic. So here are some of my finds!

Victoria by Victoria's Secret: Honestly, I have way too many bottles of perfume, BUT, it's hard to leave without taking advantage of the 50% off deal. Plus, I'm a big fan of VS perfumes because I think they do them very well and they have a good range of scents. I think I have the body spray for this one from a previous purchase, but I decided to go with the perfume because I really like the scent. The description says that it has "Red berries, Victoria Rose, and Creme Brulee," and I think it's the red berries note that gives it that citric tang that I like. I got this for $25 for the 1.7 fl. oz.

Tocca Handcream/Rollerball set and Tarte mini set: For the second year in a row, I failed to get my hands on the Philosophy facial wash T-T. At least I was able to get my hands on the other two things that I was interested in! I became a fan of Tocca scents from the previous year's $10 set. I was happy that this one included two different scents that are both lovely. The two scents are Giulietta and Stella. I think I favor Stella over Giulietta, but as I said, they are both lovely! As for the Tarte set, I've always wanted to try one of their amazonian clay 12-hour blushes and I thought this was a good opportunity to try it out. Plus, I get to try their mascara and lip gloss of which I like both!

Navy Blue Trousers (GAP): This was one of my steals of the day. I had reminded myself that I've been on the hunt for trousers that hit at the ankle and were well formed to my legs. I'm 5' 1'' so it's really hard to find trousers that fit me well. Gap was having 50% off the entire store, and I had remembered that the Ultra Slim Crop Pants in petite form fit me really well, but unfortunately, they didn't carry that size in-store, which is really odd for a store in Hawaii where there are a lot of Asians lol. Anyways, that style is available online (which also had the 50% off deal), so I ordered myself a pair in black. I decided to give the sales rack a go since I was there already and came across this pant. This is the Slim Crop in OOR and I thought why not try it on. I was surprised that the fit wasn't that bad! The length was quite good for regular instead of petite and, due to the material, the fit was good as well. This was originally $54.95 and the sale price was $29.95, then with the extra 50% off, I only paid $15!

Mid-Crop Black and White Striped T-shirt (Spiral Girl): I haven't really been shopping at this store as much, but they had a whole bunch of sales and I decided to pop in for a bit. I was immediately attracted to this because of the monochrome and the simplicity of it. I like these types of boxy mid-crop tops and I was glad that I was finally able to find a style that I liked. I had been debating about getting something similar at Brandy Melville, but I like something that has more of a drape rather than the form-fitting style that a lot of crop tops have. I think I got this for $20? I think the regular price was $29.99.

Mung Bean face mask, et. al. (The Face Shop): By the time I got to the Face Shop in Ward Center, they had 20% off the entire store (earlier hours had 30% and 25% off). I originally went in there for a gift for someone and I decided to get a few things for myself ;). Not pictured was a black charcoal face wash that I really enjoy using with my konnyaku sponge. I really like any cleansing product for the face that has black charcoal because your skin comes out feeling really nice and clean without it feeling super dry. Also, I got this mung bean face mask, which is great for purifying pores. Of course, whenever you go to any Korean skincare store, you always leave with some samples!

Cedar Street Large Monday in Black (Kate Spade): This was a Christmas gift from my mom to me, but I included this in the post because of the good Black Friday deal! It was 25% off the entire store, and while I'm not too familiar with the sale patterns at Kate Spade, it seems like these bags don't really go on sale as these are one of their most popular bags and it's in black. I've been loving small crossbody bags, and I'm happy to have found a classic bag in black in a flexible style. This bag is great for daytime shopping or for a classy night out. The slimness of the bag doesn't allow for the user to stuff all kinds of junk inside and limits you to the essentials, which is great weight-wise!

Monochrome Graphic by Joe's (Nordstrom Rack): I had seen this a few weeks back and I was immediately attracted to it as you can probably tell why hehe. It was on the clearance rack for $84 I think, and I really didn't want to spend that much despite it being on clearance. But, I came here the day after Black Friday and it was still there! And the clearance sections had an extra 25% or 30% off, so I was like hmm I'll try it on for kicks. The fit was fantastic, especially the length, so that left me feeling like ugh, it's still $60 but then again, it's Joe's Jeans and I know they fit incredibly well. Nevertheless, I don't regret getting them!

High-Waisted Black (Nordstrom Rack): I happened to find this in the clearance rack as well. I had been keeping an eye out for high-waisted black denim and I was excited to have found these. I love the vertical zipper detail and that it is a proper high-waist fit. This turned out to be only $13 after the extra percentage off the lowest price!

Thank you for reading this post! I always enjoy Black Friday shopping. I can't believe this is the sixth year that I've done this. It's such a fun experience and I look forward to this year's as well.

Happy New Year's everyone!

- Lauren