On Good Friday, I celebrated by going shopping at the Nordstrom Warehouse Sale at the International Center. This is a sale that happens annually at a giant convention center. Nordstroms have been popping up in Canada within the past few years so I figured I would go check it out for the first time. I've been to other warehouse sales before that weren't that great so I wasn't expecting much but I had a surprisingly satisfying experience.

What I Got



The pictures don't really do this dress any justice but it's a beautiful silk/velvet kimono-esque dress. It kind of looks like you're wearing several layers of robes and the top layer has fallen off your shoulder to reveal the layer underneath it.

Brand: Phillip Lim
Original Price: $1300 (note that all prices are in CAD)
Sale Price: $299



I only got the blouse at the sale (skirt is from Brandy Melville).

Brand: Storee
Original Price: unknown
Sale Price: $30



They had like a dozen of this blazer in size 6 which doesn't fit me and I was so bummed out but then I found the last one in my size and I was a happy camper. It's a structured not-quite-velvet-not-quite-suede blazer with no lapels. Literally perfect.

Brand: Madewell
Original Price: ~$200
Sale Price: $50



I've been watching Riverdale on Netflix and Veronica became my style icon when she walked into Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe with a cape on and now I have one too.

Brand: Chelsea 28
Original Price: $158
Sale Price: $50 

Shoutout to my amateur photographer Sandra for squatting to take these pictures.
 
What to Expect

First off, it very much is a warehouse sale so don't expect neat rows of clothes all sorted nicely. It was pretty chaotic. The sale is open for a week and I went near the end of the week but it was still packed full of people. The paper signs saying things like "Women's Tops S/M/L" indicated that they had tried to sort the clothing but honestly the effort was in vain.





There. Was. So. Much. Stuff. Often times you would find the same item in several different places so it's worth looking around all the sections if you can't find something in your size the first time. The clothing was not sorted by size and only vaguely sorted by type. There were all types of clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, jewelry, menswear, and children's clothing. There was also a "Designer Room" that had luxury brands and the things in this section were more expensive.

I was pretty disappointed with the handbag selection since I was hoping to find a cute going out bag. I'm guessing there were more bags at the beginning of the sale. The stuff in the Designer Room started at $100 and went up. Stuff in the regular section started at around $20 and went up to $100.

Shopping Tips

• Take your time and go through all the racks. Nothing is in order so you'll miss out on cute stuff if you only go through one section. 
• Don't bring a large bag or a jacket. You'll probably be holding clothes as you shop so a big bag gets in the way and it's very hot in the convention center. 
• Don't buy things that aren't really on sale. Most of the stuff was at a decent discount but some things were only $10-$30 off. You're at a warehouse sale to get a good discount so leave the almost regular priced stuff to regular shopping. 
• Go to the Designer Room first. This section is way smaller than the rest of the sale and had nicer things so check it out first. 
• Don't buy something unless you really love it. Sometimes the sale is too good and we are tempted to buy something just because it's cheap. Trust me, this is never worth it. 
• Bring a friend who is just as into shopping as you are. I imagine it would get really boring going through countless racks of clothes all by yourself. 

Overall, a pretty neat sale.

My vanity is an absolute disaster and it brings me great shame every day.

When I first heard about the idea of minimalism, I admit that I thought it was kind of stupid. I thought: why would people not want stuff? Stuff is great! I think in the past, I associated stuff with happiness and that resulted in buying and hoarding a ton of random things that I don't particularly like or have a use for. In retrospect, I don't think any happiness was derived from having stuff; but rather I was using stuff as a distraction from unhappiness.

Recently, all this stuff in my life has made me feel really anxious and I think I'm finally ready to get rid of most of it. I suppose this is what people call a "lifestyle change". Like becoming a vegan or a Scientologist or something. I am anticipating a profound catharsis from this purge and I am kind of excited.

I felt great immediately after making the decision that I will declutter but about 2 seconds later, I realized the sheer enormity of this task.

I swear I didn't do this.

I. HAVE. SO. MUCH. STUFF.

I have no idea how this happened but somehow, throughout my lifetime I have accumulated an amazing amount of stuff. I have so much makeup, clothes, hats, stuffed animals, lotions, random papers, aflljadflas;dlfjasdl;f.

But I'm committed to this now. I am going to get rid of the things I don't like or don't use, I am going to keep my room more organized, and I am going to be aesthetic and minimalist like all the cool people on Instagram. I have dubbed this whole thing >>> PROJECT MINIMALISM <<<

The Game Plan:

The Vanity:
- Get rid of all the makeup and skincare that I haven't used since 2010
- Buy cute trays and holders to store my essentials
- Fit more stuff into the drawer to clear the tabletop

The Bookshelf:
- Get rid of all the hats and scarves I don't like
- Find room for my necklaces inside the vanity drawer
- Find another spot for my hair stuff
- Put some of my favorite books in there

The Closet:
- Donate/throw out clothes I don't like or wear
- Reorganize my clothes by color
- Store my caps somewhere out of sight

The Desk:
- Clear out all the loose random papers
- Clear out the top shelf (like why do I keep lotions here??)
- Put the books on my bookshelf

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Hopefully by the end of this journey, I will have shinier hair, a successful career, a healthier diet, and 20/20 vision. But we'll see.

My Sephora haul: House of Lashes clear lash glue, Tweezerman mini tweezers, Kat von D lock it foundation

Recently I got to go to my first ever Sephora VIB Rouge event and I figured I would share my experience. The best part of this whole thing was the fact that I didn't need to spend $1000 in a calendar year to go because I went as a friend's plus 1 (shout out to Sandra for hooking me up). I sincerely hope that I never make VIB Rouge because I already have a problem.

The event was basically a private shopping event. So they closed the store to the public and we got 2 hours to shop. If you spend $50 or more, you get a free makeup pouch with a ton of samples in it. I really wanted this pouch so I convinced myself that I needed $50 worth of makeup. It was very easy to convince myself. I ended up getting the Kat von D Lock it foundation, some mini tweezers, and lash glue. Praying to the good lord that the foundation is a good shade match for me because I somehow ended up with 5 foundations that don't match me.

Goodie bag: Bite mirror and amuse bouche lipstick in fig, Boscia luminizing black mask, NARS audacious mascara, Kat von D tattoo liner in trooper, Smashbox lipstick in legendary, Drunk Elephant virgin marula facial oil, Atelier Cologne citron d'erable cologne, Clean reserve parfum (not pictured)

I'm really glad I bought stuff and got the bag. The bag itself is really cute; it's red fake leather with a black pom pom and it says "Sephora VIB Rouge" on the front. The bag is actually quite big and totally usable. A lot of the times free samples are kinda boring but I think these are pretty good. A lot of these products are ones that I've heard a lot about and have been wanting to try. I cashed out around 1 hour into the event but it looked like they still had a lot of these bags left so I'm not sure if running out would be a problem. Since it's an RSVP event, I'm assuming they would have enough bags for everyone.

They also had these fancy individually boxed cake pops and bottled drinks, which was cute. There was also an Instagram contest you could enter for a chance to win 6 new products from various brands. I never win contests but I entered anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Other samples: Lancome genifique concentrate, Smashbox studio eyes primer and full exposure mascara, Living Proof perfect hair day overnight perfector, Make Up For Ever aqua lip liner in 2C, Glam Glow volcasmic matte glow moisturizer, Burberry black parfum

In addition to the free samples in the goodie bag, they were also giving away a ton of other free samples that you could get without buying anything. Employees walked around with trays full of samples that you could just take. They also put samples in your bag at check out if you buy stuff. There were a ton of different samples and I didn't get all of them but I'm really happy with the ones I did get. I really wanted to try that Glam Glow moisturizer so I'm really glad I got that. 

From left to right: Kat von D tattoo liner in trooper, Make Up For Ever aqua lip liner in 2C, Smashbox be legendary lipstick in legendary, Bite amuse bouche lipstick in fig

Overall, I really enjoyed this event and I would definitely recommend going if you get an invite (or if you can convince your cool friends to waste their plus 1 on you lol). I think the samples are completely worth spending $50 for if you already needed things from Sephora anyway. And let's be real, you always need something from Sephora.