Black Friday 2015: No-Buy edition

~ stashy

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! I hope you get stuffed full of turkey and pumpkin pie! 😀  Then rest up for Black Friday tomorrow! 😉

So it seems like everyone but me will be going out Black Friday shopping this year. *pout*  Alas, Black Friday in Canada is less of an event compared to the US anyway.  Our Thanksgiving was 6 weeks ago, but we participate in this American Thanksgiving tradition, whereby we have a random day of special sales on a Friday at the end of November.  It’s a regular work day for us; our stores don’t open as early, and our sales aren’t as insane as in the US.
blackfriday2015_2
But, I have seen a bigger push from retailers to promote Black Friday here in the past few years. The last 3 years I made an effort and went looking for deals on Black Friday.   In 2013, I actually took the day off and went shopping!  Since I’m not participating in Black Friday (cosmetics-wise) this year, it got me thinking, did I even like the stuff I bought on Black Fridays past?  It’s not a good deal if I don’t even use the stuff.  Let’s have a look.

From Black Friday 2012:

Sephora deals (all were CAD $12 each):
blackfriday2015_3
Tocca Mini Rollerball Trio
I only liked 1 of the scents (Stella) out of the 3 in this set. I hardly ever wear them though – the roller balls on these are wonky and don’t dispense the perfume properly.
Buxom in the Spotlight Set
I recently tried the lipstick and I think it’s turned, the smell is off. The mascara is long gone (it was meh).
Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer & Shadow Set
I just opened the tube of this primer! 😮 I’ve had it before and I really liked it.  The eyeshadow in Serenity is beautiful but I keep forgetting to use it.
blackfriday2015_4
The Body Shop 50% off
I bought a bunch of eye shadows in their old formula which I LOVE (I have some back ups).  I don’t like their current Colour Crush eye shadows – they’re not as pigmented or smooth as the old ones.
blackfriday2015_5
Sedona Lace Vortex brush set with belt 50% off
I was so happy to get my hands on this set – my favourite part of this set isn’t even the brushes, it’s the tool belt – it’s very well designed and handy for storing brushes securely. The brushes I like most from this kit are Flat Top Buffer FB07, Universal Blender EB09, Flat Synthetic EB11, and Detailed Shader EB21.  Interesting to note that the regular price at the time was $90 for the set, it’s now $110 – inflation heh?

From Black Friday 2013:

Sephora deals (CAD $12 each):
blackfriday2015_6
Philosophy Purity Made Simple
I used this up earlier this year. It was just ok, not my favourite cleanser.
Buxom Curtain Call Set
I really love this lipstick and have been reaching for it more lately – very easy to wear and feels comfortable on the lips.

In addition to the $12 deals, this particular Sephora I visited had a table full of clearance items and I got these:
blackfriday2015_8
Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance Eyeshadow Palette $30 (reg $43)
I was so happy to score this on discount – I believe this is now discontinued. This was my first all matte eye shadow palettes. Reminder to use this more!
blackfriday2015_7
Sephora IZAK brush set $17
I really enjoy the face brushes from this set but I hardly ever use them. I need to give the set to someone who will appreciate it more! The whole design is so cute though.

Face Shop 40% off store-wide
This store was fairly new to me at the time so I stocked up sheet masks, a cleansing oil, and also tried some of their blushes and eye shadows.  I like the sheet masks – they’re an inexpensive option (~$2 each).  The makeup was just ok – not my favourite and likely I won’t repurchase. I haven’t tried the cleansing oil yet.
blackfriday2015_9
Coastal Scents 50% off site-wide
Got a whole whack of brushes – CS had revamped their brushes and I was curious about them – but they SUCK (pokey and poorly made compared to their old line).  I bought their Bright Eye under eye corrector (a peachy shade) which is quite good. I also got a few of their Hot Pots eye shadows which were hit and miss but overall I’m happy that I only paid 99¢ each.  I think this was the last order I’ve made from CS.
blackfriday2015_10
bdellium tools Mineral 10 pc set $49 (devucosmetics.com 20% off)
I’ve been wanting to get a good quality brush set with short handles for travelling.  These brushes are such high quality for the price! My favourite brushes from this kit is #776S Blending, #765S Small Angle Shader, and #945S Contour.  I love the travel roll too.  One of my favourite Black Friday purchases ever.

From Black Friday 2014:

Sephora deals (CAD $12 each):
blackfriday2015_11
Tarte Magical Moments Deluxe Best Sellers Essentials Set
Gave this to a friend. 🙂
Boscia Pore-Purifying Duo
Unused!
Bare Escentuals  the INCREDIBLES Dynamic Eye & Lip Duo
The eye shadows of this set is really nice – I keep forgetting to use them though. I haven’t even opened the lip gloss. 😛
blackfriday2015_12
Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash
Using this right now! I’ve had this cleanser before and I really like it for the mornings.
Sephora Precision Makes Perfect Mini Airbrush Set (Beauty Blender-type sponges)
These are actually pretty good sponges – small, but I like the texture.
First Aid Beauty FAB Star Duo (Ultra Repair Cream and Face Cleanser)
Remains UNUSED! 😛
blackfriday2015_13
NEST Fragrances Rollerball Trio
I love the scent Dahlia & Vines from this set. I plan to buy the full size eventually. I don’t wear the others from the set at all.
Bite Beauty Lush Fruit Lip Gloss
I did a review of these a while back. I hardly ever wear these. I really only like 1 of the colours from the set. And I don’t like the smell. I probably should toss these actually.
blackfriday2015_14
Inglot – 10% off
10% off isn’t a great deal but the Inglot store in Toronto had opened recently and I was eager to try more things from the line (I had visited Inglot in Chicago and Montreal before) so I bought some brushes (very good!) and a few more eye shadows for my Freedom System palettes. I will devote an entry to my Inglot collection soon.

I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch of stuff I’ve acquired in the frenzy of Black Friday deals.  Overall, I think I did ok with Black Friday purchases – not a whole lot of duds and I even discovered some gems, like bdellium tools.  Temptalia has listed the Sephora deals for 2015 here – I’m noticing that the sets are quite repetitive year after year… and, for us Canadians, the set are now $13 each instead of $12 – damn that exchange rate!

And wow, I just received this email from MAC:
MACholiday2015
All of their Holiday Kits are 25% off between Nov 26-30! (plus free shipping on $65) 😮  This is really unprecedented, I don’t recall MAC ever offering a discount on their Holiday collection. I guess MAC is trying to compete with Sephora.  Good thing I’m not interested at all in this year’s offerings!  But it’s a great buy for gifts.

What have you bought in the past on Black Friday? Are you going out shopping to score some makeup deals this year?

30 thoughts on “Black Friday 2015: No-Buy edition”

  1. It seems like the Black Friday sales in Canada are getting bigger and bigger each year (or there are more stores participating in Black Friday), which is great to see…I guess we can’t really complain since we get Boxing Day too.

    I will also be skipping the sales this year *cries* It’s okay, I just keep telling myself I don’t need to get deals that I may or may not even use 😛 Although I had originally wanted to pick up one of those NEST fragrance sets like the one you got last year…it looks like Sephora has another one of those sets as a part of their sale this year.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yeah it seems like they hype it up more every year. I’m curious about this year though – since every year the focus has been Canadian stores trying to keep shoppers in Canada rather than cross border shopping – with our Canadian dollar being so weak, if they will put as much of an effort as previous years? I guess we’ll see.
      Do Americans not get Boxing Day?!
      The NEST fragrance was only good for that ONE scent that I liked… but I guess for $13 it’s not too shabby. That roller is still going strong and I wear it fairly regularly. Just be careful stepping inside Sephora tomorrow though, you’ll get caught up in the excitement and grab stuff you didn’t know you need. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I was watching the news yesterday and they were actually saying that people from the States are coming to Canada to shop for once because of the exchange rate. Good point about possibly having fewer sales due to less competition with the US this year, though.

        Boxing Day is a thing in the US, but it’s not an observed holiday like in Canada – I think they also do have sales, but not on the same scale. It’s like Black Friday, but reverse haha.

        I’ve smelled a couple of them and I think I like most if not all of their scents! As much as I want those NEST fragrances, I think I’ll avoid Sephora – like you said, too much temptation!

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. Oh interesting about the Americans coming up to Canada to shop! Now we have to fight THEM for deals haha.
          I didn’t know that about Boxing Day – I just asked my coworkers and they knew that Americans don’t get Boxing Day off – I’m so out of the loop!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply

          1. Haha! The only reason I know is because my company has an office in the US, and I use to be envious that our American counterparts got Thanksgiving, Black Friday, AND Boxing Day off. Then I found out they don’t get Boxing Day off and we do, and stopped telepathically glaring at them.

            So I caved and went to Sephora to buy the NEST fragrance set (obviously my willpower is not as strong as yours, but at least I didn’t walk away with any extra purchases). It comes with the same fragrances as yours except Midnight Fleur, which I’ve smelled before and liked. I just found it funny that I liked Dahlia & Vines the least of the three, while that’s the only one you like. Fragrances are so funny like that!

            Like

            Reply

      1. Online possibly. I don’t have my eye on anything in particular so it’s ok if I don’t get anything, but I already shopped online on Wednesday so that was my pre-black friday shopping with the same deals for black friday.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  4. I’m in awe that you remember what you purchased a year and two years ago, I barely remember what I bought last week! If you have dry skin I’d highly recommend the FAB ultra repair cream, its my favorite for the winter months.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It’s not from memory! I keep a makeup inventory spreadsheet where I note down when I purchased something… 😉
      I’m planning on cracking open that FAB Ultra Repair cream this winter, I’ve heard such good things about it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Black Friday in the US has been totally out of control. People actually die in the mobs! It’s complete bedlam! Last year a whole host of stores started Black Friday ON Thanksgiving. It’s insane. I did notice that a few stores this year made a point of stating in their commercials that they will be closed on thanksgiving and opening late today which I thought was interesting.
    I try not to go near any retail facilities on Black Friday and am more of a Cyber Monday kind of shopper. People are scary man!
    I need to break out my Ladybird palette, it’s such a good one! When that was released it was basically the only all matte palette available in the midrange price range. Everything was so shiny a few years ago! Thank goodness for the matte revolution.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. This morning on tv they were showing Canadian Black Friday vs US Black Friday – we’re so polite and everyone walks calmly through the doors single file, and the US it’s chaos and people fighting over boxes. It’s NOT worth dying over geez! I do like that they offer discounts for people who are shopping for Christmas deals but I feel like the meaning is getting lost with people just being GREEDY?
      I know, that Kat Von D palette paved the way for the matte palettes – it’s still a fantastic one.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. EXACTLY! The whole thing is really completely appalling. I always feel really old around this time of year because I go into the “back in my day…” kind of mode. But seriously, no one got giant televisions for Christmas when I was a kid. And I still find the idea of elbowing someone out of the way so I can get the thing that I want to be really awful.

        Like

        Reply

  8. I rarely buy anything on BF. I’m such a sale shopper that I can recognize when BF deas are legit deals or if it’s just the same sale they will do in 2 months. I do have fun going out though and staying up all night 🙂 I think it’s neat that you shared updates on everything. This pretty much solidifies why I don’t actually buy makeup on BF… it’s too much pressure to make an informed decision in such a short amount of time!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I guess I’m starting to get jaded about BF sales… you’re right, they will typically have the same deals for Boxing week too. I did put some of those Sephora BF sets on my Christmas wish list – let’s see if the MIL went out and fought off the masses on BF lol.

      Like

      Reply
  9. Pingback: Stash Dash: Nov 20 – 26 | stash matters
  10. Pingback: Accountability Summary (+ Makeup Inventory) | stash matters

Leave a Comment: