Birchbox has 30-50% off many products. Their site is somewhat infuriating to navigate. To figure out what’s on sale, you have to start in the respective sale section. Once you add it to the cart, the discount will show up in the cart.
The most exciting? 50% off most of S’well. I like the 9 oz because it is so small and easily fits in a crossbody purse, coat pocket. The 17 oz comes in many Liberty of London prints. The sports cap and swing cap sold out since I placed my order, and I consider the sports cap a gamechanger. They also have 50% off Baggu, but it’s mostly wiped out.
Their gifts with purchase are quite good, you just have to know to look for it. If your purchase is over $35, add the mystery sample pack and one of the other items according to your purchase amount. Shipping is free for $50+ and I recommend splitting your order for more gifts with purchase if you have a larger order.
Moving on to Henné Organics, an American brand, Swedish inspired. If you happen to be checking my blog in the next few hours, most of the Henné Organics lip collection is 50% off on GMA Deals. The deal ends at midnight PT (Edit: moved from Thursday night to Friday night). I’ve never tried it before and it’s extremely tempting at 50% off. The winter weather has made my lips insanely dry. I’ll take what help I can get. You can find reviews at Nordstrom, Amazon, etc.
1 / I eyed these Duralex colored glass tumblers for years. Expiring Nordstrom promo credit finally made me do it. The mister says ‘they are great for ice cream’.
Image: Nordstrom
2 / I really like cleaning my face and in recent years, I almost always double cleanse. It feels so satisfying after a long day. I love love love this Farmacy Beauty Very Cherry Clean cleansing balm. The cherry scent is a limited edition version that is only available on their own site. While I like a sherbet texture, the Lip Smacker-esque faux cherry scent is why I really love it and I look forward to using it (like how I fell in love with oil cleansing with the Tatcha cleansing oil). Massage on dry skin, add water to emulsify, and wash off! This sells out at times but you can sign up for restock alerts.
Image: Farmacy Beauty
3 / I picked up a pair of borosilicate glass tea mugs at Merci in Paris. I searched online at the time, but didn’t see this specific one, or else would have considered buying these online in the US. But then, buying drinkware is a theme of my infrequent Merci visits. I also recently picked up a borosilicate measuring cup from a Taiwanese brand. Love how delicate and lightweight borosilicate is.
Image: HAY
4 / I saw this Muji “coat” on the mannequin and made a beeline for the racks. It comes in multiple colors and I think the light grey looks the best. It wears more like a light jacket, but it is much warmer than it looks. The fit is cocoon — but in comparing the US vs Asia size charts, it looks like sizing varies globally. It washes easily on machine delicate/hang dry. As much as I like it, I consider it to be too casual for work due to the heather grey sweatshirt material. (Edit: the US version is cut larger (wider, longer) and though it has the same fabric content, it feels thinner.)
Image: Muji
5 / Tissue turtlenecks are my favorite for layering. I tried the outlet version, but the fit of the retail line is superior. The printed versions aren’t as nice.
6 / Beauty Pie capsules are so convenient for travel, especially inflight pampering on a long-haul. I like using flat round Muji cream containers for storing a mixture of these — like a daily dose of vitamins as screwing/unscrewing the bottls adds to prep time. The ceramide and resveratrol ones for flight/evening and am trying the Vitamin C/E. I like most of what I’ve tried at Beauty Pie.
Ulta’s Love Your Skin event has kicked off and day 3 has select items from Peach and Lily’s collection (which is always excluded from their own site’s sale). Their line is formulated well and most importantly, very well priced during sales. The first item is 50% off and the rest are 30% off (EDIT: while the Matcha Pudding is a one day promotion, the rest should be available through January 25, while supplies last). I’ve tried all but the toner and oil.
Purchases of $35 and more get a Peach and Lily glass skin sample (auto added to cart). Skincare purchases of $70 and more qualify for a 30 piece gift with purchase (and it looks very good) (not auto added to cart).
I may start a post to track when Ulta has sales on Peach and Lily (versus the sitewide coupons).
Note: Ulta doesn’t let you check out from an IP address outside of the U.S.
I recently changed my travel backpack from the Fjallraven 17″ laptop backpack to the Lo & Sons Hanover Deluxe 2 backpack. While I liked the Fjallraven and its light weight, it lacked a suitcase sleeve. I really wanted a backpack with a suitcase sleeve so that my backpack can sit on top of my carry-on suitcase secured to the suitcase handle. The top handle on one of my carry-ons defaults to one direction and without the suitcase sleeve, the backpack slides right off. And while I could sit the Fjallraven on its side and tighten the straps, it was inconvenient to have to adjust the straps every time I was switching between modes. I had tried looking for alternatives to Lo & Sons, but nothing checked all the boxes as Lo & Sons did.
Pros:
The compartments! Within the front pocket, main inner section (it comes with an insert that can be removed), sides (I put a S’well bottle and umbrella on each side), laptop compartment, and my favorite – the top pocket which is perfect for the phone/passport/boarding pass. It makes it easy to find what I’m looking for.
The suitcase sleeve.
No logo
Zippers are easy to use and easy to access items — speaking as someone who doesn’t always zip everything fully while inflight. You can also twist the zippers together so that they deter theft.
Unisex. Overall, I prefer function over form. I got the backpack in Onyx black in the 600D Recycled Poly material. It’s a very unisex style so that the mister can use it if he wants to — I normally do not use a backpack for work.
Comfortable shoulder straps
Cons
The suitcase sleeve is a tight fit with the suitcase handles and requires two hands/some maneuvering. But, I guess a tight fit is better than a loose fit.
Not many color options.
The retail $188 requires some thought.
The Hanover Deluxe 2 is a perfect size for me. I almost always travel with a laptop, iPad mini and/or Kindle, noise cancelling headphones, some chargers, adapters, skincare (for the dry long-hauls), jewelry, socks, a scarf, a water bottle, etc. Although, I may experiment with traveling without the inner sleeve which does contribute to the ~2 lb weight.
I also got the Lo & Sons Catalina Deluxe Tote but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. It is a weekender and doesn’t have compartments like the backpack does, e.g. no laptop sleeve although it can fit a laptop. In general, I think a backpack is more versatile to travel with since I can distribute the weight across both shoulders when I have to carry it, and it looks smaller than the tote in case they are strict on carry-ons.
Lo & Sonsseems to make updates to their designs fairly frequently and addressing customer feedback. If you want a slightly smaller backpack, there is the Hanover 2. The Hanover Deluxe retails for $188 and the Hanover 2 for $168. (Comparison guide here.) They also have more feminine backpacks if that is your preference. Their holiday sale has been going on for a while and 30% is a nice discount (also if you have Chase Freedom for the 5% cashback on PayPal). If you are interested in Lo & Sons, they are still having a 30% off holiday sale!
I don’t wear sweaters often – mostly sweater blazers. The Everlane ReCashmere Stroopwafel turtleneck sweater caught my eye – mostly because I love waffle knit and how it was styled. The ReCashmere material is 60% Recycled cashmere, 40% Non-mulesed, extra-fine merino wool. It is soft and has a generous fit. If you are debating whether to size up or down, I think it looks better sized down. I also like that it is a higher mockneck for a sleek look. I am still looking for a white shirt to go under the sweater. I have been wearing it with a tissue turtleneck layered underneath (it doesn’t show on the outside). It does pill so I avoid having it near my purse. I have yet to see how it is after it is handwashed. The Heathered Sand color doesn’t look heathered at all. I didn’t like the black for a change.
