My siblings and friends decided on a no-gift Christmas last year, given the uncertainty around meet-ups toward the end of the year. Partly driven by needs and partly because of I want to get all the shopping done in one month so I can start on a clean slate for 2022, I had the excuse to treat myself for the holiday season! I’m always curious to see what everyone’s buying and getting around the holidays so here’s my mini haul.
Read More: Twenty Twenty-Two.
Rather than mindless spending, this haul features a bunch of purchases that will set me up nicely for the new year. You’ll notice there are a lot of the regular boxing day retailers missing compared to previous hauls. A combination of a new kitchen appliance, workout clothes, and skincare for the year, I’m looking forward to maintaining the good habits developed through the year into 2022!
Let’s dive in and review what I picked up this year.
Workout Gears from Lululemon
I added a few more items to my Lululemon collection include two new sports bras, a sweater and four leggings including the popular Wunder Under and training as well as the Align leggings. There were surprisingly a good selection to choose from with the popular sizes being available this Boxing Day “We Made Too Much” sale compared to the Black Friday sale so I took advantage of the sale and grabbed a few more items.
I have another cart going right now and really trying my best to wait until I get my first delivery (not only to confirm sizing but also overall fit) before buying any more from the sale.
Boxing Day Deals from Sephora & MAC
Can’t really forget our beauty retailers, can we? Sephora released a few 20% of discounts in December and as VIB that’s the best offer they have annually. I picked up two items in my first haul from early December and a few more during the end of the year sale (of which they typically discount the sale items by another 20%!)
From my first haul, I picked up my go-to foundation, the Dior Backstage Face And Body Foundation ($50, available here) since 2018. I had to go a shade lighter (again!) so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the shade will be a better match! I also picked up the Laura Mercier Perfect Pair Prime & Set Travel Kit ($51, available here) which comes with the primer and setting powder.
I splurged on two skincare items from brands that are new to me – the Herbivore Moment of Clarity Smooth Skin Set ($50, available here) and the OLEHENRIKSEN C-Ing Stars Vitamin C Skincare Set ($86, sephora.ca). I’ve been a tad obsessed about re-adding vitamin c to my skincare routine again and this seemed like a good one to try out.
I noticed Sephora added a few more items to the sale section and that was my excuse to make another order. It was a good sign when I spotted a few of my staple products on the list – the Laura Mercier Set For Perfection Translucent Loose Setting Powder & Puff Set ($51, available here) – I bought this two years ago and it was a great deal then and definitely now as well. Although the pre-sale discount isn’t too crazy, the added 20% makes it somewhat worth the double purchase. I don’t particularly care for the puff but the powder is one of my favourite products.
Another skincare purchase is the Biossance Light the Way Set ($95, available here) which includes two full-sized Squalane + Lactic Acid and Squalane + Vitamin C Dark Spot. This is a new-to-me brand but I’ve read good things about the brand and like I mentioned earlier, the Vitamin C serum is one I’m most excited to try out.
From MAC, I needed to spend around $30 to renew my Devoted member status and conveniently with a 30% off sitewide and 25% off gift sets, I ended up purchasing this holiday season’s limited edition Best-Kept Secret Lip Kit ($79) featuring 3 full-sized items for $39. It’s not the best deal nor purchase I’ve ever made from the brand but given the limited time I had to make the purchase before the year end, it didn’t matter as much.
You’ll know I am obsessed with my Ninja Foodi Air Fryer & Pressure Cooker ($250, available here). This past two years, I’ve only been using mostly the air fryer function and it surprised me when I realized I had a yogurt setting on it too -facepalms- in addition to the pressure cooker and other “traditional” functions like broiling/sauteing and dehydrator.
I’ve long been a Ninja appliance fan and was in the market for a new food processor recently. I never realized how expensive food processors are (CAD$150 is considered average price) and made the mistake of buying a “cheaper” model back in the summer from Black and Decker for $45. It stopped working after one use and greatly upset me to no end since I had thrown out the box and couldn’t return or do anything about it except to swallow the loss.
My favourite home appliance brand came to the rescue – I ended up splurging on a Ninja Intelli-Sense Kitchen System ($199, available here) which was on sale for “only” $150 from Costco and came with free shipping. The neat thing about the unit is that it has 12 functions and replaces three appliances – food processor, “high-speed” blender (for smoothies/dressing), “crushing” blender (for heavy-duty frozen drinks / ice cone or ice cream).
I’m stoked about using this to make Nagi’s brioche recipe (which turned out fantastic when I made it in the summer) and just takes care of the cravings when it hits!
What did you pick up during the holiday season?
