warehouse sale Archives

Style Democracy H&M Online Warehouse Sale Review & Haul?

July 28, 2021

Hi Everyone!

I was scrolling through Instagram and the Style Democracy H&M Online Warehouse Sale came up. I took a look and ordered some things.

Originally, this post was supposed to be a haul, but it has turned into more of a review…keep reading to find out why.

I wanted to buy some loungewear because my current loungewear consists of old gym shorts and old volunteer t-shirts that I’ve received over the years. I was hoping to find some tshirts, sweatshirts and maybe some shorts or pants. I was excited because the sweatshirts looked cozy. I was also going to buy a belt for my mom, but the only ones available were thicker belts that are more for style than function. There were a few cute dresses on sale too, but

1) I have no use for them

2) I have too many clothes that I’ve never worn

3) they weren’t available in my size anyway

Here’s what I ended up ordering:

The total was about $85 which isn’t too bad for 7 items. Only the sweatshirt dress and the black sweatshirt with zippers were over $10. I know I only chose basic colours, but I’m plain/neutral when it comes to my style. My closet mostly consists of black and dark blue. It said it would take 10-14 business days to process…

July 16th (13 business days later) – My friend received a shipping notification for her order. She made her order on the same day as I did.

I decided that I would wait until the 15th or 16th day before sending them an email to ask for an update on my order.

July 21st (16 business days later) – I sent them an email asking for an update.

July 26th (almost a month placing the order) – I receive an email saying that my order has been cancelled and a full refund has been issued. See below

July 30th – Paypal refund is still pending. I’ve read it could take up to a month for a Paypal refund? Also, I have yet to receive the discount coupon/free shipping for the H&M site.

Aug 4th – received full refund, but have not received the ‘discount coupon/free shipping.’

This would’ve been my first clothing purchase in a year. I haven’t bought any new clothes, I’ve only been selling my old clothes (check out my poshmark blog post). I’m not trying to complain about it since I did get a full refund, but it is disappointing that I had to wait almost a month until I got any information on my order. I know Style Democracy runs a ton of warehouse sales in collaboration with other brands, so I don’t know if it was because this was H&M’s first warehouse sale. I feel like they should have some idea of how much inventory they have. I ordered seven items and I didn’t even get a single item shipped.

When it comes to warehouse sales, it’s probably best to go to the in-person ones. As long as you’re making sure to follow all the safety protocols in place. For me, it seems like the only warehouse sales that I have had a good experience are beauty ones. I’ve been to a Nordstrom Sale and I purchased a few items. From what I remember, that was before Nordstrom was in Canada (we might’ve had a few Nordstrom Rack stores in Ontario). I’ve also been to the Designer Shoe Sale in Markham (in 2019) and also popped into a Puma one that was there too. The MAC/Estée Lauder and Shiseido Warehouse Sales were the best.

Love,

*Pictures were taken from the Style Democracy website.

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Haul | Shiseido Warehouse Sale 2019

May 7, 2019

Hi Everyone!

Over the weekend, I went to the Shiseido Warehouse Sale in Markham. Thanks to my friend who let me know about it, I was able to score some goodies. They have a lot of high end brands like NARS, Bare Minerals, Buxom, Laura Mercier, Clé de Peau, obviously Shiseido and other hair and fragrance brands.

It’s a three day sale starting Friday for VIPs who have tickets and then on Saturday and Sunday, it’s open to the public (no ticket needed). It’s located at 303 All State Parkway in Markham.

If you’ve seen my haul from the MAC Warehouse Sale from 2017, then you’ll know that I went crazy buying stuff (especially lipsticks) back in 2017. This time, I had more self control (it was also because I just spent a lot of money during the Sephora sale. My Sephora haul will be up on the blog on Friday! For the MAC Sale, you need a ticket to get in for all three days and my sister got me tickets in September and December 2017. For the Shiseido sale, you don’t need a ticket for Saturday and Sunday, so it’s more accessible and I don’t have to rely on my sister to get it from work.

At the MAC sale, the first time I went, I probably bought over 20 products. At the Shiseido sale, I only bought 9 products while my mom bought quite a few skincare products because she loves Shiseido’s Benefiance WrinkleResist line. I’ve banned myself from buying any eyeshadows until I hit pan/finish a few shades first. Maybe I can get some next year.

I was pleasantly surprised that they had so many products left. While I’m sure there was a much bigger selection of complexion products on Friday and Saturday, they still had my shades in two of the products I wanted to try.

Buxom Full-On Lipstick in Dolly | $10

I couldn’t pass on this deal and the shade is so beautiful. It’s my kind of nude-pink lipstick!

NARS Full Vinyl Lip Lacquer in Santo Domingo | $12 (not pictured because I accidentally missed it)

This is a pretty shade and I wanted to try a lip lacquer.

NARS Liquid Blush in Luster | $15

This is such a pretty shade, I had to get it. I also want to get more cream and liquid products because they’re easier to blend and won’t look powdery.

NARS Velvet Matte Foundation Stick in Fiji | $18

I have been wanting to try the NARS foundation stick for a while to compare it to my others.

Clé de Peau Concealer in Beige | $55

I’ve heard good things about this concealer, but it retails for $95 in Canada and I’m not about to spend that much for a concealer stick. While $55 is still quite expensive, I wanted to try it and they had a shade that matched me pretty closely.

Shiseido Synchro Skin Glow Luminizing Foundation in Golden 3 | $18

I was so excited to see that they had my shade in this foundation. My mom said this was the shade that has been the closest shade match to my skin out of all the foundations I’ve been testing out lately.

Shiseido Ultra Sun Protection Lotion for Face/Body SPF50+ (For Sensitive Skin & Children) | $20

I thought I’d give this a try since it was more than half off the retail price.

Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice Pour Femme | $35

I liked this perfume a few years back and I had a sample of it. While it’s more floral than I usually prefer, I still really like it and it was $35 so I had to get it.

Joico Moisture Recovery Conditioner | $10

I know Joico is a higher end brand of hair products at the drugstore so I wanted to try it.

I would definitely go again next year and we probably will be going so my mom can stock up on her Shiseido products. I think I would go on a Saturday, but it’s nice to know they have so much stuff left after the two days. They did have a lot of complexion products sold out (especially NARS foundations), but they still had some really nice products left over.

Love,

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Update (1 Year Later) | September 2017 MAC Warehouse Sale

September 7, 2018

Hi Everyone!

If you’re planning to go to the MAC Warehouse Sale, check out my Tips/Tricks post. This is an update post to my September 2017 Haul from the MAC Warehouse Sale. It’s been a year since I went to the sale and I’m telling you which products I’ve finished or decluttered and whether I’d purchase them again. If you want to see how much I bought the products for, click the link above to see my haul.

I’m only going to mention products that are still available for purchase. Some shades may not be available any more, but the product, i.e. lipglass is still sold in stores.

Smashbox Photo Filter Powder Foundation in Shade 1 – I made the mistake of buying Shade 1. It’s way too light and I was going to do a review on the powder itself (trying not to judge the shade), but it just looked powdery on my skin because it was so pale. I decided to declutter. It felt very velvety and maybe if I had the right shade, I would’ve loved it.

Repurchase? Probably not.

Mac ZOOM Mascara – I bought one that was green (by accident) and a gray one that I put in a giveaway. I liked the brush of the mascara, but since mine was green, I didn’t do a proper wear test to see how well it kept a curl or if it added any length or volume to my lashes.

Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss – This was sticky and I didn’t like it that much. I put one in a giveaway and finished the other.

Repurchase? No. Even if I got it at the MAC sale for a cheaper price, I still wouldn’t buy it again. It was so sticky.

Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Hi-Lustre Light Sculpting Lipstick in 210 Bold Innocent – This was also too pink for me.

Repurchase? I would buy another shade in the lipstick.

MAC Lipglass in C-Thru – I saw a video where Tati was wearing this and I thought it was so pretty. Obviously, since Tati is white and I’m Asian, it looked different on me. If I put too much, it would make my lipstick or lips look milky (because it’s a light pink shade).

Repurchase? No.

MAC Mineralize Glass in Lap Dog – I love the applicator on this lip glass. It’s a flat one that bends easily.

Repurchase? I would buy again (in a different shade because I think this one is discontinued).

MAC Cremesheen Glass in It’s a Strike – I love the shade of this one. It’s a mauve-pink.

Repurchase? Yes, but I will have to find a different shade because I think this is also discontinued.

MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Kittenish – I really like this chubby lip pencil and I love the shade. I’ve barely used it because I want to use other ones first.

Repurchase? This is probably one of the few ones that I like that’s still available.

MAC Ultimate Lipstick in Marque – This lipstick was discontinued. I’m still working on it.

Repurchase? Unavailable.

Estée Lauder x Victoria Beckham in Moroccan Heat (Limited Edition) – I used this a few times and it’s quite sticky. It’s not the best formula to put in a click pen (like the YSL Touche Éclat) because it’s hard to clean the brush after. I hadn’t used it in a while and used it again and when I was wiping it, I saw some gray on my cotton pad. I don’t know if it was from the brush itself or if it was mold. So, I decided to click out the rest of the lip gloss so I can keep the empty gold pen.

Repurchase? No longer available.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick in Ivory 0.75 – I’m still working on this stick foundation and I really love it. I just need to find the right shade because Ivory is too light.

Repurchase? I would even purchase this at full price, but if I ever go to another MAC warehouse sale and see a better shade match, I would definitely get it.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Makeup To Go Liquid Compact in 1N2 Ecru – I decluttered this because it was way too light and for some reason, the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation makes my eyes water every time. Maybe because of alcohol content (if there is any).

Repurchase? No.

Tory Burch Signature Deluxe Gift Set – I gave the cream to my grandma who loved it. I’m still working on both of these perfumes (it’s the exact same perfume, the small one just doesn’t have a spritzer).

Repurchase? Yes!

Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleanser Brush (read my review) – I didn’t start using this brush right away, so I’ve only had to replace the brush head once so far. It’s recommended to replace it after 3 months.

MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite (Original) – I love the strobe cream.

Repurchase? Yes. I’d repurchase at full price because it lasts so long.

I originally said that my fave purchases were: the Estée Lauder Pink Perfection Kit, Tory Burch Perfume kit and Victoria Beckham’s lipgloss.

After trying out the products, I still agree with the Tory Burch perfume. I don’t love the Estée Lauder kit as much as I originally did and the Victoria Beckham gloss was just too sticky; I think it was just because I love Posh Spice. Instead, I would add these to my faves: the MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil, Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipsticks and the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick.

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Haul | September 2017 MAC Warehouse Sale

September 15, 2017
Hi Everyone!

If you’re planning to go to the MAC Warehouse Sale, check out my Tips/Tricks post. This is my personal haul of what I got at the MAC/Estée Lauder Warehouse Sale. This haul doesn’t include products my sister got or products I got for my mom, friends and family. Before I begin, I wanted to say that I swatched the lipsticks and the stick concealer before taking pictures, so if you notice any imperfections, it was me. All products were brand new and unopened. A lot of products have been discontinued or were limited edition, so unfortunately they are no longer available in stores (maybe they’re available on Amazon or eBay. I will provide any links to products that are still available and retail prices so you can see how much I saved. For products no longer available, I tried looking them up, but the listings are no longer available so I will provide an estimate based on products that are similar.

I am going to sort this by the types of products, i.e. eye makeup, powder and blush, skincare, lips, fragrances, kits and palettes. All prices are Canadian unless otherwise noted.

Face Powders & Blushes | $15 each

Smashbox Photo Filter Powder Foundation in Shade 1

Paid $15 | Retail Value $49

Shade 1 is natural vanilla for fair complexions. It looked pretty close when I swatched it, but obviously the lighting is terrible to get a good idea of your shade. It’s quite light though, I think I’d be Shade 2 or 3. It comes with a double-sided sponge, one is a regular sponge you get with powders and the other side is softer. They’re meant for different coverages. According to the Sephora website, you use the velvety side for a natural, sheer-to-medium finish, or the smooth side for full coverage. I have yet to try the sponge, but I used a brush and despite the fact that it was too pale for me, it looked pretty flawless.

Mac x Star Trek Luna Luster Trip the Light Fantastic Powder (Limited Edition)

Paid $15 | Retail Value: estimated at $30-40 USD

I didn’t realize this was part of the Star Trek collection until I bought it since the container was open and I was just looking at the shade of the highlight. I thought it would feel more velvety smooth, but when I swatch with my finger, you can hear my finger move around (almost like a sandpaper sound). It’s super nice though and hopefully I find a MAC highlighter I like that’s part of the permanent collection.

$4 Deal Bins

I got two MAC Zoom mascaras (accidentally grabbed a green one…oops! maybe I can do something for Hallowe’en), two clear Bobbi Brown lip glosses, and two Estée Edit Stress Relief Eye Masks. I realized after getting home that the eye masks were just the Estée Lauder ones in Estée Edit packaging. I assume since they were Estée Edit, they’d be cheaper. This wasn’t a very good deal considering you can buy a pack of 10 for $46 ($46/10= $4.60, I paid $4 for one package of two).

Mac ZOOM Mascara in High Esteem

Paid $2×4=8 | Retail Value: 2x$12= $24

Estée Edit Stress Relief Eye Masks

Paid 2x$4= $8 | Retail Value: 2x$4.6= $9.20 ($46 for pack of 10, $4.6 each)

Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss

Paid 2x$4= $8 (for 2x7mL=14mL) | Retail Value: $23 (for 15mL)

Mascara- Buy One Get 1 Free ($6 each)- not pictured

Paid $12 | Retail Value: 2x$29= $58

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have way too much mascara already (and I didn’t want to purchase any more because they’d probably dry out by the time I got to them), so I only purchased two for my friend. I got two of the MAC In Extreme Dimension Lash Mascara in Black Extreme.

Smaller Palettes and Kits ($25)

I got 4 kits/palettes:
- one is a MAC quad eyeshadow palette (which is really frustrating that I paid $25 because my sister and I got two each in our charity bags…more on that later!)
- two MAC Nutcracker holiday sets (pigments and a lip set)
- Estée Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness Kit (they don’t have shade names for each eyeshadow, but rather, they are numbered to tell you which shades they are from the 5-shadow palettes available). The blush is still available for purchase, and I actually got one for my mom at the sale ($15).
MAC x Helmut Newton Point ‘n’ Shoot | Clockwise from left: Real Fantasy, Hard Currency, Influential, Point ‘n’ Shoot

Paid $25 | Retail Value: estimated at $30-40 USD

Estée Lauder Pink Perfection Kit for Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign

Pure Color Envy Lipstick in 220 Powerful

Pure Color Envy Blush Sculpting Blush in Pink Ingenue

Pure Color Envy Sculpting Eyeshadow

Paid $25 | Retail Value: estimated at $35 USD

Mac Nutcracker Sweet Bronze Pigments & Glitter | from left: Sugar Rush, Stardream, Handsome Prince & Reigning Riches

Paid $25 | Retail Value: unknown (estimated at $35 USD)

Mac Nutcracker Sweet Nude Lipstick Kit | from left: Crème Cup (cremesheen, permament collection), Nouvelle Vogue (satin, limited edition), Kinda Sexy (matte, permanent collection) & Whirl (matte, permanent collection)

Paid $25 | Retail Value: estimated at $35 USD

Eyeshadows ($12)

I didn’t purchase any individual eyeshadows because I thought the kits were a better deal.

Eyeliners ($15)

My mind is blanking…I think the eyeliner was $15, it may have been $10/12.

MAC Fluidline Pen in Retro Black

Paid $15 | Retail Value: $24

Lipstick and Lip Gloss (2 for $15)

We bought 16 lipsticks altogether (for me, my sister, mom and friends).

MAC Huggable Lipcolour | from left: Touché, Goodluck Mochi & Cantonese Carnation (discontinued)

Paid 3x$7.50= $22.50 | Retail Value: estimated at $24

Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy Hi-Lustre Light Sculpting Lipstick in 210 Bold Innocent

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: $36

MAC Lipglass in C-Thru

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: $21

MAC Mineralize Glass in Lap Dog

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: estimated at $20-24

MAC Cremesheen Glass in It’s a Strike

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: estimated at $24

MAC Patentpolish Lip Pencil in Kittenish

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: $24

MAC Ultimate Lipstick in Marque

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: estimated at $23 USD

Estée Lauder x Victoria Beckham in Moroccan Heat (Limited Edition)

Paid $7.50 | Retail Value: estimated at $45-55

Liquid & Stick Foundations

The shades I got are quite light, but I can always warm them up with some bronzer or use as highlight. I believe the Estée Lauder liquid foundation I got is a refill for a cushion foundation. It doesn’t say how much is in the container, but it’s huge and a way better deal than the retail price.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick in Ivory 0.75

Paid $21.20 | Retail Value: $55

Read my This or That post featuring the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick and Maybelline’s Fit Me Shine-Free + Balance Foundation Stick

Estée Lauder Double Wear Makeup To Go Liquid Compact in 1N2 Ecru

Paid $20 | Retail Value: $50 for a cushion compact (12mL)

Skincare & Nails

The top of the line skincare and fragrances are in the last building and you pay for them right after you get them. The cost of these products are not included in the $800 limit (before taxes). They had Estée Lauder products that retailed for $300+ and were about $150.

Tory Burch Signature Deluxe Gift Set

Paid $80 | Retail Value: $146 ($221 value)

Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleanser Brush

Paid $40 | Retail Value: $111

Read my First Impressions review on this cleansing brush

GLAMGLOW THIRSTYCLEANSE Daily Hydrating Cleanser

Paid 2x$17.20= $34.40 | Retail Value: $43 (original price, $34 on sale)

Read my review on this cleanser

MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite (Original)

Paid $24 | Retail Value: $40

Clinique Pep Start Quick Cleansing Swipes

Paid $9 | Retail Value: $10 USD

MAC Nail Lacquer in Midnight Sky & Vintage Vamp (discontinued)

Paid 2x$10= $20 | Retail Value: unknown

Once you’ve checked out, there’s a corner where you can purchase a charity bag, 100% of the proceeds go to whichever charity they have chosen, this year was the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation. You can give increments of $5 ($5, 10, 15 or 20), and they will give you a bag of MAC products depending on how much you donate. My sister and I both paid $20 and we got seven products each.

After you get your charity bag, you hand in your ticket (it must have the stamp from when you came in, you’re not allowed to hand in multiple tickets). You get a free gift just for giving your ticket. They gave us two nail polishes each.

Freebies

3x MAC matte lipsticks in Leap of Delight

2x MAC Extreme Dimension Work It Out Mascara in Abs of Steel & No Pain, No Gain

2x MAC x Helmut Newton Point ‘n’ Shoot Eyeshadow Quad

2x MAC Nail Lacquer in Soiree & Midnight Sky

FREE | Retail Value: $48 for the mascaras, other products unknown

I think my favourite purchases were the Estée Lauder Pink Perfection Kit, Tory Burch Perfume kit and Victoria Beckham’s lipgloss, just because I love her and the packaging is gorgeous…I wish I bought another now.

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much! I know it was a long post, but I wanted to share with you what you can get from the sale. I bought so many products that I want to share the wealth and I have decided to do a giveaway of some of the products I got (plus two Simple Glam Girls Rose Gold Lush Oval Brushes- H & I).

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Canadian and US entrants only. Contest ends Sat, Sept 30th 11:59pm EST. Winner will be randomly selected and announced on this IG page and my blog. Winner will be DM’ed on IG or emailed (If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected at random).

This giveaway is not sponsored or associated with Instagram, MAC Cosmetics, Simple Glam Girls or Bobbi Brown.

Products included:
- MAC ZOOM Mascara in High Esteem
- MAC x Helmut Newton Point ‘n’ Shoot Eyeshadow Quad (shades: Real Fantasy, Hard Currency, Influential and Point ‘n’ Shoot)
- MAC Nail Lacquer in Midnight Sky
- MAC matte lipstick in Leap of Delight
- 2x Simple Glam Girls Lush Rose Gold Oval Brushes (H & I)
- Bobbi Brown Crystal Lip Gloss (Travel Size)
Have you been to the MAC Warehouse Sale?

Love,

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