Vegas haul 2012


It’s been a while since my last post because I have been on a long-overdue vacation. I went to Las Vegas for five nights last week on an annual trip with a few girlfriends of mine.  This was my third time there so I didn’t really do any “touristy” things, just mostly hit up a few nightclubs and do the usual shopping.

As far as shopping goes, I usually have the things I want in mind before I go.  Since stuff is generally cheaper in the States compared to Canada (especially cosmetics) I usually load up on things when I’m there.  As a result, I have a separate “travel” savings account set up so every payday I just deposit the usual amount in it and by the time my vacation comes around I have all this cash to spend.  I have been saving for this trip since I got back from Montreal in February, so I had a good chunk of change saved up.

I do usually tend to buy a lot of big name cosmetics when I travel because it’s often to bigger cities and they offer more premium brands.  I also buy one big purchase, which typically is a designer handbag.  I did buy a handbag this time around, but my big purchase was actually something different than a bag.  But I’ll get into that last :).

I don’t generally buy a lot of clothes when I travel, I mostly invest my money in cosmetics and accessories because I find I get more wear out of them.  I used to travel with an empty suitcase and just buy a ton of clothes, but as I’ve gotten older and wiser, this is no longer the case as I like to make more sensible purchases; something that’s not an impulse and stuff that I can wear or use for more than one season.  Plus, I just get so sick of clothes so fast.  I did buy a few items from H&M, J. Crew, and Charlotte Russe though, mostly because we don’t have those stores in my city (I honestly hope we never get an H&M here because I travel so much that I can shop there a few times a season, if we had one I wouldn’t bother stopping in).

Anyways, starting off with the cosmetic items…

  • Viva La Juicy eau de perfume 50 ml – bought at the Juicy outlet at Premium Outlets Las Vegas North.  I actually got a really good deal on this because it was 25 per cent off, bringing it to around $55 USD.  In Canada it retails for $80.  I’ve wanted this fragrance for a while so I was really happy to get it on sale.
  • NARS Cordura eye shadow duo – bought at Sephora.
  • NARS Madly blush – bought at Sephora.  I love this blush and Dulce Candy always raves about it so I was excited to pick it up.  I have so many pink blushes that I wanted something a little more different.
  • Illamasqua lipstick in Liv – bought at Sephora.  This lipstick is seriously the dictionary definition of porn star pink. Definitely a night out kind of colour.
  • Benefit High Beam – bought at Sephora.  I have a mini of this stuff and it’s seriously the most perfect highlighter I have ever tried.
  • YSL Faux Cils Volume Effet Shocking mascara in black – bought at Sephora. This was a repurchase as I was out of my other one.
  • YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch Highlighter in #1 (Luminous Radiance)- bought at Sephora.  This was a repurchase as well.
  • YSL Rouge Volupte in #7 Lingerie Pink – bought at Sephora. I am almost out of my original one of this so I figured I may as well buy a back up.
  • MAC Paint Pot in Nubile – bought at the Cosmetic Company Outlet Las Vegas North. I have wanted this Paint Pot for a while but I didn’t think I really needed it that bad.  Luckily, it was only $11.75 and it was the last one left, so I snatched it.  I’m glad I bought it because it’s the perfect base for your eyelids.  This was also limited edition from 2011.
  • Butter London Nail Polish in Slapper – bought at Nordstrom. I have wanted this colour for a long time but the only place in Canada that I know that sell Butter London is The Bay, which didn’t seem to carry this colour (although I was at my local Bay store this past Saturday and they totally carry it now.  Oh well, it’s cheaper in the US anyways, $14 compared to $17).  Anyways, this was the last one of this shade they had and since I have never tried BL before, I thought I may as well pick it up.
  • Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in Just Dance – bought at Nordstrom.  Because Deborah Lippmann is much cheaper in the US I knew I was going to pick up at least one of her polishes, this teal-blue glitter caught my eye so I snagged it.

As for accessories, I didn’t pick up that much jewelry.  I really wanted a Tiffany’s necklace, but I decided to save that for another trip.  The two pearl bracelets and gold spiked one was a set from Charlotte Russe that I got for $6.  The green bracelet with rhinestones is from H&M. Note: I didn’t buy the silver Michael Kors watch on this trip, I got it from The Bay around Christmas time last year (shown for stacking purposes).

Of course I had to pick up a new bag when I was there and I have wanted this one since I was in Montreal.  I picked up the Michael Kors large Hamilton in black with gold hardware and plan to use this as a work bag because it’s just so large and roomy and would be perfect to use on business trips.  This bag retails for $398 in Canada and $348 in the US, however, I got it for much less than that because of luck and timing.

I knew I was going to pick it up at Macy’s because they offer a 10 per cent off international discount.  I ended up going to Macy’s at Fashion Show Mall on a Friday and the next day they were actually having a shopping event where you can buy a shopping passport for $5 (donated to charity) and get 25 per cent off most items.  I ended up pre-paying for the bag so I could get the 25 per cent off, plus I signed up for a Macy’s card which snagged me an additional 20 per cent off (which I paid off right away), so the final total after taxes and everything came to $225.  I got a crazy deal on that bag and I’m so glad that I chose to go to Macy’s rather than Nordstrom, a Michael Kors boutique, or Neimans.  Macy’s usually offers the best deals on items so if you want something from a brand that you know Macy’s carries (each store is different, Macy’s at FSM is definitely a premium-brand store compared to other stores in smaller markets), check with them first, you can most likely get some sort of discount on it.

To match my new bag I got this rose gold card holder from the Michael Kors outlet (I actually bought this before the bag).  I have wanted a business card holder since I got business cards so I picked this one up.  This is a great little item because you can also use it as a wallet and store your credit cards, debit cards, cash, etc. in case you don’t want to carry around a large wallet.

Finally, onto my biggest purchase…

I splurged and bought a pair of Christian Louboutins.  I have always felt a desire to buy a pair of CLs every time I see their iconic red sole but I didn’t know if I would be able to fork over that much cash for a pair of shoes which are constantly on the ground.  I told myself that I would try a pair on and just get it out of my head that I didn’t need them.  Well, that plan didn’t work and I walked out of Neiman Marcus with a pair of Decolletes 100s in black jazz calf leather.

I’m not going to go into too much detail about the shoes because I’m planning on doing a separate post on them (there’s not a lot of blog reviews on Christian Louboutins, especially this model).  I have found that these type of posts truly help a lot of people because if you are like me, I do a ton of research before spending the cash on these items, and any sort of information on them really helps.Anyways, here are some more shots of the shoes.

Keep a look out for future blog posts featuring these items!

As for the actual trip, we stayed at The Mirage which is always a good time and got the two-bedroom hospitality suite for the last two nights.  For nightclubs, we went to 1OAK (mediocre compared to other Vegas clubs), Surrender (loved this place, Lil’ Jon was playing the night we were there), Marquee (the music was good, the place was beautiful, but it was way too crowded, I wouldn’t go back), and XS (always a good time, if you go in the summer make sure to go for Sunday Night Swim).  As for day clubs, we hit up Bare at The Mirage (we got accosted by a guy who offered us open bar from 11-1 and free cover, cant say no to that), which actually turned out to be a pretty good time.

Here are some pictures from my trip (note, they were taken on my iPhone, hence the quality).

Khloe Kardashian! If you spent $160 you got a photo with her and a gift bag. I didn’t do it because I would rather spend that on makeup…

Platinum Entourage Blow Out Bar Las Vegas

Me, on left

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