On this past fine (sweltering) summer Friday, I sauntered over to Nordstrom on my way home from work. Will sweat for beauty exclusives. I know that Nordstrom does its whole pre-sale now before its annual anniversary sale but I waited and I’m cool with that.  Call me crazy, but I sort of like the madness of the first day of the sale in-store. Some weird appreciation for chaos, I suppose. The beauty department was hopping and I did a thorough sweep to check out all the goods in person. Overall, your best deal is always going to be a tool; something that doesn’t traditionally go on sale. But there are also some pretty sweet sets and the palettes are straight fire!

NARS Survival Kit has two of my all-time fav shades: Mata Hari blush and Kalahari eyeshadow. The bonus minis are pretty sweet, too.

Molton Brown has one of the best values – basically a 2-for-1 on body wash. Pink Peppercorn all the way.

This Jo Malone compilation is perfection: English Pear & Freesia, Wild Bluebell, Peony & Blush, Wood Sage & Sea Salt and Lime Basil & Mandarin. I KNOW, right? I love the set because they layer so well together so you can cocktail these up to your liking.

I love the mini baked domes of bronzer and highlighter in the Laura Mercier flawless palette. There’s not a dud in this one – every eye shadow is wearable! Excellent value and one of the best mixes I’ve ever seen coming from team Mercier.

Tools, I tell you. I’ve had the Beachwaver since it first launched 5ish years ago and it works as good today. Do yourself a favor and consider automating your curls.

Water bottles are basically beauty accessories. Can’t resist these cutie Bkr bottles – especially the mini version. This one is out of stock online at the moment, grrr!

MAC had a massive crowd – they always have a ton of gift sets. The one that caught my eye the most is the C’est Chic Eyeshadow Palette. The neutral mix is very much welcome. MAC does neutrals so well and it’s awesome to see a palette full of ‘em.

I also got a new pair of running sneakers because I wore my previous ones literally into the ground. They had zero tread left. This pair is mega awesome.

Did you do any damage this year?