Christmas 2013 Haul

Hope you all have been having an exceptionally stellar holiday season.  For the few years that I've had my YouTube channel, I've always told myself that I would stray away from filming and/or posting things I got for Christmas.  However, I somehow felt inclined to do so this year, so I did.  Along with this post, there is a video I filmed on my YouTube Channel (click here to view) where I generally go over the things I got.  There may be more in depth reviews to come on specific things in the future.  As I get older, the more grateful I am for the fact that I still get gifts at Christmastime from people, although I'm convinced I'm far too old to still be getting them.  Please don't feel offended or think that I'm bragging by sharing these things with you all.  I would be very delighted if you all shared some things you got for Christmas down in the comments, or something you particularly enjoyed this holiday season.  Also, let me know if you're interested in me doing a review on any of the items I got.  All photos taken by me.  =]

Le Pliage Large Tote in Slate by Longchamp

 Silver Stainless Steel Watch by Emporio Armani

 Bracelet by Isabel Marant pour H&M

 Fragrances I got for Christmas: Fame Black Fluid by Lady Gaga, Our Moment by One Direction, The Beat by Burberry

 Nintendo 3DS XL in Blue + Games: Pokemon X, Super Mario 3D Land

Sigmax Face Brushes by Sigma

Sephora VIB Sale Haul 2013

It's that time of year again!  I can honestly say that I've taken part in the Sephora "holiday" type of sale for the past 4 years, and did not stray away from doing so again this year.  However, for the past 2 years I have been classified as what is known as a "VIB", which means "Very Important Beauty Insider"...which I think is pretty cool.  Although, that means that I've been spending increasing amounts at Sephora as the years have progressed (don't tell my boyfriend).  For those of you who don't know, the Beauty Insider program at Sephora is a point-based rewards system that gives you 1 point for every dollar you spend there, which can accumulate and later be redeemed for "Point Perks," which are deluxe samples and sets of products that are offered in the store.  Being that I have been part of this rewards program for some time, I have been promoted to the classification VIB, that enables me to participate in cool events, get notified of new product releases, and most importantly getting 20% off all merchandise during the VIB (holiday) sale.

In past years, Sephora had the holiday sale open to pretty much everyone, and offered higher discounts to those who were regular Beauty Insider members as well as VIBs (who I believe had a greater discount).  Though in the past few years, the sale has been almost exclusively set for Beauty Insiders and VIBs, to which coupons were sent out to those people along with another one to be given to the person of their choice (who doesn't have to be a Beauty Insider member).  This year, I was glad to get my 20% off coupon in the mail that was able to be redeemed as many times as I wanted from November 7th through the 11th, along with an additional one that I was able offer to those I decided to share it with.  However, this year's coupon for the person of your choice had to be redeemed with the VIB present, which in turn meant that I made multiple trips to Sephora over the past few days in order for all my loved ones to get the discount.

I had a general game plan for the sale this year, as I typically do for shopping types of endeavors, so I made it a point to make a list of items I would like, so I was able to devise how much it was I intended to spend.  Despite my clever planning, however, I ended up getting loads of other things much different from what I originally planned, mostly because the things I originally wanted had already sold out.  Nonetheless, I seemingly ended up picking up lots more than I intended to just because I had a few gifts to purchase for others, even though the bulk of it was for me.  If you participated in this sale, I would love to know in the comments what you picked up.  Also, be sure to watch my haul video that I'll try to have up soon, where I'll go over each of the items I picked up (I'll embed the video in this post as soon as I get that video out).  Below I took some photos of my purchases from this sale...I did my best to number them, so that all the items can be identified.  I linked off as many as possible of the items in the photo key located below the last photo (the one with the numbers).  All photos taken by me.  =]

1.) VIB Lips Totes

2.) Fresh Soy Face Exfoliant

3.) Lancome Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover

4.) Shiseido Ibuki Ready For Anything Skin Set

5.) Bite Beauty Best Bite Set

6.) BECCA Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector

7.) BECCA Ever-Matte Shine Proof Foundation in Amber

8.) Sephora Collection Technicolor Tinsel Eyelash Curler

9.) Skincare Samples by Amore Pacific

10.) Anna Sui Flight of Fancy Rollerball

11.) Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15

12.) Urban Decay Urban Essentials Deluxe Sample Set (Beauty Insider Point Perk)

13.) VIB Savings Cards & Lookbook of Gift Ideas

Mini for Me

Being that it was my birthday this past Saturday, I wanted to get myself something...since I usually do that sort of thing (is that weird?).  Anyway, I didn't hesitate one bit to pick something out for myself.  This year, I wanted to get something small, that I definitely knew I would be utilizing a lot.  I put a lot of thought into it, and finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to get the Louis Vuitton mini pochette in the Damier Ebene print.  Therefore, a few days before my birthday, I stopped by at the Louis Vuitton store at Ala Moana center to pick up my birthday gift to myself.  Needless to say, I fell instantly in love with it, and have been using it nearly every day since.  I got the mini pochette particularly to use as a mini clutch or wristlet type of bag, that would be handy for running errands and such (so I don't have to lug around my incredibly heavy Alexander Wang Rocco bag).  It is the perfect size to fit all my essentials, even though I feel like I don't have EVERYTHING with me...like I usually do.  Below are varied shots of the mini pochette, as well as all of the packaging it came with, just to showcase all of the details.  I also filmed an unboxing video on my YouTube channel, which should be up within the next couple of days, so be sure to check that out as well.  All photos taken by me.  =]

Overview of mini pochette along with the box, dust bag, and shopping bag.

Shopping bag.

Box it came in.

Box opened with dust bag inside.

Front shot of the mini pochette.

Slightly closer shot from the front.

...and another one.

Close up of the Damier Ebene canvas print.

Zipper pull.

Leather stamped label.

Gold LV imprinted hinged clasp.

View of the inside.

Date code on inside (SF0133).

Item number/code card, and material content card.

Receipt holder.

Inside view of the receipt holder.

Back of the receipt (folded).

View of the receipt with personal info folded over.

For more details and product specifications, check out:

Louis Vuitton