Everything I Bought For Black Friday

TLDR: Everything I Bought Linked Below & here 🛍 But this storytime written below is one of my absolute faves 😇

Growing up, we were never allowed to buy things that were full price. Every time we walked into a store, it was straight to the sale section - I’ll admit I was frustrated with this “rule” at the time, but as a fully grown adult (with an expensive shopping habit), I’m so grateful for MamaD! So naturally, Black Friday was. my. jam.

I am one of the self-proclaimed OG Black Friday enthusiasts. I’m talking back in the day when we would wake up at 4am to wait in lines at Best Buy as they wrapped around the store. Growing up in Michigan, my friends and I would bundle up in our jackets and wait in line with our Dunkaccinos in hand (the gateway drink to coffee)! Now, my teenage Black Friday shopping days weren’t nearly as easy as “add to cart” is today. Not even close. These were the days when they handed out vouchers in line to people who came for the “big ticket” items - in 2005, this item was an hp laptop that was going for $450 and each store only had 5 available. They immediately went to the first 5 people in line (we found out they got there at 3am), but luckily, for me and my friends, we were only there for one thing: the $10 DVD’s! Majority of my DVD collection - that I proudly ended up taking to college with me - were from these dedicated years of waiting in line for Black Friday.

This would continue to extend into a full day of going to the mall with MamaD & my sister, Meena, when it opened at 8am. We would begin to hit up the fashion staples of my youth: Express, American Eagle, Abercrombie, Hollister, Aeropostale, Gap, Old Navy, The Limited, Banana Republic, and LOFT. At 12pm we’d hit the food court for greasy chinese food, and around 3pm we would get cappuccinos and frappuccinos. Our last stop at 7pm would always be Macy’s. Growing up, MamaD loved her makeup gift sets (which I’m now realizing in real time where I get this from since I just did a whole YouTube video on The Best Makeup Gift Sets at Sephora 😂). Her favorite place to shop was the Estee Lauder counter. I will never forget the Black Friday when my Mom bought me my first full set of Estee Lauder Makeup - a 30 piece kit with multiple eyeshadow colors, 3 blush shades, highlighters, mascara, eyeliners, 3 lipsticks, lip liners, powder, perfume, and brushes all for $75! It was a dream for the makeup lover in me. And even though all the makeup shades weren’t necessarily brown girl friendly, I didn’t care. I was going to mix and match like I was Hermione Granger in Potions class. And while I bought all my favorites from Hourglass this year (that are very brown girl friendly), nothing will ever compare to that joy!

As I write this, I have such a smile on my face thinking back to those special times where the 3 of us had this precious time together - the one day with no fights, no drama - just sales, shopping, serious discounts, and the sole reason I always aced percentage questions in math class 😉

So today, as I “add to cart”, I couldn’t help but feel the nostalgia of the good ole’ days when retail stores, malls, and Best Buy’s were thriving. There’s something about hanging out with your friends in a Best Buy parking lot, and trying on clothes with your sister in the same dressing room as you grabbed all the sizes, that online shopping can never replace. But don’t get me wrong - the Stuart Weitzman shoes I scored for $110 (yes, you read that right, $110) that I didn’t have to fight over, is what keeps me adding ☺️

So with that, here are the best sales I’ve found below!

Lancome Makeup: 30-50% Off on Amazon.

Stuart Weitzman: 25% Off Sitewide + Additional 30% Off with code “SWOTL30”

Hourglass Cosmetics: 20% Off Sitewide

Lululemon: 30% Off Sitewide