20 Editor-Backed Beauty Items From the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale That Transformed My Routine
Save on all of our favorite brands, from Dyson to Yves Saint Laurent.
I'll be the first to admit I have expensive taste, especially when it comes to beauty. Once I started investing in fewer makeup and skincare products of higher quality, I noticed an immediate improvement in my skin, makeup looks, hair, and, consequently, my confidence. However, luxury comes at a price (literally), and I often find myself wincing as I press the checkout button on my favorite sites. This week, however, I can justify my love for luxury guilt-free, because Nordstrom is holding its Half-Yearly Sale.
Per its name, this sale happens twice per year, making it a highly anticipated event for those who love indulging in premium makeup, beauty tools, skincare, haircare, and even fragrance. By stocking up on your favorite beauty staples now, you can save hundreds of dollars. Plus, you can finally justify indulging in that aspirational product you've had your eye on (I'm looking at you, Dyson Airstrait). Ahead, beauty bestsellers with tantalizingly steep price slashes.
Dyson's Airstrait has reached legendary status because of its ability to dry and straighten hair and the same time with minimal damage. The premium product is bound to save you hours of time, and now a fifth of its price tag has been knocked off at Nordstrom.
Boy Smells is one of my favorite fragrance brands, with its warm, unique scents that work well both in perfume and candle form. Kush is among their most popular scents, with its musky base notes and earthy, slightly floral top notes.
Looking for a chic tattoo but scared of the lifelong commitment? Consider one of these fine line options from INKED by Dani, which are grown-up versions of the temporary tattoos we all loved growing up.
Nordstrom counts this concealer among its bestsellers for a reason: It's full-coverage, doesn't feel too heavy on skin, and has a natural matte finish that's perfect for the summer, when the last thing you want to look is shiny (read: sweaty).
Incorporating a brush into my skincare routine was a gamechanger. This brush exfoliates skin and removes oil and stubborn makeup, and its nylon bristles are a breeze to clean.
Sunscreen and retinol are two of the most important skincare staples you can buy, especially when it comes to mitigating premature aging and hyperpigmentation. This duo from Kiehl's is worth over $100, meaning that this deal takes around 50 percent off.
Eyeshadow sticks are perfect for crafting detailed looks with precision, and this option from Laura Mercier promises to deliver a high concentration of pigment without smudging, creasing, or transferring.
This diffuser from Serene House promises to fill your space with the scent of your choice. It's perfect for keeping by your bedside to create a calming environment or for using at your desk when you need an invigorating pick-me-up. Its light wood finish also makes it elegant enough to enhance your decor in any room.
Bobbi Brown's lipsticks never fail me, with their highly pigmented color and chic matte finish. They also never dry out my lips—a huge plus for any matte lipstick.
Acqua Di Giò has been a popular light perfume for years, with an aquatic, citrusy scent profile that never fails to conjure mental images of summer afternoons spent on the beach. And this limited edition version of the scent also comes in a refillable bottle, so it's better for the planet, too.
This popular foundation offers the benefits of skincare with the soft focus, blurred benefit of makeup. It's especially popular among reviewers with dry skin, who say the rich formula is a great supplement to their daily moisturizer.
This multi-tasking serum is stacked with skin-transforming ingredients like glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin. The result? Plump, moisturized skin with less visible fine lines and hyperpigmentation.
This set normally retails for $155, but it's worth a whopping $185. The scent itself is a balanced, complex, and entirely unique combination of woody and vanilla notes.
Vitamin C brightens and smooths out uneven skin tone, making it a staple for skincare lovers everywhere. This serum from Clinique is safe enough for daily use, but packs a punch with its high concentration of the hero ingredient.
This liquid lipstick has a classic satin finish and promises not to feather or smudge, making it an ideal option whether you're headed into the office or going out for the night. Snag it in this bright red shade or in deep purple.
Assouline's Travel From Home candles are meant to evoke alluring vacation destinations like Tulum, Ibiza, and Gstaad, making it possible for you to channel your PTO even while you're still sitting at your laptop.
I have to admit, I'm a sucker for unique packaging. This MCM fragrance looks like an adorable leather backpack, but its graffiti lettering gives it a distinct edge. It's a conversation-starting product that looks great on the shelf of any fragrance collector.
I always have a few of Stila's liquid eyeshadows in my travel bag. The formula is comfortable and smudge-proof, and the pigments are buildable and blendable. With this duo, you can create a variety of shimmery, summer-ready looks.
This wooden comb from Black-owned brand Brother Vellies is more than just functional—it's also made to be an heirloom. It was hand-carved in Kenya and features a shell sourced off the Kenyan coast, resulting in a gorgeous addition to your beauty bag that will raise your dopamine levels with every use.
For curled, sky-high lashes, consider this volumizing mascara from Lancôme. It features a specially curved tip so that it takes fewer swipes to craft the lashes of your dreams, and it has an intense black formula that will make even the thinnest lashes stand out.
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Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, politics, culture, and fashion at Marie Claire and at publications including The New York Times, HuffPost Personal, Bustle, Alma, Muskrat Magazine, O'Bheal, and elsewhere. Her personal essay in The New York Times' Modern Love column kickstarted her professional writing career in 2018, and that piece has since been printed in the 2019 revised edition of the Modern Love book. Having studied history, international relations, and film, she has made films on politics and gender equity in addition to writing about cinema for Film Ireland, University College Cork, and on her personal blog, gabrielleulubay.medium.com. Before working with Marie Claire, Gabrielle worked in local government, higher education, and sales, and has resided in four countries and counting. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, and spent two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy.
Deeply political, she believes that skincare, haircare, and sexual wellness are central tenets to one's overall health and fights for them to be taken seriously, especially for people of color. She also loves studying makeup as a means of artistic expression, drawing on her experience as an artist in her analysis of beauty trends. She's based in New York City, where she can be found watching movies or running her art business when she isn't writing. Find her on Twitter at @GabrielleUlubay or on Instagram at @gabrielle.ulubay, or follow her art at @suburban.graffiti.art
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