I swear I’m underneath this hat somewhere!
Yesterday I went to the dentist for a regularly scheduled teeth cleaning, and even though I love my dentist to bits (she’s so good at soothing ‘fraidy cat patients like, ahem, yours truly), I still get big feeeeelings whenever I have to go in. Seriously, childhood dental trauma… That sh*t stays with you for a long time!
My self-soothing habit is to stop by a store right after any and every dental appointment to browse, and so yesterday I headed to “The Rack” (otherwise known as Nordstrom Rack) to see what was up.
I went in looking for a specific thing, a sun hat, because I figure if I’m going all in with the sun protection, I gotta go all the way, but you know…homegirl got distracted in the beauty section (more on this in a second).
So, hats. I found quite a few, and the most promising one was this wide-brimmed hat by San Diego Hat Company. I think it’s pretty cute, and I like how the brim covers my face so my cheeks are completely shaded. You can also adjust it to make it more or less snug on your head.
It was the only hat with a UPF 50 rating, too.
I didn’t get it, though, because it’s not packable, and I really want one I can fold down and take with me when we go camping. Plus, it doesn’t have a chin cord, and I can just see it flying off my head into the great unknown on a very windy day.
I still might go back for it if 1) I’m still thinking about it in a week, and 2) if it’s still there.
Oh, and another note about this hat — it was the only one with a wide brim that didn’t block my vision! The other hats I tried on had these very jaunty dips in the brim, which were cute…but completely useless, because I could only see when I lifted my head up at the right angle.
(I’m thinking I might have just talked myself into getting it.)
Speaking of packable hats…I thought this display near the hats was some kind of household decoration (like a candle holder or maybe a liquid scent diffuser?) at first, but alas, no! It’s a HUGE visor that wraps up!
My grandma (and all of the older Filipino ladies I knew) used to rock big visors like this back in the day, ha ha ha. Although I can appreciate how travel-friendly this hat is, I’m not quite ready to embrace my inner granny just yet.
It didn’t take long for me to wander into the beauty section because it’s adjacent to the hats, and even though the shelves appeared as though scavengers had picked over the last gristly bits of bone, there were enough things to induce a few beauty flashback moments, starting with this cute mini-size Caboodle…
While it’s not very useful in terms of actual portability and practicality (I would just throw my stuff in a makeup bag, ma), it sure is adorable.
Speaking of minis, there were also a handful of mini makeup items from Laura Mercier and MAC…
I had throwback memories of beauty in the early Aughts when I saw these industrial-sized bottles of DevaCurl products, Philosophy (Purity Made Simple, my ride-or-die back in the day) and Neutrogena.
Remember how something by Mario Badescu was in, like, every other magazine back then? You couldn’t open Allure or Glamour or Real Simple for that matter without a Mario Badescu shout-out.
Not beauty-related, but I saw these cute pieces of jewelry with flowers that looked like mini art! If I wasn’t in the midst of purging clothes and accessories, I would’ve picked up a necklace.
Right after that I saw my favorite DKNY bra in the lingerie section, in several colors and sizes. I’m now kicking myself for not grabbing at least the nude and the black one and having the patience to stand in the line (and there’s ALWAYS a line).
I seem to have a maximum time limit on how long I can tolerate standing inside The Rack… It’s the chaos — at a certain point my (bra) cup runneth over and I gotta get out of there, so I bolted.
Anywho, that’s what’s been going on here on this end. ?
What’s new with you?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. TGIF! ?
Ooooh I’m jealous, the nearest rack to me is like a 90 minute drive if there’s no traffic and I’ve got my lead foot going.
I’ve been purging myself, kind of doing a whole ‘other Kondo that I last did maybe four years ago.
So that means I have no clothes. I really need some up to date denim. I bought a pair of Mother jeans during a surfing episode when I was way too tired to be online. I’m skeptical about how they’re going to fit and they were twice as much as I like to spend on denim but free shipping both ways so I thought I may as well try them.
I have probably a fourth of a ginormous container of Purity that I just am so sick of. I love it but my skin needs a switch up so I’m using a bar of Ernest Laslo (sp?) and really liking it.
I feel you on the “surfing when you shouldn’t be.” I’ve done it quite a few times lately (and to be honest, that’s why I ended up with all those weird cult skirts last month, HAHAHA).
Thanks for the heads up, need to make a trip to the rack!! Love your shoes, I always have a hard time finding darker colorer sneakers that do not look too stark, do you mind sharing which ones they are?
Thank you, Roma! The shoes are by Saucony. I got them a couple years ago but don’t wear them a lot because this particular pair doesn’t have great arch support. I have inserts in these and they help a lot!
Thank you!
That first hat was super cute, but you have to be practical. 🙂 Not as practical as me, though. I had to tick all the same boxes as you for a hat that I bought for our Hawaii trip (big brim, packable, chin cord). The box it didn’t tick was “stylish” and I look ridiculous in hats anyway. Plus, they’re so darn hot! And, don’t get me started on sweat acne from the brim. 😉 Needless to say, the hat never got much use.
If you find a sunhat with a cord to keep it on your head, I want to know where you found it! I just bought that San Diego Hat Co hat.
Once bought some makeup from Nordstrom Rack, but when I opened it, it had that stale smell to it. Not spoiled or rancid, but definitely old smelling. So I won’t buy makeup from them ever again.
I used to deep dive and find really great stuff at The Rack when I was younger. Now I can barely stand 20 minutes of looking.
Have a great weekend!
Hats with cords are more common in garden-supply stores and catalogs. I found one at Target once.
Many years ago, when I bought a nice Panama hat that didn’t have a strap or string to hold it on, I bought a tool that could punch small holes and place grommets in fabric. This allowed me to add a string to it so I could wear the hat without losing it to the wind (wind being a serious problem almost all the time where I live). The tool was a little expensive, but it was worth it to me to make the hat work for me. I think I got the tool at Jo-Ann’s. A few years ago I found a clearance Smith & Hawken hat for $4.00 (!) at Target that already had an adjustable strap. I snapped it right up, as that was quite a bargain.
Where did you get your black and white tennis shoes -what brand are they?
Hi Alison,
I bought them at DSW a few years back. The brand is Saucony!
I feel the same way about the dentist, one we went to as kids wound up getting shut down. ? So hard to get myself to go!
I was just looking at sun hats online for the same reason, I should’ve thought to check NR and TJ Maxx first!
I think I gotta find the mini Caboodle for my daughter too, she’d sit there all day opening and closing and putting in treasures. ?
I rarely pick anything up at the beauty section in these stores because everything usually looks so … run over. I always fear I will grab something that was already opened.