Novato is a sleepy little town. There’s Napa north of us, Oakland to the east across the Bay, and San Francisco to the south, but Novato itself isn’t a hotbed of excitement and activity (unless you count the huge raging celebrity parties thrown by Tabs).
Sometimes, though, exciting things do happen here…like we just got a Nordstrom Rack.
It’s only been open a couple weeks, but I’ve already gone twice, and I’ve learned a valuable. Basically, if you walk there looking for something specific, like a white scoop-neck tee, good luck to you. May the gods be with you! Because the store must be a quarter of a mile long. It’s HUGE, and you absolutely have to be in the mood for a treasure hunt.
They also have pretty good beauty section, which, thankfully, is more contained than the clothing and shoe areas, and you can go peruse the shelves in a reasonable amount of time. It’s all very tidy and tidy.
They carry a mix of drugstore (weird!) and high-end products, too, which I’m assuming will change often, but when I was there last Friday, I saw some body care from Neutrogena and Burt’s Bees, and I also saw a makeup display for NYX.
In general, they don’t carry everything from a line, but it seemed like a good amount of stuff and better than usual prices. Like, I saw a bottle of Neutrogena Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser for $7.97, and I think it’s normally $10 at Ulta.
I freaked out a little when I saw this Bliss display (I looove Bliss lotions). I found this gigantic tube of Grapefruit+ Aloe Body Butter marked down to $16.97 from $49! What a steal.
And I also spotted some Sephora makeup regulars from Urban Decay, Too Faced, Lancôme, YSL, Caudalie, Smashbox and Bobbi Brown, among others, and everything was discounted between $5-10 off the regular price.
Some of the items from older collections were marked down even more, like Urban Decay’s Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection, which was on sale for $29.97 instead of the original $60.
They also carry fragrances, too!
It’s definitely gonna be a place I frequent for makeup and beauty discounts, but I don’t know about going in there for clothes… There were too many racks. It was waaay too much stimulus for me.
Have you ever been to a Nordstrom Rack? How do you feel about big outlet stores like that? Do you get into shopping treasure hunt-style, or do you prefer going to stores that are hyper organized?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I don’t go to Nordstrom Rack much, but the first time I did, I got a Neutrogena hair mask. The beauty section was not organized at all. I don’t think you can even call it a sectio, tbh.
Were the tools discounted, too?
Hi Gloria,
Yes, they are! The GHD flat iron is $119.97 (originally $199.00) and the T3 is $99.99 (originally $200). That T3 is a STEAL!
HOLY CRAP THAT IS A STEAL! I shall put on my ninja best the next time I shop there so it’s like I’m a bandit. =D
I KNOW, RIGHT?! If I needed a T3, I would’ve been all over that dryer in a heartbeat.
I only go in and peruse the beauty section and accessories section. I recently scored a pair of RayBan aviator sunglasses with the purple lenses I’ve been eyeing at Sunglass Hut.
Hey Barb,
The rest of the store is kinda stressful, right? Even the shoe section, which I normally LOVE, felt overwhelming.
Good job on those sunglasses! I came *this close* to buying a pair of Kate Spade cat eye sunnies when I was there last and decided to pass.
Honestly, the only times I go to Nordstrom Rack is when I have to do a Hautelook return. Each time I go in, I think about browsing the store for a bit…take ten steps in and then find myself turning around and heading for the door… It’s probably the sight of rows and rows of unorganized clothes giving me mild anxiety.
my nordstrom rack doesn’t carry burberry or ysl…i’m jealous.
That’s how I felt when I saw pics of Burberry and YSL! Wish mine would carry them. I usually go to Nordstrom Rack to look at bags. Mine does carry a lot of Marc Jacobs. But everything else is overwhelming. Shoes, clothes, …
Look at their workout clothes, last time I went to one they had a bunch of Zella!
So it is a little like TK Maxx? We don´t have Nordstrom (or Nordstrom Rack) here in Germany, so I don´t get the concept. But then again, who cares if they offer a good selection of Beauty stuff?
This reminds me: I need to hit up Nordstrom Rack in the coming weeks for beauty stuff. I think mine has Bliss products too!
I hope you find some Bliss products. The lotions were such a steal!
Whoa! I’m going to have to go and check this out! There’s a Rack not too far from me! Thanks! 😀
I love Bliss Body Butter! The Naked one helps my dry skin to keep fragrance lasting longer.
I sometimes shop Rack and Haute Look online because they have free return shipping if something doesn’t work out.
My daughter always scores really big when she goes to Nordstrom rack. She got jeans by 7 for All Mankind at close to 60% off and a really pretty DVF dress that was originally over $400 for $150. And the great thing is she brought them into a regular Nordstrom and they hemmed the jeans to the right length for her! What service!
Hi Tatiana,
I had no idea you could get items purchased at the Rack hemmed at Nordies. That almost makes it worth going on the hunt for me because I always need to get pants hemmed. YES!!!!
I just thought of this, but I think you need to have a Nordstrom account to do that. Not sure. I have an account with them and they seem to just do everything possible to make me happy when I’m shopping there.
At the Nordstrom Rack in San Leandro, I found a pair of Burberry jeans for $35. Yes, $35! They’re 2 sizes too small, so they’ll be my “goal” jeans LOL I also bought my Marc by Marc Jacobs purse there for half the price compared to Nordstrom. You can find some good deals, you just really need to be patient and in the mood.
Hi Melisssa!
Wow, what a steal! I remember going to that store back in the day but haven’t visited in ages. How’s the beauty section?
Next time I’m in Union City we’ll have to get together. 🙂
The beauty section at The Rack in Fremont is better than SL. It’s much more organized and they have tons of NYX stuff. My daughter found a bunch of Urban Decay items too.
Yes, next time you’re here, let’s meet up. I’m moving to Vegas in about a year and I’d love to see you before then!
Nordstrom’s Rack has great deals on designer shoes. I’ve purchased a couple pair of Tory Burch flats for well below their retail price. They also have great designer brands (clothes) like Vince, Tory, Juicy. You just have to be patient when walking through the store looking for hidden jewels but it’s definitely worth it.
I loves me some Nordstrom Rack! We also don’t have a regular Nordstrom here in Reno so it’s as close as I can get. 😉 I’ve seen Neutrogena and Bliss there before but the stock at yours is huge! Ours typically just has a small selection of fragrance and older makeup. I’ve found some goodies at TJ Maxx before though. 🙂
Related question – has your local Bed Bath & Beyond expanded their beauty section like mine did? It’s HUGE. And they stock better than my local Ulta for certain brands! I was able to find the lash trios I’d been hunting before my wedding because I didn’t want full strips. I still prefer CVS & Ulta because of their rewards, but if I’m trying to find something and don’t want to wait/pay for shipping, I’ll try BBB. 🙂