Macy’s Back to School Shopping and Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette for 25% Off

Macy’s is one of my favorite stores to purchase clothing for myself and my kids, because the clothing is cute and the prices are decent. They have frequent sales, so we rarely pay full price for clothing. Back to school shopping is usually an exception, because we usually shop in store. My boys tend to buy the items they like, and they rarely select items from the sale section. After shopping in person at Macy’s and Dillard’s for back to school shopping last year, we all decided it would be best to do back to school shopping online this year. The best part of shopping online is I can only show them things on sale without them experiencing fear of missing out when they see something in the full-price section. I highly recommend online shopping for this very reason unless your kids need to try the items on to make their decision.

This is an order I placed on 08/10/16. It arrived in five shipments with the first item arriving two days after the order and the last arriving one week after the order. Someone told me that the code FOCUS worked on more items than advertised. That code took 25% off eligible items. I purchased my boys (aged 5 and 9) five outfits each and a package of underwear. My boys picked out their own items. I’d rather get socks and shoes in store, so we can measure their feet before selecting a size. We have not done that yet, so we will have to that this week. Like most clothing orders, I will not share that purchase. The main reason I shared this one is because the clothing order is what qualified the beauty product for the discount.

The code ended up working on everything in the order other than the Cavlin Klein underwear. Those products are everyday value items, and they are always excluded from all discount codes. I added a beauty product I’ve wanted since it released, and I was happy to see it actually worked. A discount code that applies 25% off newer beauty products is almost unheard of, so that deal was too good to pass up. In retrospect, I probably should have picked up more beauty products, but I decided to just get the one on my mind. If Macy’s ever includes beauty products with these codes again, I may get some more items.

All of the items came packaged in plastic, which keeps the clothes clean for shipping. That is helpful for the items shipped in bags, but it is so wasteful. The items picked by my younger son are below.

The Nannette Little Boys piece Minions T-Shirt & Camo Print Shorts Set in blue was $8.24. Even though the original price was $38, I fully expected this would be thin and flimsy. To my surprise, the shirt is thick. While the shorts are not overly thick, they are not the thin set shorts I expect from most orders.

The Tommy Hilfiger Little Boys Freedom Jeans in rinse were $17.99. They retail for $34.50. This is one of my favorite brands for kids clothes, because they are very well made. Sizes with this brand ran large, so I usually order down a size. I did not with these pants, so I hope they fit.

The Ralph Lauren Little Boys Slim-Fit Jeans in bank wash were $23.63. They retail for $45. This brand makes really soft jeans, so they’re comfortable. Soft jeans do not hold up as well as thicker jeans, but they feel and look great while they last.

The Epic Threads Little Boys’ Water Gamer T-shirt in lazulite was $5.24. It retails for $14.

Epic Threads Little Boys Multi-Striped Cargo Shorts in dark shadow were $5.24. They retail for $18. These are thin shorts, so I do not see them lasting a long time.

The Carters Little Boys Graphic-Print T-Shirt in blue was $6.74. It retails for $14. This is a cutesy brand.

The Jem Little Boys Pokémon Bolt T-Shirt in red was $7.49. It retails for $16. My boys really got into Pokémon this earlier year, so you can only imagine how big the game is in our house. Other than buying them cards and toys, I had no experience with Pokémon going into the game. I am still having a lot of fun.

The Calvin Klein Little Boys 2-Pack Boxer Briefs in orange were $9.98 This is the price they always retail for, and I’ve never seen them go on sale. My older son really likes these, so I finally ordered these for my younger son.

The Nautica Little Boys Flat-Front Twill Pants in khaki were $14.99. They retail for $36. These feel and look like a blend of slacks and khakis.

The Nautica Little Boys Pique Polo in red was $7.49. It retails for $24. This feels like a typical polo shirt, only a little thinner.

The items picked by my older son are below.

Epic Threads Boys Core Cargo Shorts in soft black were $11.24. These retail for $28. They are a lot thicker than I imagined, so I think they are worth the full-price. I like the belt that comes with these, and I had a few of those when I was a kid.

The Levis Boys 511 Performance Jeans in obsidian were $18.74. They retail for $45. I love the way Levi’s fit. While I will always love 501 jeans the most, I have yet to find a pair of Levi’s that did not look great.

Ralph Lauren Boys Slim-Fit Jeans in bank wash were $25.99. They retail for $48. This brand makes really soft jeans, so they’re comfortable. Soft jeans do not hold up as well as thicker jeans, but they feel and look great while they last.

The Epic Threads Boys Epic Striped V-Neck Tee in deep black retails for $5.99 It retails for $16.

The Epic Threads Boys Core Belted Sean Striped in medieval blue was $6.74. This is no longer in stock, so I cannot check the original retail price. I think these shorts are a little on the thin side, so I would not have selected them. They do have a cute belt, which easily makes them worth the sales price even if the thin fabric does not hold up.

The Calvin Klein Boys 2-Pack Boxer Briefs in GreyBlack were $9.98. This is the price they always retail for, and I’ve never seen them go on sale. We usually get these from Amazon. They have a great fit, and my son really likes them.

The Epic Threads Boys Graphic-Print T-Shirt in gumboil red was $8.24. It retails for $16.

The Nautica Boys Uniform Performance Polo in navy was $7.49. This is no longer in stock, so I cannot check the original retail price. I certainly hope it retails for a lot more than the one my younger son received. That one is a typical polo shirt, but this material feels like Nike Dry Fit or Under Armour. It is very soft.

The Nautica Boys Skater Twill Uniform Pants in khaki were $14.99. They retail for $36. These feel and look like a blend of slacks and khakis.

The Ralph Lauren Boys Jersey Tee in cruise navy was $10.24. It retails for $19.50. This is a shirt I’ve repurchased for him many times over the years, because it is simple but classy.

The Epic Threads Boys Stripe T-Shirt in scuba blue was $8.24. It retails for $16.

The Lancome Energie de Vie Liquid Care foil automatically added to my cart when I added the palette. It said it was a free gift with an Impulse purchase. Impulse is not a brand as far as I can tell, so I am unsure how they know what an impulse beauty purchase is. I love Lancome, so I am always happy to sample products from its line. This is a 0.03oz sample, so it is extremely small for a moisturizer. My Sephora Play box should also have a deluxe sample of this.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eye Shadow Palette was $31.50. It retails for $42.

I’ve wanted this palette since the first time I saw it. This is a permanent palette, so I did not feel rushed to buy it right away. Although a lot of companies are finally coming out with palettes in similar colors, I’ve enjoyed my Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes. Even my weakest palette from her line outperforms others from brands known for eyeshadows. Of the ones I own (not counting this one since I need time with it to decide), I’d say Tamanna is my favorite and The Artist Palette is my least favorite.

It has a felt package that almost feels like hard velvet. I have a few palettes like this, but this is my first like this from this brand.

There is a mirror in this lid, but it is difficult to use. The magnet pulls the lid closed unless it is open like a book. I do not use mirrors in palettes anyway. My shadows arrived with some fallout on the left side. It was pretty easy to clean and did not seem to affect the integrity of the shadow pans.

Here is a better shot of all the colors together. I seriously cannot get over how gorgeous the shades in this palette are. It is a somewhat neutral palette with just the right pops of color in coral and pink.

Of every larger palette I own, even higher end ones, there are usually multiple chalky shades in the mattes. This palette only has one chalky shade, Tempera. It is the off white shade on the far left in the picture below. All of the others are soft and silky.

The shades from the top row are: Tempera (velvety beige with an ultra-matte finish), Golden Ochre (earthy yellow with an ultra-matte finish), Vermeer (iridescent shell with a metallic finish), Buon Fresco (antique lavender with an ultra-matte finish), Antique Bronze (metallic sable with a satin finish), Love Letter (raspberry with an ultra-matte finish), and Cyprus Umber (dark coffee with an ultra-matte finish).

The shades from the bottom row are: Raw Sienna (neutral amber with an ultra-matte finish), Burnt Orange (deep orange with an ultra-matte finish), Primavera (shimmery gold dust with a metallic finish), Red Ochre (sienna with an ultra-matte finish), Venetian Red (crimson with an ultra-matte finish), Warm Taupe (earthy gray with an ultra-matte finish), Realgar (brick with an ultra-matte finish).

The brush in this palette is similar to the ones I’ve received in other palettes. I did use it for this look, because many of my other brushes are not clean. It is okay. This is seriously a brush I would only use when none of my better ones are clean. I really wish she would include something practical instead of the brush. It would be nice to see a brow pencil, eyeliner, or just leave it out and charge a bit less.

These shades were excellent to work with. They blended beautifully and stayed crease free all day. I did get a bit of patchiness of the bottom lash line, but it was because my eyes were burning. My eye cream has SPF, and my eyes hate it. Thankfully, I did not put any eye cream on top, because the top lid looked as great when I removed it as when I applied it. Once I use the shade that swatched chalky, I will edit this to see if it looks chalky on the eyes.

For this look, I used Primavera on the inner corner, Vermeer on the brow bone, Warm Taupe as my transition shade, Realgar in my crease, Cyprus Umber on my outer corner working it into the crease, and Love letter across the top lash line (to match my lip color).

I love this palette and decided to use it again. Sadly, I got some light creasing with the second use. This look gave me a sunset feel, so I preferred this one to the last one.

For this look, I used Vermeer on the inner corner and brow bone, Love Letter as my transition shade, Buon Fresco in my crease, Cyprus Umber on my outer corner working it into the crease, Antique Bronze on my lid, and Burnt Orange with Warm Taupe on my lower lash line.

I had 227 Plenti points, so I cashed them in for $2.27 off this order. Plenti points earned anywhere redeem for $0.01 off per point at any retailer that uses Plenti. Earning points at Macy’s is really slow, because they usually only award 1 point for $10 spent. That essentially means you can get a penny off a future order for every $10 spent. Even though I remember seeing something about an automatic multiplier for this order, I only received 39 points for this nearly $300 purchase. If I remembered the offer, I would contact them to see why I did not receive more points, but I cannot remember what it was. By shopping at other places that award more points and activating multipliers when possible, I am able to get more points.

There is actually an offer for 5x Plenti points at Macy’s through the 22nd, but it must be activated. It is a lot easier when the offers load automatically. Checking your Plenti account before shopping with a retailer that accepts it is a good idea. New offers come out all the time. My husband actually signed up for a Hulu account after I opened my Plenti account, but he always does those things without telling me. Thus, I did not get any points for that. If you have any plans to sign up, activate a Plenti account first and get points for doing so.

Remember to check all offers before placing an online order. Read Macy’s tips and promo codes. See all Macy’s articles. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

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