My Bougie 53-Year-Old Mom and I Scoured Nordstrom's Winter Sale—15 Beauty Gems That Scream Luxe

“This I buy on repeat… it’s my go-to everyday for full, dark brows,” my mom’s text reads. This complete brow set comes with the brand’s full-sized Brow Wiz pencil, Brow Definer (creates hairlike strokes), and Clear Brow Gel, which deliver picture-perfect brows with three simple steps. While each full-sized product would amount to $73 individually, you can snag them all for just $35 right now.

One of the first beauty rules my mom taught me was that every good look starts with great skin, and Kiehl’s 7-in-1 Super Smoothers Set hits every area of concern for her and I. This duo, complete with a niacinamide and collagen peptide-boosted eye cream and corrective, sensitive skin-friendly facial cream, checks off the skin-plumping box that my mom looks for and I appreciate for preventative care.

I’m looking toward sunny beachside days amid this bitter New York cold, so this fragrance drew me in from the name alone. My mom and I are both fans of musky-clean scents, and this one sounds like it delivers on all fronts. This ultra-fresh, saltwater scent is a wave of Italian bergamot, water lily, driftwood, and vanilla, which sounds like the ingredients list equivalent to a summer playlist.

“I buy this one for your dad,” my mom sent in her next text. Complete with a facial cleanser that preps the skin for shaving, a face moisturizer with SPF (men seriously neglect sunscreen), and a two-in-one body and hair gel (don’t judge), this essentials pack has everything he needs—and right now, it’s 30% off. “He loves how moisturizing the products are, softening his wrinkles. He asks for this when starting to run low.”

While my mom isn't a fan of fruity fragrances, I've reached for this striking, warm scent on several occasions throughout the fall and winter. Each spritz offers an intoxicating mist of apple and plum blossom before rounding out with a slightly vanilla base, making it the perfect blend of spicy and sweet (plus, fruit-based fragrances are totally trending right now).

It’s hard to pick a good hair dryer, because when you finally do, you usually hold onto it for years. My mom, sister, and I are avid fans of Shark Beauty hair tools (the FlexStyle being a household favorite), and this ergonomic hair dryer is sure to follow suit. It uses advanced technology to reduce the risk of heat damage, smart-adjust its many heat and airflow settings to accommodate each attachment, and enable “scalp shield” mode to protect the skin from heat.

“I do not own this but would love to try,” my mom writes, an obvious nod to me as a hopeful late birthday gift. (Mom, your birthday was last week.) This ultra-soft heating pad is designed to drape over your shoulders like a cape and has three adjustable heat settings for a personalized experience. “As I age I notice I’m carrying more tension in my neck, shoulder area,” she writes. “This seems like it would be a dream!”

One thing my mom and I always keep in our purses? Lip glosses—and lots of them. This set from U Beauty comes with three of the brand’s coveted lip compounds, a collagen-rich lip plumper that offers the long-term effects of fuller, smoother lips with consistent use. Plus, the clear, carnation, and pinky-nude shades that come with it are easy to pair with any lip liner and throw in any purse on any day.

Benefit's mascaras have been staples in our house for years, and now, you can nab a two-pack of the full-sized volumizing and lifting mascaras for just $24. Each stroke delivers a blackest-black coat that locks your freshly-curled lashes into place all day long, with defined mascara wands that delivers the standout lash look the famed products are known for.

My mom gets a kick out of the Carolina Herrera Good Girl perfume bottle I display on my dresser like decor, and I couldn’t help but notice that this set of high-heel shaped packaging paints a strikingly similar picture. At 66% off, these elegantly-bottled fragrances make a great gift to your most fashionable friend (or a late Valentine’s Day gift if the date snuck up on you this year).

It’s hard to snag a good deal on luxury beauty, but this sale on the Westman Atelier eye duo stopped us in our tracks. Both fans of a good mascara and smudge-able eyeliner, my mom and I are champing at the bit to try these ultra-creamy, glide-on formulas for ourselves while they’re just $37 (as opposed to their separate $79).

TikTok told me that I needed to start jade rolling during the great quarantine of 2020, and thus began my love for a calming, cute conduit for lymphatic drainage. This set of three comes with jade, rose, and opal stone tools and is going for 66% off if you buy right now.

One of my mom and I’s favorite activities when I visit home is to turn on a movie (usually Pitch Perfect) and wear a set of new under-eye patches, so this two-piece set from Peter Thomas Roth immediately caught our eyes. With a value of $93, this gold-flecked firming mask and the cooling cucumber gel patches are on sale for just $38 while this sale lasts.

Remember what I said about lip glosses constantly jangling around in our purses? Well, you can certainly include lip oils in that camp. This twin pack of ultra-hydrating Bobbi Brown lip oils are infused with comforting botanical oils and hyaluronic acids, which offer deep hydration for up to 24 hours and a glassy, high-shine finish.

My sister will feel left out if I don’t include her in the conversation, so let me introduce you to this facial steamer—an item on her shopping list thanks to the cold, Chicago winter she’s enduring. Her commute to work in the Windy City leaves her skin dry and sensitive, so this nine-minute micro-steam treatment is just what she needs each morning to revive her complexion.