Under $5 CVS Nail Polish Haul!

On Easter Sunday (yes this is an old haul!) I went to the pharmacy with my niece. My sister-in-law had my nephew so I took on the job of watching my niece in the morning – and when she showed up to my house she wanted Play-Doh. Play-Doh? I don’t have Play-Doh, the Play-Doh she had was at her house with her little ice cream creation station was at her house. After talking her into going to the store with me (that’s hard to do with a nearly 3-year old) she decided to go because I promised her Play-Doh. Why I promise children Play-Doh on Easter Sunday is beyond me because it never occurred to me what if CVS doesn’t HAVE any? Anyway, low-and-behold after getting to the store and nearly having a heart attack at the pharmacy because I couldn’t spot Play-Doh I FINALLY found the ONLY pastel Play-Doh in the entire store. Score! A happy niece, meant a happy auntie, so auntie picked up a few bottles of soda and headed on over to the beauty section. My time in the beauty section was cut short because my niece was climbing out of the little car-cart telling me she needed to pick out something for herself. Before she could grab nail polish, and possibly drop them and have them smash (as they do with her aunt in stores LOL) we quickly ran to the checkout. I had a $5 off your next $15 purchase and a 25% off your entire purchase (minus sale items) so I paid a little under $5 for the four nail polishes shown – which typically retail for $1.99 each (NYC) and $5.49 for the Milani shade.

Here’s what I picked up:
NYC In A New York Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish (City Sweets Collection):
- Mint Macaroon
- City Sweets Pink
- Lavender Cupcake

- Milani Nail Lacquer - Beach Front

QUESTION:

Have you purchased any of the above polishes?

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SPOTTED: “Make Some Noise” collection by Sinful Colors

While at Walgreen’s picking up some Sinful Colors polishes (They are on sale for 99 cents this week!!) I spotted the new Make Some Noise collection. I picked up a few shades from this collection but now that I look at the pictures I wish I picked up a few more. This particular line goes hand-and-hand with the neon craze. Some of the shades in this particular collection are part of the permanent line, while others are new. All the shades are really bright and colorful. A few are rather sheer and would take a few coats to build up the opacity, while others you may be able to get away with one coat.

The shades in this collection are:
- Dream On A bright, deep lilac
- Pink A bright deep pink
- Summer PeachNeon orange
- Cream Pink A right magenta
- Neon Melon Neon at its finest – this is a bright yellow with a green hue to it
- Irish Green A bright neony green
- Fusion Neon A bright bubble gum pink

As I’ve mentioned above these are on sale for 99 cents this week at Walgreen’s, so if you see a shade shown that you’d love OR want to just stock up on some Sinful Colors polishes that you’ve been wanting I suggest you get to Walgreen’s before the sale ends Saturday night!

QUESTIONS:
Do you like the neon polish craze?
Do you like Sinful Colors nail polishes?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.

SPOTTED: Wet n Wild Summer Getaway nail polish sets!

While purchasing some “much needed” nail polish at Walgreen’s today, I spotted these new mini Wet n Wild nail polish kits! In case you aren’t aware, Wet n Wild tends to come out with mini nail polish sets for seasons – typically they are a big ticket item around Christmas. This time they’re on sale for spring/summer and the mini set is titled Spring Getaway! Each set comes with six mini nail polishes in it, each that are part of Wet n Wilds fast dry line. The shades are all spring/summer appropriate since that is all the rage right now. Sadly the individual polish names were not on the box, but I did snap an up-close picture on my phone to share with everyone. If you are interested in picking up the set they are available at Walgreen’s (I’m not sure if these are on sale anywhere else) and retail at $3.99 each.

The set itself comes with the following shade range:
- A shimmery orange
- Bright almost neon yellow
- Bright minty green
- Violet
- Bright “Barbie” pink
- A shiny deep purple

QUESTIONS:
Have you spotted these at your local Walgreen’s?
Would you be interested in picking these up for yourself?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.

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REVIEW: Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream

I have wanted to try this product for the longest time. Originally I purchased this at CVS but had to return it because my face was going absolutely CRAZY from my acne regiment that I could NOT put anything on my face. My face was peeling, dry, flaky looking and regardless of how much Vitamin E lotion I put on it, it just would not go away. Applying any sort of face product to my face at that point in time would have been an issue because it would have not only drawn a LOT more attention to my face, but it would have aggravated it since my skin was super sensitive then. Just when I was considering going back out and purchasing it when I got my face under control (see Simple Skin product review here) I received an e-mail from BzzAgent inviting me to take part of the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream BzzCampaign. Perfect timing on both parts! So I opted in, selected Medium/Deep as my coverage need and awaited the package to arrive.

Quickly I just want to touch up on a few bits of information on the product itself from the products packaging:

- It is dermatologist tested and will not clog your pores
- Is a multi-benefit product that combines advanced skincare and immediate skin perfecting coverage
- After use skin will look naturally more even, radiant and smooth
- After just one use: 90% had more even complexion, 93% saw a more healthy glow and 96% saw smoother skin
- B.B. Cream (Beauty Balm Cream) combines several beauty routine steps into one single product

According to the packaging: “Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector is a miracle all-in-one product with results you can see and feel instantly. Skin appears airbrushed, beautifully smooth and even. Its light-weight and comfortable texture blends perfectly into skin for a sheer flawless finish. This all-in-one formula combines intense moisturizing skincare with Vitamin C + Mineral Pigments for an instant skin transformation:

• Renews radiance
• Brightens complexion
• Evens skin tone and blurs imperfections
• Hydrates for 24-hours
• Protects with SPF 15 UVA/UVB sunscreen against harmful effects of the sun – the #1 cause of skin aging.”

When my package arrived it came with a welcome packet from BzzAgent (see post Here , an information card, coupons and the product itself. I was so excited to use it, I opened the box and applied to my face and was rather, astounded by not only the coverage the product provides, but for the finish and the flawlessness it gave to my face. Now I have acne prone skin and I also have scarring thanks to my acne and it completely covered almost all of those marks up and concealed some of my redness. The before and after were really wowing. I turned to talk to my boyfriend and he looked at me and said “Oh wow” haha. I was on the fence as to if I was going to like this product just because I’ve never really had luck with liquid foundations/products. Lately I’ve been branching out more and more and trying different ones but I will say, I absolutely LOVE this product!

I am one of those girls who does not like to wear a whole lot of makeup on my face. I’d rather do my eye makeup and go. In the early mornings if time permits, I do a full face of makeup, but there are times where I’m running late and I just do my eyes and out the door I go. I particularly love this product because it’s VERY lightweight, it has superior coverage, it’s moisturizing (my face never feels dry during the day wearing this), and it leaves my face with this amazing glow that just makes me look like I’m radiating almost. The only negative for me is that I DO have to set this with a powder – I’ve been using my Milani mineral compact with this and/or my Tarte Smoothe Operator. I tend to have oily to combination skin and without a powder in a few hours I am shiny in spots. Even with the powder(s) I do get shiny, but it’s not overly crazy shiny.

Now how do I feel this lines up against the products promises?

• Renews radiance CHECK!
• Brightens complexion CHECK!
• Evens skin tone and blurs imperfections CHECK!
• Hydrates for 24-hours CHECK!
• Protects with SPF 15 UVA/UVB sunscreen against harmful effects of the sun – the #1 cause of skin aging.” FABULOUS! This eliminates one step for me in the mornings

Overall I absolutely LOVE this product! I will be repurchasing and I will be using this forever. I prefer this hands down over my mineral foundation and even over my Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse. It’s such an easy product to use (I put a little on my finger, dab all over my face and rub in with my fingertips). I don’t LOOK like I’m wearing any makeup and it just covers all my little imperfections and makes me look flawless. Love, love, love, love, LOVE! Seriously! I can’t get over how much I adore this product!

QUESTIONS:

Have you tried Garnier’s B.B. Cream? If so – do you love or dislike it?
Are you a BzzAgent?
Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I received this product as part of the BzzAgent Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream campaign. Please note all opinions and thoughts are my own.

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Lacura Eye Shadow & Foundation Haul!

We recently got a grocery chain here on the East coast named ALDI. I go there once in a while to pick up some items for the house and milk since it’s the cheapest around. While browsing around I noticed they had a cosmetics section. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try it, but I decided to just go ahead and pick up 2 eye shadows and a foundation. The greatest part of this? ALL of these items are only 99 cents! Why are they 99 cents? That’s just the pricing structure for them BUT I do want to note these products are being discontinued from US-based stores, but from what I understand they will continue to sell them overseas. I had swatched the eye shadows on my hand at least a month ago and was like “Oh wow these are pigmented!” and my BF was looking at me like I was crazy because I was fawning over makeup AGAIN. So I left them there telling myself I didn’t need anything else. But I went back and after picking up some items for the house I decided to splurge a little and get some makeup. Figuring for a dollar if it’s garbage, oh well. Sadly they only had 2 color shades of eye shadows available and foundation, the other eye shadows are gone – which means I probably won’t find them unless I start calling the other ALDI’s in my area and traveling out to them which probably won’t happen.

Here’s a little background information on the Lacura brand from the ALDI website which is associated with the Lacura brand. The brand is:

• Critically acclaimed & award winning
• It’s made from natural ingredients like candelilla wax & avocado oil
• Contains the same ingredients that are in the expensive cosmetic brands
• Costs up to 95-percent less than name brands
• Dermatologist tested
• Products are not tested on animals
• Fragrance free

The packaging is pretty standup and wasn’t what I expected. I was expecting some cheap, plastic, but it’s pretty sturdy and a glassy metal case.

The three products I picked up and paid 99 cents for are as follows:

- Foundation – 40 Bronze. This is a great match for my skin tone, it the slight sheen it gives reminds me of Garnier’s BB cream. The box claims the following: “The soft and pleasant texture of LACURA foundation leaves your skin silky smooth and shin-efree while providing optimum coverage power. The formula with aloe vera and shea butter contains no perfumes, moisturizing the skin and leaving it feeling wonderfully soft.”

- 302 Lilac Eye Shadow Duo (for some reason my camera is photographing the up close shot more grey and white than lilac and purple - but you can see the true color in the 1st photo). This comes with a very light lilac shade and a deeper purple. The box claims the following: LACURA Duo Eyeshadow in perfectly coordinated color combinations for perfect eye make up. Finely textured LACURA Dup Eyeshadow is easy to apply and long lasting. LACURA Duo Eyeshadow fits perfectly in any handbag and has a mirror and applicator inside.

- 101 Cocoa Eyeshadow Duo. This comes with a darker brown and a lighter yellow/tan shade.

QUESTIONS:
Do you have an ALDI store nearby?
Have you ever tried the LACURA brand?

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FOTD & OOTD – Anniversary Look!

 

 

This is my face of the day AND my outfit of the day from Monday! It was my anniversary so my boyfriend spent the day together doing whatever that just happened to fall into place. Stress free and entertaining!

For makeup I went with something light with a neutral smoky eye. I grabbed my Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette and used the left hand side, basically just following the shades in order of how they were listed. I really loved how this look came out.

Products I used:


Face:
- Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer
- Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream
- Milani Minerals Compact Makeup
- Tarte Smooth Operator

Eyes:
- Urban Decay Primer Potion
- Wet n Wild – Comfort Zone palette (left hand side)
- Milani Easyliner for Eyes - Espresso
- Maybelline Lash Stilettos –Soft Black

Cheeks:
- Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Blush - Cherub

Lips:
- Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter – Pink Truffle
- Elf Hypershine Lip Gloss – Berry Cherry

It’s been SUPER chilly here as of late and since I knew the BF and I would be doing a lot of walking outside and spending the day with one another doing a number of things I wanted to be comfortable. I’m big on comfort, so I went with a pair of flare jeans and one of my flowy tops that I had picked up at Kohl’s. Typically I wear leggings with this top but since it was too chilly for leggings, I paired it with my jeans. Since its so low cut I wore one of my grey tank tops that I had picked up during a recently haul at Big Lots. For shoes I went with my black zipper front flats that I had picked up at K-Mart for a whopping $6 on the clearance shelf!

So there you have it my outfit of the day AND face of the day from Monday!

QUESTION:
Do you have and/or use any of the beauty items mentioned above?
Would you wear the outfit I chose to wear?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.

REVIEW: Simple Skin Care Refreshing Facial Wash Gel

First and foremost, I will say this product has TRULY changed my skin for the better! Why do I say this? I have been following an acne regiment (Retin-A) where my skin peels rather hideously. I had been buying and trying face washes, moisturizers, Vitamin E lotions, Cocoa Butter oils, etc., and nothing was really working. My face hurt, was dry, and was peeling regardless of how much I deeply moisturized, exfoliated, etc. I picked up a small travel size bottle of this at Target figuring I’ll just add this onto the list of other items I’m using. I had read online that Simple skin care was the UK’s #1 face product for sensitive skin. Figuring if it’s the #1 in the UK and it’s geared towards sensitive skin I might as well give it a try. Now my skin is generally sensitive to some items, but when using Retin-A it’s incredibly sensitive to everything – even sensitive skin items! I used it that night while taking a shower, putting a small amount in my hand, rubbed it over my hands and gently rubbed it onto my face. I was expecting it to sting like no other, because that’s what usually happens (even with items like Cetaphil) … and it didn’t. Okay, that was unexpected (I felt this way due to the general sensitivity of my face due to the continuous peeling). I rubbed it over my skin, cleansed my face and washed it off. Immediately I could feel my face felt smooth, but I thought perhaps it was just due to it being slick from being wet. I finished up my shower; toweled dry and gingerly patted my face dry. I went about my business, putting on my pajamas, taking care of my hair and I realized – my face doesn’t feel tight or feel like it’s cracking when I smile. That’s how it always felt prior to using Simple skin’s product. I felt like Joanne Rivers, my face was so tight I thought it would split from blinking or even making the slightest facial gesture. I’d run and lather on globs of lotion for just some relief … but I didn’t have to do that. My face felt amazing and refreshed and even an hour AFTER my shower, my face still felt smooth. Whaat? I realize this is not the moisturizing facial wash, but it’s completely gotten rid of all the surface issues I’d been suffering with. I have been using this product for, almost 2 months now and I love it to pieces. It’s my go-to face wash and I’ve branched out into trying out and using other Simple products (facial scrub, eye make up remover, etc.). I am completely in LOVE with this line and am so happy it’s now being sold in the US!

PACKAGING & PRICE:
The Refreshing Facial Wash Gel comes in a translucent green tube which is sold in a full-size bottle (5 fl. oz. which retails $5.99-6.99 but less if found on sale) as well as a travel size bottle (50mL’s which retails $1.99 or less if found on sale). The packaging itself is pretty sturdy. It comes with a flip-top cap made for easy dispensing as you squeeze the amount of product you would like into your hand. The bottle shape is easy enough to hold and since it sits upright it also promotes easy storage either in the shower or out.

PRODUCT:
The contents are a clear gel, which is not very thick but is also not very runny; it’s in the middle in consistency. The product line is geared towards sensitive skin, although those with any type of skin type can use it. All of the items in this line do not contain perfumes or colors (there is no soap in this so it is NOT drying), are made from the purest of ingredients (they do contain vitamins), are dermatologist tested & hypoallergenic, and all the products do not contain animal-derived ingredients.

PURCHASING:
Simple skin care items are available for purchase in pharmacies and department stores throughout the US and UK. Originally these items were only available in the UK, but I want to say due to the acquisition of a US based company, it has since branched abroad. For stores that I have personally seen these for sale have been: Target (they also sell the travel sizes here), Rite Aid, Walgreen’s, CVS, and Walmart. These items can also be purchased from online retailers such as: Amazon.com, Drugstore.com, soap.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com.

OVERALL:
I highly recommend this line to anyone who is in the market for a new skin care product – that being whether you have sensitive skin or not. It’s completely changed my face and has made following a generally painful acne regiment a breeze. I do have days where my skin does look a little flakey, but it’s nothing that some moisturizer won’t solve. Then again this particular Refreshing facial gel is NOT a moisturizing facial wash, but it does do wonders on my skin. It’s incredibly gentle and I am able to also exfoliate with my facial brush without it being over the top and hurting. When I exfoliate with this, I simply dip the head of my brush into the gel and massage on in circular motions over my face. Works like a charm!

QUESTIONS:
Have you tried the Simple skin care line? If so, what is your favorite product of theirs?
Would you give Simple skin care a try?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.

Shannon’s Discounted CVS Haul!

Last week I popped into CVS to get a drink with a free coupon I had, during that transaction I was given a 30% off your next transaction coupon. That of course got my wheels churning. I was e-mailed a $4 off your $20 purchase so I printed that out to combine the two coupons together for even better savings. So what did I do? Grabbed some of the nail polishes I’ve been wanting, figuring it was best to get them now while I had great discounts than to pay full price and/or not even get them at all. I also went in search of the clearance section and found this measly looking section in the back, but there was one Physician’s Formula quad that I decided to snag because the for the price and the matte shades it was too good to pass up. I ended up paying $12.13 and ended up getting a $5.00 reward back from the CVS Beauty Club!

Here’s what I picked up:
• Physicians Formula Matte Collection Eye Shadow Quad in Canyon Classics (3882)- On clearance for $1.84
• Wet n Wild Spoiled Nail Color – Shaken Snow Globe
• Milani Nail Lacquer – Jewel FX – Hot Pink
• Milani Nail Lacquer– Sail Away
• Nicole by OPI – Kardashian Collection – Kendall on the Katwalk

So there you have it, my fabulously discounted CVS haul!

QUESTIONS:
Have you tried any of these items listed?
Do you combine coupons and CVS offers to get the best bang for your buck?

Images are mine do not take or use. Thank you.