Dots Knock-Off Perfume Haul

For a very long time I was anti-knock off perfumes. Almost two years ago I bought a bottle of knock-off Sarah Jessica Parker perfume which smelled EXACTLY like SJP NY and it changed my mind.  I know a lot of people are against buying knock off fragrances but to each their own.  I’ve since purchased a couple different knock-off perfumes from Big Lots.

When at Dots I noticed they had a Hello Kitty knock off perfume.  Now, I LOVE the Hello Kitty perfume but I think the nearly $60 price tag is a little ridiculous, especially for a perfume that would not be an everyday type of perfume for me.  The perfume was marked at $5 a box BUT there was a sale going on 3 for $10 – not including the Dot fragrances (bummer because there was one that was fabulous smelling).

The three perfumes I got are as follows:

-          Yes Yes (Paris Hilton Can-Can Impression)

-          Hello Cutie! (Hello Kitty Impression)

-          Hola! (Marc Jacobs Lola impression)

The Hello Cutie is undoubtedly gorgeous and relatively long lasting on the skin.  I liked the scent of Hola it was nice and floral and the girl that works there told me that Yes, Yes is one of their best sellers and typically sells out, so I decided to get it because it’s more of a fruity summer scent.

QUESTION:

Do you like knock off perfumes?

Amazon Haul: Hair Donut

I was watching YouTube videos and saw a few ladies mentioning using hair donuts to perfect their bun.  So, I went on Amazon and searched for a hair donut and found one for 79 cents – shipping from Hong Kong.  I know there are a few stores that sell hair donuts, but I couldn’t remember what store sells them and when I was looking for them back in March I was getting weird looks asking girls that work in certain stores if they had a hair donut.

I figured for 79 cents I couldn’t go wrong, so I added it to my shopping cart and had it shipped to my house.  It did take about 3-4 weeks to arrive at my house.  It’s a classic hair donut, nothing special about it. You slip your hair through the middle and fan it around the hair donut and pin into place and use a hair tie if you wish.  I’m finding that my hair is almost too thin to use the hair donut.  Granted I’ve tried it once but I’m going to allow myself to get more comfortable with it.  This particular donut would be best suitable for anyone with long hair … my hair is longer (past my shoulder blades) but I think if it were just a tad longer it would work a lot better because I’d have more hair to move around the donut.

QUESTION:

Do you use a hair donut, sock or bun maker to create a flawless bun for yourself?

Hot Buns Haul

I am not much of a hair girl. I’ve never quite learned or taught myself how to do my hair which would explain why my hair is usually up in a ponytail, in a sloppy bun, in a twist or when it’s shorter down.  I saw a video by Emily Noel on YouTube where she hauled the Hot Buns from Sally’s and seeing her talk about it immediately made me want it.  Granted, she didn’t do a full review on the product, but that sent me into motion looking for reviews online and other “how to” videos.

I found the consensus was typically split down the middle.  There were people that loved it, people that hated it and people who could go either way with the product.  I felt from just looking at the product that it would be easy to use – far easier than a sock bun method or even the donut method (which I did purchase from Amazon for like 50 cents).

I wanted to purchase online but every website I went to it was overpriced – even Amazon!  The product is typically $10 but shipping and handling from the Hot Buns website would make it almost $25, Amazon was $15+.  Sally’s sells them but I wasn’t going to go on a mission to Sally’s but surprisingly enough Walmart sells this in their “As Seen on TV” section for $9.88.

My hair is stalk straight.  I only get volume out of my hair by using volume adding shampoo and conditioner.  My hair also gets oily rather quickly, so I do wash my hair daily.  Because my hair isn’t very thick and has absolutely no volume normally I decided Hot Buns may work for me.

I’ve tried it a few times and I find the snaps, as many have mentioned, are truly a pain in the butt.  When you’re looking straight at it, you can clip it and unclip it but when the product is behind your head it can get tricky.  It’s definitely one of those hair products I am going to have to play with to see if I truly like it or if it’s even going to work for me.  Fingers crossed!

QUESTION:

Have you purchased Hot Buns? If so, did you like it or hate it?

Amazon Haul: “Ghetto” Beauty Blenders

I admit, I’ve wanted to try the Beauty Blender, but I just cannot drop $20+ on a sponge. Just. Can’t. Do. It!  While browsing Amazon I started looking at Beauty Blenders, thinking perhaps I’d find them for less online (hopefully).  Nay on that go – but I found knock-off Beauty Blenders in a pack of four, providing 2 tear drop shape and 2 egg shape sponges.  They were shipped from China and I paid like $5.50 with shipping for them to arrive.  It took about 2-3 weeks for delivery.

I admit they are a little bouncy.  I have not tried them yet to see how they apply, but since I haven’t tried the Beauty Blender I have nothing to compare it to.  I typically wear BB Cream or Mineral Powder as my foundation but lately I’ve purchased a few liquid foundations to try out so I figured this would be nice to try with them.  I also wanted to try it with my BB cream to see if it gives me a glowier look.

Dollar Tree Milani Haul

While at Dollar Tree I was quite surprised to find Milani lip products especially because I’ve heard rave reviews about some of the Milani lip liners.  So for $1 who was I to pass up such a great deal?  My local store didn’t have a very wide selection – they had 3 lip liner shades and 2 lip gloss shades.  I’ve read elsewhere online that some stores have had baked eye shadows available as well as additional lip gloss shades available.  So with that, I picked up 3 lip liners and 1 lip gloss shade.  Upon getting home, I was super excited to swatch and was pleasantly surprised with the color payoff on all four products!

Here’s what I picked up:

-          Milani Lip Gloss in Red Delicious

-          Milani Lip Liner in Simply Natural

-          Milani Lip Liner in Berry Charming

-          Milani Lip Liner in Satin Rose

QUESTION:

Have you picked up or spotted any Milani products at Dollar Tree?

Payless Shoe Haul

I am a bit of a sucker for a coupon, especially a coupon that’ll essentially give me a great deal. I received a $10 off $25 purchase coupon in the mail and since I haven’t purchased a pair of shoes in a while, that immediately got me onto the Payless website to check around to see what they had available.  I’ve learned I can get a lot more shoes in my size on their website BUT the downside is their ship-to-store option takes FOREVER.  One time it literally took 3-weeks for me to get the shoes (partly because the store received my shoes and completely forgot to call and let me know).  Since I needed to ensure I found a pair of shoes that were not going to be a problem for my brothers wedding, I decided to pop into the store one late afternoon to browse around.  Thankfully, I struck “gold” and found two pairs of shoes – one for the event I was looking for shoes for and the other because they’d be awesome for spring/summer time.

I picked up a pair of Comfort Plus in the Phillip Mid Wedge Slide style.  They did not have these in the size I needed (they weren’t even an option in a wide or regular) but I found them in a size up and they fit comfortably.  I find sandals, especially sandals/wedges with side straps; they really dig into my feet after a while and make walking a “chore.”  These have a nice, soft kind of stretchy side so I don’t think they’ll be a bother to my feet.  They are originally $24.99 – but I got them on sale for $19.99.

If you’re interested in tis particular style you can find it here: http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=&subCatId=&skuId=130910100&productId=72816&lotId=130910&category=&catdisplayName=Womens

Then after bothering the girl that works in the store, asking if they magically hid a pair of plaid boat shoes I ended up spotting these Airwalk “Tom” like flats – in the style Dream Slip On. When I was a little girl, shoes like this (with the laces – which they still sell) were called “skippies” in my area.  I’ve always loved those shoes and have looked for pairs for myself during the spring/summer months (because they’re light on the feet) but as I’ve gotten older and my feet have grown it’s harder to find them.  But when I saw these in my size I snatched them off the shelf.  The true test was to see if they’d fit … and to my surprise they fit PERFECTLY!  They are originally $19.99 – but on sale for $16.99 – so after my coupon I paid $6.99 for these (making my grand total $26.99 for both pair).

If you’re interested in these they can be found here (they also come in a variety of colors): http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=&subCatId=&skuId=092802080&productId=71097&lotId=092802&category=&catdisplayName=Womens

QUESTION:

Have you shopped for shoes at Payless in a while?  If so, what have you picked up?