Walgreen’s Haul

This is what happens when you go to Walgreen’s rather unexpectedly because you need to do something to “kill a little time”. You wander around and find a bunch of goodies that you weren’t aware you’d be finding and purchasing. I knew I was in search of a Jordana lip liner but the greatest find was finding Batiste dry shampoo in the clearance section. After seeing countless YouTube and blogger favs and raves about the product I decided to pick up 2 cans. Then again the cost of 2 cans was a little less than the original cost of 1 can.  Then while browsing around I noticed my Walgreen’s now carries Black Radiance (if you’re not aware it’s a brand under the Wet n Wild umbrella) so I had to pick one palette up I had heard a lot of great things about.

Here’s what I picked up:

Batiste Dry Shampoo for Dark & Deep Brown Hair (x2)

Black Radiance Instant Eye Appeal kit feat. Downtown Browns and 2 eyeliner pencils

Jordana Easyliner for Lips in Plush Plum

$3.77 CVS NYX Haul!

I popped into a local CVS because I had a few coupons I wanted to use up before they expired. Initially upon browsing through the “new beauty” section in the store I was bummed. The particular store was pretty cleared out of new displays and the few that were there weren’t of interest to me. Rounding the corner to leave the store I spotted a fresh, brand new NYX display!

Reading Nouveau Cheap’s website I knew NYX displays were anticipated to begin popping up in my area, but more than likely around April/May. Low and behold this store was up in times so I went to town. I haven’t used any NYX products in the past but I’ve heard so many great things about the line that I grabbed the items that I’ve heard about and wanted to give a try.

I scored a fabulous deal because I had a number of coupons I stacked in this transaction. I had a 20% off from when I got my flu shot in-store, two $5 ECB’s and two separate $4 off CVS coupons.

This here is what I picked up:

-          NYX Roll On Shimmer – Almond

-          NYX Butter Gloss – Éclair

-          NYX Butter Gloss – Tiramisu

-          NYX Butter Gloss – Vanilla Cream Pie

-          NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray

Lush haul!

This is actually a Lush haul from about a month ago. I’ve wanted to pick up a few things at Lush for a while but for one reason or another every time I went to the store they were either sold out, completely packed and all available associates were helping other shoppers, or oddly closed. Evidently fourth time is a charm because after going to the mall to return an item at a different store, I popped into Lush and thankfully the one item I initially went in for was in stock … and after talking to the sales associate I picked up a few other products, plus one I had heard rave reviews about on YouTube.

It’s understandable that Lush is on the pricier side. Their products are hand made, cruelty free, and are made from fresh ingredients and no harsh chemicals, additives, etc. Due to the price of things at Lush I don’t go in there often, but I do when my skin is in need of some extra TLC because I’ve found Lush products have come to my rescue on more than one occasion.

So what exactly did I pick up on this trip?

-          Mask of Magnaminty

-          Grease Lightning

-          Cosmetic Warrior Fresh Face Mask

-          Honey Trap Lip Balm

Belated Bath & Body Works Haul

This is actually a belated Bath & Body Works Haul from right before Christmas. One thing I love about Bath & Body Works is for about a week before Christmas certain items in the store go on sale for really cheap for a 1-day only sale. Some days are candles, other days lotions, and on one of my favorite days (outside of candle day that is) is $5 body sprays! I almost went into the store to do the buy 3 get 3 free but each body spray is originally $14 each and I felt that was crazy, especially since I knew the Semi-Annual Clearance sale was going to be looming after Christmas.

I picked up 6 at $5 each and used the $10 off $30 receipt coupon so I paid $21 (which included tax) for all 6! Quite a steal! And it was a very Merry Christmas to me.

I obviously have a love for Paris Amour so I picked up a few bottles and got a few others that I liked the smell of. Here’s what I picked up:

• Paris Amour (x 3)
• Velvet Sugar
• Beautiful Day
• Pure Paradise

FREE K-Mart Haul!

There’s one thing I like about stores that have rewards programs for their members … purchasing the things you need, allow you to gain points (etc.) for the things you want.  I was able to rack up a number of points using K-Marts Shop Your Way Rewards Program over the months of November and December, basically doing some Christmas shopping and some shopping for myself. I had loaded a few rewards incentives onto my card on the Shop Your Way Rewards site and off I went.  I had over $30 in points racked up from 3 transactions so I decided to use the points towards a few items I wanted to pick up before they expired.

The items pictured were completely free after using my rewards card.  I also had a few dollars left on my card, which I used the following week to pick up some candy at the store for Christmas gifts. Can’t beat free money right?

Here’s what I got:

• Conair 1 inch curling iron
• Tresemme Thermal Creations
• Aussie Aussome Volume hair spray.

QUESTION:

Are you a K-Mart Shop Your Way Rewards member?

Bath & Body Works Haul

I received an e-mail last week letting me know about a 1-day sale at Bath & Body Works where their 3-wick candles were on sale for $8 each. I know basically ALL month long candles have been 2 for $22 but I honestly held off from purchasing any because I knew this sale would be coming along. I remembered a week or two before Christmas last year the sale popped up and I had high hopes it would reappear this year and it did! Hooray!

While shopping at the mall I picked up a couple candles. Unfortunately the candle stock was pretty picked through at this particular store so I wasn’t able to get all that I was hoping to get, but I was able to get some goodies. I stacked my $10 off $30 and was able to get all four candles for $22. Quite a steal! I also had a free gift with any $10 purchase and since the coupons came together, I was able to stack them.

I originally grabbed my beloved Paris Amour body spray, but was told that the body sprays are $14 and the free gift is a $12 value.  Kind of lame considering before B&BW repacked their sprays you could get a body spray and you can’t even pay the $2 difference. I’m not huge on their body lotions and I don’t truthfully need another body wash. I spotted the Forever Red body sprays for $12 and brought it up to the cashier. She told me that those are originally $16 and on sale for $12 but for a one-time only she’d let it slide.

Here’s what I got:

-          Party Dress

-          Mahogany Teakwood

-          Peach Bellini

-          Black Tie

-          Forever Red Body Spray

QUESTION:

Have you taken part of any of the Bath & Body Work sales? And are you anxiously awaiting the Annual Clearance event starting December 26^th??

Haul: Bye Bye Blemish

Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion has become a staple in my acne skincare routine whenever I have a large/small breakout on my face. I realize this product isn’t a miracle worker (meaning it is not going to get rid of all my acne) but it’s a pretty stand-up product where it helps treat my acne, reducing some of it and working at shrinking others.

In case you’re not aware, Bye Bye Blemish is a sulfur based acne skincare product. So with sulfur based product, the product does have a very noticeable scent to it. But after a few minutes it doesn’t come off as very noticeable. Mario Badescu as well as other skin care lines have come out with drying lotion sulfur products.

I had this on my list of things to repurchase … and then I realized when I used my product last I didn’t screw the cap on all the way so some of the liquid had evaporated. So I went into “panic mode” and submitted an order on Amazon for it.  Hooray for Amazon and hooray for Bye Bye Blemish Drying Lotion!

You can see my review of the product here.

Avon Haul

Avon Calling!

This is an older haul and the photo has been sitting on my camera so to do some picture purging, I figured I might as well post this.  I mean, better late than never right?  I submitted this order when Avon was running a deal with Fergie perfumes and I got 2 bottles for the price of 1 or it was a buy one get one 50% off.  Since I owned one of the Fergie perfumes, I figured I might as well get the other 2 since I enjoyed the one I had.  I made sure to look up reviews and they ranged from all across the board, but for the most part the reviews were pleasantly positive.

Since I’ve also been looking into serums, when Avon launched their clinical multi-tone skin corrector serum I decided to pick it up. Since it was an introductory product, I got it for a little bit less than its future price.  I admit, I have not tried this yet, but since I’m trying a new serum at the moment, this one will be on the back burner until I’m done with that serum.

Here’s what I ordered:

• Fergie Outspoken perfume
• Fergie Outspoken Intense perfume
• Anew Clinical Absolute Even Multi-Tone skin Corrector

QUESTION:

Have you tried any new Avon products as of late?

The Body Shop Haul!

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I love The Body Shop! I love The Body Shop so much that I have a stock pile in some of their products (particularly their tea tree line) and still have a list of items I want to try/replenish. I’ve been telling myself I was on a The Body Shop “no buy” but when I stumbled upon a $10 off $20 coupon which was featured on coupons.com I couldn’t help myself. I printed 2 coupons out and stuck them in my bag as I was anticipating a trip to the mall.

It was “meant to be” because when I got to the mall and the store was offering one of their spin the wheel deals. I spun the wheel and got 40% off all merchandise in the store. I made sure to ask the girl who gave me the discount card if I could use the $10 off $20 coupon and the 40% and I was told I could. So, that meant shopping spree … haha, no, not really.

Browsing the store I was immediately drawn to their new honey line.  The body butter smelled amazing, but I don’t really need any more body butters at the moment. Needless to say I did two transactions and only paid $22 for everything … which is fabulous since the hand and foot butter is $22 on its own.

Here’s what I picked up:

• Spa Wisdom of Africa Honey & Beeswax Hand and Foot Butter
• Tea Tree Squeaky-Clean Scrub
• Honeymania Eau du Toilette
• White Musk Smokey Rose Eau du Parfum

QUESTION:

What are some of your favorite – or new favorite products from The Body Shop?

Haul: Revlon Matte Balms & Lacquer Balms

Many thanks to the couponing community on Instagram for posting this DD-deal (double dip deal) for Walgreen’s Saturday night. About 2 weeks ago I purchased my first matte balm (haven’t opened that one yet) for $6.99 but thanks to this deal and some register rewards I only paid $3.01 for ALL 8 of these!  How so you ask?

Well, Revlon at Walgreens  (primarily at early activation stores) was ringing up 40% off as well as Buy 1 Get 1 50% off. So it was essentially $5.39/ea for the 1st & 2.69/ea for the 2nd. Inside the Walgreen’s coupon booklet (found in-store) there is a $2 Walgreens Revlon coupon and once scanned it takes $2 off each and every Revlon lip product in your transaction.  So with that it made the first balm $3.39 and the second $0.69 – so truthfully it was $4.08 for both.  If you had the $1 off Revlon manufacturers coupon from the Sunday paper, you would’ve paid even less ($2.08 for 2)  Unfortunately I did not have any manufacturer coupons, but I did have register rewards so that helped me out a ton.

So after my register rewards (for many of my free Nature Made vitamins I had purchased last week) I only paid $3.01 out of pocket for all of these! Talk about an amazing deal!

Here are all the shades I picked up:

Matte Balms:

• Striking
• Elusive
• Showy
• Standout
• Complex
• Sultry

Lacquer Balms:

• Ingenue
• Coy

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the Revlon Matte or Lacquer Balms?

Haul: Practically free Vitamins & Makeup

I frequent the posts by fellow couponers on Instagram to see what deals are popping up in stores. I admit, my coupon game can be pretty snazzy, but I don’t have all the time in the world to seek out deals on my own – so that’s where the internet becomes a great tool.

Last week instagram and the couponing blogs were going bonkers because Nature Made vitamins were on sale, where if you bought two you paid less for the 2 than you would’ve if they were buy one get one 50% off.  The great thing also was that with each 2 bottles of vitamins you were awarded 3,000 register rewards ($3 equivalent) – without there being a cap on how many you could purchase.

Now if you take vitamins daily, like I, this sounds like a great deal … but to spend $10-18 to get $3 back, well, isn’t quite worth it.  But what made it worth it? Well the $5 off Nature Made coupons which were available in the Walgreen’s diabetes magazine. We were able to pair up $5 coupons on each bottle of vitamins (unless the equivalent total was $8 – then you could use a $5 and a $3 coupon).  I was able to get a number of vitamins completely free (B-12, Vitamin C, D3, etc.) the other vitamins I got I paid $2 for and got $3 back on my Rewards card.

After coupons, I only paid $7.30 for all the items pictured (the Elf Evil Queen kit was on clearance for $4.99 – but was originally $9.99). Talk about a great deal!

Haul: Wonderstruck Perfume Knockoffs

I popped into Big Lots last week and noticed they had a wide range of new knock-off perfumes available. Up until last year, I refused to purchase knock-off perfumes ... but I tried the knock-off Sarah Jessica Parker perfume and was astonished as to how much it smelled like the original. Since then I've given knock-off perfumes a sniff when I've spotted them in stores.

I've wanted the Taylor Swift perfume for a while now. Last Christmas I purchased the 0.5 fl oz gift set at CVS and have been using it as sparingly as possible.  Then when Taylor Swift released Wonderstruck Enchanted I was in love with that and wanted that.  So when I spotted these two knock-offs at Big Lots, I gave them a whirl and I was truly surprised with how much they smell like the originals. So for $3.50/ea I picked them up.  I'm on a bit of a budget right now and spending $100+ on perfumes for myself isn't in the books ... so $7 for two for the moment is doable.

QUESTION:
Have you smelled any knock-off perfumes lately that you were surprised smelled so much like the originals?

Haul: Jimmy Choo Eau de Parfum

I have wanted the Jimmy Choo perfume for well over a year. For a while I was stalking websites seeing who had it for the best price. I then talked myself out of it because I bought myself something else … and then I started watching the prices for the perfume on Amazon.  I almost purchased it, but then I started Googling (which is a good and bad habit to have) and was concerned as to if Amazon would be getting the perfume from a reputable seller (meaning it would be legit and not a fake).

Needless to say I didn’t purchase it … but I did have this on my Christmas list this year. That is, it WAS on my Christmas list until I went to Walgreen’s on Saturday. I originally went into Walgreen’s to simply pick up soda and decided I’d check the clearance shelf out back – not really expecting anything since this is a fairly new Walgreen’s (they just opened less than a month ago).

Low-and-behold the clearance section was PACKED with stuff. I found so much good stuff there that I bought a boatload, but one of things I was most excited for was of course the Jimmy Choo Eau de Parfum! The greatest part? The perfume was on clearance for $35.79 – which is less than half price for the same bottle on the Sephora website. Talk about the deal of the century. SCORE!

QUESTION:

Have you scored any unsuspected items at Walgreen’s as of late?

Nordstrom Mario Badescu Haul

I have been trying to complete my Mario Badescu acne skincare collection that was created for me from the skincare team at Mario Badescu. Initially I ordered four of the 8-9 items that were recommended for me. Initially I didn’t order everything because it was over $200 and I just wasn’t feeling that a number of months back.

I had been checking out sales on websites (Mario Badescu and Nordstrom) and was impatiently waiting. Since Ulta carries the line in-store I was frequenting the store near my favorite Trader Joe’s but unfortunately the line is always be pretty much picked over with only testers available. So, in stepped Nordstrom! They were having a “free gift with purchase” deal which was for a $60 (or $30 – I can’t remember) value collagen skincare kit. So … I jumped on board!  Plus with my Ebates account I was able to score 5% cash back just from ordering off the Nordstrom website, so it was a no brainer.

Here’s what I ordered:

• Acne Facial Cleanser
• Buffering Lotion
• Drying Cream

And these are the products that came in the collagen kit:

• Super Collagen Mask
• Peptide Renewal Serum
• Collagen Moisturizing SPF 15

QUESTION:

Have you tried anything from the Mario Badescu line?

Dollar Store Beauty Haul Part 2!

One of my local dollar stores had a bunch of cosmetics on sale that were from Rite Aid (most had Rite Aid price stickers on them). I was there the day they were initially putting all the products out, but since I had to be quick and take off to pick up my boyfriend since I was late to pick him up. I wanted to head back to the store that afternoon, but was busy with a bunch of things and since the store closes earlier than other stores; I decided to go back the following day. When I walked in and headed to the bins I noticed they were considerably empty in comparison to the day before. All the mascaras and eyeliners were gone, almost all the foundations and powders were gone.  Basically they had a few foundations, a ton of nail polish, a ton of lip glosses, some lipsticks and a few other beauty products here and there.

I admit I went a little grab crazy … but I mean for $1, why not buy stuff to try out?

Here are the products I was able to pick up:

• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 320
• Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 325
• Maybelline DreamLumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Beige
• NYC Big Bold Plumping Lip Gloss in Big is Beautiful
• Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Atomic Pink
• L.A. Girl 3D Effects Hologram Nail Polish in Black Illusion
• Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish in Mocha
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Aquamarine
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Gold
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Tanzanite
• Revlon Chroma Chameleon Nail Polish in Topaz

Dollar Store Beauty Haul!

I went to a local Dollar Store yesterday and after browsing the aisles happened to notice a 3-tiered bin that is usually not in the corner. One of the guys that works there had a shopping cart filled with boxes and what immediately caught my attention was “MILANI” printed on the sides of the boxes. Milani … in the dollar store? That sent me into overdrive and I started poking through the display. There were Milani lip glosses, lipsticks, Revlon nail stickers, Sally Hansen gel nail polishes, Maybelline foundation and powder, highlighters, eyeliners, mascaras, etc.

I may have been the first person to start looking at the stuff because the top bin was piled high. It was a bit overwhelming because there was no where to put anything after looking through it but to pile it to one side and begin moving the pile back when done. If I had more time, I would’ve gone through it more thoroughly but since I was already running late on picking up my boyfriend I purchased what I got my hands on and left.

Here’s what I picked up on my first trip:

• NYC Big Bold Bronzing Powder in 602 Metripolitan
• Maybelline Dreamlumi touch Highlighting Concealer in Radiant
• Maybelline Dreamlumi touch Highlighting Concealer in Honey
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Amethyst
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Rose Gold
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Cobalt
• Revlon Chroma-Chamelon nail enamel in Pink Quartz

QUESTION:

Have you scored any unexpected buys as of late?

Sephora Haul

This is a little bit of an older Sephora haul … but better late than never!

When I had popped into Sephora I noticed they had a few more shades of the Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation in stock.  When the line first launched and I finally got into Sephora they were completely wiped out and had been wiped out for more than a month.  Finally during this visit they had one option available in the medium.  I tried the tester on my skin and thought it was the wrong shade because I felt the yellow-undertone medium was more my shade.  The sales associate that was there felt this was my exact shade … so I took her advice and purchased it.

Then on the way to the checkout I spotted this fragrance sampler box.  The Prelude to a Kiss box includes 5 “Sephora Favorites” where the box was $20 and contains sample size perfumes for testing. Once I decide what scent is more up my alley, I can bring the little card inside and pick up a roller ball of my choice.  What really pushed me into purchasing this was the fact that Flowerbomb was one of the options.  Within the box the following fragrances are available: Chloe L’eau de Chloe, Gucci Guilty, Ralph Lauren Romance (which I own), Tocca Colette and Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the products mentioned above?

Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Balm – Just Peachy

I saw the Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Balm display originally posted on Instagram and I knew I had to pick one up. I am a medicated lip balm junkie! I love that tingle/burn on my lips from a medicated balm because I just feel like when it tingles, it means its working and hydrating.

I stumbled upon the display at my local Christmas Tree Shop and sadly the plain shade was not available, so I was in a toss up between Just Peachy and Berry Sorbet.  I ended up going with Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Balm in Just Peachy because I had hoped it would be like the regular Baby Lips in Peach Kiss, which is one of my favorites.  Unfortunately after bringing it home I quickly found that the medicated Just Peachy is actually a LOT more pigmented than the plain ole regular Just Peachy.  The regular just peachy goes on rather sheer against my skin tone and looks like a translucent lip balm when on my lips. The medicated one goes on rather pink, more pale pink instead of peach.  It just looks crazy against my skin tone which completely bums me out.

I’ve been using this by dabbing it against my lips to get the faintest amount of product on my lips and it shows up more translucent than pale pink. Even with the dabbing effect I can feel the cooling/tingling sensation that comes with medicated lip balms.  Now I wish I had picked up Berry Sorbet … but I may end up having to go back at some point to pick it up.

QUESTION:

Have you tried out any of the new Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Balms?

Mario Badescu Haul

I have heard so many rave reviews about Mario Badescu skin care, so a while back I had requested samples of products tailored to what my skin care regiment should be. I received the samples, tried them out and decided to purchase a few of the recommended products for my skin that I enjoyed.  I didn’t order everything – but just recently (this week) I submitted an order for additional items on the Nordstrom website.

The great thing with this initial order was I was able to obtain free shipping and I also received 15% off with a coupon code.  Mario Badescu products can be rather pricey, especially when you’re buying more than one product at a time, so the coupon codes certainly come in handy.  Depending on how these products work out for my skin in the end, I’ll try to purchase products again whenever those codes are offered by the company.

So this here is what I ordered:

-          16 oz. Enzyme Cleansing Gel

-          16 oz. Special Cucumber Lotion

-          2 oz. Drying Mask

-          2 oz. Healing & Soothing Mask

One of the cool things with ordering from Mario Badescu is with every order you can choose up to 3 samples.  These are the samples I chose:

-          Special Hand Cream with Vitamin E

-          Drying Cream

-          Whitening Mask

QUESTION:

Have you tried any Mario Badescu products?

Walmart Bonne Bell Liplites Haul

I have heard rave reviews (and watched a few YouTube videos – shot out to Nicole Guerriero) about Bonne Bell Liplites, particularly about how Strawberry Parfait is a milky-pink dupe for Nars Turkish Delight.  So while at my local super Walmart I made sure to hit up that section of the beauty department.  I admit, if I wasn’t on the lookout for it, I probably would have never noticed them.

After scanning the selection at my store, I decided to pick up two shades – the Nars dupe as well as a creamy shimmery light brown shade.  They’re relatively affordable, if I recall correctly they are $3 each.

Here’s what I picked up:

* Bonne Bell Liplites in Strawberry Parfait

* Bonne Bell Liplites in Cappuccino

QUESTION:

Have you tried anything from Bonne Bell?