Tuesday, November 30, 2010

John Frieda Website

I was checking out the John Frieda website and discovered that they have hair tutorials!  And they show you what products to use and when.  I love the looks and I also love John Frieda products.  I use the Root Awakening products and Sheer Blonde Tone Correcting shampoo and conditioner very frequently.  In fact both products were on Last Chance at Walgreens recently.  I was able to pick up Sheer Blonde Color Renew Tone-Restoring Shampoo and conditioner for $4.49 a piece and some of the root awakening products were also Last Chance for $3.49 a piece and BOGO1/2 at that.  So I picked up 6 products for $15.45.  I had $4 worth of coupons for the Root Awakening Products. 

I love the looks of Harry Josh.  He also has renewed my interest in mousse.  I think I will be trying Frizz-Ease Take Charge Curl Boosting Mousse if I get a Conair Infiniti You Curl Curling Iron for Christmas!  Well if Santa doesn't bring me one, I'll be sure to drop by Walmart.  I saw that they are at $22.47.  The lowest price by far...

Monday, November 29, 2010

This past week's empties...

Well the past month and a half!

71.  BAIN de~luxe foaming body wash Lavender
72.  L'Oreal Paris EverPure Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner
73.  Origins Cheeks and Balances Foaming Face Wash
74.  Caress Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash, Burnt Brown Sugar and Karite Butter
75.  Dove Damage Therapy Conditioner Intensive Repair, 2 samples.  I used them as an overnight deep conditioning treatment.  Works quite nicely.
76.  ANEW REVERSALIST Day Renewal Cream spf 25
77.  ANEW REVERSALIST Illuminating Eye System
78.  John Frieda Sheer Blonde Color Renew Tone Restoring Shampoo
79.  John Frieda Sheer Blonde Color Renew Tone Restoring Conditioner
80.  Nexxus Dualiste Color Protection Volume Shampoo
81.  Nexxus Dualiste Color Protection Volume Conditioner
82.  Dickinson's 100% Natural Botanicals Witch Hazel daily facial towelettes.  These are divine!
83. + 84.  Almay Oil-free eye makeup remover pads x2!
85.  ANEW Clinical Crow's Feet Corrector
86.  Covergirl and Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer

14 more to go!  (Until I start my new challenge...)

Up for review...

So I've been trying out a few things now and almost ready to review...

Clinique Redness Solutions
Olay Body body wash plus sheer moisture ribbons with mandarin oil
de~luxe luxury body lotion in Lavender
Nexxus dualiste Dual Benefit Shampoo and Conditioner Color protection/volume
Neutrogena Clinical with ion2 complex for eyes
EO Serenity Bubble Bath
de~luxe Hawaiian Cane Sugar Scrub in Amber Vanilla
Nexxus Humetress Luxe Ultimate Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner

Sunday, November 28, 2010

SNOTD!


Wet n Wild #464 Rain Check

I love this color!!!  I bought 2 Wet n Wild nail polishes on a BOGO with coupons at Rite Aid so I literally got them for pennies.  It is a bit thin so this is 3 coats.  I was worried after the first layer that I would need about 5 coats but it came out pretty good for a retail price of 99 cents.  Yes 99 cents. 

I'll be trying out the other shade next week!

Sales, Sales Sales!

Remember that tomorrow is Cyber Monday so if you didn't get everything on your list on Friday, you have one last chance to score some deals.  My inbox is literally filled back up with emails.  I just finished deleting all the Black Friday ones!

Here are some worth mentioning...

Elizabeth Arden  This actually ends today but free shipping on any order and a free 8-piece gift with tote with a $25 purchase.  BLACKFRI at checkout

e.l.f.  55% off storewide, free shipping with a $25 purchase SHIP25 at checkout.  And then a free 10 issue subscription to More magazine with a $30 purchase.  Or 55% off $25 purchase 55WIDE at checkout. 

Urban Decay  During the hours of 10am and 2pm you are able to purchase a set of 15 of the 24/7 . 2 deluxe samples with a $65 purchase, HFS65 at checkout.

drugstore.com  Free shipping with any $25 order and $5 off any $40 order.  You can also order off off beauty.com as well. 

Estee Lauder  I will be taking advantage of this one.  The hubs needs stocking stuffers for me right?  You can get a Coach make-up bag filled with Estee Lauder samples for $35 with any Estee Lauder fragrance purchase.  And if you order on-line, you can choose 4 deluxe samples... 
Here's what it comes with:


Golden Eye & Face Compact (New Pure Color EyeShadow in Ivory Slipper, Hot Cinnamon and Amethyst Spark, plus Estée Lauder Signature Blush in Nude Rose)  I've been dying to get Amethyst.


2 Pure Color Long Lasting Lipsticks (full-size, in Sugar Honey and Pinkberry)

New Pure Color Gloss (in Wired Copper)

Artist's Eye Pencils (great for smoky eyes, in SoftSmudge Black)

2 Deluxe Retractable Makeup Brushes (Powder and Eyeshadow)

Coach Signature Cosmetic Bag

Yankee Candle  Buy 2 candles, get 2 free candles.  They are awesome gifts and you can give one to your self. 

Bath and Body Works  This actually ends today.  I took advantage yesteray.  Buy 3, get 3 free.  I bought two lotions and two body washes for my elfster.com pick.  I get to keep 2 for myself!

Avon.com  Free shipping with any order FREE2010  For $89 you can get a Flip MinoHD™.  I did buy one for myself.  I was looking at them last year and they were well over $100.  Maybe I'll start vlogging. 

Sephora  Free shipping with any $25 purchase.  This looks fun.  LashStash Mascara Deluxe Sampler ($140 Value)  How many full size mascaras do you have that didn't work hanging aorund taking up space that you should have thrown away by now...  Now you can try a whole mess of samples and then decide what full size ones to buy!



Origins  The Origins Great-Super Set for $55.  What a great value!  And Origins will gift wrap on-line purhases.  Every time I order from them, my order arrives neatly packaged.  I like the time and care they put into it.  It makes me feel special!



GinZing™ Refreshing eye cream to brighten and depuff net wt. 0.5 oz./15 ml


Starting Over™ Age-erasing moisturizer with Mimosa net wt. 1 oz./30 ml

Modern Friction™ Nature's gentle dermabrasion 1.7 fl. oz./50 ml

Checks and Balances™ Frothy face wash 5 fl. oz./150 ml

Ginger Souffle™ Whipped body cream net wt. 5 oz/150 ml

Ginger Burst™ Savory body wash net wt. 5 oz./150 ml
 
 
 
Have fun shopping!!!

Black Friday Madness

This past Friday was not my best Black Friday experience.  It was my own fault really.  I wasn't prepared and did not have a complete list together even though I had been looking at ads on-line for a couple of weeks.  Most of my items were at Target and Target was untouchable.  The line was literally insane and I am not a diehard Black Friday.  I'm not going to risk my life in a crazy Target stampede to save $15 on a Wii Fit or what have you.  But by not attempting the Target madness, my list fell by the wayside and I found myself wandering aimlessly througout town. 

My alarm was set for three and I was out of the house with coffee in hand by 3:16am.   Old Navy opened at Midnight so I headed there first.  My niece and nephew had circled their desired items so I knew exactly what I wanted to buy.  At 3:30 the store was detroyed.  Clothes were strewn about the floor and other clothes items were thrown on to racks, totally disorganized.  It was a free-for-all.  I rummaged through the pea coats looking for a black in size medium.  Ugh, there wasn't a single medium.  Then I head over to the boy's hooded sweatshirts.  I couldn't find the circled item.  Then I realize that my nephew had circled the toddler hood sweatshirts.  I start walking around the store like a zombie. 

I see a puffy cream vest, I grab it, then a green scarf grab that too.  I go back to the pea coat scramble and after several minutes of digging, I find a size medium black under some sweaters.  I go to the women's section and find a black hooded sweatshirt for my nephew.   It's black, looks the same as a men's..  Okay, first store done.

Head to Target for 4am.  See the utter madness and flashing lights from police cars and high tail it out of there.  No way I was waiting an hour to get into the store.  I figure I will head back there later after the mall. Head to the mall.  Walk right into JC Penney.  I had $10 stainless coffee mugs on my list , a back up pea coat option if Old Nacy didn't work out and a 15% off coupon.  I look at the pea coats.  Hmm, maybe I'll get one for myself?  Then I walk by a Columbia Jacket display.  50% off.  And look, the jacket I wanted to get last year for $115 but wouldn't spend the money.  Grabbed it in cream.  But wait , I just got a puffy vest from Old Navy in cream.  Better go with the black.  Go to check out got the jacket for $48.  Sweet.

Then I head to the Children's place, 30% off entire store including sale items.  I grabbed the boys their Red Christmas sweaters that I have been eyeing and my daughter some tights.  Now off to Edddie Bauer for the hub's jeans.  40% off entire store and I have a 15% off coupon.  Grab two pairs of jeans and a sweater for myself.  Can't combine the coupon so I put the sweater back.  Now I leave the mall and head back to Target.  Go inside, the checkout line starts right as you walk in wrapping the entire perimeter of the store.  Forget it.

I then head to Michael's for my mother-in-law's Cricut.  It ended up being a door buster so I couldn't use the 30% off coupon.  Grabbed a couple items for the kids.  I was tempted to go back to Target but it was now 6am and I was feeling pretty guilty for buying myself a vest, scarf and jacket.  Mind you, I donated my winer jacket last year to the Salvation Army so I really needed one.

I go home and start reviewing my purchases and my husband tries on the jeans.  They don't fit.  I then realize that I never received my 30 % off at the Children's Place.  I'm still feeling guilty about the vest.  So yesterday I went back to Old Navy and returned the vest.  Went back to Eddie Bauer and exchanged the jeans and went to the Children's Place to get my 30% off.  Apperently the new saleswomen had made the mistake several times that morning. 

So did I save, yes I did.  Was it amazing savings?  No.  And get this.  When I returned the vest to Old Navy I of course walked around the store saw that the pea coats were still 50% off, some gloves were marked down even further and the hooded sweatshirt that I bought for my nephew, $10 less.  My husband ended up finding two pairs of jeans that he liked better and fit better than the Eddie Bauer ones.  So ultimately, I need to make yet another return. 

So was it worth it?  Umm, not really.  So will I go back shopping next Black Friday?  Probably, if I have someone to shop with and if I am more organized.

I definitely recommend a partner to bounce ideas off of and a list for a successful shopping experience.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick

Covergirl is launching their latest innovation January 2011 but you can get your hands on it now!  Free shipping if you order through Walmart, $5.94 a pop.  There are other retailers as well, drugstore.com, walgreens.com, soap.com...  But of course, Walmart will save you a couple dollars!



Limited shades are available during this on-line preview which ends on December 5th.  I've got my eyes on Hypnotic, Sweetheart and Fervor.

For more details check out Covergirl's facebook page.  They promise softer lips in 7 days!

L'OREAL Youth Code




Anyone getting excited about this?  You can enter to win a starter pack here.

I'll admit, I'm intrigued by the packaging and the hype.  You can pre-order on walmart.com, walgreens.com, cvs.com, and target.com.  I just might...

I picked up a couple L'OREAL HIP Kohl Liners at CVS today as they were 75% off.  Not a bad deal if you have a CVS near you!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

SNOTD

Another beauty from Revlon's Just Add Sparkle Collection.  Silver and Belle!



Here is silver.


Silver with Belle topcoat.

Gearing up for Black Friday

For the past four yesrs, or about four years, I've been one of the crazies running around at 3am grabbing up sale items.  My mother-in-law got me all excited one year and I've been hooked ever since.  Last year my husband went out with me.  We started at midnight at an outlet mall in Massachusetts and came home about 8am.  Then I think he went back out after I crashed out.

I'm not sure how this year is going to work out with the new baby.  We'll have to go in shifts.  This year we will be home but there are still plenty of stores.  Kohl's and Target usually have great deals, so I'll be hitting them up for sure.

Black Friday ads have already been posted here.

If you can wake up insanely early, it's really best way to get all the things on your list for great prices.  Especially those big items like tv's.  My husband went out for televisions two years in a row.  Did I mention my husband is a shopper?  Almost worse than me :)

So what are you heading out for this Black Friday?

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Paradoxal Dupe

Months ago I was on the Chanel website ready to click submit.  I just couldn't justify the $23 for one nail polish.  So I passed.  Then I regretted because a while later it was sold out.  Well it is now available on the website but there is other good news. 

The discovery of a dupe!  Revlon Perplex.  And it looks good enough for me!  It wasn't the Chanel name that had me wanting the color.  I thought that this was the case hence my order deletion.  I've been really liking Revlon polishes lately.  Not sure if they changed the formula or the brush.  But they tweeked something and the polish goes on nice and smooth.

Of course it's all over the blogasphere and I can't get my hands on it!!!  I've been a madwoman driving to every Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS, in town with absolutely no luck!!! 

Steph's Closet tweeted an awesome pic.



So it's not quite an exact copy but I actually like the purple.

Patience is a virtue and I have a ton of it.  Eventually the display will come to the Southern Tier.  And of course, I will keep looking. 

Holiday Wish Lists

So I was making my list earlier, well not really but someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas and instead of saying "nothing" like I always say because I usually draw a blank at that moment of questioning, I decided to really think about it this year.  (wow that was a really long sentence!)

So still drawing a blank, fully knowing I want or have thought about a million things I might want, I went to the expert.  Oprah.  Yes Oprah.  Who else?  Every year Orah has her show, "Oprah's Favorite Things."  She doesn't mess around with her choices either. 

As I was perusing her selections for 2010, I came across Baker's Edge Brownie Pan.  Sure I've seen it before in stores but then I saw the picture of it being used as a lasagna dish!  What geniousness!




 
Definitely putting that on my list!  I love the lasagna edges but I'm more of the soft brownie middle girl.
 
This year my family decided on doing a "Yankee Swap."  But being the polar opposite of Yankee fans we opted for a "Red Sox Swap."  Then after another discussion, we decided to go with http://www.elfster.com/ to randomly assign us a person to buy a gift for.  More like a Kris Kringle so you know who you are buying for rather than buying a generic unisex $40 gift. 
 
Kris Kringle exchanges take the stress out of buying gifts.  Let's face it, it's fun when you start off shopping on Black Friday or early December and then you forget about that one person.  Oops!  You had a sweater picked out and forgot their size so you put it back and forgot all about grabbing something else.  Or you thought for sure you ordered something on line for so and so.  Then you are running out at the last minute.... Not fun.  Especially fighting the lines.  Not looking forward to that this year, that's for sure!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

SNOTD

Revlon's Rock + Star make me a Rock Star Baby!!!  Rock is such a gorgeous color on it's own.  I bought two jars of it.  Thinking one will go into a blog giveaway some day!


Paired with Star you get:

Sunday, November 7, 2010

SNOTD


I just realized I forgot a base coat.  My nails will be stained for sure.  This is AVON N206 Cherry Jubilee.  I love this color.  I really cannot do red well so this has a little blue/purple in it that compliments my cool skin tone better than a brick or orange type red. 

Another stellar product from AVON.  Great price, probably $2.99.  This nail polish has to be 2-3 years old and still going strong. 

AVON now has Nail Wear Pro in a square bottle but I do see they still have the color in Cherry Jubilee.  The regular price is $5 but you can always wait for a sale to get it at $2.99.

Monday, November 1, 2010

I'm seeing red...

So it started last week, the dreaded red face.  It happens every year.  The crisp cold air of fall turns my face bright red.  I haven't changed a thing in my skin care routine.  The only thing that has changed, is the temperature.  My face is tight and it feels raw.  It's the strangest thing.  Like I have been skiing and it's 20 below outside. So this year, I've decided to do something about it. 

Clinique is offering an on-line special right now.  Purchase $21.50 worth of product, and you get an 8 piece bonus.  I'm assuming that they are sample sizes but you get to choose the 6.  The 8 pieces include 2 make-up bags, a lipstick, a mascara, an eye cream, a make-up remover, an eyecolor quad, (the violet quad is all out, I had it in my cart on Friday but held off to order until today) and skin care favorites, I ordered the 7 day scrub. 

For the $21.50 in product, I actually ordered the $45 Redness Solutions Redness Regimen.  The Redness Solutions cream was $39.50 by itself so I just decided to get the 3 product bundle.  I've had my eyes on this for months now, probably since last winter.  I don't have rosacea.  Well I might after reading this website. My eyes are red, check, I have red patches, check, I thought I was breaking out, those must be cysts, check, fair irish skin, check...  Well signs are looking pretty good that it is rosacea or something like it.  Thankfully it only occurs in the winter.

So we'll see how it goes!

So for $45 I got 6 products, 2 cosmetic bags and the Redness Solutions package, free shipping and since I ordered through ebates, I got 8% back.  Never heard of http://www.ebates.com/?  Basicaly if you are going to order something on-line, check ebates first for your store.  Ebates offers cash back for purchases and they usually have a coupon code for the store.  Right now they are offering double cash back on many of the stores and Clinque has 8%.  They will then send you a check quarterly, I believe.  You don't pay for anything, sign up is free and you get cash back for purchases. 

So for my $45 purchase, I get $3.60 back.  It adds up.  So if you plan on doing some Black Friday, Cyber Monday or any other holiday shopping on-line, go through ebates and you'll be surprised how much those $3 and $4 add up.  Plus ebates offers free shipping codes, free sample codes, it just depends on the store and what they are offering.

Happy shopping!