Week 3 Empties!

This is why I will be doing this weekly...  Yikes.

So as you can see I dyed my hair.  I haven't dyed my hair in months.  Probably 3.  I had 4-5 inches of growth which was nice because I actually saw my natural hair color.  Ashy brown, golden highlights...  Oh and gray, massive amounts of it!  Ahhh!!!  Despite the gray strands, I immediately regretted ever dying my hair in the first place.  I thought I could just use my Rita Hazan Root Concealer but realistically, after 1-2 inches of root growth and the amount of product that was needed to conceal up to 5 inches, it's not the perfect solution. 

I thought I could deal with the gray, but the other 20 inches of hair on my head disagreed. So I grabbed a box of dye at Target.  I actually haven't seen Clairol Natural Instincts Crème in shade 21 anywhere so I took that as a sign to dye my hair.  Fun fact:  I grabbed what I thought was the last 2 shades of 21 at Target back in October?  I returned them a week later, swearing off dying my hair at home.  Oops! 

I like that this dye is ammonia-free and rinses out after 28 washes.  I can see where the claim "blends away grays" is true.  The product does not truly cover gray hair, it deposits a light coating on them so that they are less obvious.  Unless someone is right up in your business inspecting your strands, they are less noticeable.  And like I said it washes out. So when my permanently dyed hair grows out to shoulder length, I might just go natural?  Who am I kidding, I will totally get highlights or something.  I hate highlights, but like the idea of them and they blend out your grays...

Let's see what else.  Some Crest Prohealth, not sure why this is included but I will review it anyway.  This is alcohol free yet it still tears up your mouth the first couple of uses.  Total inside cheek skin peeler.  Which is annoying, but I really need to stick with a fluoride regiment.  I like mint or the blue mint variety of this.  I have a few bottles of various mouthwash in my stockpile.  Now I'm using Listerine. But this is one I can tolerate and would probably purchase in the future.

I've been working on this tube of Rembrandt since the summer.  I'm such a saver.  I would use this 1-2 times a week.  You can tell it is working by the color of the discarded toothpaste in the sink.  My teeth aren't bright white thanks to coffee and tea, but they aren't yellow either.  But this product does not make my teeth sensitive, probably because I do use it sparingly. I keep meaning to pick up white strips on a sale.  They are just so expensive for me right now.  I know Target makes a range, I should pick those up.

Korres Pomegranate Cleansing wipes were purchased at Marshall's.  I grabbed 3 or 4 of these at $2.99.  Good price for 25 wipes of a high end brand.  I like them.  Not as much at AVON's but these might be a little more natural?  It's hard to tell really.  But they are mineral oil, silicone propylene glycol, and ethanolamine free.  They are for oily/combination skin.  If I see these at Marshall's I will definitely repurchase.

I used a epielle nose strip which you can pick up at Big Lots for $1-2.  These work pretty good.  This one hurt coming off though.  Tear city!  But I have repurchased these nose strips several times and have not been disappointed.

I reviewed the Clinique and Boscia masks in my Week 3 Results post.  I really like them both.  Now I have 3 favorite masks including Eve Lom Resuce Mask.

The Kate Somerville CC cream was too dark but holy glow!  And not a bad thing.  I will definitely revisit this product in a lighter shade in the future.

The Nip+Fab products were unremarkable.  It's difficult to gauge products like this from a sample packet.  Results take 2-4 weeks of continued use for most products. 

The First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair cream was very nice.  I was able to use this sparingly almost the entire week at night.  I just read the packet for the first time.  Says it can be used from "head to toe..."  Hmm...  I used this solely on my face.  My skin must have needed it though!

Ugh I waited to long to use the Weleda Iris and it was all separated.  I usually take that as a sign that it has expired.  I've had this for a while.  I believe this was a Beauty Army sample so that brings us to 2012.  MAD Eye Defense Shielding Serum was another Beauty Army sample.  This was nice.  I used this over the Arbonne Eye Cream.  It had a silicone/slip like feel to it.  It helped to minimize/fill in fine lines.  I might be open to purchasing a full size of this!

I ended up dumping the rest of the AVON ANEW Rejuvenate Glycolic Facial Treatment.  It was also a different color than what I remembered it to be so I knew it was time.  This stuff works at smoothing the skin and evening out your skintone.  This is the old packaging, I believe the new packaging is white and silver.  I will repurchase.

Omojo fine line defense serum was purchased last summer on clearance at Walgreens.  They had 2 different varieties and I picked up both and subsequently finished them.  I use this after toning and before moisturizer.  I can't say I saw "results" but I feel serum is a necessary repair step before moisturizing.  As someone with oily skin, its a delicate balance finding products that hydrate without leaving you oily.  I used to not moisturize, but found this just dehydrated my skin, further creating oil. 

I'm still looking for the perfect solution.  My skin changes with the seasons, always oily, but lately it has been more normal.  And don't get my started on my skintone.  It changes color too! I'm like a chameleon.  It's a never ending battle!  One product, be it moisturizer, cleanser, foundation, will never work all year until the end of days for me.

Julep makes some amazing products.  I might have to do a separate post just on Julep products that I love.  Word to the wise, shake this product before using.  Towards the end, it was difficult to remove polish.  But in the beginning, it melted the glitteriest glitter bomb polishes with a single swipe.  No joke.  And it was nondrying.  I think it worked better than ZOYA and it is acetone free.  I make my own remover with Acetone, Glycerin, Water and Lavender Essential Oil but if needed, I would repurchase this.  Along with ZOYA's.  I love them both.

Neutrogena Body Oil and the Castor Oil were used in a salt scrub that I make.  Which I started a blog post on but never finished so I will do that ASAP.  This Castor oil bottle was a Oil Cleansing mix that I used on my face for a few months.  The Oil Cleansing Method works but you have to find the right combination of oils for your particular skin or it can be disastrous.  This method also uses a lot of time and a lot of hot water to thoroughly steam your face.  My routine takes forever as it is so the OCM pushes it to over 30 minutes.  I digress...  So to use up this castor oil mix or should I say repurpose, I made a salt scrub and mixed it with the Neutrogena body oil.  I think that they changed the formula or my skin changed but it doesn't have enough moisture for me anymore.  I find myself using this and then layering lotion over it.  I have a Nuance spray oil that I am going to try next.

Boots No.7 Cleansing water is a favorite of mine.  I really do not need it, but I really do.  I've never tried Bioderma, but very curious.  I feel hesitant to order off of Amazon for fear that I will receive a fake.  But when I'm on my possible trip in July, you know I will purchase and bring some home!  But this Boots product smells really nice, cleanses, does not strip the skin and it can remove eye makeup. I do not use waterproof so I can't say if it works that well.  But for my purposes I'm happy with it.  It's affordable and readily available at Target.  It's a win for me!

What did you finish up this past week?

Hope your week is going well!

Black Friday... Walgreens style.

Hooked line and sinker back into couponing am I.  Gone was the stockpile of toothpaste, shampoo and laundry detergent I needed to stock up! 

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I went into Walgreens with 2 coupons for Dove deodorant. I came out with 4 deodorants for $1.50 and I got back 4,000 points which translates into $4.  Yeah, they paid me $3.50 to take 4 deodorants out of the store.  No problem!

I didn't realize that after a certain time on Saturdays, Walgreens activates the new week's sale.  So I got both the previous weeks' sale price and the new week's BOGO, combined.  Unlike CVS, where you need to know what the new sale is and tell the person at the register which one you want!!!  See previous CVS Black Friday post!  I like the double dipping.  But I found that it only works if the manager on duty allows it.  Which I will fill you in about later...

Then I went back the next week after for Nexus shampoo.  20,000 points.  So now going into my Black Friday shopping, I had over $20 in rewards to spend.

Heading out Thursday night to do some shopping for my MIL who missed out on a couple items in her area, I dropped by Walgreens with my envelope of coupons.  I'm going to try to remember all the deals.

First transaction, first trip:

Finish Gelpacs BOGO, $5.29, had 2/75 cent coupons
Psssssst dry shampoo, on sale $4.99 with $5RR (I never saw a $4.99 RR...)
Scunci hair elastics 2/$3 with $3 RR
Rembrandt 2 hour Whitening kit, on sale $19.99, had $5 coupon, $4RR
GUM toothbrushes double packs, on sale 49 cents ea., $2RR
Crest toothpaste, on sale $3, 50 cent coupon, $3 RR
Reach toothbrush, on sale $3, 75 cent coupon, $3 RR
Crayola crayons on sale $1.99 ea.


Total savings $36.97 or 50% savings value.

I used rewards and paid $30 out of pocket.  I used my RR on the next transaction that same night.

Transaction#2:

Ornanix shampoo and conditioner macadamia oil BOGO, $7.99
Organic shampoo and conditioner Moroccan argan oil BOGO and on clearance $4.79
Arm and Hammer laundry detergent Buy 1, Get 2 free at $6.99
Wet n wild Fergie jet set palette, $15 after $15 in store coupon

I also grabbed 2 packs of Scott's paper towels that were on sale which are not pictured.

Used the RR's, rewards and the in store Fergie palette coupon and saved $70.16, which was a savings of 70%.

I also wanted to get the Lady Gaga perfume but the lady working at the counter said all she had was the $40 bottle.

Fast forward to Saturday, I went back and did 2 more transactions.

Transaction #1:
Crest toothpaste, on sale $3, 50 cent coupon, $3 RR
Reach toothbrush multiple pack (back in stock) on sale $3, $1.50 coupon, $3 RR
Blistex Nurture & Nourish (back in stock) $2.79, $2 RR

Paid $6, got back $8 in RR.


Transaction #2:
4 Carmex, on sale 4/$4, with 1,000 points and I had 2/$1 coupons
Lady Gaga Fame perfume, on sale 50% off, $10, had $2 coupon
2 filler items, kids bubble bath because of my number of coupons

Used rewards, RR's, and coupons and paid 11 cents.

Total savings of $24.36 or 86%.

Not bad.  And the Finish Gelpacs had a try me free mail in rebate.  I will send one in for the $4.50 rebate, further reducing my savings!

Crazy haul, about $45 oop but considering the Fergie palette retails at $30 and the Rembrandt whitening kit was on sale for $19.99, I feel like I got some pretty good deals, some items for the house and kids and stocking stuffers!  Win!

May Empties and Resolutions Update!

Man it's that time of the month again.  June 4th.  I feel like today is important but I can't remember why.  lol  But we are almost half way through the year!  What?!

So a little update from my New Year's Resolutions...

1.  I will live off my stash for the next 12 months, the entire year of 2012 or until it is used up.


Have I been living off my stash?  You betcha!  I've used up a ton of products.  You see everything that I have gone though each month.  A ton of stuff, well except for last month.  I have been buying a few new things here and there but no stockpiling and I use up what I buy.  A good chunk of my stash is gone.  I now have one side of the kids' bathroom cabinet empty and filled with beach towels!  Yay!  And only 3 drawers in the cloth shelving unit in my closet are filled.  1 drawer has empty packaging and boxes from products I am currently using/testing. 


I've been to the drugstore 4 times since January.  I know I said that I wouldn't ever go but I ran out of a couple things and had coupons, etc...  One trip was for a friend's newborn baby, I swear!  I also had to get the 3 new Infallible eyeshadow colors which are the only ones I have been using since the weather has turned from warm to HOT!  There are a bunch more that just came out, I might have to get them. :)  I've given away some nail polish and makeup.  I still want empty cabinets at the end of the year though!




2.  I will lose 20 pounds in 2012.


I've lost a solid 15 so far.  I weigh 130.  I was pushing 150 at the beginning of the year.  My weight fluctuates throughout the day so I weigh in each morning and I'm right at 129-130.  It seems a little unreal that 6 months ago I hovered a few pounds over 145.  Nothing fit, I felt very uncomfortable.  I'm a RN so I was taking my blood pressure once a week or so and I was running 135/70.  I am now 115-120/60-65.  I am by no means unhealthy.  I cook my own food, we rarely eat out, rarely eat packaged foods, I juice and eat tons of veggies.  Exercising may have taken a back burner over the holidays but I go through phases with my running, yoga, weight training and gym schedule.  I also chase, literally run after 3 kids around the house, yard and park pretty much all day, everyday.  I'm not a snacker.  I know it seems unreal.  2 things hindered my progress though, skipping breakfast and drinking coffee.


My downfall is coffee.  The more I drink, the more tired I feel, so the more I drink.  In my coffee I would have agave or honey with coconut milk.  Again, not unhealthy.  But caffeine messes with your blood sugar, basically it impairs insulin action and for me and my body type, caffeine is the enemy.  I have an apple shaped body, even more apple-like after kids.  Apple body types carry their weight (fat) around the midsection.  We have nice legs and arms (yes!) but thick middles. Caffeine increases cortisol in our bodies that causes us to crave carbs and sugar which is stored around the midsection if they are not burned off.  Stress also causes an increase in cortisol which causes weight gain and thickening of the middle as well.  This happens in all body types but for the apple shaped, the impact can be significant.  We don't need our middles thickened any more than they are!


So I quit coffee.  I've tried it several times in the past... successfully but after I lose weight, I somehow gravitate towards it again.  This time a read a book, Clean by Dr. Junger.  I've heard about "clean" eating and thought I did for the most part.  So my husband and I went on a "clean detox."  I will go into an in depth synopsis in its own separate post because it will be very time consuming to explain thoroughly and it deserves one!


So that being said...  I think I will be able to stand to lose another 10 pounds.  I see what I look like at 130 and I think 120 will be my goal weight.  Unless I start bodybuilding and pack on the muscle.  hahaha  Then I will re-evaluate.  It's not really the number, it's the clothes that I want to fit into!


So on to the empties!  

1.   John Frieda Sheer Blonde Enhancing Shampoo:  I'm pretty sure I've reviewed this in the past.  It keeps my blonde hair shiny and bright.  I actually haven't used the John Frieda Tone Correcting Shampoo in a while.  I really need to pick some up.


2.  John Frieda Root Awakening Health Infusing Conditioner:  This is a good conditioner with a pleasant peppermint and eucalyptus scent.  I still need a deep conditioning treatment a few times a week.   But with someone with normal hair that is not color treated, this conditioner would be all that you would need.


3.  John Frieda Root Awakening Health Boosting Detangling Spray:  This has a very light weight formula but you can feel the added conditioning that it gives to your hair.  I have a back up bottle that is now in my beach bag.  I like to spritz on my hair after the pool and after rinsing off at the beach.  It has the same peppermint and eucalyptus scent as the conditioner and shampoo.  


4.  L'OREAL Ever Creme Cleansing Conditioner:  Another product I love and have reviewed before.  I will repurchase very soon, like today.  It has a lovely amber scent to me.  It might be a bit strong so someone who does not like that scent though or who is sensitive to scents in general.  But I really like it.  There have been some varied reviews on this product.  The key is using a little at a time and adding water.  It does lather but not like a regular sulfate laden shampoo.  But add a little water, massage in, add a little water, massage in.  I will let it sit on my hair while I finish up in the shower for extra conditioning.  It has built up in my hair before but a good clarifying shampoo once a week takes care of it.


5.  Almay oil-free eye makeup remover pads:  At first I didn't think these were any good.  They do leave eye liner and some mascara behind but for the post part, they remove everything.  I guess I have never came across a remover that removed every single stitch of makeup.  I just press them on my lids and wipe very gently.  They do the job pretty well.  My face cleanser can then get most of everything else.  I'm on my second tub now.  


6.  Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser:  I love this cleanser.  I can't think of anything from Kiehl's that I do not like quite frankly.  My combo/oily large pore skin needs this stuff.  It has Amazonian White Clay & salicylic acid to detoxify and clear out those pores!  My skin responds well to salicylic acid.  I really need to pick up another tube of this stuff.


7. NIVEA Touch of Happiness Orange Blossom Scent and Bamboo Essence Body Wash:  This was my last one!  I have 2 more body washes to go through before I can repurchase another NIVEA.  I love the scent of this.  My skin is a lot softer and smoother when I use it.  I just love the NIVEA brand in general as well.  Great affordable products.


8.  Lubriderm Advanced Therapy Lotion:  I know this may seem kind of strange but I get dry skin in the summer!  Yes I do.  Yes my face is a greasy mess most of the time, even that is changing too, more on that later, but between the sun and air conditioning, my skin gets parched!  I really need to lay on the moisturizer on my legs and arms.  Same with my daughter.  Her eczema seems to flare up around this time.  I really liked this lotion and the smell of it too.  It non-greasy which is very important to me.  I like the pump top and frequently used it on my hands.  We have another bottle of lotion to get through and  I will probably pick this one up again.


9.  John Frieda 9A Light Ash Blonde:  Guess you could say I like John Frieda?  It is getting more and more difficult finding this specific color.  It's not at Walmart or Target.  I found this one at Ulta and there was only one other box.  This is the only color that I have found that does not brass me out.  It's not that ashy where your hair turns green, yes that has happened to me before.  I'm afraid to try another box color to be honest but this particular shade's nonavailability will be forcing me to explore other options.  I really liked 10N Extra Light Ash Blonde but that one has disappeared as well.   Hmmm...


10.  Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil:  I use this for cooking, as a moisturizer, hair treatment, diaper rash cream, feet, hands...  You name it, I have many uses for it.  All from separate tubs I might add.  No double dipping over here!  :)  I have used it on my face and tried using it as a makeup remover but the two particular uses didn't work out for me.  I have this on Amazon click and save so it is delivered pretty frequently at a great price!


11.  Garnier Moisture Rescue Lightweight UV-Lotion:  Love this stuff!  I used to use it on my face but I found it was a bit too greasy for me.  I did find a better one for my face which I am just about ready to review.  I use this on my chest, neck, hands and feet every day.  I have a backup.


12.  Rembrandt Whitening Toothpaste:  Love this stuff.  Keeps my teeth white.  'Nuff said.  We are just flying through the toothpaste.  I guess that's a good thing since we are brushing but I thought for sure my stash of what 13 tubes was going to last us almost the year.  Well we acquired another tube from my mom (she accidently purchased cinnamon, not her fave) and currently I have 3 tubes left, 2 of which are in use!  Incredible.  I never actually figured out how long a tube a toothpaste lasted, I just assumed a month.  Well I was wrong.  :)


13.  Nuance Moisturizing Body Lotion:  I think this is my second bottle that I have gone through.  I really love the rose scent but I don't think it's super moisturizing.  It has rose hip oil, aloe vera and Irish Moss Extract.  It works well but if you have really dry skin, this won't be the best moisturizer for you.  I really like the smell and feel of it and if I can get a good deal on it, I would repurchase.  I do still have $2 off coupons for Nuance but my local CVS' did not seem to carry it a while back, end of last year to be specific.  


14.  Aveeno Hydrosport sunblock lotion SPF 85:  Now let me school you in sunBLOCK and SunSCREEN, in understandable terms of course.  SunSCREEN allows for you to receive color, i.e. a tan, without all the harmful rays.  Sunblock, blocks out all the sun's rays and you should not receive any color.  Well folks, I lathered this sunBLOCK on all my loved ones and myself last weekend and we were all burnt to a crisp.  Not once was this applied, but 3 times, yes, every 2 hours.  I bought it at Big Lots and it has an expiration of 2012/08.  Well it's June, May 26th when we used it, and suffice to say, it either expired early or it was a bad batch.  I will never buy this again or any other SPF lotion that close to an expiration date.  Lesson learned.


15.  Pond's Wet cleansing Towelettes:  Again, nothing compares to my fave Noxema wipes but these work pretty well too.  Nice thickness to the wipe, good wetness.  When I repurchase wipes, it will be the Noxema.  I did spot them at Kmart so I know they still exist!


16.  Willa Naturals Lavender Face Towelettes:  A Birchbox sample.  These 10 wipes went fast.  I liked the small convenient packaging.  Nice scent.  A little dry and didn't seem to take off too much but they felt refreshing nonetheless.  These are way too expensive for me to purchase.  I have no idea how much they cost, but I'm sure they are way more than I am willing to pay!


17.  Karma Anti-Blemish treatment mask:  Beauty Army sample.  I was going to do a separate review on this but it's hard to review something only after using it once.  I did this one night, left it on longer than I was supposed to by 5-10 minutes  My fault.  My pores were noticeably smaller...  But the next day my skin was a bit red and super oily all day long.  The oiliest it has been in a long time.   It was fun putting it on and it felt good.  Very relaxing.  Drank some tea, did my mask...  I would like to try it again though and instead of 25-30 minutes, just stick with the 10-15 per the package directions!  


18.  Aveeno Nourish + Shine Smoothing Shine Creme:  This was a sample attached to a bottle of shampoo that I finally focused enough to finish it.  It has been packed in every travel bag you can imagine.  I finally got around to actually using it.  It smells nice, almost of grapes, kind of fruity, smooths out the hair enough to get a brush though it.  Otherwise unremarkable though, I won't seek this out to repurchase at the moment as I have a ton of other hair creams to get through.


19. & 20.  John Frieda Precision Foam Color Conditioner:  I almost forgot about these until I looked back at the photo.  Seriously, why can't these be bottled up and sold in a full size.  I would totally buy it... all of the time.


So there you have it.  Another 20 bottles and boxes to hit the recycling bin!