Saturday, September 29, 2012

Drugstore Deals 9/30/12

Good evening, everyone!  I wanted to put up a post about the forth coming deals for the week at Walgreens and CVS.  We do not have Rite-Aids in Texas, so currently I am not scouring their ads.  Maybe one day we'll get some, as they do normally have pretty good beauty deals.  For now we'll stick with Walgreens and CVS though.

I am not all that impressed with Walgreens sales in the beauty department this week.  CVS seems to really be kicking it up a notch however.  Use coupons to get the most bang for your buck on CoverGirl products and Wet n Wild is Buy One Get One Free.  Now is the perfect chance to find those Wet n Wild items that are the perfect dupe for high cost brands!

New Sunday Coupons 9/30/12


Tomorrow is the beginning of the month for the coupon ads.  The paper, for most markets, should have four sets of coupons.  One from Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo., RedPlum, and Smartsource.  There are some fairly good beauty coupons in the ads, so they are worth checking out.  For example, the Procter & Gamble ad will have a $3/2 coupon.  This combined with some of the deals at the drugstore this week it should work out in the shoppers favor.  Good makeup products for less!  I love it!!!

Following are some notable coupons in the beauty world that are coming out tomorrow.


Thursday, September 27, 2012

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Makeup

Only one display spotted so far for makeup in Breast Cancer Awareness month and it is by Revlon.  This display was found at Walgreens.  Beyond pink makeup it includes pink and black hairbrushes as well.

The Revlon "Pink your Look" Collection, includes four Super Lustrous Lipsticks, two Lip Butters, and two Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains.


The lipsticks are:
  • Skyline Pink - 025
  • Fuchsia Fusion - 657
  • Softsilver Rose - 430
  • Gentlemen Prefer Pink - 450
The lipbutters are:
  • Lollipop - 075
  • Cotton Candy - 045

The lipstains are:
  • Cherish - 015
  • Sweetheart
Seen any new Breast Cancer Awareness displays in your area?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Support Breast Cancer Research in your area.  Learn more here.

Breast Cancer Awareness Displays - Nail Polish

October is creeping up on us and with it comes Breast Cancer Awareness month.  There are pink colors popping up all over the place in my local drugstores, so I thought I would take a moment to share what I have seen so far with you.

The first sighting was ORLY "Cancer Schmancer Movement" set.  The set includes three glitter polishes all in the pink family.  Each polish comes with a small pink ribbon clasp attached to the bottle.

Cancer Schmancer Movement Display

Embrace

Be Brave

You Are Not Alone

The next set I have is from Essie.  I didn't grab a picture of the title, just the polish, and here that is.


There are four shades in this set:  Good Morning Hope, Check Up, We're In It Together, and I Am Strong.  All varying shades of pink.

That's it so far for the nail polish.  Stay tuned for new makeup displays!




Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Spotted - ORLY "Spellbound" Collection

More Halloween stuff than you can shake a stick at.  While out this afternoon, I happened on an endcap with these little lovelies on it.  ORLY "Spellbound" Collection for Halloween.


This set includes three glitter polishes and one smooth black color.  (Please excuse the blurry quality of my pictures, I took them in a hurry.)

Monster Mash - different shades of green glitter

Right Amount of Evil - orange glitter

RIP - black and orange glitter

Liquid Vinyl - a smooth black polish

The "Liquid Vinyl" shade has a tag wrapped around the neck of the bottle, which I photoed and included here.  It reads "Flash GlamFX.  Layer over black to intensify the effect."

I was unable to purchase these today.  Has anyone else tried them that likes them?  I am thinking I may pick up the orange and black polish.  Hope you find them at your stores!  Good luck.



Texas Girls - HEB Beauty Deals

I love saving money.  There are always great deals to help save on beauty products.  Girls in Texas have an extra place to look for deals at our local HEB!  For those outside of our "little" state, HEB is our local grocery store.  Their health and beauty selection has a pretty good range of products and their prices tend to be less expensive than Walgreens.  Wednesday is when HEB rolls out their weekly deals, so I will be keeping up with their new beauty sales each week in this "Texas Girls" section.

HEB has sales in a few different ways and I would like to go over them before I break down the deals.  First, HEB puts items on sale or mark down, these items will be tagged as a  yellow tag with a red header.  Most of the time these deals are only for a few cents, so be careful that it is something that is actually on a good sale.  Second, HEB will put items on Clearance and leave the items on the shelf.  These items are often tagged with a yellow tag with a purple header.  Most coupons work with clearance items.  A lot of beauty items get tagged with an orange price sticker and thrown in a box or on a shelf marked as Sale or Clearance, keep your eyes open for these.  Right now, my HEB has a whole endcap dedicated to clearance items that includes makeup and nail polish from OPI, Essie, Revlon, and L'Oreal.

HEB also accepts manufacturers coupons as well as their own in-store coupons.  There is a trick with coupons though that one has to be careful of here.  HEB has three different types of in-store coupons, they are all yellow (in October they are normally bright pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month).  On the bottom of the coupon there are the words "Good Only at HEB", then underneath that there is a code.  It will say either M, B, or S.  M stands for Manufactured Sponsored, B stands for Big Savings, and S for Store Sponsored.  I have not once seen an 'S' coupon.  What I want to talk about here are the M and B coupons. M coupons work like any manufacturer coupon that you would get in the mail or from a website.  You can not stack other manufacturer coupons with an M coupon.  B coupons, however, allow someone to stack a manufacturer coupon with a B coupon.  Most beauty coupons are "B" coupons.

For example, HEB has an in-store "B" coupon for $2.00 off Revlon. Nail, Eye, and Beauty Tools.  I have a coupon for $1.00 off any Revlon Color Product.  I want to purchase a bottle of nail polish for $3.97.  At the checkout after all my items are rung up, I hand the cashier my manufacturer coupon to scan, then my in-store "B" coupon to scan.  The total discount taken off for the product is $3.00, and I pay $0.97 + tax for my nail polish.

You can click here for the HEB coupon policy that explains this methodology.  Let me state again, most beauty coupons are "B" coupons, so you can get more savings!

Now onto this weeks HEB deals!

Good thru 10/02/12:

  • $1.25 off any CoverGirl or Queen Cosmetic - "B" Coupon
  • $0.50 off any Wet n Wild Cosmetic - "B" Coupon
  • $1.00 off any Hill Country Essential Face Care Product - "B" Coupon (Hill Country is HEB's brand)
  • $1.00 off Irish Spring Body Wash 15 - 24 oz - "M" Coupon
  • $1.00 off Rimmel Cosmetics - "B" Coupon
  • $0.75 off Suave, Dove, or TRESemme Dry Shampoo or Conditioner - "B" Coupon Use a manufacturers Coupon to save more! (required sign up)
  • $2.00 off Organix Body or Hair Care Products - "M" Coupon
  • $2.00 off Got2B Hair Products - "M" Coupon
  • $2.00 off Anthony Salon Product - "M" Coupon
  • $2.50 off any Almay Cosmetic - "B" Coupon
Good thru 10/09/12:
  • Buy Suave Skin Lotion (18 - 22.5 oz) get Suave Body Wash (12 - 18 oz) free - "B" Coupon
  • $2.00 off Revlon Nail, Eye and Beauty Tools - "B" Coupon
  • $3.00 off Revlon Face and Lip Products - "B" Coupon
Theses are the coupons for the week!  So dig out any manufacturers coupons you may be holding on to and get on down to HEB.  It's a good time to pick up Revlon Lipsticks, the regular brand is only $1.97 with the in-store coupon.  Happy shopping!



Monday, September 24, 2012

Water Marbling Monday & Tutorial

On Mondays, I plan on trying to do a new water marbling with new colors and various designs.  This first week I am going to demonstrate the process of water marbling, including the products I use and some clean up.  This post will be picture heavy to describe the tutorial.

I also have a new product to share!

Image:  Wicked Collection by China Glaze

This is the new Halloween collection by China Glaze called Wicked.  I purchased this at Sally Beauty Supply where it retails for $9.99 or $8.99 for Beauty Club Members.  It includes four China Glaze nail polishes, titled Roguish Red (a bright Halloween Orange), Glitter Goblin (a glitter with orange, blue, and silver pieces), Bizarre Blurple (a shimmery purple with a blue tinge), and Ghoulish Glow (a glow in the dark).  It is a very cute set and I am happy for the purchase.  Though I don't know when I am going to need to wear the glow in the dark color, but we'll see!

On to the Water Marbling!  For this tutorial I used the Roguish Red and Bizarre Blurple.  I also used a base coat of Seche Base and a top coat of Seche Vitte.

The products I use for water marbling are a small Dixie cup, room temperature filtered water, Vaseline, paper towels, and a bamboo skewer.  I use skewers that I found at my local grocery store for $1.00 a pack.  They're cheap and I can throw them away after a few uses since the paint will stick to them.  Many people use orange sticks.  I use Dixie cups for my marbling because they are disposable.  It is important to note that any vessel you use to do marbling in will be covered in paint that you will not be able to get off.  Use something that you are willing to destroy, not your grandmothers fine china.

A couple of things to note here.  Firstly, I find that room temperature filtered water works best for me.  When I am done with a water bottle, like the one pictured, I fill it with water from our filtered tap water and let it sit out in my office some where out of the way.  Thus it is at room temperature when I need it.  Secondly, there are many ways to protect your hands from the polish.  A lot of people like to tape off their fingers with scotch tape.  I do not like that method personally, but it might work for others who try it.  The reason I do not like to tape is that I have short fingers and because the cup I use for marbling is small, I have to be able to bend my first knuckle.  When I tape off my fingers, I always tape off too much, making it impossible for me to bend the knuckle the way I need to.  Therefore, I use Vaseline.  I swipe it around my fingernail and the cuticle and around the finger normally to the second knuckle.  A thin layer will allow you to wipe off the excess that is left on after dipping.  Everyone has different methods, try what works best for you.

On to the marbling process!

First, you will want to set aside some paper towels to wipe off the excess paint on.  Have those ready to your lap or to your side before you get started.  Secondly, fill the Dixie cup with water almost but not quite to the brim.

After using my favored base coat, in this case Seche Clear, I than put on a base layer of one of the colors I will be marbling with.  In this case, I picked the orange as my base.  After painting a single coat on my nails, I did not clean them up as I would clean them after I did the marbling.



After painting my nails with the base coat, I prepped my nails for dipping into the water.  Using the Vaseline method, I simply rubbed the Vaseline around my finger to create a thin coat.  I made sure to get all the way up to the cuticle edge and underneath the fingernail.  This will help with cleanup later.
Image:  Vaseline lining nail around cuticle

Now onward to the fun part!  Once I was done with the prep of my fingers, I got started on creating the design on my nails.  Taking one color at a time, I let a single drop fall into the waiting water in the Dixie cup.  I alternated back and forth between my two colors until I had a good size "bulls eye" in the water.
Let a drop from the polish brush fall into the water.  It will spread out.
Continue until there is a good sized "bulls eye".

Once I had my bulls eye, it was time to make a design in the polish.  Taking my skewer stick, I placed the tip of the stick into the middle of the eye and drug the stick up to the side of the cup.  Pressing the tip of the stick, gently to the side of the cup can anchor the polish to it, but will only work if the polish is still wet enough to move the stick through.  I took the stick and drew it down to the bottom of the cup as well.


Once I had middle drawn out, I started to create the design.  There are numerous ways to do this for different designs.  For this method, I drew the sides of the polish in to the center of the eye.  Doing this numerous times at different angles created the petals.  After nearly every drag through the polish, I would wipe my stick off on the paper towel so it was clean to pull through the polish again.  When the outer rings started to get tacky, I pulled my stick in to the next ring that was still wet and drew inward.  


After pulling too much polish into the center of the design, I had a big gloppy mess.  I simply dipped my wooden skewer into the design where the mess was.  This "tightens" the design, taking away the excess and bringing in the polish so that it looks neat.  Once I was done with the design, I dipped my prepped finger into the polish aiming it for one of the petals.  I dipped my finger in making sure that the nail hit the polish first, then extended my finger into the water so it was mostly submerged.  Than taking my skewer, I removed the excess polish from the top of the water.  Once all of the polish was removed, I pulled my finger free of the water slowly.

The mess!

While the design was on my thumb nail, it was also all over my thumb.  But after a quick, careful wipe with a paper towel ...


Later I would go back to do the final cleanup, but for the moment I just wanted to clean the Vaseline and polish off my fingers.

I then started another bulls eye and repeated the process until all of my fingers were dipped with a design.

Before Cleanup

After Cleanup and a Glitter Bomb

After I was done dipping my fingers, I cleaned off the Vaseline then did the cleanup that I normally do around the edges of my cuticles.  Once I was sure it was dry, I top coated with Seche Vitte.

I hope this tutorial helps others that want to learn how to water marble.  If you have any questions, or would like to see a certain design or colors please leave a comment.  Enjoy!


Saturday, September 22, 2012

Urban Decay Sale Part II - Sephora Bound

Hey folks!  Sephora sent out an email earlier today announcing some of their new fall products.  At the very bottom of the email was a small blurb on a limited time sale for Urban Decay Vintage eyeshadows.  Old favorites are on sale for $6.00!  That's a steal.  Get them while supplies last.

I went by Sephora today to do some swatches and was told by the MUA there that the sale is online only.  However, it is being reported over at Nouveau Cheap that you can get these sale at the stores.  I would caution to call ahead to your local store to see how they are handling the sale.

Happy shopping!

Review - e.l.f Studio Eye Enhancing Eyeshadow Blue 2

I recently made a large purchase from e.l.f. during their sale on free nail polish.  With their exceptionally low prices on good drug store makeup, it is easy to splurge.  The affordability of their products makes it easy to try out new items in colors that I would not have picked up while out shopping at the store.

Case in point is the new Eye Enhancing Eyeshadow palette in Blue 2.  The palette retails for $6.00 on their website.  I purchased it because it has a good range of colors and I did not have any eyeshadows that I thought would duplicate the blues or the terracotta in the palette.  I do not normally wear blue eyeshadow, so this was just something to play with.



The palette comes in a sleek, small case that is easy to open.  In the clear window opening, you can clearly see all the eyeshadows.  From here they looked well pigmented.  The package includes a mirror when the case is opened and a sponge tip applicator.


There was already some fallout just after opening the palette that got along the outer edges of the pans.  More fallout was to come as I swatched each eyeshadow.  The palette includes six colors.  The dark navy blue has blue glitter in it, while the gold/tan color has red glitter in it.  The sky blue and gray blue have a little shimmer to them, while the linen white and terracotta color have little to no shimmer, but I believe it would be a stretch to call them purely matte.  After seeing the sparkle in the dark blue, I was very excited as I had not seen anything quite like it before and thought that it would be fun for a "night on the town" sort of look.


After swatching however, I wasn't nearly as impressed.  The navy blue does not hold the pigmentation or the sparkle once used.  The glitter came out in chunks and ended up everywhere but on the swatch.  It was messy and hard to work with, even on my arm.  The lighter blues were not as bad, while the linen shade took several applications to get it to stand out.  The golden and terracotta colors were nice, but the sparkle in the gold color did not translate either.  The eyeshadows are powder and very dry, they do not feel buttery and smooth like other drugstore eyeshadows I have tried.

I tried the three brownish colors on my eye, but the results were less than wonderful.  There was a lot of fallout, both in the pan and on my cheeks.  The golden color, which I used on my eyelid, did not show up after trying to build it, which was disappointing.  The linen color would work well as a highlighter with other neutrals but would not hold up on its own.  The terracotta did standout, but after a short time of wear it was very dull and faded.

I believe all the colors could be enhanced with an eye primer, though I don't think that will help the navy blue.  It seems very unworkable, in my opinion.  It would take some work to build the colors and blend them.  If anyone is looking for a navy blue color Wet n Wild has two blue palettes that contain one and it may work better.

In summary, I would pass on this palette if anyone is looking to get it.  The pans are small and the pigmentation in the palette doesn't quite translate to the eye, only leaving a powdery mess all around.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Urban Decay Sale - Get It While It Lasts


Urban Decay has many great products and here is a chance to try a few out at lower than normal prices.  If you are a fan of their eyeshadows they have some great ones at $6.00 a piece and some of their more off the wall lipsticks are $3.00 a piece.

You can see all the sales here.

Sinful Colors - Muse

I just got back from Walgreens with a very pleasant surprise.  The new Sinful Colors collection has hit!  I love these!  They are rich and dark!  All of the colors are grayish toned and I love that.  Here is a picture of the display:


Interesting shades, right?  I picked up everything in the display, though I already owned Last Chance and Rain Storm.  That means there are six new products here!  This is what the Muse Collection contains:

Left to right:  Last Chance (948) & Rain Storm (1053)

Jungle Trail (1132) & Smokin (1131)

Mesmerize (1128) & Muse (1129)

Inkwell (1130) & In The Mist (1063)


I swatched all of the colors so everyone can get a good look at them and I think they are gorgeous.  A few of them are streaky with one coat, but I was being quick about getting them applied to the nails.  These are only with one coat.

Without flash:  (Left to Right) Rainstorm, Mesmerize, Muse, Jungle Trail, Smokin, In The Mist, Last Chance, Inkwell

 With flash:


That's the collection.  I really love the colors, especially Mesmerize.  It is a deep purple that I do not have in my collection yet.

Does anyone have any dupe suggestions for any of these colors?

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Texas Girls - HEB Revlon Deal!

Hey everyone!

Another day has come and gone.  On Tuesdays I tend to hit my local HEB before the sales turn over on Wednesday.  I then tend to go on Wednesday to check the next weeks deals.  Luckily, I live right across the street from the HEB.

Anyway!  It is so hard to find the deals at HEB on beauty websites, since it is just a Texas thing but the deals are so great, I hate to not share them!

Revlon eyes, lips, and face products have an in-store "B" coupon for $3.00 off.  Revlon nail and tools have an in-store "B" coupon for $1.50 off.  If you're not familiar with the "B" coupon, it means that these coupons will stack with manufacturer coupons.  So you can use two coupons on one product.  In my shopping spree today, I purchased six products for a total of $22.46!



The eyeshadows are the Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow.  The three I purchased are Wild Orchids, Copper Canyon, and Not Just Nudes.  The lipstick is the Colorburst Lip Butter in Candy Apple.  The pencil is Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Sweetheart Valentine.  The nail polish is one of the new Revlon Magnetic polishes in Pop Star.  It is a shimmery blue, though not quite a dark blue as I have seen in other brands.

The eyeshadow palettes are normally $4.97.  The lip butter is normally $6.48 and the lip stain/balm is normally $7.48.  The nail polish is normally $9.97.

So go hit HEB if you have one near you and happy shopping!!!

First morning of Keto

I am trying to lose weight again.  I have tried this lifestyle change before and it did very well for a time.  I ate less processed food, drank a ton more water, and felt over healthy and good.  I switched out of the keto/paleo lifestyle earlier this year when my husbands father passed away and we were under a lot of stress.  That coupled with the stress of my old job and than changing jobs really has kept me on my toes and unable to commit to the diet.

Hopefully, that all changes today.  I'm eating breakfast right now.  Scrambled eggs and cheese with two slices of bacon and a cup of coffee.  I packed my lunch with a salad and a chicken breast.

I loved the diet last time I did it and once over the first hump of the detox from sugar it goes pretty well.  So here is me wishing myself good luck.

Have a good day, ya'll.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Quick Deals

Walgreens has a new points system called Balance Rewards.  When you purchase certain items you get points to your account which they say you can later spend on other items once you accumulate enough points.  As this just started out for them, I am a little skeptical, but we shall see.  They still have some of their regular deals as well.

Revlon Beauty Products are Buy One Get One for 50% off with the Balance Rewards card.  You will get 3,000 points if you purchase $15.00 or more (2,000 points if you spend $10.00 or more).
Cover Girl Lash Blast and Outlast Lip Color are $6.99 each.  Purchasing two will get you 2,000 points.
Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips or Select Nail Polish are Buy One Get One for 50% off.  The pictured ad also shows a Sally Hansen Magnetic Nail Polish as part of the deal.
L'Oreal Creams and Lotions are $5.00 off.
L'Oreal Cosmetics are Buy One Get One for 50% off.
Maybelline Cosmetics are Buy One Get One for 50% off.

I'll update with more as I have time.  Right now it looks like some coupons came out that can be used in combination with these items.  Happy hunting!

imPress Villans

I have heard a lot of talk about the Disney Villains makeup sets that are coming out, but I have not heard anything about these press on manicures.

I saw these at Walgreens on Thursday.  Press on nails with Disney villain themes.  The tagline being "For the villainous beauty in you".  The colors look pretty neat, especially the dark magenta.  Here are the pictures I was able to grab.



Weekend Hauls CVS, Walmart, and Ulta

Good afternoon on this lovely football Sunday.  My husband and I just got back into town from visiting his mother, so I thought I would sit down and post some haul pics.  After getting some football in, I am hoping to post up some deals for this coming week.

While we were out I was able to pick up a few different items.  Mainly just quick buys that caught my eye.

On Friday night we hit a CVS Pharmacy in order to pick up some essentials for the weekend.  While there I spotted two bottles of Essie that I thought were beautiful and this Seche Vitte I had not seen before.


The red Essie is Wrapped in Rubies.  It is a beautiful reddish burgundy color.  In the bottle you may notice a gold shimmer.  This does not translate to the nail very well, but the color is very lovely on the nail.  Hopefully I will have some swatches of it later in the week.  The turquoise Essie is Trophy Wife.  I was very intrigued by the shimmery color in the bottle.  I am really excited to try this one out!  Lastly the Seche Vitte bottle is called Natural.  I purchased the bottle because it is states on the bottle "matte finish nail treatment".  This is a good lesson to read the box the product comes in.  While I was hoping this was a matte topcoat, it turns out to be a basecoat.  Which is disappointing as I have been on the lookout for a good matte topper.  I will still use it, just have to continue the search it seems!

On Saturday night we stopped by Walmart to get groceries and I could not help to hit the polish aisle.



I have gotten into the habit of buying travel sized lotions when I see ones I have not tried before.  The travel sizes are cheaper, but the same product and you never know what you will find.  While at Walmart I purchased the Nivea Creme, Sauve Advanced Therapy, and Nivea Soft.  As I have fairly dry skin I am always on the search for a moisturizer that does not leave my skin feeling slimy.  The nail polishes in the pictures are Revlon Scented Parfume.  The lighter purple shimmers silver and has more of a blue tone and is called Not So Blueberry.  The other polish is a shimmery pink hued purple called Grape Icy.  These are supposed to be "scented when dry".  I have not tried them out yet to see if that is truly the case, but I will give a full report when I do!

On our way back to Austin today, I talked my husband into stopping at Ulta.  Probably the most dangerous of the stops as I can spend a good deal of time in that store.


Ulta is having a sale on China Glaze, if anyone is interested.  All collections are buy two get one free!  I bought three, a teal shimmer called Deviantly Daring, a beautiful rosy pink called Sex on the Beach, and a silver and purple duochrome named No Plain Jane.  I love duochrome polishes, so the No Plain Jane was a must have as soon as I saw it.  I thought the pink was just fabulous in the bottle and had not looked at the name until I wrote up the blog.  The Ultra brand polish is called Jaded and is a dark green shimmer which looks like it is a duochrome silver, but I am a little skeptical about that.  By the way, the Ulta polishes are still on sale for $2.00.  The small Smashbox bottle is Photo Finish Foundation Primer.  It states that it is Hydrating and as I mentioned I am horribly dry, so when I saw this I wanted to give it a try.  The little bottles of primer are on sale for $10.00.  The lipstick is Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sugar Plum.  It goes on very smooth and has a nice texture.  After swatching it, I am a little worried it might be too dark though.  I will have to try it a little more and see.  Lastly, I purchased Revlon's Just Bitten Lipstain in Instinct.  I have not tried it yet, but will give a full report when I do.

That is the hauls for the weekend!  Talk to ya'll soon!

Heather

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Oh, the polish!

To get started I wanted to post a few pictures of my new obsession.  Nail polish!!!  I've been collecting for a little bit now and finally got them into some form of organization.  I'm so proud!

Top Container:  Random Polishes



Drawer One:  Orchid Polish and Wet n Wild Polish

Drawer Two:  Sinful Colors in Purple, Blue, Green, and Silver

Drawer Three:  Sinful Colors in Yellow, Orange, Pink, and Reds and elf Polish

So much joy!