Category: Body
Saturday Shopping Fun
Another Saturday, another shopping marathon with Lily.
First stop was Ulta. I needed another Zoya “Remove +”, because I finally created my dream nail polish remover system. Last week, I bought another up&up “nail polish remover dip-it”. I emptied it and refilled it with Zoya “Remove +” – this is the absolute best way to remove nail polish. It’s soft and gentle and doesn’t smell like Chernobyl.
I also picked up Ulta “Ultimate Brunette” Shampoo and Conditioner. I exclusively use John Frieda “Brilliant Brunette”, but I wanted to give Ulta’s version a chance – it was $4.99 and BOGO. With my $3.50 off coupon, this purchase put me at Platinum status – $400.89 to be exact. Woo hoo!
After McDonald’s, my Eye Doctor and Rack Room Shoes, we hit Bath & Body Works for my 3rd round at the Semi Annual Sale. Mini Candles were 5/$10, so I picked up “Beach Cabana”, “Pink Petal Tea Cake”, “Fresh Picked Strawberries” and 2 “Red Lava Guava”. I want to exfoliate, so I grabbed a 75% off “Apricot & Honey” Body Scrub. 3 more 50% off Hand Soaps (NOT AntiBac) – “Sea Side Bloom”, “Endless Summer” and “Honolulu Sun”. Last, I let Lily pick another travel body spray – 75% off – she chose “Tokyo Lotus & Apple Blossom”. This week’s coupon was 20% off $25, so I got all this for about $20. I’m running out of room for soap.
I did manage to go to Big Lots after that (Zone Bars!) and NOT buy any nail polish. We did look…nothing tempted us.
Pretty full shopping day and spent under $100…
June Birchbox – Away We Go
I received my Birchbox yesterday, but I had a birthday party to go to, so…good morning post!
“Away We Go” is June’s Birchbox theme – products perfect for a summer getaway. Inside my box: Coastal Scents “Revealed 2 Eye Shadow Palette Set” (4 shades from the 20 shade set – a little birdie told me that this palette is duplicate for Urban Decay “Naked 3”), COOLA “Tinted Matte SPF 30 for Face”, Joie “Folle de Joie” Eau de Parfum (a very mature scent, but better than that stinky Realtree from my Ipsy bag), Perlier Body Cream “Shea Almond” and suki “Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser (I am an exfoliating fiend, so this will definitely get used).
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join. I want that Modern Mermaid box!
Semi Annual Sale: Round 2
Yeah, I totally went back today. My BFF and I purposely ate at the Panera near our office because there’s a B&BW in the same shopping center.
While my BFF filled up a sack with “Carried Away”, I actually branched out and picked up some 50% off 3 wick candles – “Black Sands”, an unforgettable blend of ocean mist and exotic amber finished with creamy cedarwood and “Grapefruit Pomelo”, a blend of tart grapefruit, sweet pomelo and juicy orange. (What is a pomelo?) Since these are usually on sale for 2/$22, I paid 25 cents more each. I also picked up 5/$10 Scent Portables for my car – there are only 4 in the picture, because I immediately popped a “Spring” into my car in the parking lot. I also picked up 2 75% off shower gels – “Morocco Orchid & Pink Amber” and “London Tulips and Raspberry Tea”. Last, I grabbed a “Lemon Chiffon Tart” AntiBac – even though it was $3, instead of $2.50 like yesterday.
I stopped my total at just above $40, so I could use another coupon…the sale runs through the first week of July, so you know I’ll be back…
AntiBac is Back
It’s that time again…Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale.
Just as I expected, B&BW pulled out the old discontinued Antibacterial Soaps for the sale at $2.50 each. I controlled myself and only bought 4…mostly because I know I’m going back and didn’t want to go far over $40, so I could use another coupon later. I snagged “Dancing Waters”, “Peach Bellini”, “Aloha Orchid” and “Berry Sangria”.
They also had discontinued shower gels and lotions for $3, so I got 2 “Black Raspberry Vanilla” Shower Gels. The shower gel is strangely more vividly purple than usual – I wonder what that means??? I also got a bath scrubby and a Strawberry lip balm – both 50% off.
This may look like a lame haul, but I also got a bunch of gifts…and I cannot exactly share those, can I?
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but several scents, including “Carried Away” and “Be Enchanted” were 50% off…which is a sure indicator of impending discontinuation. My BFF was devastated when I shared the news with her…she is already making plans to order in bulk…
Getaway VIP
I don’t normally get all pumped for the VIP Tote, but this one had some really good stuff. The Getaway VIP Tote is valued at $113.50 (yeah, right) and features the new scent “Morocco Orchid & Pink Amber” – fine fragrance mist, body lotion and shower gel. It also comes with a “French Lavender” mini candle, “Forever Midnight” mini eau de parfum, “Lavender Blossom” gentle foaming hand soap, “Wild Passion Flower” hand cream and a bath pouf. Surely I could find $40 worth of stuff I needed…
Although I try to only buy during “Buy 3, Get 3”, I’ll sometimes settle for “Buy 3, Get 2” if I have a coupon…since I had a “$10 off $30”, I decied to try out another scent – “London Tulips & Raspberry Tea”. I got fine fragrance mist, body cream and 2 shower gels. I also picked up an extra “Morocco Orchid & Pink Amber” Shower Gel. A second after I realized that my total was $39.50, Lily ran up demanding I come smell this new scent she had discovered – “Hawaii Passionfruit Kiss”. She wanted the shower gel, but I opted to get her a travel spray instead – PROBLEM SOLVED. I shall call her “Mini Me”.
I got everything in the picture for just under $60 – nearly $200 of stuff. I’m kind of a badass.
Good Intentions
My intention when I walked into Big Lots today was just to pick up some Veggie Straws. Maybe some Zone Bars and Pop Tarts…the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I saw The Healing Garden “Passionate Rose” Rainwater Body Mist first. I’m always on the lookout for Rose scented stuff – it’s rare and The Healing Garden is a good brand and you can’t beat $1.50.
I was disappointed that they were out of Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream. That stuff is $12.99 at regular stores and I wanted some for $5. I did find some cheap cotton rounds – I hope they don’t suck.
I turned the corner and there were several new bins of $1.00 fingernail polish. I controlled myself and picked out 5. Sinful Colors “Nova” is black with green and silver shimmer. Sally Hansen Diamond Strength “Sparkling Rose” is, well, sparkling rose. Revlon “Brilliant Bordeaux” is black with fuchsia and silver holographic bar glitter. Revlon “Ruby Ribbon” is fuchsia with fuchsia and silver holographic bar glitter. Julie G “Gift Wrapped” is fuchsia microglitter. I’m not familiar with Julie G – I hope it’s not shit.
It just goes to show that I cannot be trusted to go shopping ANYWHERE.
April Birchbox – Rainy Days
Birchbox’s theme is “Rainy Days” and came with a dumb tip for how to spend a rainy day – go online and buy an umbrella. Really?
Other than that ridiculous tip, the box is really cool.
A little nail polish from Color Club, Gala’s Gems Collection – “Aquamarine Azulino“. (I have no idea who Gala Gonzalez is, but I guess she is famous enough to curate a set of nail polish.)
Silver Eyeliner from Cynthia Rowley Beauty. Birchbox let me pick between black and silver and since I have a dozen black eyeliners, I went for silver.
Keims Cleanshine Energizing Shampoo, which I may bring with me when I go to Chicago in a few weeks.
Kenyan Coffee Face Polish, Body Scrub and Hydrating Face Oil with Kola Nut by nyakio. I am guilty of over-exfoliating and am cutting back right now, but I am really anxious to try these. I’m going to force myself to wait until the weekend because of the caffeine content…I am SUPER sensitive to caffeine.
KIND Snacks Healthy Grains Bar in Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt – breakfast tomorrow!
This might very well be the BEST Birchbox yet!
If you would like to try Birchbox, click on my referral link – https://www.birchbox.com/invite/5453f – I’ll get 50 points if you join.
Saturday Shopping
If I’m out of the house, I’m going to find a way to go shopping.
Before heading to a birthday party, my BFF and I had to drop by Ulta, kids in tow. While she availed herself of her 20% off coupon, I was going to put my $5 off coupon to use by picking up Zoya “Bobbi” and essie luxeffects “A Cut Above”. (Too bad I didn’t check the dates – my coupon isn’t valid until Monday. Luckily, they had a $3.50 off coupon at the check-out.)
After a fun birthday party for a very sweet 5 year old, I demanded that we visit Bath & Body Works, so that I could take advantage of B3G3 and an “up to 40% off” coupon. I picked up Fragrance Mist, Body Cream and Shower Gel in “Oahu Coconut Sunset” for my sister in Alaska. They don’t have B&BW where she lives and I figured she may be missing Hawaii after a cold winter. I also picked up back-up Body Creams for myself – “Mad About You”, “Pure Paradise” and “Carried Away”. My coupon ended up being for 30% off – not a bad deal…
Big Lots is Cheap as Shit
I didn’t really expect to find anything good at Big Lots when I went looking for cheap gift bags…but of course I did.
I’m continuing to be an amateur and bought a tube of Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream for $5. I also picked up some Monster High Shampoo/Conditioner for my daughter. I hope it doesn’t give her a rash.
My best find was the lip balm I found for the kids – Bacon and Mac & Cheese. The Bacon lip balm smells like dog treats – but the Mac & Cheese lip balm is even worse…it smells like FEET. Straight up, dirty feet like my daughter’s gymnastics school. Yeah, my kids put that shit on their mouth. Ick.
I controlled myself from buying any fingernail polish. Mostly they had cheap, no-name shit…but they did have a bin of China Glaze, Revlon, Sinful Colors and stuff for $1-$2. All the colors were ugly though…
No More AntiBac
It was inevitable that Bath & Body Works respond to the recent furor over Antibacterial Soaps. Last month, they swapped out their entire Hand Soap line and replaced them all with a new non-antibacterial formula…that costs $1 more. I’d been holding off purchasing, but when I got the email today about a one day sale ($3 each) and a $10 off coupon, I couldn’t resist…
I didn’t bother getting any of the standard scents – I just picked up scents I haven’t tried yet. I got “Meyer Lemon”, “Lemon Mint Leaf”, “Garden Strawberries” (my current favorite Hand Cream in my purse), “Aloha Orchid”, “Rainforest Sugarcane”, “Honolulu Sun” and “Mango Hibiscus”.
As I was checking out, I mentioned how excited I was about the new scent coming out. The clerk thought I was referring to the one available now – “French Lavender Honey” – but I meant the new International Collection coming in April. Then she said she just got a box of “Moroccan Orchid” in and she grabbed a bottle of Fragrance Mist from the back and let me smell it…It was divine!