Category: Body
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!
Late Ulta Post
I was so caught up in my fingernails, I didn’t do my Ulta post last week. As you’re reading this…pretend it’s last Friday…
After visiting Bath & Body Works and Bed, Bath & Beyond, I slunk over to Ulta. I was ready to spend some money! The first thing I hit was the nail polish. I wanted to try Zoya Pixie Dust. No dice. This location didn’t have a Pixie Dust display.
My next stop was back to the front to test high end BB Creams. First I tried Benefit “Big Easy,” which claims to be “Better than BB” right on the tube. It was shit and settled into every pore and crack on my wrist. I moved on to Smashbox BB. It was even grosser. Why do all these high end cosmetics company call their products BB Cream, when they’re plain old foundation? I tried a few more brands, but it was too late – I was devastated…
Then I tried to buy a gift for someone and this location was out of stock of what I was looking for. Fuck.
After aimlessly wandering down every aisle, I finally realized that I couldn’t find a single thing to buy. I think I have a mental block and was unable to buy anything without my bestie there with me. (She had the same thing happen to her at Ulta earlier this week – I wasn’t there and she couldn’t find anything to buy either!) I was sad until I got home and checked the mail…and found my Lucky Mystery Box AND a box of stuff I ordered from Ulta.com last week!
I used a $3.50 off coupon to try Physician’s Formula BB Cream. I freaked out at first when I saw I received “Light/Medium,” until I realized that it’s the lightest color available. I tried it on my face and it is actually a good match, maybe one tick too dark for me. By summertime, it will be perfect. It’s a lighter texture than the L’Oreal and blends more smoothly. It’s not white out of the tube, but it feels more like a BB Cream than the other products I tried that day.
See that cute makeup bag? It was a gift with purchase from Laura Geller. It had Spackle Primer, lip pops Lush Waterproof Lip Gloss in “Sunrise Rose” and Eye Rimz Baked Wet/Dry Eye Accents in “Supernatural Smoke” with a matching brush. Obviously, I needed more primer!
Since I had such bad luck with fragrance sample, I chose mystery samples this time. I got Butter London Scrubbers, Hempz Body Wash and Biolage Shampoo and Conditioner. Interesting…but I probably won’t try them until I travel…
National Fragrance Day
Like most Americans, I only celebrate holidays that benefit me. If Bath & Body Works wants to give me a free Fragrance Mist (with any purchase) in honor of National Fragrance Day, who am I to not honor their celebration?
I also hadn’t gone shopping ALL Spring Break, so I was going a little batty. Lily and I went to Bath & Body Works for the express purpose of “celebrating National Fragrance Day.” I knew going in that I would get another “Carried Away” Fragrance Mist, but what would I buy to make that free Fragrance Mist happen?
I needed another Hand Cream ($5) for my purse. Since Lily can read now, I told her that she can “try” anything with a red “TRY ME” label. When she came to me wearing half a bottle of “Mango Hibiscus” AntiBac, I knew that was the scent of Hand Cream I wanted…but they didn’t have it. Sigh. I settled for “Honolulu Sun.” I can’t even figure out what the scent is – kind of like suntan lotion and dryer sheets?
Target Beauty Box
Did you know that Target has a “Beauty Box”? Luckily, it’s not a monthly subscription – just an occasional thing. Plus, it’s only $5! ($4.75 using my Target Card and free shipping.) All the products are either Deluxe Samples or full size products, so it’s a steal.
TONI&GUY Casual Sea Salt Texturizing Spray – I use the Bath & Body Works version, so I’ll actually use this.
L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara – I’m skeptical that what they call “butterfly lashes” really look like “tarantula lashes”, but I’ll give it a go.
Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo – I could’ve used this while I was camping…
Cover Girl Smoochies Sizzle Gloss in “Date Night” – It’s a clear gloss with silver glitter, barely visible while on. I’ll likely use this before I go to bed.
Jergens BB Body Cream Light – The same product I got in my Birchbox, but a larger size tube. Nice…
The box also came with a $3 off $15 coupon, so this box was really just $1.75. Even if I only use a few of the products, it was a great deal!
Hoarding Exhibit 3: The Shower
If my AntiBac collection was exhibit 1 and my lotion basket was exhibit 2, then my shower stall is exhibit 3 in .
“Pure Paradise”. “Mad About You”. “Butterfly Flower”. “Paris in Bloom”. “Carried Away”. “Black Raspberry Vanilla”. “Carried Away”. “Into the Wild”.
Oh…and up top, Lush Pure Rose, Herbal Essences and Caress “Daily Silkening” Body Washes…and “Carried Away” Sugar Scrub.
I’ve got more issues than National Geographic.
My 1st Birchbox
I got my first Birchbox yesterday!
I’m quickly becoming addicted to subscription boxes…good thing Birchbox is only $10! I signed up in time to get the February box…this is what I got.
Beauty Protector Protect & Oil, which is Argan Oil for your hair. I’ve never even heard of Argan Oil before, so looking forward to trying it.
A sample of “Hello” by Harvey Prince, a citrus-y scent. I am thinking of layering it with B&BW “White Citrus.”
An itty bitty bottle of OPI Sheer Tints “Don’t Violet Me Down.” (My husband picked up the bottle and opened it and declared that something was wrong with the polish – it’s too thin. I assured him that it’s supposed to be like that.) I was disappointed that I didn’t get the Ruby Wing UV polish that my friend Luci got, but I’ll live.
A tiny vial of Truffle Therapy Anti-Aging Serum by Skin&Co Roma, which again, I’ve never heard of. I tried it last night. I was expecting to wake up looking like Snow White, so I was a bit disappointed, but I guess I’ll give it another couple of days to work. I’m just glad I didn’t wake up to a pig rooting around on my face.
Finally, I got 2 teabags from Harney & Sons Fine Teas. I hate iced tea, but I like hot tea, so I’m looking forward to trying them.
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.