Yes, you can return cosmetics!

Just wanted to make a quick blog about returning cosmetics and other beauty items. Recently, I have mentioned to different people that I return products that I really dis-like.  The response I always get is “you can return cosmetics.” Why, YES you can! You can return anything you buy as long as you have a receipt.

If you buy something from (Rite Aid, Walgreens, Walmart, Sephora, etc.) and you don’t like it, you do not have to live with it. You can return foundation, lipstick or any other cosmetic item that you don’t like. As long as you, 1). Keep you receipt 2). Return the item with the original packaging 3). Return it within the time appropriate time as per store policy, and then you can return it.

They will ask you why you’re returning it, they might need to have you fill out some paperwork with your information (also stating why you’re returning it) but that only takes a few minutes of your time. Unless, the item or store says that you cannot on the receipt, then you will have no problem.

Keep in mind if you pay using your debit card, your return will come back as cash.

Upcoming: As of Monday make-up shopping is stopping until Christmas! Which means I can post about products I am using, like, dis-like and think are worth spending your money on. 

Why I love Birchbox

Time for a post on why I love Birchbox and the freebies I scored. Birchbox is a company that sends you deluxe samples of products every month for just $10 a month. I enjoy it because I get to test out products that I normally wouldn’t consider. I do not get to pick out my samples; they pick them out for me based on my questionnaire I filled out at registration. Sometimes I get samples I am not too thrilled about but the ones that I fall in love with, make it all worth wild. My favorite aspect of the site is you earn money to buy products. Every dollar you spend, you earn a point. Every 100 points = $10. If you refer someone and they sign up, you get 50 points per person. Your points expire a year or so from when you earned it, not bad at all.

This past month (July) I received a sample of Philosophy’s Purity one- step facial cleanser and fell in love with it. It is a cleanser, toner and light moisturizer all into one. I have sensitive/dry skin and this only made it feel & look better. I had also been eyeing a skin oil from Pangea Orangics but didn’t want to shell out the $50 for it (yikes). Based on my research, a lot of people recommend using a serum or oil on your skin if you have dry skin. They say that it can help moisturizer your skin better and longer than just a crème can without adding (get this) more oil or greasy feeling to your skin. I have been skeptical of this but since I have tried everything, I figured it was worth a shot.

I still wasn’t ready to order from Birchbox because for the two products I just talked about, were going to cost over $80 (yikes). A few days later I received an e-mail from Birchbox offering a 20% off coupon code for the next week as my 3^rd month anniversary to Birchbox and figured it was time to use my points and coupon code for a great deal. Between the Pangea Organics Balancing Oil 1oz. ($50) and Philosophy Purity cleanser 16oz ($32), I ended up getting free shipping, 20% off and use $40 worth of points to end up paying only $25.60 TOTAL. And that is why I love Birchbox. There is no way I would pay $50 for an oil or $32 for a cleanser, not-going-to-happen.

Now let’s hope that by the time I run out of the cleanser I will have enough points to pay for half or more of it. As for the oil, I have used it one day and woke up to glowing skin. I will review it at a later point after I have used it for a month or so. 

August 2011 Birchbox

1). Caudalie - Eye Cream                                                     .5oz - $95

2). Fix Malibu – Wish Was Exfoliating Powder Wash         1.06 oz  -$40

3). Number 4 – Reconstructing Masque                               5.1oz - $58

4). Zoya – Nail Polish                                                           .5oz - $8

5). Twishband – Hair tie.                                                      3 for $5                                                                                                                                                                     

I absolutely LOVE the Twistbands! I want to order more. They give just enough hold to keep your hair up but they're not too tight to pull your hair and give a headache. Plus, the design of it makes it look like more of an accessory on your wrist then just a hair tie, when you’re not wearing it.

The Number 4 Reconstructing Masque smells divine. I haven’t tried it yet but I am constantly opening the bottle to sniff the product. It has this high-end smell to it (hard to describe) that just makes it smell luxurious. The product lists soy protein as one of the ingredients to strengthen your strands; I shall test this in a few days. Regardless if I like it or not, I will not purchase it, the cost for the full size is $58 and that is just way too much. I can go to Walgreens and purchase the Organix Deep Conditioning Treatment for $.99, if I want to treat my hair.

Before I forget, I didn’t like the Zoya nail polish because the color (Shay) seemed too nude for my taste but someone pointed out that it would be cute on my toes and not my fingernails. I will definitely have to try that out next time I paint my toenails.

Everything else in my box, I wasn’t too excited about but I will at least try and see how they work.

Enough on Birchbox and products for now!

NYC Makeup

For anyone that feels the need to get some cheap & decent makeup, head over to Rite Aid for the B1G1 50% sale on NYC makeup. NYC makeup sells for an extremely low price and with the sale, you can experiment with new colors or products without spending a lot out of pocket. 

Also, if you subscribe to or can purchase the All You magazine (exclusive to Walmart) there is a $1.00 coupon for a $1.00 off NYC makeup. The magazine is great for other coupon clippers who want more exclusive/rare coupons. 

Happy Shopping!


PS. The items are purchases were
1). NYC Smooth Skin loose face powder in Translucent
2). NYC City Mono Eye Shadow in Manhattan Gaze


Now the eyeshadow is a deep blue, almost a navy blue with a tiny (and I mean tiny) amount of shimmer to it. Enough that at first glance you would think this is a matte shade but it has just enough shimmer to give it additional dimension. I applied it just as a single color across my eyelid (I do this with every shade to get a sense of the color on my eye) and I loved it, even in that simple application. I am going to try it again tomorrow mixing with a grey color. Anyways, enjoy, buy some beauty products for cheap!

Mascara & the curse of the black smudge

After my terrible experience with a recent mascara purchase, I felt it was time to write a blog.

You know you’re wearing terrible mascara, if it is WATERPROOF and at the end of the day you have black, mascara smudges, under your eye. This happened the other day and I was 150% embarrassed when I noticed the black marks under my eye. I decided to test the product by wearing it to work and by the end of the day, I have mascara smudges under my eyes. No, I do not touch my eyes EVER. Yes, I wear primer. Once again, I wasted my money on a joke of a product and I have learned to just stick with what works. The product I am referring to is Revlon – Grow Luscious by Fabulash.

I have sensitive eyes and try to avoid scrubbing my eyes & tugging at the skin to keep myself 1). Wrinkle free  2). From drying out my eye area (I will get into another blog post about the skin around your eye). I’m sure most women have experienced this: you go to take off your make-up, you read & follow the eye make-up remover steps and still you have raccoon eyes. You apply the product again, some make-up comes off and you * think * all of it is gone or so you think. The next morning, you wake up, go look in the mirror and there are mascara smudges all around your eyes.

Now, I have tried dozens and dozens of mascara’s from high end to drugstore and they have all been a waste of money. The all basically give the same look, just slightly different (but not different enough to pay $50 for a tube of mascara). I’ve tried some of the following mascara’s:

Revlon – Grow Luscious by Fabulash  *

Loreal – Voluminous Million Lashes *

Tarte – Lights, camera, flash ***

Benefit – BADgal lash ****

Makeupforever – Aqua smokeylash  **

Korres – Deep Color Mascara ****

Covergirl – Lashblast Volume****

Loreal – Double extend ****

* Smells horrible, smudges & you couldn’t pay me to wear this again

** Dries out fast

*** Smudges but not a lot

**** Worth trying

I have tried more mascara then I have listed but they’re just the most recent purchases/samples.

Loreal Double Extend is by far my favorite, most long lasting mascara and it is not even waterproof! I love that the product does not dry out my lashes, it stays all day long, it gives great shape, definition & volume AND the best part is when I take it off at night (lol, I know). Unlike most mascara’s, this one comes creates tubes on your lashes, so when you remove it, it comes off like rubber. Do you know what this means? NO RACCOON EYES. I love it!! I just wash my face with warm water, it softens the product and it comes off like plastic tubes into my hand and it is gone. No rubbing the eyes. No tugging at the skin and no more raccoon eyes!

I love other products listed above but the double extend wand is truly a all in one, sweet little package of perfection & ease. Do not waste your money on another product, if you want good mascara, grab this one and save yourself a lot of time & money.

P.S. The one I use is the red and white tube.

P.S.S. I have a new camera & can start taking pictures for this blog.

Future blog’s will be:

~Review of the Sephora Colorista Palette

~ Reason for stopping my Aveeno products

~ Search for a new primer, testing Hard Candy Sheer Envy

Little update

It has been some time since I updated this blog and it is about time I caught up. I have done weekly trips to Rite Aid and Walgreens, I have scored some mega deals and I wish I documented them earlier. I will try to do them this coming Sunday :)

After some serious decision making, I purchased the Sephora Colorista Custom Makeup Palette. Between all the youtube makeup guru's, reviews and then the recent drop in price ($36 to $28) I knew it was time. The part of the palette that made it such an investment, is that each pod of color is magnetized into the container. It also comes with a mini container to take the colors out of the bigger palette, put them into the smaller container and you can take all of your colors with you for touch-ups during the day.  Make-up palettes have that downfall of not being small enough to take within your purse. Lets say, you are wearing a lip color but it is from a larger palette, you will not be able to take it with you unless, you fit it in a larger purse. This palette makes it easy for you to travel or touch-up during the day with the colors you picked out from the palette.

I can't wait to get it!

Rite Aid shopping trip June 1st

Here are some of the deals I scored this week at Rite Aid. I love Rite Aid and products that I can get great deal, use coupons and receive UP rewards.

What are UP rewards? They are basically free money that you can use on any future purchase. You can use them towards any product in-store; just keep an eye on the expiration date (you don’t want to throw away free money). You do not get to use them for your current transaction, you earned them from your purchase and it is not going to discount what you’re paying in that transaction.

What is Rite Aid Ad perks? If you go to riteaid.adperk.com, sign up and you can earn coupons to use in-store. All you have to do is watch a 30 to 1 minute ad of Product A, and you will earn a coupon for that product. You go to your rewards section and print off the coupon to use in store.

The start of my shopping trip, I already had $2 register rewards and a coupon for $3 off a $15 purchase. I earned these from a previous trip to Rite Aid about a week ago.

Now lets get into the deals:

Transaction #1

Renpure Organics Shampoo or Conditioner - $4.99 w/$4.99 UP Reward

This week this product is on sale for $4.99, with UP Rewards of $4.99 for each product purchased (max 2). You still pay $4.99 but you earn $4.99 for future purchases.

Used $2 in UP rewards earned from a previous purchase

Spent $7.98

Earned: $9.98 in UP Rewards

Transaction #2

Charmin 4 pack on sale for $2.99 (page 10 of ad)

Used $1.00 off coupon from P&G coupon booklet they sent out in early 2011

Total cost: $1.99

Herbal Essences or Aussie Shampoo 2/$5 (page 6 of ad)

Used $1.00 off coupon from P&G coupon booklet they sent out in early 2011.

Even without the coupon, it is still a fabulous deal.

Total cost: $4.00

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain (page 1 of ad)

This week all Revlon products are 40% off.

Regular price of lip stain $8.99. 40% off price $5.39

Ad Perks coupon $2.00

Total cost: $3.39

Loreal Mascara Voluminous Million Lashes (page 8 of ad)

This week Loreal Mascara’s are $5.99

Regular price of mascara $8.95, sale price $5.99

Ad Perks coupon: $2.00

Total cost: $3.99

Additional coupons:

$3 off $15 (earned from previous purchase)

$4.99 UP rewards (transaction #1)

$4.99 UP Rewards (transaction #1)

Total before taxes: $.39

Total out of pocket: $1.80

Original cost for shopping trip: $ 45.19

After sale cost for shopping trip: $29.35

Final cost of products: $8.37
FINAL COST AFTER TAXES: $10.64

Allyou has coupons online you can use too. They have a .50 off coupon off any Sally Hansen nail product and Rite Aid has a sale going on B1G1 50%. You know that you can use (2) with this sale!

Irish Spring, Lady Speed Stick, Speed Stick: You pay $2.99, earn $2.00 in Up Rewards, like you're paying $.99 for each, limit 4.

Kleenex Facial Tissues $.97 (should go back for that)

They have a bunch of food products on sale this week, nothing I had a coupon for you I passed it up.

Palmolive Dishwashing Liquid- $.99

Dog Chow $14.99. I believe there is a coupon on there that you can use with this sale.

Aquafresh $1.99

Banana Boat or Hawaiian Tropic: Buy 1 get 1 free. There are coupons you can use to lower the price from a Sunday ad a couple of weeks ago.

Huggies Little Swimmers:  $6.97 and I know there is a $2 off coupon from an Sunday Ad a few weeks ago. This would be a great deal for parents with children in diapers.

Well, that is all for now. You can check the ad online and see other sales they have going on. I also signed up tonight to start receiving Allyou magazine b/c they have dozens of coupons every month (which from what I have seen would be useful).  I shopped at Walgreens too but didn't score too big (I will make another blog tomorrow). 

My top 5 daily used products/tools

I wanted to make a post about the products I like right now. As the season changes, what you need or look for in products change and well, mine tend to change daily. However, the products I am going to talk about are products I have used a lot for the past few weeks.

My friends always tell me when there is a new product they like, why the like it and is it worth it; my goal is to do the same. I will post links at the bottom for the products.

*Yes, I am buying an actual camera soon; I will be able to post more pictures and better quality than my Blackberry.

1). Nars – Pro Primer, multi-protect primer, spf 30 sunscreen - $32

I ordered this online via Sephora.com based on another vloggers review of this product and the fact that it was a more cream based that gel/oil. I already have combo skin, so I don’t want to make any other areas oily.

The first time I put this product on it felt light, it wasn’t heavy, it didn’t feel like it was going to clog my pores and it felt like it was hydrating my skin. After giving it a minute to absorb, my skin was ready to put my foundation on. I could feel that the primer was acting like Superman for my skin and was going to protect it from the harsh day, while keeping my makeup in place.

By the end of the day, I looked in the mirror and the only part of my face I had to touch up, was right under my eyes. With that fact right there, I was sold and it will be a staple part of my makeup routine. Yes, it is on the pricey side but you don’t need a lot and if you do, you’re using too much.

2). Aveeno – Ultra Calming daily moisturizer with spf 15 - $16.99

I have actually had this for over a year, I used it once and for some reason didn’t like (I cannot remember why). Anyways, I was using Philsophy ‘Hope in a Jar’ and wasn’t seeing any major benefits from the product. One day, my face experienced was feeling rather raw and I just couldn’t see using my current moisturizer on my face. I felt I needed something gentle, to hydrate and protect my skin. I then remember I had this product and dug it out from hiding. Best decision I made! Not only has this hydrated my skin but has kept my skin balanced (no oily t-zone or clogged pores) but it also helps with redness on my face. I am rather pale, so redness will appear 10x more noticeable. Plus, I feel that since I started using this product, all acne on my face has decreased dramatically.

I love this product and I will be using this product for a while.

3).  ELF- Shimmering Facial Whip in Spotlight- $1 at Target or on eyeslipsface.com

I was exploring Target for cheap beauty products and came across this. For a $1, I felt it was worth testing out. I love shimmer and anything I can use to add a little highlight on my face. I tested it out on top of my cheekbones and I loved the highlight it gave to my cheekbones. I continue to use it and every now and then I put it on my brow bone. A little goes a long way; you just need a tiny dot because it spreads!

4). ELF – Foundation brush - $1

This speaks for itself, it is a foundation brush and it is a fairly cheap one. Being cheap doesn’t mean it is not effective. I have used many foundation brushes over the years and this $1 brush is exactly the same to the $30 foundation brush, I bought from high-end brands. It is great for blending but you must wash it to keep it working as a usable tool.

5). Physician’s Formula- Conceal Rx in Fair light - $7.99

I love this concealer and I mean it! This is the best one I have used in about 2 years. I have tried everything out there, some are too thick, some don’t blend well, some don’t stay put but this one does it all. For starters, you don’t need a lot, this product is concentrated and you need a tiny dab or smaller to cover a large area. It covers my dark circles, acne spots, acne scars, redness and the list goes on and on. Plus it blends so well into your foundation/skin that it truly un-noticeable. It doesn’t break down during the day, it doesn’t run and it just covers everything perfectly.

These are just my thoughts on products that I use, that I bought and have had a positive experience with it. I did just notice, that between my primer, moisturizer and foundation, I put 65 spf on my face, daily. That explains why I never get color from the sun on my face, ha ha.

All these products can be found on sephora.com, ulta.com, physicansformula.com, eyeslipsface.com and I am sure there are many other sites as well. ELF products I discussed I purchased within a Target store.