Sunday Fun Day - It's A Haul!

Hey there!

Just FYI, this is a haul over a 2 week period. I've been picking up random things here and there and now, I'm finally ready to share them with you!

I've mentioned in an empties that I enjoying adding lavender Epsom salts to my bath. I normally pick up smaller packs from Dollar Tree but the Target Up and Up brand was a good deal. I'll try them out but I can't imagine that it's any different than the Dollar Tree one.

Yep! I picked up another pack of Pure & Gentle Make-up Remover Wipes from Walmart. I have really begun to like these! They are nice and wet and most days I can use 1 wipe and get off all of my makeup. They aren't better than my Wet n Wild makeup wipes but they are a verrrrrry close second. And, the price is right.

I found Honeymania shower gel from The Body Shop at my local Marshalls. I've mentioned that any time I see a shower gel from The Body Shop, I am going to grab it. They smell so good and they lather so well. They had a peach one but I've already sniffed that one so I wanted to try a new one.

Also at Marshalls I found an Essie nail polish in Using My Maiden Name. It appears to be a beautiful, slightly iridescent light purple. I also got a purple from NYC at Walmart. Purple Pizzazz Frost is a darker iridescent purple. I also picked up Strip Me Off by NYC. It's a base coat that you can peel off. I thought this would be great with any glitter polish that I use.

And, I lucked up during a Dollar Tree trip. I found 2 Milani Liquid Lip Colors. Neither of them have a name so I have to go with "the brown one" and "the fuchsia one". Perfect names in my opinion.

See, I didn't pickup much. I could have picked up quite a bit more but I really wanted to scale back my purchases. I went into Ulta and came out with nothing. NOTHING! I also went into the makeup section of Kohls and came away with .... NOTHING! See, I'm doing well.

But, why I scaled down my purchases, I'm not going to never purchase anything else. You know I'm not going to do that! What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't buy things to blog about??

Empties!

Hey there!

Not only is it the end of the month, it's also the end of the year. No, I didn't save any trash all year to show you but I will link all of my monthly empties at the bottom, just in case you missed a month. Cause, I know you want to see if I finished that bar of soap and what I thought.

This month I finished three Avon Bubble Baths! Yes, three of them. Don't act so surprised! You aren't new here (and if you are hello! Pull up a chair. Grab a refreshing beverage). This month I used up a Fresh Orchard Apple was so light and crisp. There is something about an apple scent that makes me feel clean! Vanilla Cream is one of my go-to scents. Love it. Sugar and Walnut was weird. It reminded me of a vanilla and almond scent which almost always turns my stomach. Of the three, this one will not be repurchased. 

I also used up some shower gels. Bath and Body Works Napa Autumn Blackberry is to die for. I love this type of scent. It's so rich and decadent. I also finished a small container of The Body Shop's Early Harvest Raspberry shower gel. It also smells heavenly and delicious. Both of these lovelies will be repurchased whenever I see them.  

I finished an Herbal Essences body wash in Honey, I Smell Good. It did not smell good. It was blah and really not worth the trouble. I used it up so I could be done with it. 

I also finished a Body Fantasies Cotton Candy body lotion. This is the old packaging. That's how long I held on to this little gem. Now that I have replacements, I can slather this stuff on night and day. Who cares that I smell like a candy store?! 

I always have my Secret Deodorant and my Colgate toothpaste in the mix. They are forever staples. I tried a Secret Clinical Strength Gel and didn't like it. In general, I like deodorant sticks. I don't like wet deodorant at all. 

You see that mamma jamma sized tube of Aquaphor? Well, it's in the bin because it went bad. I have so many little tubes of Aquaphor all over the house and car and in ever purse, this large one by the bedside went all liquidy. It was time to toss it anyway. I began using Aquaphor when my daughter was born. They gave us a huge tub of it at the hospital. I've never been without it since. 

So... I finished an Equate Beauty bottle of nail polish remover and it was fine, alone. But, when I added some to my Studio 35 Beauty nail polish remover container (the kind that you stick your finger in, swish it around and your nail is free of polish), it didn't work. It's like the container only likes the remover that it came with. That's ok though. I have a new remover that I'm going to try in the new year. Stay tuned for that!

I gave up on my yukky tube of e.l.f. Wet Gloss Lash and Brow Clear Mascara. I actually have 2 backups (well, one now) because I love this stuff. I draw in my eyebrows and then brush this stuff on them to keep everything in place. I tend to touch my eyebrows a lot during the day (I have NO idea why) and this just helps keep the color where it should be.

I got a sample of the Clear Scalp and Hair Beauty Therapy Damage & Color Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. I always say the same thing about these little samples. There are nice but who can tell if they like a product from a onetime use. Actually, a one wash used. You don't even get a complete hair shampoo out of this if you lather twice. And, I don't have a lot of hair but one packet of conditioner ain't gonna cut it skippy. This was fine. Just fine.

And last but not least, I (along with the kiddo) finished a bottle of Mizani Spradiance High Gloss Serum. You know this is my holy grail hair heat protectant. I've tried a lot of brands and even though this is $20 a bottle, I NEED this stuff in my life. Oh! Wonderful news update. I found a beauty supply store that obviously doesn't know that this is the elixir of hair life. They are selling it for $14.99! I almost pinched my mother right there in the store!

Oh yes! I always try to include some none beauty related empties, you know, just to make things fun. This month I am throwing in Gla'de (Glade) comes out strong with their seasonal scents and their Red Apple Bakery plug ins are so delicious. I am a sucker for all things food. I know that everyone likes the Bath and Body Works plug ins but I prefer the Glade ones. They have a great room throw (sometimes I have to unplug them) and I can always find them pretty cheap. This 2 pack was discounted at $3.42 and I had a $1 coupon! That made them $1.21 for each plug in -- sweet!

That's it good people. That's the stuff I used up this month and what I thought of it. I hope you guys enjoy these posts. I enjoy making them. I began with a small basket in my bathroom and now I have a larger tub sized bucket in my closet.

So, while I'm changing up certain types of blog postings in 2015, empties isn't one of them. A mini review is right up everyone's alley!

Other empties...

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

Weekend Haul

Hey there!

I didn't do as much damage as I thought I would folks. I had some retail therapy planned this weekend. I had a rough week and only saving money helps with that kind of week! I'll make sure to tell you what I think about everything that I purchased.

My first stop...Walgreens. Several folks had posted on Instagram, their super finds. Sighhhh. My 2 local Walgreens didn't have those same super finds. I picked up the two Baby Lips Balms that you see (Just Peachy & Coral Crave) and Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant nail polish (Diva After Dark). I didn't see much else. I'm not sure if the good folks hadn't had time to put stickers on stuff but Walgreens doesn't have a price checker like CVS so it's hard to know.

Anywho, my next stop was Ulta. I've mentioned a few times that I don't make it to Ulta often because I don't live near one. So, when I get there, I linger. Oddly enough, I linger near the cash register only. Yesterday the deals at the register were mainly nail polish. I had just gotten a ton of polish during the CVS Super Spectacular Mega Haul so it wasn't as if I needed much more. But, I caught some Zoya polish (Dhara - PixieDust, Piaf - Metalic & Carter - PixieDust) on sale for $4.99 and I had my $3.50 off of $10 coupon so I decided to add to the collection. This is almost the only time that I purchase high end polishes. I can't drop $8.50 for a nail polish. This is the perfect time.

I was looking for a black sweater to make one of my dresses office worthy and wandered into Dillard's. These pretty blue boxes (with pink discount stickers) caught my eye. DuWop cosmetics appears to be leaving Dillard's (I didn't investigate that or anything, I'm just speculating). They had quite a few things but the Double Glow 7 luminous face balm (champagne) and Keep Blushing water resistant blush (rose) caught my eye. The face balm is normally $25 but I got it for $6.50 and the blush is normally $22 and I got it for $5.50. Sounds great...unless I like them and want more!

Right next to Dillard's was Bath & Body Works. They were having their semi-annual sale. Unfortunately they didn't have the Signature Lemon scent that I loooooove. So I settled for Coconut Lime Breeze, and Malibu Heat shower gels. I also got Peach Bellini and Watermelon Lemonade candles in a jar. I've been picking up quite a few candles lately so I didn't want to add too many. As I type this I have 3 candles burning in different rooms. Someone call the fire department! Oh, I also picked up 3 hand soaps - Berry Sangria, Orange Creamsicle Swirl and Sugar Berry Shortcake. I think I was the last person on earth to get on the B&BW hand soap craze. I had been using whatever else I found but on Black Friday this past year I purchased 2 and the kiddo made me promise we wouldn't use anything else from then on. I agree.

I also picked up a small early-harvest raspberry bubble bath from The Body Shop for $4. I think the early-harvest raspberry line must be a scent that they are discontinuing because the early-harvest raspberry soap, lotion, room spray and body butter was on sale too. I looked on their website and perhaps they are just making way for...raspberry scent. Seriously, go look.

Target didn't have as much as I thought it would but I picked up a Sally Hansen Sugar Shimmer in Berried Under. My mom picked up Cinny Sweet. Mom loves deep berry or wine colors. It's almost the only thing in her collection.

The other polishes I picked up were from Victoria's Secret. They are discontinuing their makeup line so everything was half price. I've never tried their nail polish but I've been on a pink kick so I thought I'd try String Bikini (bubble gum pink) and Peep Show (pearlescent pink). I also picked up a metalized eye shadow in Gold Card, a lip gloss in Devotion and a lipstick in True. I do plan to visit another Victoria's Secret and see if I can find anything else...

...because obviously this haul wasn't big enough! I need more!

No worries. I'll most definitely find more.