His & Hers Beauty Besties CVS Haul!

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CVS Beauty Besties:

It is time for a CVS Beauty Haul! This time, there is a twist...this is a His & Hers haul! CVS is one of our go-to drugstores for beauty products, medicines, toiletries, and other daily staples. When CVS suggested that I grab a Bestie and head out to CVS for a haul, I decided to grab my husband and have some fun with some CVS shopping! Hey-we are parents for 2 kids under 4. A CVS haul feels like a mini-vacation, lol! Plus, my husband has grown to be a bit of a product-lover like me.

CVS Deals: November is the Month to Shop:

Before diving into our His & Hers Beauty Besties Haul, lets talk a bit about some of the deals that are going on at CVS this month:

CVS/pharmacy is celebrating the festive month of November with special deals storewide and online! From 11/1-11/21, shoppers can earn more than $50 ExtraBucks™ Rewards in stores and save over $35 online throughout the month by purchasing select beauty products from brands like Makeup Academy, Maybelline, L’Oréal, Nuance by Salma Hayek, and CoverGirl! Whether you’re getting an early start on your holiday shopping or restocking your beauty closet, CVS has got you covered for the best beauty deals in skincare, haircare and/or makeup!  

Deals Include:

• Makeup Academy – Spend $12, get $4 ExtraBucks Rewards in stores/$4 off online
• Maybelline (eye, face, lips)  – Buy 2, get $5 ExtraBucks Rewards in stores/$5 off online
• L’Oréal (eye, face, lips, nails) – Spend $12, get $4 ExtraBucks Rewards in stores/$4 off online
• Nuance by Salma Hayek – Spend $15, get $3 ExtraBucks Rewards in stores/$3 off online
• Sally Hansen (nails) – Spend $15, get $5 ExtraBucks Rewards in stores/$5 off online

As you know, Beauty Club membership has numerous perks (free sign-up, 10% off beauty shopping pass at enrollment, $5 ExtraBucks® Rewards for every $50 spent on qualifying beauty purchases).

How I got my Great Deals: 
Shopping tips for using CVS Extra Care card, Extra Bucks, and Coupons:

There is no question, I got some amazing deals during my CVS haul! One thing I have really noticed in my years of CVS shopping, the more you spend, the better the deals. For this haul, I got over $160 worth of products for just over $110! Amazing! So, how did I save so much money??? Here is how I got such a great deal: First, I downloaded a 25% off coupon digitally to my CVS extracare (discount card I carry on my key chain). I got the coupon in my email which is linked to my CVS extracare card number. It was as easy as reading my email on my phone and clicking "download to card". Whenever I get to CVS, I scan my card at one of their kiosks. The kiosk prints out coupon and a summary of the discounts on my card. So, when I got to CVS to shop, the kiosk print out confirmed my 25% was loaded and printed me out about 5 coupons (3 of which I used in my haul for $2 off over $10 in vitamins, $3.00 off Revlon, and $1.50 off of Batteries). Plus, my purchase earned me $7.00 in Extra Bucks (a coupon you get after purchase attached to your recipt. Extra Bucks work just like cash at CVS!). Tip: I have found that I do best when I use my Extra Bucks right away (otherwise, I risk losing them in my purse or forgetting about them). So, just when I thought I was "done" shopping, I used my $7.00 Extra Bucks coupon to buy a Revlon lipstick with my $3.00 off coupon. This saved me $10.00! So, my Revlon lipstick ended up being only $2.29 with tax! These are just some of the deals I got! I will detail more below. :) Keep reading!

Sephora Beauty Haul: First Impressions!

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Sephora Haul with Too Faced, Urban Decay, Hourglass

Hi lovelies! I am excited to share a haul post with you today! I recently purchased a few items that I had been lusting over for quite some time from Sephora: Too Faced Boudoir Eyes, Urban Decay Naked 3, Urban Decay Good Karma Brush, and the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder. Some of these items have been on my wishlist for quite awhile. So, I am super excited to share my haul and first impressions! Please click here to read more and get the scoop on these items!

Drugstore Haul: Summer 2012 Revlon Escapism Collection Cream Blushes

I am sure that I have said it many times on this blog: Nothing beats Revlon! I am rarely disappointed when I purchase a Revlon item. It is so hard to pick a true favorite brand for drugstore products. I just like so many items from a variety of different lines (e.g. Cover Girl Mascaras, Wet n' Wild Shadows, Rimmel Polish, Milani Blushes, Neutrogena Lip Balms, etc!). But, I must say that across the board, Revlon is one of the best brands! Revlon glosses and lipsticks are my absolute fave (drugstore or high end!).

I was so excited to see the display for the new limited edition Revlon Escapism Collection! I mean, OMG, cream blushes!!! Yes, I am a blush enthusiast (read: blush freak!). I find that there never seem to be enough options for drugstore cream blushes. So, I am thrilled to see another major brand come out with cream blush! I am not sure if these will become permanent line additions? Does anyone know? I would love to see Revlon expand on these and add more colors!!!

The Escapism Collection has a bronzer, cream blushes, lipgloss, eye shadow, mascara, and nail polishes. The whole collection looks amazing; but, the cream blushes are what drew me in! With that said, I might go back for that matte bronzer that I passed up on my haul.

Found: Most Amazing Scent Ever!!! (LUSH Haul)

Oh LUSH, how I adore you! I have strayed for too long, lol!Hey ya'll, just a quick post today to share my most recent LUSH haul! Since I am a new Mommy of a beautiful little 3 month old baby, I find that my "me" time has become my bath in the evenings after she goes to bed. I really want some nice products to turn my bathroom into the spa-experience that I am craving.

So, LUSH to the rescue! As you can see from the title, I found the most *amazing* scent ever...(insert drum roll here)...LUSH's Ro's Argan Body Conditioner! OMG, the scent is to-die-for yummy! To me it smells like honey yogurt with a hint of rose. But, when you use it, the rose scent becomes more prominent. The girl at LUSH totally sold me on this when she tested it on my hand. I walked away that day with a nice little sample, used it in the pm, and had to go back the next day to purchase it. I was just addicted to the scent!

Summer Vacation Haul: MAC, NARS, and Target

So, in honor of the first day of summer vacation (whoo-hoo!!!), I have a mini-haul for ya'll. Armed with gift cards in hand, I hit Nordstroms to browse and to check out the MAC Surf Baby collection. The best part? I spent minimal out-of-pocket money. You have just gotta love gift cards, right?!

Do you want to see everything? More pictures and descriptions after the jump.

March Birchbox: Box Opening Post (haul)

Hello my dolls!

Yes, it is that time of the month again (and, no, not *that* time, lol!). It is Birchbox time!!! As you regular readers and fellow Birchboxers know, Birchbox.com is a members only beauty-site that offers a great selection of products, product info and fabulous tips for use, and (best-of-all) a fabulous sample box subscription program. For $10 a month, you get a wonderful sample "Birchbox" full of 4-5 deluxe samples and extras. The items are beautifully wrapped and well chosen. It feels like getting a present every month. I love it!!! To learn more about Birchbox, see my Birchbox Intro Post.

So, what did I get this month? I know ya'll are dying to know! This is a Box Opening Post/Haul Post (not a review post), so I am just going to list the items for you and give you some info and first impressions!

I just got my very first Birchbox (January 2011 Birchbox Preview/"haul")

Hello my dear readers!

I am so excited that I finally got my first Birchbox!!! Yay!!! Our mail was delayed about a week here in Atlanta due to the snow shut-down, so my highly anticipated Birchbox delivery was a little late, gasp (lol)! So, did my little January Birchbox live up to my high hopes from my eager anticipation? In a word, yes! I am completely delighted with this month's box!

So, what is the scoop on Birchbox? Check out my Birchbox Intro Post here. Birchbox is an online members-only company that specializes in high-end (HE) products from a variety of great brands. Birchbox offers free shipping to members, a monthly deluxe sample box full of beauty treats (the best part!!!), and a variety of opportunities to earn loyalty points (which can be accumulated and used towards free full sized products). Your monthly beauty samples are customized according to your online profile at Birchbox, how cool is that?!?! As a beauty blogger and product enthusiast, I totally love this whole concept!!! I get to try new luxury brands and products and can earn points towards future purchases.

Keep reading after the jump!

Hair Product Haul! Redken and Aveda

Hello there readers! I hope you had a Merry Christmas!!! Just a quick post to show ya'll some hair items that I totally love and adore!

After getting my "fresh" highlights, you know that I had to stock up on some Salon haircare to take care of my hair! :) The Redken All Soft Conditioner I have reviewed already (see my Redken All Soft review here), and the rest of these products will be reviewed soon, so stay tuned! The Redken products are all items that I use all the time and love (and ran out of!). So, time for replacements! The true test of a product is if you use it up...and then buy it again. The Aveda Flax Seed Aloe gel is actually for my Hub. But, my colorist says that this gel works well on long hair too as it is non-sticky. Great! Looks like another product that I will "steal" from my Hub, lol! ;)

On another note...It is a *rare* snowy day here in the Southern, US. So, depending on if the road conditions improve, I might be snowed in today! My hope is to head over to the mall if possible as my Hub and I have some returns to make and some gift cards to use. I am so excited that I will be upgrading my iPhone as the newer iPhone takes amazing pictures (yay! for the blogging implications) and amazing video (yay! for potential future YouTube channel).

Either way, I will be doing my post-highlights Aphogee hair treatment today. If you are curious about this amazing treatment, check out my previous post with detailed how-to instructions here.

Coming soon:

-Christmas items (just a few highlights to share)

-Urban Decay Book of Shadows III: Swatches and review

-Annabelle Mineral Blush: review

Sephora and Lush collective haul! :)

Hello lovelies! Just a quick post to share some photos of some items I picked up at the Mall yesterday while Christmas Shopping! :)

These are some things that I will be testing and reviewing over the next few weeks...so, just a "preview" of upcoming blog-post review items!

From Sephora:

Dior Diorskin Shimmer in Amber Diamond:

OMG...how beautiful is this powder. My first purchase from Dior. The packaging is LUXE! 

I am so excited about this! The lovely Tanya Burr (my fav YouTuber) always uses this in her tutorials and this has been on my wish list for so long! I got emailed a Sephora Gift Card, so I was thrilled to pick this up yesterday with my gift card! Now, if only it could give me Tanya's beautiful skin!!! I am hoping! :)

Sephora Samples:

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer: I am venturing into liquid foundations (I normally wear powder foundation: MAC Studio Fix-which I love-but, winter is really drying out my skin...so, am investigating a few foundations), so I figured that I need to try out some primers too! Please let me know if any of you have any foundation recommendations! I am looking for a dewy finish light to medium coverage foundation that works well on dry skin.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation sample: This is another Tanya Burr recommendation. I am happy to have a sample to try it out! I almost hope that I don't like it as it is so expensive! LOL!

My freebie from my Sephora Insider Points: Make Up Forever HD powder!!! I am so excited to try this as I also just got the version by e.l.f...so, stay posted for a comparison review!!! Yay!

From LUSH (my new fav store, can you tell!):

Saving Face Serum: My skin has been getting dry patches. I hope this helps! How unique...a serum in bar form! I will let ya'll know how I like it! :)

Manage Too Massage Bar: This is going in my Hub's Christmas stocking (shhh!!!)

Samples! Just some small facial soap samples: Auqa Marina and Fresh Farmacy

What do you all love from LUSH? I wanted to try a moisturizing toner too, but totally forgot when I was in the store!

Have a great day everyone!

XOXO!
Pammy

LUSH mini-haul and review (total rave!!!) :)

I <3 LUSH!!!

OMG...where has LUSH been all my life! I am lucky enough to live about 3 miles from 2 different LUSH stores, but somehow never experimented with LUSH products until now! I know!!! And, for me...the bath product queen! :) Seriously, I think I have found my new fav store!!! :) Can you all feel my excitement here??? Yes, I have heard the raves, but it wasn't until I actually went into the store (while Christmas shopping) and "experienced" LUSH that I fell in love! Granted, I sneezed a few times in the store (I have bad allergies) and the product fragrances...while wonderful...are a little overwhelming when you first enter the store. But, not worries, I sneezed a few times and then got used to it. And, proceeded to smell *everything*!!! YUMMY!!!

First off, you have gotta love the whole "homemade" and "fresh" product idea! The sales person "walked me through" my entire shopping experience there (and, I am a sucker for good customer service!). As soon as I explained that I was gift shopping, she had a ton of ideas and let me test out a ton of products! :) She seemed genuinely enthused about the brand which is always cool. I love it that most items are not packaged...the soaps, scrubs, bath bombs, etc...all look like little pieces of art! Just grab a basket in the store and go bananas with some wonderful and *totally unique* items! Interesting too how the products have a freshness date and many are even packaged like actual foods (the packaging looks like to-go or grocery containers, cute in a campy way!)

Well, I don't want to give away my surprise presents for my 10-year old Niece, Mollee (as she does read my blog!), but lemme tell ya...there are some CUTE items if you are shopping for a pre-teen!!! I had just the best time picking out things for her the LUSH store! Maybe I will have her post a mini-review here after she has had a chance to test out some of her items! :)

So, I am sure this is the first of MANY LUSH posts on this blog! I got two products for myself...

The Lip Scrub in Bubble Gum:

My lips get so dry in the winter! I have seen some reviews online and on YouTube about this wonderful scrub (and, most recently, on my friend Shaylee's blog Check out her Lip-scrub review here: Cosmetically Curious). I just had to try this. Basically it is a bubble gum flavored sugar scrub...that you can actually eat off your lips when you are done. Who wouldn't love trying this! I just rubbed a small amount on my clean dry lips and gently scrubbed and then licked off! That's all there is too it! Simple and effective. Just sugar in a mositurizing oil base. So, easy! You get a ton of product, so this will last me a long time. The scent and the flavor of this lip scrub is TDF! And, honestly, I think that I will never stray from LUSH from this point forward when I need some lip exfoliation. I am planning on do a weekly or bi-weekly lip treatment with this! After I exfoliated, my lips felt very soft and moisturized! :) I topped with some vasaline just for good measure (but I am sure that LUSH has some great lip moisturizers?).

Wiccy Magic Muscles Massage Bar:

WOW!!! I love this unique product!!! My Mom and I actually "split" this bar since we were both interested in trying it (I literally just used a kitchen knife to split it in half...worked great!).  We both totally love it! After a long day of Christmas shopping with aching feet, this product really called to us as it is supposed to soothe tired achy muscles and fight exhaustion. Just what we needed! :) It is a creamy bar with cinnamon leaf oil (smells divine!) and Aduki beans.

It applies very creamy and then turns "wet". For you exercisers out there...this is like a "natural" Ben Gay (or any medicated muscle rub). I do a lot of running and exercising, so I am no stranger to sore achy muscles. I actually use medicated rubs quite frequently, but can't stand the smell of them. So, from now on I can just use the Wiccy Magic Bar instead!!!

It immediately feels stimulating and "warm/cool" when you apply it. Really, both Mom and myself felt immediate relief in our tired achy legs. Plus, the scent is very soothing. I will continue to use this and repurchase many times (I am sure!). Once it sinks in it leaves your skin feeling very moisturized. The Aduki beans provide a little bit more pressure to your skin when applying (like a massage).  I really enjoyed rubbing this bar onto my skin. I even had my husband rub my back with this. LOVE it!!! Highly recommend. I am actually very curious to investigate the rest of the range of massage bars. If they are as good as this one, I can't wait to try more! I will actually look forward to coming home after working out to rub this bar on any achy overworked muscles! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! This!!!! :)

So, just had to post a quick little rave for these LUSH products! :) You LUSH users out there...what else should I try from this awesome brand??? I am a big bath taker, so I am interested in the Bath Bombs for sure...and probably more massage bars!

XOXO!
Pammy