Fantabulous Couponing!

Suave shampoo and conditioner, Crest toothpaste, Hunt's Snack Packs, Quakes, Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats, Olay body wash, Mentos gum, Revlon eyeliner and lipliner, Dove hair stylers, Aussie hair stylers, L'Oreal Everstyle hair stylers, Suave Men's body wash, Olay Daily Facial Cloths

It was a good weekend for couponing. I got some good buys, didn't spend a lot of moola, and added to my ever-growing stockpile. The hubby's aunt suggested that I make baskets for the female family members at Christmas time, stuffed with body products, hair products, makeup, chocolate, etc. I thought that was a good idea. I probably will have more in my stockpile that I will use this year, so why shouldn't everyone enjoy free beauty products? I think it's a go. Here's the breakdown for the week:


CVS
Mentos gum, 2 for $5
-used (3) $1 off coupons, received $2 in ECB's
Aussie styling products, 2 for $6
-used a $1 off 2 CVS store coupon, a $1 off a 2 manufacturer coupon, and received $1 in ECB's
Olay Daily Facial Cloths, $3.74
-used (2) Buy Daily Facial Cloths, Receive A Free Olay Body Wash coupons (priced at $5.99)
L'Oreal Everstyle products, $7.29 (Buy 2, Receive $5 in ECB's)
- used (2) $2 off coupons, received $5 in ECB's

-used (2) $4 off a $20 purchase CVS store coupons, used $13 in ECB's from last week, paid $5.86, and received $8 in ECB's.

Rite Aid
Crest toothpaste, $3
-used a $0.75 off coupon, received $3 in UP's
Revlon eyeliner and lipliner, $7.29 (Buy 1, Get 1 50% off and Spend $10, Get $4 in UP's)
-used (2) $1 off coupons, received $4 in UP's
Dove Styling Products, 2 for $6 (part of Suave deal)
Suave Men's body wash, 2 for $4
Suave Shampoo and Conditioner, 3 for $5 (Spend $15 on Select Products, Get $5 in UP's)
-used a $3 off 2 Dove products coupon, (2) $0.75 off Suave body wash coupons, and (3) $0.25 off Suave shampoo or conditioner coupons

-used $10 in UP's from last week, paid $12.93, and received $12 in UP's.


Kroger
Quakes, $1
Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats, $1.99
-used a $1 off 2 coupon
Hunt's Snack Packs, $1
-used a Buy 3, Get 1 Free coupon

-paid $8.98


Total Spent- $27.77 on $133.80 worth of product. Savings of 79%.


My couponing account is growing by leaps and bounds! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Product Review: Revlon Lip Butter & More

I've been meaning to review a couple of new products that I tried and I had just completely forgotten about, so I am getting around to it today! I love trying new products and I love even more when they work!

1. Revlon Lip Butter

I tried Revlon's Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti as I look best in a light coral. I have to say that for a product labeled a lip butter, this product wasn't as moisturizing as I hoped and didn't seem to be as moisturizing as Covergirl's NatureLuxe Lip Balm. However, I always put on chap stick 5 minutes before I put my makeup on so I don't have too much of a problem with that. I liked this color and I liked the pigmentation in this product. It wasn't too much, definitely more like a gloss. It's a build able product so if you layer a second coat on top of the first, you will get more pigmentation. I like it light, so I stick with a light first layer. The verdict? I would buy this again, but I like Covergirl's NatureLuxe Lip Balm better.

2. Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer

I love, love, LOVE this product! I find it comparable to Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer. I put this on before my foundation and I do not have to touch up with powder the rest of the day. I do have to do an oil blotting mid afternoon, but then I am good to go! This is going to save me some moolah on powder! The only weird thing about is (and this may sound crazy) but I have to use a more sheer foundation with it. My normal foundation looks thick with this primer. This is fine for me, as I have several foundations on hand and I love using sheer foundation, but if you like using a thick foundation this may not be the primer for you. Use this primer and sheer foundation, and your face looks like your skin, only better! The verdict? This has been added to my must-haves and has replaced my normal primer.

3. Loreal Studio Line Plumping Volume

My hair color has been ever-evolving this year and I have noticed that dry shampoo looks gray on dark roots. Thanks to aging (I hate getting older! *tear*) my hair is noticeably flatter. On days when I don't shampoo, I have started just running the blowdryer all over my hair to start. I then spray this volumizer all over and then roll my roots up in velcro rollers the size of coke bottles. A shot of hairspray and I leave the rollers in for 20 minutes. When I take my hair out, voila! I have youthful volume. There are probably plenty of other volumizers out there that work but this one often goes on sale and I can always find coupons for it (I usually buy this for under $2). It also works, as my hair stays voluminous most of the day. The verdict? I love it, and I have kept buying it for quite some time now.

Product Review: John Frieda Dry Shampoo

I have extremely dry, coarse hair so I really can only wash it twice a week or else it feels like straw. I rely on dry shampoo the rest of the week. I am always on the look out for good dry shampoo since I use so much of it and believe me, I have tried almost every single brand out there. I recently bought some of the John Frieda variety since it was on sale and I hadn't tried it yet.

John Frieda Dry Shampoo

For a drugstore variety, I was pretty pleased with this stuff. It definitely does the job and it didn't leave that stiff, crispy feeling that some dry shampoos give you. My complaint is the smell! Yuck! You would think with all the advances in dry shampoo they would have done something about the smell. I have tried other varieties that work and smell better.

Kenra Dry Shampoo. 1st place in my book! This also doesn't give hair that crispy feeling and smells great.

TIGI Rockaholic Dry Shampoo. 2nd place in my book. This dry shampoo definitely gave me the most volume of any dry shampoo but this definitely gives hair a stickier feeling that I think dry shampoo should.

Johnson's Baby Powder. In a pinch? This works fantastic. It absorbs the oil, has no smell, and is definitely the cheapest option. I fall back on this when I am out of dry shampoo and I can't find any on sale :)

This goes on my blog as the worst dry shampoo I have ever tried. I don't think it did anything, it definitely didn't absorb any oil at my roots.

The verdict? I will probably stick with the John Frieda dry shampoo from now on and hopefully, they improve on the smell. While my favorite is Kenra, a bottle is about $15 while the John Frieda retails for between $6-$8 and with coupons, I can get it for free :)