Product Review: Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish in Shocking Seas and More

I love all the products in this roundup! I've just been having really good luck with new products lately, I guess. I hope it continues, I'm picking up a couple of new products today that I've never tried. I am, of course, super excited to go pick out some new products. As usual :) Hope my good luck streak continues!

1. Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish in Shocking Seas

I spotted this beauty at CVS this week. I've been on the lookout for a blue/green polish, good for summer. I saw the Maybelline Color Show display, and there were actually quite a few colors I liked. The colors in this line are very bold and have deep, rich colors. I'm looking forward to trying some more colors. In the meantime, I gave this color a whirl. Love it! The only complaints I have are the brush and the coverage. The brush is pretty small, it wasn't easy to get enough paint on the brush for my big toe. Therefore, my coats ended up being very thin and still looked a bit streaky at 2 coats. I ended up doing 3 coats to achieve the color I was after. After 3 coats though, I loved the look. This is the first turquoise color I've tried, and I think it's perfect for summer. I painted my toes on Tuesday, and I still don't have a single chip. The pedicure still looks fantastic. The verdict? I would buy this color again. It's a cute summer color, and I think the polish is quality for the price. I will probably end up buying more Color Show colors before I purchase this color again, though.

2. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic

I love, love, love this product! I tried this stain in Sweetheart, and ended up with neon pink 80's lips. This color is perfect for me, though. The color applies lighter than it looks, and is a bit of a coral color on my lips. When first applied, the color is darker than I would like. I wait 10 minutes, and then run my finger over my lips to lighten the color a bit. The color is so perfect after that. And it lasts forever! Plus, the stain fades away to a natural looking flush of color on my lips. It looks like my lips, only better. This stayed on for hours, even after dinner and drinks. So low maintenance, that's definitely a product for me! The color is build-able, so I could put on another layer to get an even brighter look. I'm not into this, but I know other's can be. I also really liked the look of putting a gloss over the stain. The stain underneath seemed to make my lip gloss look more even. I'm excited to get another stain, maybe a more nude-ish one for a very natural look. The verdict? Romantic will be one of my staples, and I will be purchasing this product again in another couple of colors. I can't wait to try more colors! I think this is a very good product for your money. I haven't tried the more expensive Tarte version, but I can't imagine paying $24 for that version when this product is on the market.

3. Olay Age Defying Body Wash

I ended up getting this body wash for a $1.50 at CVS during one of my deals. It normally retails for $8.99! I wouldn't have payed that much for body wash, but since I got such a good deal, I decided to give this a try. I must say, I really like it. The body wash is nice and thick, something I like in a body wash. The thicker washes seem to be more moisturizing. It also has a fresh, light scent. I like that I don't have to put much of the product on a loofah to get lots of lather. Some products you just have to use so much of the product to get the results you want. Not this. Now, the body wash claims to give you younger looking skin in 4 uses. I remain skeptical on this point. My skin is very well moisturized, but I wouldn't say it looks younger. However, I'm still pretty young and I'm pretty vigilant about sunscreen. My skin doesn't look old, or have sun damage. It's possible someone with a bit more skin damage, might see more results in the anti-aging department. The verdict? This body wash works just as well as other cheaper body washes such as Olay, Dove, Softsoap, etc. Unless I can get a killer deal again on this, I wouldn't specifically seek this out. But, I do really like this product. No complaints :)

Product Review: Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm and More

Ugh, I'm really missing blogging about cooking. I haven't been trying too many recipes lately, mostly sticking to the tried and true while I'm cooking for the hubby's aunt and uncle. I think I'll have a couple of recipes to try this week, but we'll see...
New beauty products? Now that, I've had time for :) A couple of weeks ago I bought some Physician's Formula skincare, and I've been loving it! I don't know if I will be able to find a sale that amazing again, but again, we'll see. Anyhoo, here's what I've tried lately:

1. Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm

I tried Revlon's new lipstain in Sweetheart. I love the idea of a lipstain, color that lasts for hours and that you don't have to worry about touching up. It's the carrying out of that concept that I have a problem with. I've never found a lipstain whose color doesn't get blotchy on my lips after applying it. I was very pleased with Revlon's formula. The product itself goes on smoothly, and doesn't look or feel dry. I would say it's a good marriage between a lip balm and a stain. I know you can all hear a "but" coming on. But... the color? Wow. This was florescent, neon pink on my lips. I couldn't even handle the color. This color is pretty similar to most pinks I wear, so I was really surprised by how bright this is. I had to run my finger over my lips multiple times to blend the product down from it's original color. The color looked pretty good after I had worn it down, but I have to say, the stain doesn't last as long this way. I just bought this product in Romantic, which is more of a coral-y color. We'll see if this more my style. I'm hoping so, because I do think this product has great potential. The verdict? If I can find a color I like, I will probably be using this a lot. And would I buy this again? Obviously, I did :)

2. Physicians Formula Deep Wrinkle Corrector Day & Night Cream

Wow, that's a really long name! I bought this about 3 weeks ago, and have been falling in love a little more each day. There's nothing to dislike about this cream. I find this cream comparable to Olay's Regenerist Micro-Scuplting Cream. Olay's cream usually retails for around $25, and I picked up this Physician's Formula cream for $3! Hopefully, I can find a deal this amazing again, because I want to keep using it. The cream has a very thick texture, but smooths on amazingly well. A little bit goes a long way. Because of its thick texture, I use this as a night cream only. After the first night of using this, I couldn't believe how soft and glow-y my face was the next morning. I was instantly hooked. It's very humid here this time of year, so I am using this every other night to avoid the "greasies". Every other night, I use my Garnier gel cream which is very light. This moisturizes my skin so effectively, it's making my face makeup apply better. Especially in the under-eye area. I've noticed a lot less settling of the makeup into the fine lines around my eyes, thus bringing less notice to the not-so-many wrinkles I have. The verdict? Love, love, love! I don't know if I can bring myself to pay full price, but who knows? I might go into withdrawals without.

3. Dove Nourishing Oil Care Leave-In Smoothing Cream

I've had a really good round up of products this time. This summer, my hair has been super-dry. To the point where I look in the mirror, and I'm disgusted. I've spent some considerable time growing my hair out, so chopping it all off and starting over is not something I want to do. I've been wanting to try this product since I read about it on Nouveau Cheap's website. For a drugstore leave-in conditioner, this is a top-notch product. I've been using this for about a week, with amazing results. I did a conditioning mask earlier in the week, and have been using this ever since. My hair is noticeably softer, even the hubby thought so. It has a nice, thick texture and a quarter size amount takes care of all my hair. Which is numerous. I warm it up between my hands, spread it through my hair, and then comb it all through to even it out. My hair is so soft after I blow it out, I've been giving my flat-iron a rest. This is good for my flat-iron, as well as my hair. A win-win. The verdict? I will be buying this again. It's pretty cheap already, and I can always find Dove coupons.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mid-Week Beauty Finds

I am not usually out shopping in the middle of the week. Mainly because the hubby and I are sharing a car, and of course he works during the week. However, the hubby's aunt was going out to do some shopping yesterday so I tagged along, as did my mother-in-law. I'm glad I did, I found some good buys, and new products to review!

The first stop was Rite Aid. Rite Aid had select Revlon makeup on clearance for 75% off. I couldn't pass that one up.

I ended up with New Complexion foundation, normally $11.99, on sale for $2.99. The Age Defying Spa concealer, normally $10.99, I got for $2.74. And the lipstick? Normally $8.99, I got it for $2.24. I ended up with $31.97 worth of makeup for $7.97. I was pretty psyched about this :)

Later we stopped by Sally Beauty Supply. Or rather, I stopped by Sally while the hubby's aunt went into the Scrubs store (yeah, that didn't sound like fun to me either). I found a couple of things-

Cina Nail Art Decals were Buy 1, Get 1 Free. That totally excited me, and I just had to get some new decals to try. I can't wait to re-do my toes. You can almost bet that's what I will be doing tomorrow :)

My hair has felt like straw lately, very dry and brittle. I was looking for a deep conditioner that wasn't too expensive. This was on sale for $6.99, normally $12.49. I decided to give it a shot. Upon bringing the product home and googling it, I'm pretty sure this is for African-American hair. That's what I get for knowing nothing about a product line, right? This didn't stop me from sampling the product, and I glad it didn't. I've only used it once, but my hair feels much softer. It doesn't feel greasy or weighed down either, which is always my concern with a product designed for a different type of hair. This one's a keeper though, hopefully it will bring my hair back to the softer side.

Good things do come to people who venture out in the middle of the week. Of course, the hubby's aunt and I had a cocktail in the afternoon upon returning from shopping, that led to a lot more cocktail drinking later in the day. But hey, that's a tale for another day :)

April A-Musings

It was a busy month had by all!

The hubby and I decided to build a house, Gizmo acted weird for almost 3 weeks,  I continued to practice my baking, I saved $297.87 couponing, I participated in a 5k walk for charity, we celebrated 3 family birthday's, and Haloti enjoyed every minute of the whole, crazy ride.

We finalized our plans to build a house in April. We've had multiple inspections, including by the health department and the builder. We moved dirt and laid out the flow of the house. We finalized things with our bank. Next week, we sign our contract for the house and sometime next month, we will sign documents for the construction loan. And by far the best news? On May 14th, we will have only 30 days left in the rental!!! Yikes, I better start packing!

Gizmo and Haloti got groomed on April 9th. Gizmo immediately got a skin rash that had to be treated with anti-biotics and a steroid. He sulked and pouted for almost 3 weeks, all while doing none of his favorite things. No Blue Monkey, no sleeping in his bed, no cuddling with Mom and Dad, no walks, and no desire for carrots (our version of doggie treats). After keeping him a little bit dopey on Benedryl for a week to keep him from rubbing his skin raw and licking himself raw, Gizmo began to act more like himself last Friday. The hubby and I both gave a sigh of relief to have our puppy back. It was also decided that Gizmo will never go to the groomer again.

Haloti could care less he got groomed, and to be honest, I think he rather enjoyed the social time with the other dogs, as he was allowed to hang out with the "friendly" dogs after getting groomed. When I went to pick him up, he was sitting next to a very gentle Mastiff that was the size of a horse :)

We bought these bones to distract Gizmo from his woes. It worked!

I baked a lot in April. 3 family birthday's (brother's, hubby's aunt, and hubby's mother), with 2 requests for baked goods. I made Dark Chocolate Cherry Nut Cookies for the brother's birthday and the Red Velvet cupcakes below for my mother-in-law's birthday. The peanut butter cookies pictured above? Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made these for my Dad's birthday (tomorrow!) and shipped them out to Oregon.

I experimented with yeast in April. I made Mini Doughnuts (twice) and worked on Cinnamon Roll Bread. The doughnut above is a Raspberry Filled Mini Doughnut. Experimenting with yeast this month turned out pretty delicious :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes for the mother-in-law's birthday.

Last Saturday, my sister-in-law (to the far left), also named Jessica, and I walked a 5k for the March of Dimes. Jessica's friend Shannon (middle) is a nurse at the local hospital. The nurses in her unit had setup a team of about 7-8 girls. Jessica and I both donated to her unit, and volunteered to walk. The walk was at 9 am on Saturday. I awoke that morning at 7 am to a thunderstorm right over Ashland. It was also very cold. But the march did go on, and Jessica and I powered through. Cold, wet feet and all. There was a surprisingly large crowd, despite the inhospitable weather.

Rocking a poncho at the March of Dimes! And yes, that is a Duck's hoodie under my poncho!

I can't believe April is over, this year is flying by. Hopefully I will blink, it will be October, and we will be in our new house! Hey, a girl can wish, can't she? :)

And, oh yes, the hubby and I put back $297.87 into our couponing account. On to May!

Robbed The Store... And Then Some!

Propel Fitness water, Hunt's diced tomatoes and tomato paste, Finesse hairspray, Kleenex, Nature's Bounty vitamins, Finish dish soap, Tide Stain Release Boosters, Pledge multi-surface spray, Goldfish, Combos, Revlon nail files, Blistex, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and Mentos gum.

Today's haul was so good, I just couldn't resist devoting a blog entry to it! I had an amazing day of couponing! Here's the breakdown:
CVS- Great week for CVS! They had some great BOGO's that I couldn't resist. Both the Combos and the vitamins were Buy 1, Get 1. I also had a $1 off of 2 coupon for the Combos and I had 2 $1 off coupons for the vitamins. The Pledge was an amazing deal. They were on sale 2 for $6. I had a CVS store coupon for $2 off 2 and a manufacturer coupon for $2 off 2, making each bottle of Pledge $1. That stuff retails for $6.49 a can! Additional purchases at CVS included Kleenex, the Revlon nail files, and the Blistex.    Thanks to $13 in ECB's from last week, I paid $12.68 out of pocket and earned $10 in ECB's.
Rite Aid: Gum was on sale again this week and this time it was a moneymaker! It was on sale 3 for $3, plus they were offering a $1 UP reward. I used 3 $1 off coupons for the gum, making them free and I made that $1. The Finish dish soap was BOGO, plus I had a $2.15 off coupon (Rite Aid doesn't let you use a coupon on the free item item in a BOGO transaction, which is too bad because I could have gotten another $2.15 off with another coupon). I also picked up the Finesse hairspray on sale 2 for $6. I had 2 $1 off coupons as well. I ended up paying $7.27 out of pocket (I had $2 in UP's from last week) and making $4 in UP rewards.
Kroger: Kroger was amazing this week! They had Hunt's tomatoes on sale for $0.49 plus I had a $0.45 off 3 coupon, which doubled to $0.90. Which means I ended up getting those cans for $0.19 a piece. The Propel flavored water was also on sale for $0.49. The Tide boosters were on sale for $5.99 and with an e-coupon for $2 off, I got that for $3.99. The Goldfish were on sale for $0.99 (I love Goldfish!). Lastly, the butter was on sale for $1.79 and I had a 2 $1 off coupons. You can't beat paying $0.79 for pricey butter spread. I ended up spending $12.01 at Kroger.

There you have it! I paid $31.96 for $119.45 worth of product, for savings of 73%. This was my biggest haul to date and some of my best savings! I will be on cloud 9 for the rest of the day if you need me :)

CVS Haul 8/1/11

I had a really good day at CVS on Monday. I saved 67%, paying $14.58 for $46 worth of product. I also earned $10 in Extra Care Bucks to use on my purchase next week. CVS has been by far the easiest store to coupon at. Here is what I got this week:

Suave Body Wash, Deodorant, and Shampoo, Swiffer wet clothes, Maybelline mascara, Skinny Cow Candy, and Q-Tips.

It's hard to tell from the picture but there are 2 men's body wash and 3 men's shampoo.  Jerame is set now! Once again, it's hard to believe this stuff would have added up to a $46 purchase. But, the register doesn't lie and it nice to pocket my savings for more important (or fun!) things.

Honing My Skills

Yesterday was a CVS day. I had a pretty good day and I definitely feel like I made a killing!  I saved 65%, paying $19 on a $55 purchase. The best part is not only did I pay just $19 but I also earned $5 in Extra Care Bucks for next week's purchase. Here is my haul:

To put this in perspective, Febreze Fabric Refresher is normally about $6.40 a bottle. So you could look at it like I paid for the Febreze and got everything else for free. In reality, the Febreze was on sale and then I had a Buy 1, Get 1 Free coupon. Love those! And I really do go through a lot of Febreze at this time as the home we are renting is a bit... musty would be a nice way to put it. The candy bar in the picture? Free! The CVS magic machine spit out that free candy bar coupon when I scanned my card upon entering the store. Oh, how I love freebies! Happy savings friends!

4th of July- 2011

This year was my first 4th of July in Kentucky. It was a gorgeous day! We spent the day in Grayson at Jerame's sister's house with the family. Due to Jerame's sister having to work at 4, we started our festivities early in the day. We had great food, great fireworks, and great company for the day!

Jerame was put in charge of hamburgers and all that is hamburger related i.e. making the patties and grilling duty

Me and Jerame in our 4th of July best

Our 4th of July feast! After our elaborate Memorial Day Weekend, everyone decided that we didn't even need half as much food! We ended up going old-school cookout with juicy hamburgers and charred hot dogs. Martha made a delicious homemade potato salad that was thick and creamy and full of fresh hard boiled eggs. Throw in some potato chips and mini 4th of July cupcakes and we had a truly Americana meal

Jessica, Joyce, Martha, and me. Joyce bought all of our 4th of July shirts for us. All the T-Shirts were $2.99, except for Martha's which was $2.49. Gotta love Old Navy! Where else can you look so cute for so cheap?

Jerame and and his brother-in-law Wayne. Had no idea they would be matching until we arrived at the Sexton's.  I guess a red shirt and camo pants was the official men's uniform lol

Setting off fireworks in the front yard

I just had to include this pic because I think it is hilarious. And yes, that is Jerame's mom in the background!

Weekend Wrap Up

It is definitely summer here in Kentucky. Or so I am told. It is true, it is HOT here. There are also massive thunderstorms! There were thunderstorms everyday last week as well as a tornado in Louisville. Luckily, Louisville is a couple of hours away. But scary!

This was what my weather looked like all last week. Summery right?

By the weekend, the weather cleared up. Saturday was overcast but the temperature was around 80 degrees and it didn't rain a drop. Perfect since it was our nephew Brock's first birthday! We headed out to Grayson (about a 25 minute drive from Ashland) to celebrate at Jerame's sister's house. It was a wonderful party, the birthday boy was well behaved and  really didn't even make that much of a mess with his cake! Just for comparison I have posted a pic from our other nephew Gavin's first birthday as well as one of Brock.

Gavin's 1st Birthday (a tad bit messy!)

Mr Brock and his cake

A couple more pics of the rest of us enjoying the party, sans rubbing cake all over our faces :)

Jerame's Aunt Martha, his sister Jessica, our nephew Brock, Jerame's mother Joyce, and I

Joyce, Martha, and I

I love this adorable picture of the 2 of them :)

Jessica's husband Wayne and their daughter Megan

It may not look like it, but he really did enjoy his new toys!

On Sunday, couponing continued! Jerame picked me up 3 Ashland papers, a Huntington paper, and a Lexington paper. I usually don't do any shopping on Sunday's except for CVS. I was given a tip by a cashier at my CVS who told me there are a couple of "extreme couponers" in Ashland that clear out the shelves on Monday's. Although my CVS was out of the men's body wash I needed for a deal and I had to get a raincheck for it, I still managed to get a lot for the $5 I spent.

CVS Haul 6/26/11

All in all, a great summer weekend here in Kentucky!

Robbing the Store

I just have to share my experience at CVS this week. It's been a couple of weeks that I have been couponing and I had yet to score my first big deal. I was determined that today (being last Sunday) would be the day! On Sunday, armed with my 2 newspapers, I carefully planned out a small list of things to get at CVS. My small list included Jerame's deodorant, toothpaste, AA batteries, granola bars, and some Reese's mini's. I know, I know, candy right? The fact of the matter is that I buy candy. It is going to happen and there is no way around it. I might as well admit this fact to myself and buy it cheaply when I can. Anyways, hard to believe this small list totaled almost $50!

I was feeling the pressure as Jerame had decided to accompany me on this trip. He wanted to see what my new hobby was doing for us. I could tell he was super annoyed as we walked around the store and I put things in our basket that in his mind "We don't need". And by the time we were at the cashier and she had rung everything up and the register said "$46.51" I thought Jerame was going to have a heart attack. I handed the cashier my CVS rewards card and the register went down to about $23.80 because everything I had bought was "Buy 1, Get 1 Free". I forked over my coupons : $1 off granola bars, $0.75 off toothpaste, $1 off batteries, and $6 in ECB's from CVS. When the cash register finally settled on $15.05, I was so proud! I looked over at my husband and he had the biggest, goofiest grin on his face. As we were leaving the store he said, "WOW! You just robbed them!" He later admitted that my hard work was paying off (music to my ears!).

While I may not have robbed them, I was so close to my savings goal! When I started out doing this, I was looking to save between 40-70%. Well, this trip was savings of 68%! Pretty good for someone just starting out in the field! Now you may never see me on Extreme Couponing but then again, you never know :)

A New Hobby? Yes, Please!

Over the past couple weeks, I have been researching the topic of couponing. I have become fascinated with the TLC show "Extreme Couponing" as I am sure countless others are. Now, I do NOT watch the show and think "Wow, I want to be like them." No, I will not be spending 60 hours a week scouring the Internet for deals, dumpster diving for coupons, or building a nuclear fallout shelter in my basement. Upon googling "extreme couponing" one of the very first websites I came across was all about "realistic couponing". Realistic couponing is more about using coupons on sale items to save 40-70% on your grocery bill. This sounded a lot more like me so I set out to go forth and save.

I wish I could say that I saved 70% my first trip. HA! I didn't do bad my first trip, saving about 27% at Kroger on groceries. My first trip was more about the learning experience and I have a lot to learn! Kroger has a savings card where you can go online and load digital coupons to your savings card to use in the store. The nice part is that all you have to do is swipe your card to use your coupons which eliminates/significantly decreases the need to carry a packet of coupons around. The downside is that you can't use digital coupons and manufacturer coupons together. Also, Kroger does not double their digital coupons but they will double the paper ones you bring into the store (under $0.50). 

One of the biggest couponing lessons I have learned (at least for me!) is to stick to my list! I have been making a list of what I am going buy and for what price and now have approximate totals on my lists. This week I was so close to my estimated total but still off $5. I know, I know, it's $5 but I have to admit I was disappointed when my total didn't add up. This lesson also came into play at CVS this week. CVS also has a savings card but with theirs you can scan your card as soon as you walk in the door and get free coupons! After getting my free coupons this week I saw I received one for $3 off a $10 makeup purchase. Of course I used this coupon and consequently added more money to my purchase since my makeup totaled slightly more than $10. Sigh. But, I'm learning!

As with all new hobbies, I am having fun figuring this out. I have since signed up for the Sunday paper, as well as a subscription to All You which is a popular magazine chock full of coupons. I have signed up for several email services for tips and popular deals for the week. I think Jerame is happy I have taken up a productive hobby as well as one that will help the house! As for me, it is time to head down to the post office to see if I got any new coupons in the mail... JOKING friends!