Good CVS Deal - Lierac, Vichy, La Roche Posay

If you are a member of the CVS Beauty Club, you should have received an e-mail on May 14th (Title: See What's Free for Beauty Club Members) with 2 different coupons. One was buy 1 Salma Hayek Nuance Product get 1 free and the other was $10 off any prestige skincare purchase. CVS is also running a sale this week where if you purchase $30 worth of prestige skincare, you get $10 worth of Extrabucks back. If you get the general CVS e-mails, you should have also received a 30% off coupon May 9th (Title: 30% off Mother's Day Savings) on non-sale items which expires in the next couple of days. Put it together and you are looking at significant savings!

For instance, I bought the Lierac Micellar Cleansing Water which recently came out for $24. Then to bring me over the $30 mark I bought one of the mini bottles of the Vichy Thermal Spa Water for $8. Then CVS took $10 off from my coupon which brought me down to $22 (I believe they are now doing the percentage off coupons after dollar off coupons). Then my 30% off coupon brought my total down to $15.40. And I got $10 in Extrabucks back. These skincare brands have been coming out with coupons for their higher priced lines so that might be something to look into if you've been wanting to try some pricier items.

Basically, I got 2 items for $5.40 after the Extrabucks savings. You could of course use the $10 off coupon on a cheaper item and get it for free or close to free but I decided to spring for something more expensive as I'd been wanting to try it.

Happy shopping!

How To Get Pricey Face Goop For Cheap (La Roche Posay/CVS)

I had some Extrabucks that were about to expire so I went to my local CVS on the way home. This week all La Roche Posay Effaclar products are $19.99. This is a pretty excellent deal as it is. What makes it an even greater deal is a $10 off Effaclar coupon that came in one of the recent circulars (still trying to pin point if it was Smart Source or Red Plum - I'll update this post when/if I do - I do remember it expires May 1st though). After the coupon, you're looking at a total of $9.99 for some pricey face products. Take the Effaclar Serum Pore Refining Anti-Wrinkle Serum which is what I picked up; it retails for $39.99 - way more than I would ever spend normally. With the sale it's already down 50% to $19.99 and then with the coupon you're looking at another 50% (so 75% off total!).

CVS Beauty Steals (Salma Hayek + Physicians Formula)

There are quite a few bloggers that post the weekly store sales, Nouveau Cheap being my favorite but I thought I'd write a quick post for the 2 deals this week that I think you should definitely consider purchasing.

The first is the Physicians Formula deal, buy $10 worth, get $7 in Extrabucks back. Clearly this deal is already awesome. There are quite a few products in the Physicians Formula line that are just over or at $10. Here's how to make this deal even more awesome.

If you are a member of the CVS Beauty Club and/or subscribe to their e-mails (and if you aren't and have a CVS near you, you should be - you get $5 Extrabucks for every $50 you spend on beauty automatically on top of the promotions and sales), you should have received a 25% coupon in your e-mail box on the 26th (check spam). Now, these percentage off coupons are tricky because they don't work on anything on sale. I long disregarded them as I rarely buy full priced items at CVS. However, these coupons work on non-reduced Extrabucks back deals. For instance, I bought a Physicians Formula pH Matchmaker pH Powered Blush (which the Muse reviewed favorably here) in Natural for just over $13. There was a sticker on it for $3 off. My 25% off coupon also applied to the original price.

So...
Full price $13.50
- 25% off brought it down to $10.13
- $3 off coupon bright it down to $7.13
And then I got $7 Extrabucks back making it 13 cents after EB!

Depending on what you buy, you could make out ahead but I really wanted to try one of these new Matchmaker pH line products!

The next deal is the Nuance by Salma Hayek line is buy $20 worth, get $10 in Extrabucks back. I used this as an excuse to pick up a couple more of the face wipes that I reviewed here. So I bought 2 packs of face wipes and a travel size hair cream to get me to $20 (actually $20.88 if you want to be precise), used my 25% coupon, that brought the total down to $15.66 and I received $10 in Extrabucks back! Making each pack just under $3 after EB.

Definitely work the sales to your advantage. Happy shopping!

CVS Milani 75% off Sale + Haul

Thanks to Nouveau Cheap, I found out that CVS has put quite a bit of the Milani line on clearance at 75% off (my CVS wasn't marked but the price scanner confirmed the discount so scan if you're unsure). I was pretty well behaved and only picked up 4 items, the HD Advanced Concealer which I have been wanting to try but not at nearly $10 regular price, the Liquif-eye Metallic Eye Liner in Silver, the Nail Lacquer Neon in Techno Red, and the Lip Mixer in Lip Party. Milani products rarely go on sale more than B1G150% so this is great if you've been wanting to try some things. Definitely check the list before you go or pull it up on your iPhone like I did! Happy shopping.

Drugstore Sightings: Physicians Formula Youthful Wear

 *edit* The Youthful Wear powder also comes in a matte variety - don't feel as though they limited the range if you don't prefer dewy products - although to be fair, this is one of the most subtle highlighting powders, I've seen.

If you have the misfortune of being up when I normally get to work, you saw a photo of these products that I snapped with my iPhone and tweeted already. If not, I found a new display this morning, the new Physicians Formula Youthful Wear line. I picked up the foundation and the powder to test out. Physicians Formula is Buy1Get150% and at CVS it is a participating item in the buy $30 get a $10 CVS cash card, and of course you can see the "try me free" sticker above and the powder came with a $3 off sticker attached to it. New
products for close to free? I was all over that.

The line promises that you can look up to 10 years younger, instantly. This isn't necessarily something I am worried about at my age but products for more mature skin tend to be better for us drier gals so I was pretty excited. I picked up the Youthful Wear Cosmeceutical Youth-Boosting Foundation and Brush and the Youthful Wear Cosmeceutical Youth-Boosting Powder. There is also an under eye concealer/treatment in the line which I think I'll be picking up tomorrow. The packaging is super cute. Everything is a metallic purple and it reminds me of the other newer lines in the range. The foundation tube looks similar to the Cover Girl Natureluxe foundation. I hope the formulas aren't similar as the Cover Girl oxidized horribly on me!

I picked up the foundation in the shade Fair. It comes with a foundation brush which I won't likely use. It's a squeezey tube and holds the standard 1oz of product.

The swatch looks a bit yellow.

It seems to blend in ok, but you can probably see a slightly yellow cast.

Now the star of the show. The pressed powder promises an illuminating finish. Honestly, this appears to be a perfect highlighter! I wouldn't wear this all over. It is silky smooth, super soft and finely milled and blends like a dream though I haven't actually worn it for a full day.

It's just glowy enough to be a good highlight without being crazy glitter-bomb or chunky glitter like some of the MAC Mineralized Skin Finishes.

Super cute packaging as I mentioned.

Can you see the refined glow? Ignore the other swatches (the black stuff is remnants of the Laura Geller eye liners I swatched ages ago - that's 2 showers and multiple hand washings people). Anyway, this is the way my ideal highlighter would look cause it's very hard to mess up and doesn't accentuate fine lines or pores. Granted, the Physicians Formula line is not exactly inexpensive. If I remember correctly and I best find my receipt so I can submit my freebie for the foundation, the foundation was $15 and the powder $14 which is a bit ridiculous all things considered but with the BOGO50% deal, the CVS Cash Card and the freebie/$3 off stickers, it's brings the price down considerably.

As I mentioned I haven't really worn these products but I'll keep you updated. My guess is I'm not going to be a fan of the foundation as it's loaded with silicones. The powder on the other hand, seems perfect.

Have you spotted these yet? It's a bit disturbing how excited I get when I spot new drugstore products!

December Empties

It's now the beginning of 2012 and I'm here once again with my empties post for the prior month. I'm definitely going to continue these into 2012 and hope to use up even more products in 2012.

I've learned that items like skincare, body care and lip balm are things that I know I will use up. Makeup is a little harder. I've tried to devote my weekdays to specifically using products I want to use up, with some flexibility of course. I also never have more than 1 mascara in rotation. Who knows if I will ever use up an eyeshadow, it's not looking likely at this point though technically I have the whole year in front of me.

 

Nuance by Salma Hayek Detoxifying Facial Cleansing & Toning Towelettes - I know my initial review of these wasn't super favorable but I've since bought a few more packs on sale and I quite like them. Due to the packaging, even if I don't use these every day, they seem to remain more moist going towards the bottom of the pack. I mentioned them again when I reviewed the Ponds wipes. Also, the last time I was at Big Lots, I couldn't find my beloved Epielle due to the massive Christmas beauty sets so I'm hoping the next time I'm there, they will make a reappearance. As much as I like the Nuance ones, I would never pay full price!
CVS Soft Cloths Supreme Unscented -  I'm sure you've all heard at one point or another that baby wipes can double as makeup removing towelettes. It's true. These are really nice and very cheap.

Jergens Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer - I swear this bottle never ended. I will try to stop buying these 10floz bottles! It also left a bit of a film on my skin and never seemed to fully penetrate. Neither I nor my husband was a fan of the scent and because it didn't truly sink in, the lotion (and the scent) stuck to our sheets. Very happy to see this empty! I won't be repurchasing!
The Body Shop Cranberry Joy Body Butter - This on the other hand, I love! It's a great fruity tart scent that sticks around after applying but not in a bad way like the Jergens! This is the smaller 50ml size I brought with us to Georgia. It feels light on the skin but is extremely moisturizing and sinks in quickly. I love The Body Shop body butters and will continue to repurchase them!
Mor Basil & Grape and Sugar Rose Tiger Lily Hand Cream sample packets - Oh my goodness. I'm so glad I discovered the Mor brand as I've enjoyed everything I've tried from them thus far. These scents are to die for, the texture is rich and moisturizing yet sinks into the skin. I've never been a big fan of rose scents, but even I like the Sugar Rose Tiger Lily likely due to the sweetness of it. The Basil & Grape isn't something I would normally be attracted to, but it's a nice sweet, yet fresh scent. I am definitely going to be buying more Mor (teehee) in the future. Really enjoyed these. I received these both in one of my recent Bloom orders as the Bloom Bonus.

On10 Schweppes Club Soda lip balm - The On10 made a brief debut in Sephora but has since disappeared. This lip balm is very nice and also something I took with me to Georgia. It is lightly scented/flavored and has the slightly thicker more waxier texture I enjoyed. It is reminiscent of the Fresh Sugar or the Caudalie as far as texture is concerned. And one can not fault the cute bottle cap inspired sleek metal packaging. I would repurchase if it was available.
Woody's Citrus Lip Ice - I really like this lip balm, as with the prior, it is a slightly thicker textured balm. I know this balm can be gotten online but I think the Woody's line might have discontinued it as I haven't seen it in stores. I know it's a mens line but this lip balm is really great for everyone.
Becca Luminous Skin Color in Sand - If you remember, I finished the Porcelain shade of this back in June. This is basically a fancy expensive tinted moisturizer. Even though the Sand shade is a tiny bit darker, I feel as though it didn't oxidize as much as the lighter, more pinker shade. As I mentioned in June, I don't think I'll repurchase as less expensive BB Creams such as the Missha offer a similar product at a fraction of the cost.


Not too shabby. I will be happy to discard the Becca as the emptier it gets, the harder it is for the product to come out! Onto the next foundation/tinted moisturizer victim!


Is there anything that you've finished recently? Feel free to link your own empties posts below! I love to look!

PSA DO NOT BUY THESE (Review CVS Nail Polish Remover Pads Regular)

 

It's seldom that I'll hate something so much, I'll feel the need to tell everyone about my disdain for a particular product. This is mostly because I know that even if I think something is horrible, there are plenty of people who probably love the product (ie. most color cosmetics, hair items, body moisturizers, etc). With this, really don't even bother trying it, especially if you're fair.

Let me explain.

I completely forgot to remove the very chipped fingernail polish that I was wearing before my meeting today. I'm taking on a new role at work and wanted to err on the side of caution. I figured I'd stop at CVS in the morning as I tend to do, purchase some nail polish remover and quickly take it off before getting into the office. These little pads looked perfect. There are 10 in the pack and one pad promises to be moist enough to do all 20 nails (tips and toes). The price wasn't amazing but at $4.49 it wasn't ridiculous. The convenience of the wipes plus little need for clean up made them ideal.

So I bought the pads, finished my drive to work, parked and got to it. I started removing the polish and the little red felt wipe was doing a great job until I realized something. It was turning my hands red. I couldn't very well stop at this point though. I had to finish the job.

I'm pretty sure I cursed. Just my luck that the pads dye your hands red!!!

So I got into work and shared my story with my coworkers. One of the male ones asked to see the pads and put it on top of a piece of paper. Yes, instant staining. How did the CVS quality control not catch this?!

In closing, don't buy these. Unless you want one of your worst enemies to be dyed pink while traveling.

Sorry for the iPhone pictures. It was the nearest photo taking device after my fingertips got dyed red!

For your information, my cuticles are still pink but most of the red got worn away after multiple hand washings. Still, the "For natural nails. Great for travel. Portable, quick & easy" claims are just kind of laughable at this point.

Review: Salma Hayek Nuance Walnut Facial Scrub

When I tried and reviewed the Salma Hayek Nuance Walnut Body Scrub, I was really impressed by the texture and thought that it was similar to my much beloved and discontinued MAC Microfine Refinisher. Now, clearly the body scrub is not meant to be used on the face, but the line also contains a Walnut Facial Scrub which I clearly bought as I'm reviewing it for you now. As you can imagine, I'll be comparing the two in this review, especially since I bought it hoping it would be a dupe!

The Nuance Walnut Facial Scrub comes in a thin white squeeze tube and has a flip top and a small hole to squeeze out the product. It comes with 4oz of scrub and retails for approximately $8, though so far I've noticed that the pricing of the line has not been consistent among all CVS stores and their website so you may pay a bit more.

The product is the same unfortunate color of the body scrub which I'll refrain from showing you as it resembles slightly frothy mud. Either way, the product is quite good. As with the MAC Microfine Refinisher, this scrub is a cream with suspended scrubby bits in it. I found the Salma Hayek Nuance one a bit less dense (less scrubby bits) and had a variety of sized particles. This is probably due to the fact that it's actually walnut powder so I would expect there to be differing sizes. However, I did find them very similar. After using the Salma Hayek Nuance scrub, my skin was equally as soft (as one can predict) and did not feel stripped. While there did seem to be less particles suspended in the cream, it wasn't a significant amount and felt just as exfoliating as the MAC. One of my major pet peeves is buying something that claims to be an exfoliating product and there's hardly any particles in it to actually exfoliate! That wasn't the case with this scrub.

I'm pleased that the products are close enough that I can stop worrying about finishing up my MAC backups and scouring at places like the Cosmetic Company Outlet and simply buy the Salma Hayek Nuance one instead. At the $8, it's a third of the price that the MAC one was anyway, so it's a bit of a bargain, really.

So while it's not the exact same product, I'd say it's about the same as far as consistency and scrubbiness are concerned. Really, it's a bit hard to say skincare items are dupes unlike makeup items. Anyway, I'd definitely rebuy this and I'd recommend it as an alternative to the MAC Microfine Refinisher.

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Polyethylene, Juglans Regia (Walnut) Shell Powder, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Bixa Orellana Seed Oil, Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil, Orbignya Oleifera Seed Oil, Caffeine, Butylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polysorbate 60, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Menthol, Caramel, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Aminomethyl Propanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Phenoxyethanol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Annatto (CI 75120), Red 40 (CI 16035).

Maybelline Baby Lips and Unadvertised Deal

I finally managed to track down the new Baby Lips - the new tinted lip balm from Maybelline. I am a huge fan of tinted lip balm so this was a must find for me. Since Maybelline is buy 1 get 1 50% on all lip and eye products, I didn't feel guilty purchasing these without having my coupons with me (though it would have been an even better deal had I had them). Each was a little over $4 and all 4 cost me about $13. I bought Cherry Me, Peach Kiss, Pink Punch & Grape Vine. I've tried Peach Kiss so far and it smells like peaches and has more pay off than I was expecting. I tried it on super chapped lips (I didn't drink enough water today and it shows - too busy) and it didn't improve them dramatically but it didn't make them worse so I wouldn't say these are intensively moisturizing, but on lips that are already in decent shape they should keep them soft.

Anyway, what really surprised me and made me want to jump on here asap was the unexpected Extrabucks that printed after my purchase. Apparently, there's an unadvertised deal with every $10 or more Maybelline lip & eye purchase, you get $3 in Extrabucks back! And it didn't say that I had met the deal limit on the bottom of my receipt so you may be able to do this multiple times! Pretty awesome if you combine with the current sale and coupons!

Salma Hayek Nuance Line On Sale Again!

In case you missed the promotion where Salma Hayek Nuance products were buy $20 worth, receive $10 of Extrabucks back, you're in luck. The same promotion is running this week, starting tomorrow. It says limit 1 in the circular but maybe it will be limit 2 again like last time? Either way, I thought I would compile the posts I've done recently for the brand in case you were interested in picking up a thing or two from the line.

Nuance Dark Cacao & Coffee Firming Body Cream, Nuance Flawless Wear Tinted Moisturizer (light swatch only), Nuance Ultra Shine Lip Gloss

Nuance Detoxifying Facial Cleansing & Toning Towelettes

Swatches of the full range of the Nuance Flawless Wear Tinted Moisturizer

Nuance Walnut Body Scrub 

Nuance Lights, Camera, Action Eye Trio Pewter/Silver Shimmer 065 

Let me know if you have any questions! Happy shopping! 

FREE Revlon Colorburst Glosses

Many of you should know that various Revlon lip products are $6.49 with $5 Extra Bucks back at CVS this week (limit 6). Well, I would keep an eye out for the above display (sorry it's a bit fuzzy - I get this weird guilty feeling when I take pictures in stores and my iPhone goes all shaky). It includes a very large selection of the Colorburst glosses and each gloss has a $2 off coupon stuck to it. This makes your glosses FREE (actually, you'll make about 50 cents on each in the end) after Extra Bucks! Pretty awesome.

Salma Hayek Deal Limit 2!

You guys all should know by now regarding the Salma Hayke Nuance deal at CVS. This week (ending tomorrow), if you buy $20 worth of the Nuance line, you receive $10 Extrabucks back. Combine this with coupons and you are bringing down the price of the products significantly. The ad indicates that this deal is limit 1 (ie, you can only do the deal once), but they increased the limit to 2! So you can roll the deal or just use the Extrabucks for another beauty (or some other item CVS sells) product. Basically, you can now get $40 worth of the line for $20 after the Extrabucks back!

Remember, this deal ends tomorrow if you want to take part!

Swatches: Salma Hayek Nuance Flawless Wear Tinted Moisturizer

As I mentioned in my CVS haul, the Salma Hayek Nuance line is offering more samples than most drugstore lines and it's a good thing too, considering the price range is a bit higher than most other drugstore brands. The Flawless Wear Tinted Moisturizer comes in 5 shades and retails for $13.99. Since I picked up testers of all the shades, I thought I'd share swatches here.

 Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Medium Deep, Deep

The shades do adjust a bit once on the skin, you can see in the packet, the darkest 3 shades look nearly the same and they only look slightly different once swatched. I also found it weird that the Light shade looked much lighter than the original sample I showed so I'm not sure which shade it actually is, though it appears too yellow for my skin tone regardless. Medium and Medium Deep are practically the same color, with Medium Deep being slightly more orange and Medium being only a tiny bit more neutral though it's clear that all of these shades run warm.

I hope this was helpful!

CVS Haul

There are quite a few good sales at CVS this week, although I've only participated in 1 of the beauty related ones. I'm referring to the buy $20 worth of Salma Hayek Nuance get $10 in Extrabucks back. I would also recommend that you look around for the temporary displays as they have samples which include $2 off coupons for her skincare and cosmetic items. I was able to use 2 of these coupons that brought my out of pocket expenses (after extrabucks) to around $6. These coupons are great either way, as the line is quite expensive.

I also highly recommend to seek out your store's clearance displays. It changes depending on your store. Sometimes they are in the back in bins, sometimes a shelf is selected randomly where items are marked down. Some of the items in today's haul were from these sections (I also found some batteries on clearance but they aren't included in this post).

I love my microfiber hair turban so much that when I found these towels on clearance, I quickly scooped them up. Microfiber is much more gentle on hair than a regular towel and cuts down on frizz for us curly girls. These towels were regularly $5.99 which is pretty cheap anyway but since they were marked down to $1.49 a piece, they were definitely a steal!

In the clearance section, I also found Orly Here Comes Trouble marked down to $1.74 - bargain! Body & Soul blogged about this Pin Up Collection back in April. The opacity of this glitter looks amazing.

And the Salma Hayek stuff I picked up: I bought the Walnut Body Scrub ($~8.50), the Light Camera Action Eye Trio in Pewter/Silver Shimmer (~$8.89) and to put me over the $20 mark the mini size of the Blue Agave Curl Cream ($~3.50). I sincerely hope these impress me more than the other Nuance items I've tried but considering the price I wound up paying, it won't be a huge loss.

Also, the red machine of awesome was spitting out coupons for free Newton Thins cookies, and a $10 off $50 purchase coupon. Between that and the free allergy pills, free tampons and other great deals, CVS is definitely a great place to stock up on essentials this week!

Review: Nuance Salma Hayek Detoxifying Facial Cleansing & Toning Towelettes

The only skincare item that I've tried from the new Nuance line so far are the Nuance Salma Hayek Detoxifying Facial Cleansing & Toning Towelettes. Think they could have come up with a longer name? Anyway, these retail for a slightly high price of $7.99 for 25 pre-moistened wipes. If I remember correctly, I think they were priced slightly higher at my local CVS but I've now misplaced the receipt. The towelettes are also on the small side: They are slightly smaller than some of the other wipes I've used in the past and measure approximately 7.5"x 5.25" (for reference Garnier wipes are ~$6 at 5.9" x 7.8").

I found these did a really good job of removing all of my face makeup but I need a stronger remover for my eye makeup as I wear waterproof mascara (thank you MUFE). They are slightly textured so they pick up a lot yet are soft so they don't irritate. They come in a baggy but with a flip-top plastic cap to keep the moisture in. I did rub it over my eye area after the initial pass with the remover and they didn't burn my sensitive eyes. They smell like laundry detergent which may bother some but it far beats the sickly sweet cucumber scent from the Yes To Cucumber ones for me. I still prefer the cucumber scent from the Epielle and the Garnier one is also pleasant but as long as it's not overpowering, I'm not too picky.

These can obviously found only at CVS stores and online. This was nice to try and I'll finish my pack but I won't likely repurchase (unless there was a particularly good sale - $8 seems ridiculous to me after spending $1 on the Epielle ones for so long).

Flash Reviews

I'm not sure to call this Flash Reviews or really things I've liked that I've been reaching for, since I don't dislike any of the items I'm showing in this post.

You may remember when I was on the search for the world's softest travel kabuki. Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you're in the market for one, the ULTA one has been fabulous. I have used it every work week day for months now and it is still soft, still dense, I very occasionally lose a hair but it's not often. I adore this thing. Now, the retractable part doesn't lock in place but the brush has never opened in my purse. If you are looking for a good travel kabuki go get this one. At $18 even at full price it's significantly less expensive than others on the market and ULTA always has promos and coupons for their in-house brand.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Sassy Mauve (creme) is one I picked up at CVS when Revlon lip products were ridiculously cheap after Extrabucks. I'll admit, I'm not usually a lipstick person, but I have been reaching for this one a lot. The color is very work appropriate. It can be worn full on or blotted down to a stain and it doesn't dry out my lips. It's a nice slightly muted berry tone.

I know this is probably going to sound a little silly, but I love these CVS Instant Hand Sanitizing Wipes. As much as I love antibacterial gels, they don't seem to actually remove anything from your hands! These are fabulous on the go, especially if you're not near a sink (and they are individually wrapped so you can share). I always have a few of these in my purse.

Salma Hayek Nuance Beauty - Initial Thoughts

Since the Salma Hayek Nuance line is "Buy 1 get 1 Free" at CVS this week, I thought I would do a few mini-reviews of the products I've tested or swatched thus far so you can get an idea of what to possibly try and what to skip. I'm hoping to try out more from the line myself so there may be future reviews. So far, I have mixed feelings. I think the price point on some of the items is a little high, some of them are a little weird, some are decent quality and probably worth the price - anyway, onward!

The first thing I tried was the Dark Cacao & Coffee Firming Body Cream which retails for $14.99 but I tested one of the free sample packets available. First of all, I think the price of this is a little ridiculous for a drugstore lotion (whether or not the firming claims are valid). Second, I don't know if Ms. Hayek did any kind of test market for this lotion cause it's gross looking. It's a murky brown-gray color which I posted on twitter but won't subject you all too and it just looks disgusting. It is not something I would want to rub all over my body but I did for the blog (for you, I did it for you!) and I survived. It's fairly moisturizing and light when you apply it. The smell is a bit pungent (DH wrinkled his nose when he entered the room) and sticks around for awhile after application. Really, my biggest issue is how the product looks and I will not be buying it!

I also picked up a sample packet of the Flawless Wear Tinted Moisturizer in the shade Light 245. I kind of had an idea that the light shade (the lightest in the range) wouldn't be light enough for my pale skin and from swatching it, it looks like I'm right. This retails for $13.99 and contains your typical 1floz of product which is a bit more comparable to drugstore prices. I didn't get a chance to wear this on my face as it would have looked ridiculous, but if you've tried it, definitely leave your comments below!

 swatch

rubbed in a bit

One of the items I actually purchased was the Ultra Shine Lip Gloss which comes in your standard slanted squeeze tube and retails for $7.49 for about 1/2 oz. This promises "intense hydration" and has a lot of nourishing ingredients. It has a sweet smell and taste and is slightly sticky upon application but becomes a bit less so when it's been on the lips for a moment. I found this gloss similar to the Lancome Juicy Tubes - a bit sticky, gel-like, sheer formula, sweet taste & smell. This is ok, but I prefer more moisturizing & less sticky lip glosses. The shade I bought was Pomegranate which is a nice bright & juicy coraly-peachy-pink.

As you can see, so far I haven't found something in the line I'm in love with but I'm willing to try a few more things before giving up and this is the best week to do so with the sale! Any recommendations for those of you who have tried other items that you loved?

Have you tried anything from the Salma Hayek Nuance Beauty, Skincare & Bodycare range? I bought the cleansing wipes as well (though I haven't tried them yet) and I think I'm going to try the eyeshadow next or maybe a lipstick, or both?

July Empties

Becca Luminous Skin Colour in Porcelain - This lasted forever. It's quite a larger size for a foundation-like product as it's 1.7oz. It is very very sheer coverage, but how I wore it was layered with the Bare Escentuals/ Minerals foundation in Fair to have a nice slightly dewy base in preparation for the powder. It does give a hint of coverage so I didn't have to use nearly as many layers of the BE which cut down a bit of the flaking I get. It's pricey at $42 but a little goes a long way. A plus, it has an SPF of 25. I'm not sure if I would repurchase. I get a comparable result from BB Creams and the Missha ones always go on sale so I get them for a fraction of the price. However, I do have a "back up" if you will, just in another color which I'm slowly working my way through now.
Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Foundation in Fair - If you believe it, this isn't even a full size of this product and I used it nearly everyday for 2 months and then every so often for years before I actually "hit pan". I've mentioned BE a lot on this blog and for good reason. Although it is a powder, if you use the right amount (very little), it looks very natural on the skin and in my opinion is the best powder makeup for those with drier skin types. This is a sample 2g/.06oz size so even at a slightly high $25, it is well worth the money, especially if you layer this with a tinted base as I do. I've started using a new full sized jar and I like the new little sifter that can close except the holes got considerably larger. Dear Leslie, make them smaller again! It is so hard to figure how many "taps" one needs when a big pile of powder comes out.
Jane Iredale Lip Drink Lip balm - I think this may be my new favorite. I love this and already popped open my back up. I usually apply this at night as it's metal and is a softer balm. I can really tell the difference the next morning as my lips are soft and smooth. Love!

Epielle Facial Cleansing Tissues - I don't like these as much as the Cucumber ones. This variety burns my eyes. Thankfully I only had this one pack and can go back to my beloved Cucumber wipes. Can't beat them for $1 at most Big Lots!
CVS Brand Luminous Cleansing Pads - These are the generics of the Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cleansing Pads and I bought it considerably reduced on clearance. I really like these but the packaging is so bulky! The bulky packaging is also one of the reasons why I love them - let me explain. Because this is a screw top plastic tub (unlike the Epielle delivery system), the pads stay moist. They are also able to add more of the solution as it likely won't leak. I guess one can't have the best of both worlds. I also found with these cleansing pads that my skin likes daily exfoliation to a degree. Because I tend to get dry bits throughout the day, if I don't exfoliate, the foundation sticks around even past a regular cleansing so this really cut down on the breakouts I was getting. So I probably would repurchase though not right away as I have a mountain of half finished cleansers cluttering my bathroom.
Sircuit Skin Cosmeceuticals Fixzit - Do I even need to go into detail regarding this product?! I absolutely love it. Everyone should try it. If I could buy everyone that has breakouts it, I would. It is awesome. Check out my review with before and after pictures and you'll see why!

So not a ton of products this month but the two foundations got me a bit giddy (and wordy). What have you finished recently?

CVS Prestige Skincare Sale!

I just wanted to pop on here to tell those of you that live near a CVS that there's a sale on their higher end skincare products (La Roche Posay, Vichy, Lierac, etc.). If you spend $35 worth of what they deem "Healthy Skin" products, you'll get $10 Extrabucks back, in essence giving you a 30% or thereabouts discount. Combine the sale with a dollar off beauty coupon (recently I got $3 off $10 or more) and other Extrabucks, you are looking at a substantial savings for items that rarely go on sale to begin with.

February Empties

I've decided to post an empties post at the end of the month instead of haphazardly. February was honestly a bit of a disappointment, however I do have quite a few products that are almost empty or reaching that stage so hopefully March will be more productive!

Korres Quercetin & Oak Anti-Aging & Antiwrinkle Night Cream (Sephora lab sample) - Sephora occasionally offers not yet released products to their Beauty Insiders, hence the drab label. I wasn't the biggest fan of this night cream. It didn't spread well and left a white cast that took a long time to sink in, but I didn't find it super moisturizing either. I expect heavy rich creams to sink in more slowly than lighter emulsions, but this didn't seem rich. Quite an odd consistency to be quite honest. I wouldn't purchase the full size.
CVS Detoxifying Cleansing Toilettes - The knock offs for the Garnier wipes. I believe I picked these up on sale. I've had these before and I think they are decent enough. I'm currently using the Yes To Cucumbers  ones. So far so good but I'm a little less keen on the smell.
Pangea Organics Pyrenees Lavender with Cardamom Lipcare Stick - This took it's sweet time being used up. I applied this before bed every night for ... awhile. Proper review linked.
Haus of Gloi Eggnoggin Soft Bubbling Scrub - I mentioned in another post that I started liking this a lot more once I stopped expecting it to smell a certain way. I'd repurchase this next holiday season if it's back.

Only 4 items, quite wimpy. Have you finished anything recently?