Memorial Day and Rebates

This past weekend being Memorial Day and all, I thought to myself, what does one do for Memorial Day?  The answer came to me instantly.  Shop!  I know this is probably pretty shocking to you all, but yes, I went shopping this weekend!  One of my last stops of the day happened to be none other than my home away from home, where everybody knows my name (not really but that’s the dream), Ulta!  I know I’ve mentioned my love for that store before, but it has grown so much deeper after my last trip there!

I was getting ready to leave having done pretty well and only purchased two nail polishes when I made one of the greatest discoveries to date!  I was looking for my sister-in-law and found her in the hair care aisle.  (Although, she wasn’t the discovery mentioned, I still think she's pretty great)  As she’s telling me about a product she was looking for I couldn’t help but notice a little glimmer out of the corner of my eye.  That’s when I saw it, one of the most exciting things you can see at a store:  A “Try Me Free” Sticker for a full rebate!!   Win!!

Now if you’ve never done one of these before, you’re really missing out!  Basically you pay for the product then mail in a rebate form and your receipt and within about 6 weeks they’ll mail you a check for the original product price you paid!  They don’t reimburse you for tax, but as far as I’m concerned that is a complete non-issue! 

This rebate was on Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe Texturizing Shampoo.  While this isn’t necessarily a product I was looking for or needing, I just couldn’t pass it up!  This shampoo is normally $5.99 (or $6.62 including tax), but the complete cost to me of trying it would only be $.63!

To make this situation even sweeter, Ulta (a.k.a. the best store ever) was having a buy one get one 50% off sale on certain hair care products, Not Your Mother’s included!  So I decided to pick up the conditioner that goes with it as well.  Any girl will agree that in order to get the full effect of a new shampoo you have to try the conditioner!  Without the discount and rebate my total for these products would have been $13.24.  But the total cost to me after I receive the rebate and factor in the discount is only $3.93! 

I’ve already used these a couple times and I love them!  They make my hair smell like a coconut so that’s an automatic win as far as I'm concerned!  I haven’t quite figured out the “texturizing” effect, but I can report that I had a pretty good hair day after use!  I’m going to try scrunching my hair after using it sometime to see how that works! 

So what’s the moral of the story here?  When you’re shopping, always keep your eyes peeled for stickers on products that are advertising that you can try it free!  Make sure you always read the fine print before you buy so that you understand the conditions.  They usually limit these deals to one per household and there are usually date windows of when you can redeem.   Now go to Ulta right now and get you some!!!

Thanks for reading!!

~Sarah

May 2014 Ipsy Bag

Last Tuesday I got my May 2014 Ipsy bag in the mail.  If you’ve never heard of Ipsy before, check out my first blog post here!  No promises, but it MAY change your life! http://sarahsbeautyonabudget.blogspot.com/2014/04/ive-been-toying-with-idea-of-starting.html   It’s a monthly makeup subscription service for $10/month that I've recently become somewhat obsessed with.

When I know my bag’s been delivered I’m usually so excited that I can’t wait to get home from work and tear into it.  This month however I wasn’t too optimistic about the products I would receive so my bag ended up sitting in the mailbox an extra long time.  Ipsy posts spoilers on their Facebook page the first 5 weekdays of the month with all the products featured in the bag and I couldn't help but notice the obvious lack of makeup products.  (i.e., the main reason I signed up for Ipsy in the first place!)  With the exception of the one makeup item that I did receive, everything else was skincare products which I was obviously less than thrilled about.  However, despite my negativity, I did end up getting some good stuff!  Here's a look at the bag and the products!

Pacifica Eye shadow Duo; Full Size .25 oz $14; Ipsy exclusive sample .07 oz $3.92 - AKA, my only makeup product.  OK, I’ll stop whining now.  I actually really like this eye shadow duo.  The colors are neutral, which is my preference for everyday makeup, and they seem to have really good staying power even without an eye shadow primer on.  They don’t sell the duos on the website but the colors that I got are Celestial and Opal from the Mystical Supernatural palette.  http://www.pacificaperfume.com/beauty/color/eyes/mystical-supernatural-eye-shadow-palette?id=233

Derma e Microdermabrasion Scrub; Full size 2 oz $29.25; Deluxe sample size 1 oz $14.63 – I was a little disappointed to see this in my bag after I received a microdermabrasion scrub in last month’s bag.  It seems to be pretty much the same product (same lemony smell and everything).  It was however a much larger sample than last month’s and I’ll definitely use it up…eventually.  http://dermae.com/product/245/Microdermabrasion-Scrub.html

Hang Ten Classic Sport Natural Sunscreen SPF 50; Full size 6 oz $12.99; Sample size 1 oz $2.17 – Sunscreen is always a necessity and I was definitely pleased with this product.  When I know I’m going to be out in the sun, I like to use a sunscreen on my face instead of just my moisturizer that has SPF in it.  I used this when I went to my brother’s JD/MBA graduation this past weekend since it was outside.  First off, it smells like a coconut which is wonderful in itself, but what I really liked about it is that it wasn’t greasy.  I usually use Coppertone Sport but anytime I use it on my face, I feel like I’ve smeared Crisco all over myself.  And trying to put makeup on top of it is definitely not worth your time!  This product however was not greasy at all and was the perfect primer for my makeup.  I may have found a new favorite sunscreen! https://hangtensunscreen.com/shop/classic-sport-spf-50/

Pur-lisse Pur-moist Hydra Balance Moisturizer; Full Size 1.7 oz $55; Deluxe Sample .5 oz $16.18 – I’ve used this is in the mornings after I wash my face and like it but I don’t think I would buy the full size.  For one it’s pretty expensive at $55, plus I prefer a moisturizer with SPF in it and this one doesn’t have any.  If nothing else, this sample will be good for travel!  http://shop.purlisse.com/products/pur-moist

Hey Honey Take it Off; Full Size 50 ml $35; Deluxe Sample 10 ml $7 – I haven’t actually gotten the chance to try this out yet, but I did smell it and smells wonderful!  http://www.heyhoney.com/take-it-off/

The total value of the items I received this month is $43.90 which is a great deal considering I only paid $10.  While I probably never would have picked out these items myself, I’ll still use them.  It’s always fun to try new things!  I know some of you would probably be thrilled with this bag, but my skin can be a bit finicky and I don’t want a breakout on my hands.  Ain’t nobody got time for that!  Plus I have a makeup hoarding problem that I need to contribute to!  I’m really hoping that next month’s bag will be all makeup products again after this month’s somewhat disappointment.

If you think Ipsy is something you may want to try, you can sign up using my referral link! http://www.ipsy.com/r/6b49

Thanks for reading!!

~Sarah

Glitter Ombre Manicure Tutorial

One of the hardest yet most trivial decisions a girl will have to make is what color to paint her nails.  Each time I paint mine I have to ask myself a million questions.  Should I go classic red or spice things up with some bright pink?  If I paint my nails blue, do I have to wear blue every day this week?    Can I pull off black nail polish?  It’s exhausting.  Then you have to make the tough decision, do I want to add something else or have I already invested way too much time into this?

While most of the time I stick with one basic color (because let’s face it, giving yourself a manicure can be pretty time consuming) sometimes I want to change it up a bit.  One of my favorite nail designs is glitter ombre.  I kept seeing all these pictures on Pinterest of these beautiful glitter tipped nails, but had no idea how they achieved such a look.  After some trial and error, I’ve figured out a method that I think works pretty well and I thought I’d share in case any of you want to try it! 

After starting out with a base coat, do a couple coats of your color.  I decided to use Essie’s Geranium since my cousin’s wedding was on Saturday and I knew the bright orangey-red would pop against the blue dress I was going to wear! 

 After a couple coats of color (with adequate time for drying in between), start on the first coat of glitter.  I used Nicole by O.P.I.’s Kissed at Midnight from the Selena Gomez collection.  I normally do the glitter in three steps/coats.  Make sure your glitter polish has different sizes of glitter in it. 

1)      Starting about midway up your nail, do a thin coat of glitter all the way to the tip.  No need to make sure there is a lot of glitter on this coat.  Just one swoop should be perfect!

   2)      After you let that dry, do another coat but start about halfway between where you started 

    with the first coat of glitter and the tip of your nail.  Paint from there to the tip of your nail and try to get some of the bigger pieces of glitter on your nail this time.  So now you have one coat of glitter on part of your nail and two at the tip. 

   3)      Finish up the glitter with one more coat just on the very tip of your nail.  Make sure you get plenty of glitter on the tip of your nail with this coat!

After the final touch of top coat, you have a beautiful glitter ombre manicure!  I’ve done this using several different combinations of colors/glitter polishes and each time it has turned out beautiful!  Light pink polish with pink and purple glitter is definitely my favorite combination!  If you’re like me and a fan of all things sparkly, I would definitely give this ombre manicure a try!

Thanks for reading!!

~Sarah

OPI Nail Polish Finds

In addition to my love of makeup, I also happen to be a nail polish hoarder.  I think this is very common among us females, or at least that’s what I tell myself.  It’s impossible to look at all the pretty colors when I’m at the store and not covet them all.

On Saturday I had the urge to go shopping.  I have to admit that’s not out of the ordinary for me.  Nevertheless, I realized that it had been weeks since I had been to Ulta.  Pause for the shock factor.  I really blame my sister-in-law, Kylie, for this obsession.  I had never stepped foot in that store before shopping with her.  But she opened my eyes to something beautiful and now it’s one of my favorite places to get my cosmetic fix. 

On this particular trip I knew I didn’t really need anything.  I just wanted to go look around and see if there was anything new.  Then I saw it.  Bottles and bottles of nail polish…on clearance!  Insert Squeal of excitement here!  This was no ordinary nail polish.  No, this was OPI nail polish.  The best of the best.  If you’ve never tried OPI, I highly recommend it.  They have a wide selection of colors and I’ve found that there’s really no beating its staying power.  I’m talking a week with no chips to your manicure!   The only downside to OPI is that a bottle will normally cost about $9.  Now this isn’t that much when you consider how many uses you’ll get out of it, but I’m cheap so I still have a hard time justifying it.   Here’s a look at the colors I got. 

 

All Sparkly and Gold - It’s glittery but dries smooth.  I did two coats on this and it was still a little sheer.  Although, if all you’re going for is a little sparkle, one coat should do it.















Cute Little Vixen - A nice sparkly deep red; a staple in any nail polish collection.  This one will be really nice in the fall/Christmastime.

Hey Baby - Truthfully I was about to buy this and another pink that was almost identical to it, just with a hint of purple.  I talked myself out of the other because they were so similar.  However, I’ve decided that if they still have the other one next time I go back I’m getting it because it must be a sign.  I know.  I’ve got problems.

Love.Angel.Music.Baby. - This is kind of cool because it dries almost with a matte finish even though it’s sparkly.  I have a top coat on in this picture that gives it more of a gloss, but I think I may use it some without.

If I had paid full price for these it would have been $36 plus tax!  But let’s be real, I don’t pay full price for anything!  Since these were all marked down and I had a coupon for $3.50 off a $10 purchase, my total came to $12.19.  OPI nail polish for $3 a bottle?  I call that a win!!

Thanks for reading!!

~Sarah

Tanger Outlet Deals

This past weekend I went with my sister to one of my favorite places; Tanger Outlets in Sevierville, TN. 

Confession time; this was the second time I’ve been there in the past two weeks. However, in my defense, I got a season pass to Dollywood this year so both times I’ve been to the outlets it was after I’d clocked some serious time on the rollercoasters. Wild Eagle anyone??

Outlet malls are one of the best places to shop when you’re trying to find good deals and/or save money. Most everything there is already at a discounted price and a lot of times they’ll have sales on top of that!

For example, one of the awesome deals I got this time was on a pair of jeans from American Eagle. They were marked down to $34.95 which isn't bad for a good pair of jeans. Then I realized that on top of that they were an additional 70% off! So I got them for $10.49!! It can be tricky to find jeans that fit you just right so when you find them, especially for a steal like this, you buy them!

My favorite store at the outlets is Ann Taylor Loft. Both weekends I went they were having a sale where everything in the store was an additional 40% off. Sometimes stores try to trick you and exclude clearance from those sales, but this is why Loft is very near and dear to my heart; they don’t play dirty like that. Between the two times I was there, I got almost $700 worth of clothes and accessories for less than $90! Including several sweaters, cardigans, camisoles, jeans, jewelry, and more!

Here are a few of my favorite pieces that I purchased at Loft!  

The moral of this story; anytime you’re shopping always check out the clearance racks! You never know what kind of amazing deal could be waiting for you!

Thanks for reading!!

~Sarah