Drugstore Deals!

I was recently gifted with a $50 Walgreens gift card, today after work I went and bought some goodies. They had some really good deals this week!



Top row:
Noxema bikini shavers, a 3-pack  with a free 3-pack attached. 2.99!

Sinful Nail Polish in 'This is it' #832 (yellow gold). I'll wear a layer of Rimmel 'Dazzle' #606 (a sort of sheer, cooler toned gold) over it. 1.99!

Cool Water Summer Fizz, 3.4oz EDT. Nice and summery orange-ish fragrance. I don't really like Cool Water for women, but this is nice. $29.99.

Almay Oil-Free eye make up removal pads, about 5.89 each but they were buy one get one free, so I stocked up. About $12 for the four of them.

Middle row:
Rembrandt Toothpaste (wintergreen), on sale for $6, plus a $3 off coupon attached to the package. $3.00!

Neutrogena Age Shield Face Sunblock SPF 70, regularly $10.99 but 25% off this week, plus a $2 off coupon from my Walgreens Beauty Advisor- about $6.25!

Walgreen's brand container of 75 dual-tipped applicators, I MUST have these on hand to fix eye makeup and nail polish mistakes! About $1.30.

Bottom row:
All Almay was BOGO, so I got a Clear Complexion Concealer (which I needed- I can't use my regular under-eye concealer on the occasional breakout or it makes it worse), and Smart Shade Blush in Berry #030. I cracked open the blush, it comes out of the tube as a
sort of specked grey-purple-pink cream, and blends to a light berry stain, very natural-looking.
I tried a second layer for more color, and that looks pretty good, too. About $8.59 for the two.

Two pots of Ice Cream Dreams lip balm, one in Peach, one in Bubblegum. These are little containers of lip balm  shaped like ice cream cartons, I mostly bought them because the packaging is so freaking cute. About $4.00 for the two.

Kiss Nail files, LE ones printed with names of different cities. I got Tokyo, London, and New York.
 They also had Milan, Los Angeles, and Paris. 
These are cute! So much more fun than a regular pink or black file. And they are only .99 each!
About $3 for the three of them.


I went about $25 over my gift card. I didn't need that fragrance, but I wanted something summery. If I skipped that, I would've had a bit left over on the card, but I did pretty good otherwise. Those BOGO deals are great! There are certain beauty supplies I'm willing to spend more on, but certain products that are available at drugstores are not only really good prices- they also are great quality products.
I've been using Neutrogena sunblock for a while now, and it is really gentle on my skin. Aveeno is another good drugstore sunblock, but there is less of a selection.
Almay eye make up removal pads work really well for me, the oil-free ones at least.

Candy Review- Pocky Strawberry, Cute Fabrics and Totes from Japan

I'm not sure if Pocky can rightfully be considered a candy, but I'm going to stick it in that category. In my mind, the cookie sticks only serve as a vehicle for the candy-like outer coating.
I bought these over a month ago at Cost Plus World Market, totally in love with the packaging- they make me think of Strawberry Shortcake in Strawberry Land.


The box came with four packs with six sticks in each one, 
each pack has a cute print of little strawberries and the Glico logo.
When I opened the first pack, the strawberry scent hit me right away. The scent was so strong, I was surprised how mild the strawberry taste was. The ingredients list includes both dried strawberries (you can see the little bits suspended in the cream coating) and artificial strawberry flavor. The taste of the cookie stick actually stood out more than the outer coating.
I was a bit disappointed, but since I bought the box for the excellent packaging, I really can't complain.


I am trying to decide on what I'll order from Shinzi Katoh's website. If I had the money, I would order one of every item, but I can't do that. The tote bags are oh-so-adorable, and there are aluminum bottles to match quite a few of the totes. They also have some vinyl-coated bags, they cost quite a bit more than the totes 
(around $50 compared to about $18 for the totes) but seem like they would be sturdier, and they are a nice, big size. This one with the Elephant/ Oranges is too cute!

 

I use tote bags all the time, since I like to carry my sketchbook with me. Tiny purses just don't do it for me, and I don't want to run into anyone with even a similar bag to what I'm carrying.
Here in Phoenix, it seems like every other girl and woman has a real or fake Coach or Louis Vuitton bag on her arm. It all strikes me as being so unbelievably boring.
Shinzi Katoh has a selection of fabrics, not a lot but the ones they do have are darling.
Another online shop carrying some Shinzi Katoh products, and a much wider range of cute fabric, is Nuno-plus, they have a lot of teeny-tiny adorable prints. The fabric can get expensive, over $20 for a yard, so check Reprodepot first if you are in the USA, they carry quite a few of the same exact fabrics at cheaper prices.

Rescue Beauty Nail Polish

I recently ordered a nail polish from Rescue Beauty Lounge- Recycle, a deep green.

I've been wanting a dark green ever since I wasn't able to get Nars Zulu last winter. I don't usually like paying a lot for a nail polish, MAC is usually a splurge for me at $10 or so.
Recycle ended up costing me about $25 after shipping, but I figured I deserved
a treat since I'd just had my wisdom teeth out, and my face was all swollen, lopsided and painful.
I have to say, I'm very happy with this product- two coats are enough for perfect coverage, and it dries fast to a high shine.
I'm already planning my next purchase- they have a great violet, Purple Haze, that is tempting.


Ah, and MAC's Dress Camp collection is out today.


This is the lipstick, "Too Fab":


Too Barbie-doll pink for me, I can't see putting that on my lips, it would make me look like a preteen. I love the package design with those zebra-stripes, though.

The compact is another story, however:


Bright pink blush usually works really well on my place skin, as long as I don't go crazy with it.
And the shadows look very usable for summer.

The Lipglass lip glosses are nice colors- a gold and what looks like a more silvery pink, but I don't like super-shiny lips, so they wouldn't work for me.

EDIT: Awwwww, same day and EVERYTHING is already sold out? I can't believe it, honestly. I suppose I will keep checking back to see if they miraculously restock- I know that seems unlikely but I've seen it happen at least with the little Fafinette figures, Ermine was marked sold out but then was available again (and now is sold out again, glad I got her when I did!). *prays to the makeup gods*

Lipstick Tube Art

I have a problem buying makeup. I have quite a bit of makeup that I will never, ever, use, because using it would ruin the pretty design. Most recently I bought the new Relvon "A Floral Affair", the color looks like it is perfect for me, but I'll never find out because one
 swipe of a blush brush and the pretty embossed design would be ruined forever.
I have a powder compact from Physcian's Formula that I can never use, because I can't bear to ruin the design with Marilyn Monroe's face on it.
So, I really prefer products with pretty PACKAGING to those where the product itself is decorative.
I'm noticing decorative lipstick tubes everywhere recently, I'm hoping this trend keeps up, because some of these designs make the product into miniature, collectable works of art.

First, from Cargo (off topic, but they make a great blush), we have Planet Love lipstick:

"A lipstick tube made entirely out of corn - a renewable and abundant resource. This environmentally-friendly innovation also emits less greenhouse gases, which many scientists believe to be the major cause of global warming. The outer carton is made of flower paper embedded with real flower seeds. Simply moisten, plant, and wait for a bouquet of wild flowers to grow!"
How awesome is that? I think it is just crazy- almost the equivalent of a lipstick tube you could eat once the lipstick is gone. Except, with pretty design printed on each tube, I'd be saving mine.

Next, from Paul & Joe, check out their 2008 spring collection's packaging:

Such pretty designs, I had a bit of a hard time finding a shop that sells these. 
One online store hqhair.com has their products, including the ones pictures above. 

Besame Cosmetics has their exquisite little gold lipstick cases that could make anyone feel glamorous:




I'm in love with MAC's Fafi line, a lot of the colors are sold out on their site by now, but not HighTop, my new favorite lipstick color.


It looks more orchid-ish in the picture, but on my lips it is a cool gray-purple with aqua-blue shimmer. The art on the tube is great, the Fafinette featured on the package is Eriko, I love her orange hair.
Their Heatherette line has some nice packaging, too. I'm not into Heatherette- a lot of their designs just make me cringe- but I'm glad to see that they're not just using boring black tubes.
I'm very excited about the upcoming MAC LE lines (THANK YOU temptalia.com, such a great resource for sneak-peaks).

The orange tubes of their Neo Sci-Fi collection are making my mouth water....