Thursday, January 29, 2015

Dunkin Donuts Deal!!!

I'm a coffee fiend, so this deal actually has me as excited - or more so, maybe - than my usual beauty/ lifestyle deals. Dunkin Donuts is offering a $5 bonus card with any Dunkin Donuts Perks sign-up, as long as you buy a gift card to initiate it. Gift cards can be purchased in amounts as low as $2, which is exactly what I bought. All you need to do is add the promo code: "Bonus" - it's that easy!

But that's not actually even all. If you jump on this offer and rush out to Dunkin Donuts by Sunday, any purchase with your card earns you a free beverage of *any* size - coffee, tea, coolattas, lattes, or hot chocolate.

AND signing up gets you a free beverage coupon immediately!

All in all, I paid $2 and received a $7 gift card and two coupons for free beverages. I'm drinking my extra large coffee as I type, and I couldn't be happier.


DGet a $5 DD Card when you enroll in DD Perks on the app
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Elizabeth Arden Intervene Peel and Reveal Revitalizing Treatment mask review

Driving home today, I started to notice some fine lines beginning to appear on my eye area. Being female and about to hit my thirties, I had your normal everyday reaction - it freaked me out. When I got home the first thing that I did was pull out my anti aging cleanser. Okay, done. Next step was to find an anti-aging mask in my massive Beauty Collection.

What I stumbled upon was an Elizabeth Arden peel and reveal treatment. I'll be honest - when I typically use masks, they are for blemishes. I do moisturize my skin quite a bit, but at my age, I really haven't started worrying about deeper treatments.

So let's get into the bargain backstory. I have a huge collection of beauty products and makeup because - as you might guess - I cannot resist a good sale. I picked up this mask because I am a huge fan of peel masks.  I usually use a Boscia black mask for clogged pores, and I'm honestly not even sure I realized that this was an anti-aging mask when I purchased it. TJ Maxx is one of my favorite places to pick up discounted beauty items, and this mask is no exception. It typically runs for about $36, and I paid $10 on clearance. Here is what Elizabeth Arden has to say about it:

Exfoliates effectively yet gently with alpha hydroxy acids boosted by a natural sugar extract.

Lifts away dullness, dry flakes and surface signs of stress with beta hydroxy acids.

Promotes new texture and tone as pores look diminished and fine lines seem to fade away.

Contains vitamin-rich cabernet grapeseed extract.

Fast-drying formula.

Peels off to reveal skin that is soft and smooth, visibly firm and revitalised with a healthy-looking glow.

But will it live up to their hype? Part of being thrifty is not only finding deals but also buying things that you will use and enjoy.

My first impression is that the mask has a bit of a strong smell. It dries relatively quickly, within about 20 minutes.

And... it's off.

It peels off very very gently. I wouldn't worry about getting this in my hair or eyebrows at all. Its not going to pull them out. My skin does look refreshed - a little glowy. I'm happy with the results. My skin is still young on most my face, so it's hard to say if this will diminish fine lines - but my pores do look smaller. Not bad!!

Friday, January 23, 2015

Friday Quickies but Goodies

Here are a couple fantastic options I've taken advantage of recently -

Naturebox.com is offering a trial subscription for $1.97. You will receive one full size bag of a snack, and 4 samples. This will be a recurring subscription at $19.99 a month, but you can cancel at any time.

naturebox.com

SpaceNK was some awesome Jin Soon polishes on sale for $4, which is one of my personal favorite five-free nail polish companies. I'm obsessed with them - long lasting and super beautiful colors. And they're usually $18, so $4 is a steal! There's also other clearance that may intrigue you!

 Use code Ship30 for free shipping on that purchase, and pick 3 samples out - their beauty products are super high end and so I'm feeling very excited for my three samples!!

http://us.spacenk.com/sale/

Neiman Marcus has an AWESOME sample with any beauty purchase. Code: nmgift gets you a La Prairie Cellular Swiss Ice Crystal Dry Oil deluxe sample (worth $50+!). It's with any purchase and  shipping is free. My choice was a Clinique Toner ($13.50) that I actually needed, and any Clinique purchase came with a free 10 day serum sample. Awesome!!

http://www.neimanmarcus.com/

What deals have you seen around this week? Those were my three purchases (a whopping $23.50, LOL), and I'm thrilled!

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Allure Sample Society Beauty Box January 2015

It's early January, which means that it's about the time that new monthly sample boxes come in!! I came home today to one sitting on my doorstep - Allure's sample society box. This is my favorite affordable box, at $15 a month.
 
 
The first thing you will see in the box is always a magazine that shows the items that were chosen for the month including reasons why they were chosen by the allure beauty editors. These magazines are always very nicely done, and I really enjoy reading them. I'm very impressed with Allure's curation.
 
 
Here's the reveal of the box itself!!
 
 
The first item in the box that I'm going to review is a Mini Erno Laszlo mud cleansing soap. The first thing you will notice about this soap is that it is very very tiny. It is also very very pricey though, at $45 for 5 ounces. I can't imagine the soap is larger than an ounce, but that makes it at least a $10 sample.
 
 
But how does it work? I put this item to the test immediately, and used it in my shower once I got home. I normally have very dry skin, but I actually woke up yesterday with a couple of mini blackheads around my lip. I tried out the soap which is supposed to have charcoal and mud for cleansing. It is normally good for oily skin, but I found that it was not trying at all. I was pleasantly surprised. I did not leave the soap on for long, but Allure says that you can leave it on for 3 minutes as a mask. what I did notice is that it pulled several impurities out of my skin which is what I look for in a good charcoal mask. I think that I will really like this cleanser for days when I have breakouts.
 
The second item in this box is one that I was actually very excited for, and despite its small size. This item is the Philip B lightweight deep conditioning cream rinse. This sample is half an ounce, and it will get me about 3 rinses. I'm usually and heavy conditioner girl because I have dry hair but I gave us a shot. I am astonished and how well it works. Honestly my hair looks better then it has in a long time, and I've been trying everything to get my hair healthy. I have fine hair which is the target audience for this conditioner. I'm very impressed. the conditioner is $26 for 6 ounces, so this sample is worth about $2.10. Its also half the price of my usual Kerastase.
 
 
The third item in my box was a Strivectin intensive illuminating serum. This was the mystery item that was not in the magazine. it is a .25 ounce sample, and although I don't really like pushup containers because they are difficult to get product out, I do like the sample. wow, is this product price T. It is $89 for 1.7 ounces, making this a $13.10 sample. I will look forward to seeing the benefits over the next few weeks. It is lightweight and does seem a bit Illuminating, so we will see if it stands to the Strivectin name.
 
 
The fourth sample in this box was the brand new philosophy renewed hope in a jar. this moisturizer is just like hope in a jar, but it adds acids like a peel that are supposed to rejuvenate your skin. This product is usually $47 for 2 ounces, and the sample is. 25 ounces. This makes the sample worth approximately $6.00.
 
I think that the philosophy moisturiser will be an outstanding daytime moisturizer. It is very light weight on my skin, although it really does moisturize pretty well. Today was a mask day for me so my skin was feeling a little parched after a charcoal mask, charcoal cleanser, and the serum. After the Philosophy moisturizer I do not feel dry at all. we'll see over the next couple weeks if my skin looks like its glowing from regular usage, but I do have a nice dewy complexion right now. I really like it when my skin care lets me pull off a no makeup look.
 
 
The fifth item in the box is not a sample at all - it's a full size product. This item is the Revlon Photoready Eye art lid plus lash Plus line. This is a two-in-one eyeshadow and glitter liner. The color that I received is called cobalt crystal, and it is a light blue with dark blue glitter. I usually stay away from blue eyeshadow after seeing The Drew Carey Show, but this color is actually very pretty. A little goes a long way with the blue eyeshadow as it actually has a very matte finish. The sparkle are sheer, which is great because I'm not a 12 year old girl. Although this probably won't be an everyday look for me, it is very fun to play with and I do like full size products. It can be purchased for $8.99.
 
The final item that I received is actually the reason I was so excited for this box. It was the very first spoiler released, and it's a brand new shade of Zoya polish. Zoya came out with six new shades of very updated looking pastels for winter. The shade that I received is Rayne, and it is a shimmery metallic light blue. This is actually the color I like most so I am very excited to try it. I've only painted one now so far as I was very excited to get to this review, but the color is absolutely amazing. It does go on a bit sheer at first, but it can be built to a very opaque light blue. Is alea nail polishes are 5 free which is something that I do look for. I think I'll be getting a lot of wears out of this one. These nail polishes typically go for at 9 or 10 dollars, with the glittery ones being $10. I'm very excited about the inclusion of this one.

Overall I'm very very happy with my allure beauty box. The total value is about 50 dollars and 20 cents, which is great for the 15 dollars I paid. I am very happy with this box! Allure continues to impress me not only with the value of its boxes but with how well the boxes seem curated to exactly what my needs are month to month. I am a happy subscriber.