So I pretty much freaked out, and not over the Sally Hansen polishes that everyone's been raving about, but at the Maybelline polishes! OMG, I freaking love Maybelline polishes (for me, their staying power is almost as good as OPI) and this Dollar Tree had some colors I have NEVER seen before (um...I didn't even know they ever came out with a matte collection! Hello!). Here's what I got:
From left to right: Blue Chill, Khaki Fringe, Matte Sapphire, Bronze Aluminum
You can't really see it in these pics, but I think that Blue Chill is close to my most favorite icey blue violet shade EVER, China Glaze Purple Rain, which is a limited edition and long-ago discontinued shade that I found at a "dusty" beauty supply about a year ago. I will do a comparison of Blue Chill and Purple Rain if anyone wants to see. Just leave a comment and let me know.
I'm not even a matte polish person but I couldn't pass up this purple suede shade. I can't get it to photograph to show the true shade, but trust me that it's a deep purple. Also, you can't really see it but Bronze Aluminum is a dark chocolate-reddish bronze with silver micro-glitter. I really hope it's prettier on than in the bottle.
I also picked up these goodies at Dollar Tree:
I have never tried the Dream Mousse blushes so I hope this one works out. The color is "Whipped Strawberries". I also bought just one of the many, many Sally Hansen polishes they had--this one's called "Money Bags Frost" and it's a mint green shimmer with TONS of silver micro-glitter.
Now, the reason I didn't buy more Sally Hansen polishes is not because they didn't wow me--believe me, they did--but most of the colors really reminded me of shades I already have at home from other manufacturers. There were tons of pretty baby blues, pinks, nudes, khakis, golds and greens and they each had shimmer or micro-glitter. So if you live in San Diego, get over there ASAP before they're all gone!
If any of you would like to see swatches of these shades, so that you can determine if you want to go out and look for them at your local Dollar Tree, just let me know and I'd be happy to post some pics tomorrow.
Before I forget, here are the goodies I bought at Big Lots today (thanks to my awesome reader, dangerkitty, for telling me that Big Lots currently has e.l.f. kits!!):
From left to right: e.l.f. Candy Shop Lip Gloss Trio ($2.50), Calgon Marshmallow Body Lotion ($1.50), e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine Trio ($2.00)
I am a sucker for anything marshmallow-scented, and I remember a few years ago this Calgon scent was all the rage on the bath and body message boards, so for $1.50 I just couldn't resist.
I also snapped some pics of the other e.l.f. kits I spotted at Big Lots:
I have NOT seen these kits at Target, have you? I'm wondering if they're exclusive to Big Lots??
Oh, and I also snapped a pic of one of the many Lotta Luv lip balm sets I saw today. I wanted this one SOOO bad because I'm sucker for any balm that comes in a non-traditional tube. But I resisted because I just didn't want to pay $6 for it (even though that's quite the bargain for 8 lip balms):
I reeeeeeally want to know what the Vanilla Pepsi balm is like--if any of you own it, please let me know!
That's it for my little shopping spree today. For a total of $12, I'd say I didn't do too bad! I'll probably give the e.l.f. products away as Christmas gifts, but as for the nail polish, it's all mine, baby!
What have you been finding lately at your local dollar stores and Big Lots? I'd love to know!
Nice shopping!
ReplyDeleteMy Dollar Tree never has anything good! I might have to check out Big Lots because I love Marshmallow scented things too!
ReplyDeleteexcellent dollar tree score!
ReplyDeleteNice haul!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I have that same mousse blush color, and I love it! I've used it with tinted moisturizer on my "non-makeup" days since the dream mousse line debuted. Last time I hit up my local Dollar Tree, they had a brown shade and a peach shade...
Ooh. I might have to give my local DT another chance...
ReplyDeleteExcellent shopping! I consistently have a problem duping my nail polishes. I like what I like and think I'm an original each and every time. My opinions are not that original compared to my prior opinions. Some might call me a goober.
ReplyDeleteAm proud owner of same Whipped Strawberries whipped mousse - and at great bargain/Cosmetic Market. Had major doubts about it but it has great staying power and, when applied properly, is a great shade. Perhaps the light in my apt & dressing room in the early hours of the morning is not ideal but sometimes I find myself in a public restroom wondering why I resemble a clown and why the apples of my cheeks are approximately 5in in diameter. Am confident it is my lack of perception and not the product itself. and my lack of dexterity (post late night papers?) More coffee, sooner. Hmmm....
Awesome awesome awesome haul!!! My DT doesn't sell much for adults, they always have makeup for children :( I will check em out tomorrow however, thanks for the post!!!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe it that Dollar Tree have those brand. I been seeing so much haul from Dollar Tree, and most of them are makeup from famous drugstore brand. I am just a freak for saving money and Dollar Tree shopper. What I have to tell everyone is try to go to different Dollar Tree stores, there are 4 in the area that I am living in. They are not far apart from each other. I went to 3 store and none of them have any good makeup products. I have to go to the biggest one to be able to find it. However, I been wanting to get the dream mouse eyeshadow from Maybelline (heard that it is a good base for eyes) and nail polishes, but I think they are out. The location of this Dollar Tree is in San Jose, on McKee road. If anyone live near there, go over there and check. They only have L.A colors pallete of six eyeshadows left. There are some Covergirl products, Sally Hansen lip gloss. They do have eyeliners and lip liners but they are in a box, most of them are dirty and broken. Oh also they have this whole line that called Tee Vee brand (not sure of the name), but they sell all of those as seen on TV products. However, they are just a replicate, not real ones that you see they sell in Walgreens. I saw the replicate of BUmpits for hair, 3 sizes with a rattail comb. Then the hair removal pads I saw on TV. Then the bra control plastic thing. I totally was like OH MY God. But then I don't know if the product is totally a fake,so I did not purchase any. Just want to put it out there for those who want to try out. Also Christmas decorations and gift wrap is cheap in DT too.
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot about BigLots...I only been there once. I want to buy ELF there because some seem cheaper than the ones online. Biglots for me is too far so it is a sucky.
ReplyDeletegreat haul- to bad they don't have such stores here where they sell make up for 1€( even if they do, they are cheap-no name Brands and the polishes itself is somehow gross looking...)
ReplyDeleteI'd buy the lip balms- I'm addicted to them- just ordered the skittles collection( a backup) from evil-bay and before I knw that I just won your carmex-giveaway :D I think I'm going to have a life-time supply haha
I picked up 2 of these (May. polish) but the formula seems to be thick & gooey.Is this the way they usually are? Not happy!
ReplyDeleteThose elf kits are always at my burlington coat factory. My Dollar Tree score yesterday was Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine lipgloss for a $1!!!!! I got three. I also saw more Philosophy stuff at Marshalls. My pics will be up next week.
ReplyDeleteNow you're talking, lol. Told ya, when you see the polishes, you wouldn't be able to resist. Lucky you having all the gorgeous colours for like $12.
ReplyDeleteThe mousse blushes have got very good reviews from youtube gurus, so check out the one you got and maybe get some more :-)
If I were there, I'd haul like there is no tomorrow.
Was at the target in Chula Vista yesterday and they do have the e.l.f. kits. Range from $3 to $10-lip encyclopedia was the $10 kit. femme.ray
ReplyDeleteGreat haul! Very nicce saving money but getting awesome stuff at the same time :D Those ELF kits are not exclusive to Big Lots I don't think. I've seen them at Ross before! I think that blush will be good. I hear the Strawberry one doesn't have as much glitter as the others.
ReplyDeleteNice haul!
ReplyDeleteI love DT! I got some Maybelline products: a Whipped Strawberries blush, 2 limited edition Dream Mousse Shimmers (Pure Fleur and Ethereal Ivory), a Moisture Extreme lipstick in a mystery shade (label was missing), and a nail polish in Red Comet (which reminds me a lot of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Red Carpet). I was hoping to find Touch of Taupe n/p or some unique colors, but only the reds and baby pink polishes were left. I also found one Sally Hansen Natural Butter Lip Shine gloss left in the color Nectar, which I snapped up.
I own a lot of the Dream Mousse blushes and Whipped Strawberries is probably my favorite now because it's such a pretty color and has no shimmer (unlike the others). The Maybelline polish was quite goopy, but nothing some nail polish thinner couldn't fix. And I absolutely love the Butter Lip Shine...so shiny/glossy.
Other stuff I saw but didn't get were some Maybelline Dream Mousse e/s, Sally Hansen n/p, Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine for lips, Maybelline shadow sticks and eyeliners, and a bunch of Revlon/Vital Radiance liquid foundation and concealers.
Ohh, man, I am so jealous! But still insanely happy for you! I wanted some of those Maybelline's soooo bad. I've still been on the hunt for them, but no dice yet. I lucked out with lots of SHs, though, I suppose I should be content with those...NAH! :-P
ReplyDeletePhyrra: Thanks honey! xoxo
ReplyDeleteTrisha: Try another DT in your city--everyone seems to be having luck when they visit multiple DTs because the inventory varies from store to store. :)
Tabula Rasa (love your screen name!)--thank you! :)
MermaidBird: Thanks so much for the tip. My DT had those other shades too but I was afraid they've be either too light or too brown, so I went with the pink. Now I'm glad I did! :)
Beck: Definitely. And try other DTs in your city...since the inventory seems to vary from store to store, even within the same city, you never know what you might find! :)
J-ezzy: Like I just mentioned to other commentors, try to visit some other DTs in your area. You never know what you might find! :)
ngocupham: Thanks for all the great info about the products you've spotted! And thank you VERY much for letting me know about the Dream Mousse eyeshadows. I had no idea people were using those as a base! My DT had some, so I think I might have to go back and pick one up and see how it works as an eyeshadow primer. Great call! xo
amusedPolish: Hey, a girl can never have too much lip balm, right? lol!! xo
Michelle: Definitely not--Maybelline polishes, when brand new, are not thick and goopy, but I have purchased a few that were. It's definitely something that can be fixed with a drop or two of nail polish thinner though, so no worries! You can get thinner at Sally Beauty for under $5 and it's definitely a good investment because you can thin out any older polishes you have and they're good as new! :)
HSP: I *never* see e.l.f. stuff at Burlington! It's always a bunch of stuff from brands I've never heard of. But thanks for the tip--I'm so jealous of your Burlington! :)
Halifax: I totally thought of you yesterday when I was buying those polishes! lol!! Thanks for the the tip about the Dream Mousse. I can't wait to try it today and if it's as good as everyone says, I'm running back to get more. xo
Anon: Thanks for the info. I know that Target has tons of kits (did you see my post about e.l.f. at Target from a few months ago?) but I never saw the exact kits that I mentioned in this post. Interesting! :)
ndoodles: Thank you! My Ross SUCKS, so that's probably why I've never seen them there. I am so excited to try that blush now! Thank you, honey. :)
Mimsy: Thank you so much for the run-down of what you've found at your DTs! I think I'm going to do another post to list all of the products people have found across the US and I'll def mention those. Thanks so much for the info about the Dream Mousse. So good to know there's no shimmer in it. I cannot wait to try it! And I love those SH lip butters too. They're amazing! :)
femputer: See what you started? LOL!! I am seriously thinking I should go back and get more SH polishes, but I am trying so hard to limit my purchases to unique colors that I don't have already. Gah! It's difficult! :) xoxo
SuZJ! OMG, I was planning to write you a separate response and then I got distracted and just now realized I never came back to post it! I hope you don't think I was ignoring your comment! Here's my response:
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate to both things you mentioned. I re-purchase the same colors of EVERYTHING, convinced that they're totally original each time. :)
Regarding the Dream Mousse, I used it a few hours ago for the first time and I TOTALLY understand what you're talking about! I applied it in not-so-great lighting, and I fell in love with the shade so much that I couldn't resist the urge to keep layering more and more of it on. Only to be shocked at how I looked in full sunlight. YIKES! Good thing I was able to tone it down before anyone saw me. :) So yeah, it's GREAT, but I have to learn restraint.
Make that a zillion and one products we agree on. :)
I'm just dropping by to read these comments... but Tabula Rasa, you've got a kickass screen name.
ReplyDeleteIs there something else to it or are you really a Blank Slate?
Yum! Marshmallow! I've NEVER seen that one :( I'm koo-koo for it too ;)
ReplyDeletexo
Shela--I totally agree. I hope she sees this and responds. :)
ReplyDeleteAmber: Oh I am SO shocked that we have this in common. LOL!! This scent is also available at most Rite Aids--you have got to give it a sniff (they have it in body mist form as well)! :) xoxo
i love a good bargain too, recessionista, it is just sad to me that the bargain stores do not carry more environmentally and animal friendly products.
ReplyDeletei have been doing some research on it and this is what I have found:
of the body soaps that are sold, every single one of them has upsetting ratings with regard to the chemicals found in their ingredients. Even more disturbing is that some of these items contain tallow, which is the fat scraped from the hyde of an animal.
Needless to say, since learning these facts (check www.cosmeticsdatabase.com), the only time I ever save a few dollars these days, I gain a few nightmares instead.
happy holidays.
Hi Jessica: I hate to break it to you, but A LOT of soaps you find at any store (grocery store, drugstore, Target, dollar stores) contains sodium tallowate (animal tallow). That's why it's super important, if this is a concern to you, to always check the ingredients. This is also why I was VERY excited to write this review:
ReplyDeletehttp://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2009/12/yardley-of-london-goes-natural-but.html
Yardley of London (found at most dollar stores) now has an all-natural line of AMAZING soaps that are free from harsh chemicals and tallow. They are AWESOME and just $2.50 per bar (one bar lasts a loooong time, believe me). Hope that helps! If you need more ideas for low-cost bath and body products, just do a search for SLS free or paraben free on my blog. I've reviewed TONS of products that are free from those chemicals and won't break the bank. :)