A Target girl goes to Walmart...

I've never tried to hide the fact that, if faced with the choice, I will shop at Target any day over Walmart. For many reasons, I just prefer Target over Walmart, and I very rarely visit my local Walmart (which would explain why I rarely mention Walmart on Nouveau Cheap--sorry to you Walmart fans!).

But after hearing so many of you talk about All You Magazine (which can only be purchased at Walmart, to my knowledge, but I could very well be wrong!), I braved the crowds and visited my local Walmart the other day to get a copy (the last time I had been there was last year when Walmart started selling Hard Candy cosmetics).

Since shopping at Walmart is a rarity for me, I decided to make this trip worth my while and do a full investigation of their beauty section.

First, I FINALLY found the elusive Dove Pomegranate & Lemon Verbena body mist I have been scouring my local drugstores for (click here to see how crazy I am about this body wash).

Dove Go Fresh Body Mist in Pomegranate & Lemon Verbena (retail: $3.47 at Walmart--currently on Roll Back)

While not an exact duplication of the scent of the body wash, this mist was still lovely enough for me to buy without hesitation. This scent is tart, sweet, refreshing and I swear I would drink it if I could. If you are a tart fruit scent lover, you need to sniff this one ASAP. I haven't stopped wearing it since I bought it.

Next, I also spotted these new Dial hand soaps (I am such a sucker for new hand soap scents, and I'm also a sucker for interesting bottle shapes, so I had to get these):

Dial Vanilla Creme & Soy Extract Hand Soap and Dial Cherry Blossom & Almond Hand Soap (retail: $1.47 each at Walmart)

What really drew me to these new scents is that fact that neither one smelled like I expected it to smell. When I see the words "vanilla creme" and "hand soap" I usually can predict that it will smell very synthetic and not at all like vanilla. I was wrong about this one, because to me, it smells like almond cream (maybe this has to do with the fact that it contains almond oil and actually no vanilla fragrance, which is kind of funny). It's a nice, creamy almond scent to my nose, and not obnoxious at all.

And when I saw that Dial was bringing cherry blossom and almond together in one scent, I knew I had to get it (who doesn't love the smell of the original formula Jergen's lotion?). But I was quickly surprised to discover that this scent is not a dupe of Jergen's, but actually a very soft, milky scent that I found surprisingly unique. Definitely give these two a sniff when you spot them!

Next, I remembered one of my lovely Twitter followers had told me a while back that Pure Ice released a new collection of nail colors. Sadly, the new collection at my Walmart was almost completely wiped out, but I did manage to snag this new shade, which immediately caught my eye:

Pure Ice Nail Color in Once Again (retail: $2 at Walmart)

Holographic micro-glitter floating in a swimming pool-blue base? I am ALL over it. I'll definitely swatch this one so please check back--and please don't spoil it for me in the comments and tell me this color is awful! I haven't seen any reviews or swatches yet and I want to be surprised when I try it. :)

So after putting the above products in my shopping basket, I made my way to the checkout lines and stumbled across a big display with little "First Look" tester bottles of the new Pantene collection (click here for the details of Pantene's makeover, in case you missed it). I couldn't resist these little "Try Me" packages for $1.97, so this one went into my basket:

What do you think of Pantene's new, more colorful packaging? And did you see the "Coming Soon" blurb above? They're going to be releasing a whole slew of new styling products as well as these new shampoos and conditioners soon. If you're interested in knowing what I think of these sample bottles when I try them, let me know and I'd be happy to review them.

And last but not least, I finally got my copy of All You Magazine. Yay!!

If you are not familiar with All You, it's a monthly magazine that is filled to the BRIM (I mean just about every other page) with fantastic coupons that are NOT exclusive to Walmart. Yes, there are a few Walmart-exclusive coupons here, but 95% can be used anywhere. And these coupons are GOOD, folks. Most are for $2, and there are BOGOFREE coupons as well. Oh, and thanks to the lovely Cheapalicious for pointing out that in this very issue, there is a coupon for $5 off a $10 purchase of NYC Cosmetics! My head is spinning when I think of the ways you can maximize your savings with just that coupon alone!

Aside from amazing coupons, each issue is filled with other money-saving tips and tricks, lifestyle advice, and sooo much more. I read mine cover-to-cover the other night and I am very excited to try some of these tips, such as how to maximize your savings at your local dollar store (love that!).

Like the cover says, this magazine pays for itself and then some (each copy is just $2.24). But if you don't want to buy the actual magazine, definitely check out the website. There are great printable coupons there (including lots of beauty products) and most are for either $1 or $2 off.

That's it for my Walmart report. I think I'm set for the next six months or so until I hear about something else that becomes irrisitable and I find myself in a Walmart store once again!