Instant Maybelline $2 off coupon and weekly drugstore sale info!

Amber at BeautyJunkiesUnite always has my back, I tell ya! She just informed me that there is an instant, printable coupon on the Maybelline site for $2 off any Maybelline Eye Studio product!  Click here to grab it, but hurry because the coupon expires March 31st! (BTW, if you'd like to see my reviews of some of the Eye Studio products, click here for the Color Pearls baked eyeshadow singles and here for the Color Plush Quad and Gel Eyeliner.  And of course Amber's got some great things to say about the baked eyeshadows and new mascara as well, which you can check out here.)

And while I'm at it, I'd like to mention this week's extra special drugstore sales (it's pretty slim this week as there are no "40% off" sales on any cosmetics lines and only a few BOGOFREEs, but there are still a few great deals I want to mention):

All Maybelline Cosmetics - BOGO1/2OFF (now's a good time to use that coupon!)

L'Oreal foundations, concealers, powders, blushes, mascaras and lip colors - $3 off

As Seen On TV "Strap Perfect" (which converts your bra into a racer back) - BOGOFREE

Revlon (Walgreens Web Exclusive) - $3 off eye and lip products plus free shipping ($3 off per item, not per order!)

Renpure Shampoos and Conditioners (new natural, SLS-free line): BOGOFREE

All Almay Cosmetics - BOGOFREE

Always pads and pantyliners - $2.99 (limit 5)

Nivea Lip Care - free ($2.99 with $2.99 Extra Bucks)

Dial and Tone Body Washes - $2.88 (have you been wanting to try my 2009 Cheapie Award-winner, Tone Blueberry Antioxidant Body Wash? It's super yummy, so now's your chance!)

Johnson's Baby products (lotions, washes, shampoos, powders and oils) - $2.99

All CoverGirl Cosmetics - BOGOFREE

All Almay Cosmetics - BOGOFREE plus a $5 single check rebate when you buy 2 items

Rite Aid brand Nail Polish Removers (jars and bottles) - BOGOFREE

All Curel and Jergens Lotions - 3/$15 + $5 single check rebate = 3/$10

As always, I want to remind you that these are not the only sales going on at the drugstores this week--there are plenty of other deals (lots of BOGO1/2OFFs, etc.) to be had, but since you can find that info on a ton of other websites, I try to mention what I think are the exceptional deals of the week.  For a full listing of every sale at every drugstore, see my sidebar on the left-hand side of this page!

Happy shopping, and if you know of any great drugstore deals that are not in this week's fliers, please leave a comment here and share them with us! You all mentioned some great deals last week and it helped out so much, so hopefully you'll do it again! :)

More info about One Bath and Body products (Lush-alikes at Target)

[UPDATE: Please click here to read my interview with the President of One!]

I had no idea after I made my original post about this new line of natural, Lush-like bath and body products at Target (click here for the pics) that you all would be just as excited as I am about them! Yay!

So I'm happy to tell you that I have some new info about this line, all thanks to YOU, my wonderful readers!

First off, in case you didn't see my last post, an anon commenter recently alerted me to the fact that One has a website: OneBathandBody.com.

Second, several readers have reported that One also makes BATH BOMBS and BUBBLE BARS, and that they smell amazing! My Target didn't have either of these products in their display, so hopefully they'll be putting them out soon. If you're lucky enough to live near a Target that has them, please leave a comment here if you get one and use it. I'd love to know what you think!

The lovely Jean over at War Paint just posted a great review of One's Hair Biscuit Sold Shampoo, Hair Boost Solid Conditioner and Nighty Night After Shower Skin Conditioner, so definitely click here to read her views if you want the scoop on these new products.

UPDATE: Jean just told me that if you go to the One website and take their survey, they'll send you a FREE lip balm! Yes!! "Mom's Cherry Pie" lip balm will be mine!

And as always, if you have tried anything by One at Target, please leave a comment and let us know what you think!

The complete Maybelline LE Sweet Thing Collection (ALL displays and ALL products--I think!)

I think I have finally encountered ALL of the new Maybelline Limited Edition Sweet Thing displays and I am going to condense every single display and product I've spotted into this one, neat and tidy post! Hopefully this will help some of you to know exactly what's out there and what you should be looking out for! So let's get started (sorry, but this post is VERY pic heavy!).

First I'm going to show you the original display (nail polishes) that I first spotted a few weeks ago at my local Walgreens:

Here are the two shades I purchased, Pie in the Sky (left) and Goody Gum Drop (right):

Swatches:

Yesterday I spotted the other two Sweet Thing displays at my local CVS, so I believe that there are three displays total. Here they are:

NOTE: If you find this display, grab those coupons at the bottom of the display because they are for $1 off ANY Maybelline product and they don't expire until August (the other display I'm about to show also has coupons but they are for $1 off JUST eye products, so you definitely want to grab the coupons above for future use!).

As you can see, this display included two limited edition nail colors that are NOT in the other Sweet Thing nail color display. Big thanks to Cynthia over at A Blonde Obssesion for pointing out that these shades look like dupes of MAC Peppermint Patti and Seasonal Peach (and keep reading because, as Cynthia brought to my attention, these are not the only MAC dupes in the Sweet Thing collection!).

As you can see, there are also three limited edition blushes in this collection, as well as four limited edition eyeshadow duos.

And also, probably one of the most exciting things about this collection, for me, is the new limited edition Color Sensational lip glosses! I am a HUGE fan of these glosses (I've reviewed two of them here on this blog already) so I was SUPER excited to see new LE shades!

Moving on to the third and final display (I think!):

Maybelline Eye Express Cream Shadow Sticks (in other words, MAC Shadestick dupes!)

I didn't memorize the actual names of these shades but the colors are silver, mauve, mint green, peach, buttery yellow and lilac. I assume that there's also a light blue in the bunch, which is missing in this display.

So, obviously I made some purchases from both of these displays, so let me show you what I got (with swatches of each product--I told you this post was going to be long!):

Clockwise from the top: Express Finish Nail Color in Minty, Color Sensational Lipgloss in Triple Yum, Eye Express Cream Shadow Stick in A la Mauve, and Expert Wear Blush in Pinch of Peach and Express Finish Nail Color in Sweetie Pie.

Left: Sweetie Pie, Right: Minty

Swatches:

I applied these late last night without a base or top coat and they're still holding strong today (looooove this formula and also the brush!). In both swatches I had to apply three coats to completely eliminate the streaks, but these colors are so pretty I think it was totally worth it. Also, I adjusted the tint and hue in these pics to most accurately represent the real life shades. I think they're as close as I could come to making them look exactly as they appear on my nails in real life!

Eye Express Cream Shadow Stick in A la Mauve

Limited Edition Color Sensational Lipgloss in Triple Yum

Limited Edition Expert Wear Blush in Pinch of Peach

Let me back up and talk a bit about these new Cream Shadow Sticks. I swatched both A la Mauve (which isn't even close to mauve, but whatever) and Triple Yum (the lipgloss on my hand):

As you can see A la Mauve is more of a medium pinky bronze (gorgeous)! I did the smudge test with my finger and it wouldn't move, and then I tried using a dry paper towel and went over and over it and it would not budge! I'm not sure how it will work with my oily lids, which are a whole different story, but so far the staying power is incredible and I think this might make a great base for powder shadows as well.

As for Triple Yum, as you can see it's a pretty, sheer, slightly sparkly peach. It smells like fruit punch (like all other Color Sensational glosses) and I'm really excited to see what it looks like on my lips (I hope you can see the peach tint to it!). I'll keep you posted if you're curious.

And now a few words about the blush. I know I'm not the only one who has bee desperately looking for a TRUE peach drugstore blush (most blushes lately call themselves peach but actually have a lot of pink in them), so as you can see, Pinch of Peach is a TRUE peach. Yay! And it's a matte (no shimmer at all) which is also refreshing to see at the drugstore these days.

Another great thing about this blush is the brush! I tried it out and it's actually quite soft and seems to be of very good quality. Total shocker! But as for the blush itself, I'm not sure but it looks awful sheer so far. I tried swiping it on my arm and I just could not get it to show up in a photo--here is my best attempt:

You can kind of see it on the left side of the pic, but it is REALLY sheer and subtle, at least on my arm. We'll see how it goes when I actually apply it with my usual blush brush to my cheeks. I'll keep you posted...

Whew! I hope you enjoyed my Limited Edition Sweet Thing post, and I hope that I've provided you with all the info you need to be able to out to your local drugstores and start hunting the pretty colors down!

Do you already own anything from the Sweet Thing collection? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Review: Kings & Queens Sugar Shower Gel from Target

I mentioned in my recent "Spotted at Target" post that Kings & Queens bath and body products are now at Target and, I for one, could not be happier! If you've never heard of Kings & Queens, they're a Greek company (all products are made in Greece) and they've got some pretty amazing products that smell delicious, contain lots of good-for-your-skin ingredients, and they come in packaging that is so pretty it'll make your head spin. So to have some of their products available at Target is just too good to be true if you're a bath and body junkie like me! [Update: The lovely Bren over at SoMuchPretty just confirmed that Kings & Queens is made by the always-amazing Korres. I had a suspicion that this was the case, so thanks, Bren, for the info!]

When I saw the Target display, I was immediately drawn to the Queen Elizabeth Sugar Shower Gel (the other scents available are Honey, Jasmine and Lemon Flower, which all smell divine, btw). But the Queen Elizabeth Sugar Shower Gel pulled me in because, well, look at this gorgeous bottle!

Kings & Queens Queen Elizabeth Sugar Shower Gel (retail: $7.99, 10.14 oz)

And look at the little story on the back:

I want to be perfectly clear that the adorable packaging is not the only thing that has me currently obsessed with this shower gel. The smell, ladies, is one of the most amazing fragrances to have ever graced my nose. I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say this. To me, it's the most beautiful blend of sugar and pomegranate and it's got this deep, rich, almost red-wine note to it that sets it far apart from a lot of other sweet, headache-inducing fragrances out there today. It doesn't smell synthetic AT ALL, and to me it smells like fresh pomegranates covered in delicate sugar crystals and sprinkled with just a tiny bit of sweet red wine. That's my best attempt at describing it, and all I can say is that if you're a pomegranate fan, a sugar fan, or just a fan of sweet and tart fragrances, you MUST at the very least give this a whiff the next time you're at Target.

I very, very rarely purchase beauty products at full price, but the moment I sniffed this it went straight into my shopping cart and I have had zero regrets about this purchase because, not only does it smell insanely gorgeous, the shower gel itself is amazing too. A few little squirts onto your bath pouf and you're instantly surrounded with a thick, rich lather that lasts so long and cleanses so well--I literally do not want to get out of my shower when I use this.

I'm going to go out on a limb and make a bet right now that Queen Elizabeth Sugar Shower Gel will end up being my #1 pick for Best Cheapie Shower Gel in my Cheapie Awards list that I'll announce at the end of this year. I can't imagine that another shower gel is going to be released this year that will knock my socks off quite like this.

Here's a peek at the ingredients:

As you can see, it does contain SLS, but I'm happy to report that this shower gel did not dry out my skin at all. In fact, it leaves it feeling very soft and refreshed.

So, there you have it! My newest obsession in the world of bath and body! Have you tried anything by Kings & Queens? Are you tempted to pick up something the next time you're at Target? As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Odds 'n' Ends for Friday

1) Thanks to a thoughtful anon commenter who gave me the URL for One (the company that has the Lush-like products now at Target, which I showed you a few days ago).  Click here to visit their site!

2) With all the new products I showed you at Target recently, I completely forgot to tell you that I finally used the Target Mobile Coupons which I talked about a while back (click here for the details).  These coupons were AWESOME (one of them in particular, for a $1 off Kraft shredded cheese, was great because the Kraft cheese at Target is already super cheap at $1.49 a bag, so I ended up getting it for 49 cents!).  Anyway, I wanted to let you know what happened when I checked out.  As it states when you get the text message from Target, you simply access the URL (on your phone's browser, which means you have to have a smartphone) and there will be a barcode that appears.  You just show the cashier the barcode on your phone, and they scan it just like a regular coupon! The cashier at my Target was excited to do it and told me I was the first person to actually use one in her line. It scanned successfully on her first attempt and it was super easy and quick! If you're a Target shopper and you have a smartphone, definitely sign up for this service because the coupons they send are fantastic!

3) One of my lovely readers, Vicky, just emailed me to inform me that the much-anticipated e.l.f. display is now up at her Target in the Brooklyn, NY area! So keep the faith, girls! We should all be seeing the new e.l.f. display popping up at our local Targets very, very soon.

4) Huge thanks to the beautiful Amber at BeautyJunkiesUnite for alerting me to the fact that Queen Helene is now on twitter (click here for their twitter page). And thanks again to Amber for letting me know that Queen Helene has been tweeting this $1 off coupon to their followers: http://bit.ly/7oF4m4. Yay!! If you have had your eye on the new QH Naturals line (click here for my review) this would be a great time to use this coupon!

That's it for now...I'll be back in a few with my Kings & Queens review (which I am SO excited to share with you!).

My Zoya Haul!

Since I now have my snazzy little DIY light box to play around with, I thought I'd take some pics of some of the Zoya polishes I purchased during that sale that I mentioned a while back (which I hope you took advantage as well! If you did, leave a comment and tell me what shades you got!).

I can't show you all the colors I purchased because some of them are going to a relative as a present and I don't want to spoil the surprise, but here are the colors I purchased for moi!

Roxy

Yasmeen

Miley

Happi

Here are some closer looks at different angles:

(sorry this one's so blurry but it was extremely difficult to capture the complexity that is Yasmeen...the best photo also happened to be the most blurry.)

There are swatches all over the net of these shades, but if there is anything in particular that you'd like me swatch, just leave a comment and I'd be happy to do so!

Do you own any of these shades? I have to say I think I'm loving Yasmeen the most right now...

Review: Prestige My Longest Lashes Mascara

Before I start my review, I want to give a HUGE shout-out to the amazing Lindsay over at ShrimpSaladCircus for her recent tutorial on how to make your own light box (click here to see it)! I picked up some foam board at Target recently and, just as she said, it took me about 10 minutes to make, and today I am debuting my first product shots taken with my amazing new DIY light box! This entire project cost me less than 10 bucks, so thanks, Lindsay! And for those of you not already in love with ShrimpSaladCircus, go there asap. You'll become addicted, I promise.

OK, so after I posted pics of the brand new Prestige products that I received recently for review (click here if you missed them), I asked you what you'd like to see reviewed first, and the overwhelming response was "the mascaras!". So I decided to start with this one, which I tested for six days straight:

Prestige My Longest Lashes Mascara in Black (retail: $7.50)

Notice the little duo-chrome effect at the top of the tube? I have to say the packaging for this mascara is quite cute!

The rubber brush is similar to other lengthening mascaras such as Cover Girl Lash Blast Length however, for me, that's where the similarities end.

Here are some "before" pics of my sad, sad lashes without any mascara whatsoever:

As you can see, I desperately need length, volume and curl.

Here are my lashes after ONE coat of My Longest Lashes:

Um, all I can say is WOW! My Longest Lashes is what I wanted mascaras such as Cover Girl Lash Blast Length and Maybelline Lash Stiletto to be! I had the HARDEST time just getting those mascaras to go on my lashes. I swiped and swiped and, for both Lash Blast Length and Lash Stiletto, I couldn't really see the mascara on my lashes. I found those formulas to be very dry and I couldn't build for length or volume no matter how hard I tried.

The TOTAL opposite with My Longest Lashes. It went on super easily, and I could see it lifting and separating my lashes as I applied it. Also, the size of the brush makes it IDEAL for applying to your lower lashes, especially if you apply mascara to your lower lashes the way I do (by holding the brush in a vertical position). I haven't had one accident with getting mascara on my skin, even when applying this in a hurry.

So let's see what this looks like after TWO coats:

Um...WOW! I seriously am amazed at not only the length, but the volume that this mascara gives my lashes! I have mentioned before that I prefer a little "clumpage" to my mascara, because if I wear a mascara that only lengthens and defines--and doesn't give a lot of volume--my lashes still tend to get lost and look washed out. I need something bold on my lashes or else you just can't see them. So to have a mascara that not only does an incredibly job at lengthening, lifting and separating but adds volume too? This is the best of all worlds for me!

I'd also like to mention that My Biggest Lashes didn't flake, run or smear for me at all. I've been wearing this from sunrise to sunset every day and I haven't had one problem or issue with it. It also removes easily with my regular facial cleanser (L'Oreal Go 360 Clean for Sensitive Skin) and I don't require eye makeup remover. Yay!

I just simply cannot think of one bad thing to say about this one, ladies. For my particular lashes, My Longest Lashes meets all of my requirements, and then some!

Also, I'd like to add that one of my holy grail mascaras of all time is Prestige My Biggest Lashes. So if you like that mascara as well, I would like to tell you how My Longest Lashes compares specifically to My Biggest Lashes. For me, they are pretty even on the volumizing properties, but obviously the brushes are worlds apart. Also, I think that My Longest Lashes added a LOT more length to my lashes than My Biggest Lashes does, however I still adore My Biggest Lashes (although I'm finding myself reaching for My Longest Lashes over My Biggest Lashes recently, and I think maybe that has to do with the fact that, with the narrow brush, I can apply it quicker with less risk of getting mascara on my lids).

And one more thing: if you were a fan of Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara or Max Factor Volume Couture mascara (I was a HUGE and long-time fan of both), I think you should definitely check out either My Biggest Lashes or My Longest Lashes because, to me, these mascaras are the best replacement for the MF mascaras that I've found to date. The formulas are quite similar (not too dry, not too wet) and the staying power is just as good, if not better for me and my oily skin. Plus, as you can see in these pics, they deliver on the volume just like the MF mascaras!

So, do you already own My Longest Lashes? Are you curious about trying it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.