Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure GIVEAWAY!

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENTER. THANKS, R.]

I was at my lucky Rite Aid yesterday and I happened to stumble across a fully-stocked display of the much-coveted new Sally Hansen nail polishes, complete with two bottles of everyone's favorite pearlized flakie dream color, Hidden Treasure.

Since I was already feeling so much love for you, my wonderful readers, thanks to your support and well-wishes after this news, I thought, "I'm buying both of these bottles and I'm going to give them away!" As much as I'd love to keep these for myself (you know I love this hard-to-find polish and I am certainly not alone), I really, really want to make your day and personally send you a bottle so that you can experience the magic of this wonderful shade for yourself.

Two lucky winners will each receive one (1) bottle of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, but I need to warn you: if you do not follow the rules of this giveaway, you will be disqualified. Please pay close attention to the following rules! I've done lots and lots of giveaways on this blog and I can't count how many times I've had to disqualify people for not following the rules. It breaks my heart every single time, because I really want you to have a shot to win, so PLEASE play by these rules. Thank you!

1) This giveaway is open to residents of the continental US only (sorry, I'm paying for shipping and I can't afford to ship outside the continental US), 18 and over, void where prohibited.

2) Since this is a reader-appreciation giveaway, you MUST be a follower of this blog to enter. If I cannot click on your screen name to verify that you are following my blog (in other words, if your profile is set to private and I cannot check your list of blogs you follow) you will be disqualified.

3) To enter, you must leave a comment on this post and give me the name of one product you would like me to review in the future (but check first, please, to see if I have already reviewed it before you leave your comment).

4) You must leave your email address in your comment. Sorry, no exceptions. Feel free to type it out like this if you prefer: nouveaucheap (at) gmail (dot) com

5) I am not responsible for lost/stolen/damaged packages, but I will track each package.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

1) If you are a follower of my blog, you may gain one (1) additional entry if you follow me on Twitter (the link to my Twitter page is on the menu bar at the very top of this page), but you have to leave a comment here and let me know that you are following me and you MUST include your Twitter name in your comment to verify this. Note: if you leave a comment that just says, "I'm following you." and you do NOT leave your Twitter name in the comment, your entry will not be counted.

2) If you are a follower of this blog AND you follow me on Twitter, you may gain one (1) additional entry by tweeting about this giveaway with the following tweet:

Enter to win a bottle of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure Nail Polish from @NouveauCheap: http://bit.ly/bTps0L

You must leave a comment on this post and let me know that you have tweeted this message.

3) Each contestant will have a maximum of THREE entries in this giveaway. After you have left your three comments, that's it! If you leave more than three comments total on this post, you will be disqualified. If you make a mistake and leave more than three, just go back and delete your extra comment, no worries. We all make mistakes and I will not disqualify you if you goofed and then corrected your error. :)

Just to make things perfectly clear, let's recap:

First entry: Confirm that you're a follower of this blog, tell me the name of one product you'd like me to review in the future, and leave your email address in your comment.

Second entry: Tell me that you're following me on Twitter by confirming your Twitter name.

Third entry: Tweet the following message and then come back and leave a comment confirming that you tweeted this message:

Enter to win a bottle of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure Nail Polish from @NouveauCheap: http://bit.ly/bTps0L

This contest begins now, Saturday, May 8th and ends Wednesday, May 12th at 11:59PM Pacific. I will notify both winners on Thursday, May 13th and each winner will have 24 hours to respond. If a winner does not respond to my email within 24 hours, that winner will forfeit his/her prize and another winner will be selected and notified on Friday, May 14th.

NOTE: Please check your email on Thursday May 13th for an email from me, and check your spam folder as well. Also, I will announce the winners right here on my blog on Thursday as well, so if for any reason you do not receive my email, but you are one of the winners, you can leave a comment on the announcement post (within 24 hours of the time stamp of the post) to let me know you did not receive my email.

Best of luck to all of you, and I can't wait to see who wins! :)

I'm Wet n Wild's Featured Blogger of the Month!

If you could see me right now, you'd laugh. I'm literally trying to stop myself from jumping up and down as I write this! As you all probably know by now, I am a HUGE, longtime fan of Wet n Wild Cosmetics. I fell in love with their red lipstick back in the mid-80s and it's been one big lovefest ever since. I literally can't count how many WnW products I've owned over the years, and we're talking way before (decades before) I even thought about starting my blog.

It was a dream-come-true to have the opportunity to work with Wet n Wild after starting this blog, and I really couldn't believe how wonderful they were during their big 2010 makeover, sending me products to review and appreciating my feedback. But now? I don't even know what to say. Yours truly is the "Featured Blogger of the Month" for the month of May! In case you don't receive their newsletter, here's the snippet about Nouveau Cheap:

I'm freaking out!! All I can say is, THANK YOU, Wet n Wild, for featuring me in your newsletter, for being such a great brand to work with, and for creating cosmetics that have been awesome and affordable throughout the 80s, 90s, 00s and now the 10s. It's been a great ride and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us in the future!

Oh! I almost forgot! If you'd like to read the full review featured above, click here.

Disclaimer: I did not compensate Wet n Wild to be featured in their monthly newsletter, nor has Wet n Wild compensated me for writing reviews of Wet n Wild products on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com. I have been given samples of Wet n Wild products for evaluation prior to writing my reviews, but all reviews are the honest, unbiased opinion of NouveauCheap.blogspot.com.

Target haul, coupon FAQs and a great deal at Albertsons

I'm a Chatty Cathy today, but it's just because I've got so much information I want to share with you about how to save some money on beauty products this week (and in the weeks to come). So please take a moment to read through this if you can--I hope it helps some of you!

In my frenzy to show you the deals I scored at Rite Aid this week, I completely forgot to mention my Target shopping trip! I won't get into the details of what I purchased (paper towels, band-aids, laundry detergent, stuff like that) but I DO want to mention a few things to help you maximize YOUR savings the next time you shop at Target.

I purchased $54 worth of products at my local Target yesterday and only paid $35.16. How? By combining Target coupons with manufacturer's coupons (and of course purchasing products that are on sale doesn't hurt either)! The Target coupon booklet that was sent in the mail last week was FULL of items that I already had coupons for (clipped from the Sunday paper) so it only took a minute to pair the coupons up for extra savings. And I got an even better price on the products that just happened to be on sale this week.

For those of you who are skittish about trying to "stack" coupons, let me reassure you that this is completely legitimate and most stores (Rite Aid, CVS, Target, etc.) will let you do this. Still not convinced? You can find confirmation of this directly on Target's website. From Target.com:

Reminder: We accept one manufacturer coupon and one Target coupon for the same item unless either coupon prohibits it.

So if you experience any issues when making a purchase (this has happened to me before), I've found that some cashiers are not aware of this policy. So when it doubt, ask to speak to a manager because chances are, Target WILL accept both their own coupon + a manufacturer's coupon (unless there is fine print somewhere on the coupons that prohibits this). There is absolutely no harm in trying, and if it doesn't work, just kindly let your cashier know that you no longer want to purchase the item. Don't ever feel like you're locked in to making a purchase just because it's already been scanned. It's your money, and you have the right to cancel the transaction if you're not getting the savings that you had planned on getting. :)

Another thing I want to mention is that, if you see a coupon in the paper, etc. for something that you already love or use on a regular basis, clip it, no matter how small the savings. Before I became a coupon-clipping maniac, I remember seeing a coupon for $0.25 or $0.50 off and thinking, "Meh. Why bother? I only want the coupons that are for $1 off or more". But as I illustrated in my last post, sometimes you can stack these smaller coupons and sometimes you can use them on a product that's already on sale that week, and BINGO, you're looking at saving a lot of money (or possibly getting the item for free).

Also, be sure to READ your coupons carefully. For instance, in last week's paper, there was a $0.75 off coupon good for any Dial Body Wash or multi-pack bar soap. At first I thought, "OK, I'll clip and it maybe a good sale will come around. On its own, this isn't too great of a deal." But then I re-read the coupon and discovered that the fine print ALSO said that this coupon was good toward Dial HAND SOAP. Now we're talkin'! Dial has released hand soaps in the same fragrances as their new NutriSkin Body Wash line, and they're fantastic. Also, the regular retail price of these hand soaps is just $1.25 at Target. So using my coupon, I was able to snag this hand soap for just 50 CENTS!

I've just got to share my best deal from my trip to Target this week with you, because I know a lot of you will be able to appreciate this. lol! I wanted to get Mr. R some new inserts for his work boots. Target is currently having a sale on Dr. Scholls inserts and the price for the men's inserts is $8.59. That is a heck of a deal, considering that the exact same inserts retail for $14.95 at my local Albertsons. But I also clipped a coupon from last week's paper for $2 off one pair of Dr. Scholls inserts, bringing my cost down to just $6.59. Compared to $14.95, I am just so proud of this deal! :)

Moving on to Alberstons! I always, always scan the haircare, body care, facial care, deodorant, lip balm and makeup sections at my local grocery stores, because you NEVER know what kind of crazy deals you might find. Depending on the particular store, a lot of products tend to go on clearance rather regularly. The reason you can find such great clearance prices at your local grocery store probably has a lot do with the fact that grocery stores have VERY limited space on their shelves. If products are simply not selling, they need to get rid of them ASAP to make room for products that WILL sell. Or, maybe a brand is undergoing a makeover, in which case the store needs to get the old product off the shelves ASAP in order to bring the new products in. So their loss can be our gain, and I've found probably my best deals to date on beauty products at my local Albertsons, Vons, Ralphs, etc. You never know what you might find, so don't overlook these sections the next time you're at the grocery store.

For example, it's no surprise that everyone and their mother has Pantene products on clearance right now. We all know that Pantene has undergone a major makeover, so retailers need to get the old stuff off their shelves ASAP. In addition to finding the old Pantene products at places like Big Lots, definitely check your drugstores (Rite Aid currently has all the old Pantene products on clearance for 50% off) and DEFINITELY check your grocery stores because you might find something like this:

Now, I don't know if Albertsons will let you use the Pantene coupons that were in last week's paper ($1 off 2 products) but if so, you're looking at two full size bottles of Pantene haircare for just $3. Let me know if you've tried using Pantene coupons with clearance items. I'd love to know if it worked for you!

Thanks for reading!

Some weekend in$piration for you!

OK, I know the title of this post is cheesy, but I couldn't think of a better way to get across to you that YOU can score deals like this too. All it takes is a little bit of planning (watch those weekly sales), a little bit of printing (coupons), a little bit of clipping (more coupons) and you can get so many of your beauty and household products for free (or very close to it).

Let's take a look at my most recent Rite Aid purchase:

Total retail value of this purchase: $74.62

There's no way in heck I would pay the full retail price, so let's see what I did, starting clockwise from the left:

Sonicare Replacement Heads:
Retail: $34.99
On sale this week at Rite Aid for 20% off: $27.99
P&G coupon from last Sunday's paper: $5 off
My total cost: $22.99

Dawn Detergent:
Retail: $1.59
On sale this week at Rite Aid: $0.99
Sunday paper coupon: $0.25 off
My total cost: $0.75

Nivea Body Wash (x2):
Retail: $5.99 each
On sale this week at Rite Aid for $3.99 each
Red Plum coupon: $4 off (I had two of these coupons--thanks, Mom!)
My total cost: FREE (x2)

BIC Soleil Twilight Razors:
Retail: $6.49
Rite Aid Single Check Rebate: $2
Sunday paper coupon: $3 off
My total cost: $1.49

Carefree Pantyliners:
Retail: $1.59
On sale this week at Rite Aid for $0.99
Sunday paper coupon: $1 off
My total cost: FREE

Cover Girl Liquiline Blast Eyeliners (x2)
Retail: $8.99 each
On sale this week at Rite Aid BOGOFREE
P&G coupon from Sunday paper: $2.50 off when you purchase two CG products
My total cost for two: $6.49

Subtotal: $31.72

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! There is a Rite Aid Video Values coupon that you can print for $5 off a $25 purchase just by watching a short video (click here for details). After this coupon, my total was brought down to:

GRAND TOTAL: $26.72

I got 8 items for LESS than the regular retail price of the Sonicare Replacement Heads ALONE! And you can totally do this too!

If you have any questions about anything I've mentioned here, please just leave a comment and I'll try my best to help you. I want every single one of you reading this to get deals like this whenever you hit up your local drugstores, Target, etc. so if you have any additional tips or info, as always, leave a comment and share your wisdom with us!

Oh, and I'll be testing these new Cover Girl liners over the weekend, so please check back for my review next week!

Happy bargain shopping!

A great way to save $$$ on Cover Girl this week!

Attention all Cover Girl fans! In case you weren't aware, CVS is running a BOGO1/2OFF sale on CG products this week. Also, there are $3 off a $15 Cover Girl purchase coupons that are printing out at the CVS slot machine this week as well. On top of that, you might have spotted some $2.50/2 Cover Girl coupons in the paper recently. If you combine all three of these components, you've got quite a deal on your hands!

Let's break this down, shall we?

Let's say you buy two $10 items. With the sale price, that brings it down from $20 to $15. Add the slot machine coupon and you're down to $12. Add the Sunday paper coupon and that brings your grand total down from $20 to just $9.50, for two products!

I've noticed that some of you have been confused about when you can stack coupons at the drugstore (myself included!), so I just want to clarify that you can ALWAYS stack coupons if one is from the manufacturer and the other is from the store. In other words, whenever you get a coupon from the CVS slot machine (or at the bottom of your receipt) you can ALWAYS use it in combination with a coupon you get from your Sunday paper, Red Plum, or print out online (from a coupon site or from the manufacturer's website).

I hope this helps!

Revlon Limited Edition Daydreamer Collection (and a CVS question)

I know this collection has been out for a while now, but I finally found a fully-stocked display so I thought I'd share a few pics with you, in case any of you have yet to see the full selection of shades that are available (don't you hate it when you walk into your local drugstore and see a new display but there are only one or two shades left?).

 Revlon Limited Edition Daydreamer Collection

In this collection there are five shades of lipgloss:

Four shades of nail polish (a few of these shades look very similar to this collection, don't they?):

And one eyeshadow quad:

I purchased one of the nail colors last night (Gray Suede) because I had a $2 Revlon coupon (which I think I got from the Sunday paper a while back) which brought the price down from $4.99 to $2.99. I will swatch it soon if you'd like to see it. 

Which brings me to my question!  If you aren't already aware, CVS is running a sale this week where if you purchase $10 worth of Revlon products, you will receive 3 Extra Bucks.  I obviously didn't hit the $10 mark with my purchase last night, but I noticed that, on the bottom of my receipt, it printed this message:

Is this a new feature??  I was always under the impression that, in order to get your Extra Bucks, you had to make the purchase in ONE transaction. I had no idea that you could spread it out over multiple transactions! If this is how it's always been, I am kicking myself for not knowing about it.  Can any of you shed some light on this?  Thanks!

Topshop's makeup line: will you try it?

I am in no way a fashionista, but I have a basic understanding of Topshop. If you haven't heard of Topshop before, it's a very popular UK clothing company that has, to my knowledge, just one retail location in the states (in NYC). And much like other clothing and apparel retailers of late (Forever21, Payless Shoe Source, Aldo, American Apparel, just to name a few), Topshop has entered the cosmetics biz and released some collections full of pretty things for us to consider.

While some of their makeup is priced like higher-end brands ($16 for an eyeshadow trio), there are some reasonably priced items that just might be worth our while.

In their Core Collection, they have some very pretty shades of cream-to-powder blush ($12). It appears that they're also going to be releasing some nail colors (if you look at the photo on the Core Collection homepage you can see them) but they're not yet available on the site. I did, however, spot these polishes ($10) but there are just a few shades available.

Also in the Core Collection, there are these adorable little Lip Polishes ($12).

(photo: topshop.com)

In the SS10 Trend Collection, there are Amazon Metallic Kohl Eyeliner Pencils ($10) which look to be Urban Decay 24/7 dupes.

(photo: topshop.com)

If you're planning on ordering some makeup from Topshop.com, don't forget to check retailmenot.com for current coupon codes before you place your order. It appears that Topshop often has free shipping promotions, which sure beats their normal shipping fees ($15 flat rate).

So what do you think? Is there anything here you're considering? Do you already own some Topshop makeup? I'm hoping some of my lovely UK readers will chime in here since you all have such better access to these goodies. I'd love to hear from some of you who have seen these products in person!

Huge 50% off sale on...a brand I've never used before!

It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that Lisa from Drugstore Divas and I sometimes email each other about sales we've spotted and new deals we want to let each other know about. This collaboration is *always* with the end goal of sharing the good news with you, our lovely readers. Over the past several weeks we've worked together to bring you reviews (my blog) and corresponding ways to get the product on sale and/or use a coupon (her blog) so that you can get that product for next to nothing if you'd like to own it.

But once in a while, one of us spots something that NEITHER of us knows anything about. This was the case when Lisa spotted this 50% off sale on all 24.7 Minerals products at her local CVS. I have since visited two CVS locations in my area, and both of my stores also had this line on clearance for 50% off. The sad thing is, neither of us has ever used anything from this brand. And I actually can't recall ever reading a review about any of their products.

So of course we both want to share this info with you and give you the heads-up, but we haven't the foggiest idea what to suggest if you want to make a purchase. All I know is that 50% off is fantastic, and it just might go down to 75% off in the days to come (which is exactly what happened when a lot of CVS locations here in San Diego got rid of Boots products. They started at 50% off, then went down to 75% before the products disappeared completely).

So if you're a 24.7 Minerals fan, please leave a comment and let us know what you like from this line. And also, be sure to stock up at your local CVS!

Review: Cover Girl Oil Control Clean Pressed Powder

So I had a P&G (Proctor & Gamble, the company that owns Cover Girl) coupon for BOGOFREE any Cover Girl Face product. I got this from the Sunday paper several weeks ago, but thanks to Lisa at Drugstore Divas, I knew that I had to hold on to it and wait patiently for a BOGOFREE sale at one of the drugstores. Thankfully, this week Rite Aid is running a BOGOFREE on all Cover Girl products, so I was able to snag this powder (and another product that I'll be giving to my mom) for free after sales tax. If you want more details about how to use BOGOFREE coupons during a BOGOFREE sale, click here. Lisa does a great job of breaking it all down for us, in terms that even I can understand. Remember: treat all BOGO coupons like gold and clip them the minute you see them. If you can pair them with a BOGO sale, you're looking at free products after sales tax!

So let's talk about this powder, shall we?

Cover Girl Oil Control Clean Pressed Powder in Buff Beige (retail: around $6.99)

The first thing I noticed about Cover Girl Oil Control Pressed Powder is the new, sleeker packaging. Such a HUGE improvement over the old brown compacts. This is a compact that I would not be embarrassed to pull out and use in public. Nice going, Cover Girl!

While the Cover Girl site states that the only thing that's changed about these products is the packaging, I beg to differ. I very much remember the strong, signature "fragrance" of Cover Girl powders, and I have to tell you that the fragrance of this powder is SO much softer. It still smells like "Cover Girl" but it's not going to knock your socks off like the old compacts. In fact, I hardly smell it at all when I use it. So that's another huge improvement.

One more improvement in the new packaging is the closure. I guess Cover Girl listened to consumers complain about how the latch on the old compacts was very weak and caused compacts to open up inside our purses, gym bags, backpacks, etc. I remember that this was a huge pet peeve of mine in high school back in the 80s, and I can only imagine that it has frustrated thousands of other girls and women over the years as well. So thanks, Cover Girl, for finally fixing this problem. And not only did they fix, they REALLY fixed it. In fact, if you try to open this new compact the wrong way, you'll never get it open. The trick is that you have to turn the compact sideways when you open it. If you try to open it while the compact is horizontal in your hands, it might never open. So remember: turn it vertically when you open it, place one thumb on one side, the other thumb on the other side, and you're good to go.

Once you open this compact, you'll find that nothing much has changed in terms of how things look. the powder looks the same (Buff Beige, pictured above, is a decent match for my MAC NC20 skin) and the powder puff looks the same as well. Using this powder puff brought back a lot of memories! It's still exactly as I remember it: it's stiff at first, but it softens up with use after you "break it in". It's funny how right as you get it to the perfect consistency, you've hit the pan and it's time to buy another one. Well, at least that's how it always seemed to work for me.

Even though Cover Girl says they did not change the actual formula, I feel like this powder is a little bit better than I remember it. It wasn't as chalky as I remember it from back in the day, and it did a decent job of keeping my oily skin at bay for a few hours (even longer if I used foundation primer that day). The powder itself is not very pigmented, so think of this as more of a blotting powder. I wouldn't recommend it for use in place of foundation because it just doesn't have enough pigment to make your skintone appear more even. Its main purpose is really to reduce shine.

If your skin is oily and you need a light powder that's good to whip out for touch-ups, I might consider giving the newly repackaged Cover Girl Oil Control Clean Pressed Powder a whirl. It's not life-changing, but it's certainly better than I remember it, and that's really saying something. Usually when I revisit a product from my youth, my memories of it are SO much better than the actual product. So I was very pleased to see that this product surpassed my memories for a change!

Do you use any Cover Girl Clean products? What do you think of the new packaging? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The Wednesday Question

This week's question is for all of my fellow dark-circle gals out there.  If you've got dark circles under your eyes, please please leave your response in the comments. I would LOVE to hear from you!

What's your favorite product for concealing dark circles?

I'm testing a few different under-eye concealers right now for review (I can't wait to share them with you) but for several months now I have been addicted to Maybelline SuperStay concealer. It is thick enough to conceal darkness and it doesn't budge all day. Also, I find that it doesn't settle into my fine lines, which is one of my priorities for a good under-eye concealer.  So what about you? What product do you depend on to help conceal your dark circles?

Quick eye look using Palladio "The Blues" Baked Eyeshadow Trio

When I reviewed the new shades of Palladio Baked Eyeshadow Trios a few days ago (click here if you missed it) I described how I like to use the trio "The Blues". Now I'd like to show you the look!

As many of you already know, I pretty much tend to go for subtle eye looks in my normal day to day activities. I envy those of you who can really work color into your looks, but for me, I just can't seem to pull it off. So this is my version of a "pop of color", incorporating blue into an otherwise earthtone look.

I used the darker shade of blue on my lid, and then the bronzy-brown shade in my crease. To smooth things out, I just blended the lighter shade of blue all over, from lashline to brow. Since the lightest blue in this trio is less pigmented than the other colors, it's super easy to use it as a blending shade just to give this look an overall softness.

Other products used:

Brows: Maybelline Define-A-Brow in Dark Blonde (Let me give several of you a HUGE thanks for this recommendation! Several weeks ago in my Wednesday Question, I asked you what you use on your brows. Many of you mentioned this pencil, so I finally purchased one and I LOVE it. The tip is so fine, and it never needs sharpening. It's awesome and I highly recommend it, so thanks again to all of you who suggested it!)

Shadow: Palladio "The Blues" Baked Eyeshadow Trio

Liner: Bobbi Brown Creamy Eye Pencil in Midnight (reviewed here for WeHeartThis)

Lashes: Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara in Blackest Black (This is one of those mascaras that no one ever seems to talk about, but I simply love. It's got a teeny tiny brush, which makes it perfect for really getting into your lashes and coating each hair. If you've got barely-there lashes like me, and you're in desperate need of volume, you might want to try this one the next time you see a good BOGO sale. It never flakes or smears for me and I find myself reaching for it more and more these days, especially when I'm in a hurry.)

I hope I inspired some of you other "colorphobes" to try using a little bit of color in your daily routine. Even if earthtones are your go-to color palette (I'm right there with ya!), you can apply color with a light hand and bring some extra fun into your look!

Disclaimer: All of the above products were purchased with my own funds, with the exception of the Palladio Baked Eyeshadow Trio (given to me by the manufacturer for review) and the Bobbi Brown Creamy Eye Pencil (given to me by WeHeartThis.com for review on their website).

BIC Soleil Contest (this is SO cute!)

I don't mention big manufacturer contests a lot here on Nouveau Cheap, but only because it seems like there are tons of other places where you can find that type of information. But every once in a while one comes around that captures my attention, and this one from BIC Soleil is just too darned cute to pass up.

When you visit the main page of the contest (click the image above), you will be instantly greeted by cute little clickable wind chimes (be sure to turn up your speakers because they actually sound like real wind chimes). There are tons of ways to win instantly, and I love how each of the instant prizes come in pairs (one for you, one for a girlfriend). Some of the instant prizes include two bottles of Essie nail polish, two sets of BIC permanent markers, two bags of Jelly Belly jelly beans, etc. All fun, cute stuff!

Of course there are bigger prizes as well, such as laptops, iPods, digital cameras, cars and trips. And the best part is that you can accumulate entries, or Sunz, as they call them, and YOU decide which prizes you want to apply your Sunz toward. For example, let's say you earn 100 Sunz today. You can put 50 toward a new car, and 50 toward a laptop. It's totally up to you. I love that you don't get stuck possibly entering for things you might not want--you have the power to choose exactly what you'd like to win.

Here are the official details:

To celebrate summer and sun and of course the new BIC Soleil Bella razors, BIC is giving away thousands of SUNSATIONAL prizes all summer long including a girlfriend getaway, dell laptops, and the grand prize 2011 Mazda MX Miata 2-seater.

To play, all you have to do is visit www.100daysofsunshine.com and register! Once registered you can:

• Find out if you’re an instant winner
• Choose which grand prize you want to win
• Complete tasks to earn Sunz (each Sunz = 1 entry)
• Sit back and wait for your day to get a little sunnier
  

The sweepstakes goes through August 8, 2010 and there are tons of great prizes but the best part is they all come in pairs! That means each winner can make someone else’s day a little brighter by sharing with a friend.


Good luck! :)

Disclaimer: NouveauCheap does not receive any compensation whatsoever for posts of this nature. If there is a ever a time in the future when compensation is given, it will be clearly stated within the post itself as well as with an additional disclaimer at the end of the post.

Free Nivea and Dial body washes this week!

A huge thanks to my lovely reader LaVogue for emailing me a few days ago to let me know about the $4 off coupon for Nivea body wash in this week's Red Plum insert. As if that wasn't good enough, LaVogue also alerted me to the fact that, this week, Rite Aid has Nivea body washes on sale for just $3.99. So yep, it's free! You know how much I love that Nivea Lime Blossom body wash (click here for my review) and they have lots of other yummy fragrances too, so now's your chance to try them. Also, if you don't have a Rite Aid in your town, not to worry, because several of my readers have been making good use of this coupon at other drugstores and scoring bottles for just 50 cents or $1.

And a huge thanks to the fabulous Drugstore Divas for once again cluing me in to another great deal on Dial body washes at CVS (click here to see how much I love these). Apparently the CVS slot machine is printing out $2 off 2 bar soap/body wash coupons this week, but you'll have to click on over to Drugstore Divas to see how this translates into FREE product (those gal are geniuses, I tell you!). And the best part? You might just be able to take advantage of this deal over and over and over again.

Happy freebies!

PS I just have to add one more deal to this post because I know a lot of you use J&J Head-2-Toe body wash to clean your makeup brushes and/or as a facial cleanser. Click over to Drugstore Divas and find out how you can score a bottle for just 99-cents this week at Rite Aid. This deal is so good, it's hard to pass up!

Finally in my possession: Borghese Menta & Pistacchio Nail Lacquers

If you saw this post from last month, you know I've been wanting these bad boys for quite a while now. The Borghese limited edition Tutti Gelati collection has so many cute shades, but these two grab my attention every single time I walk past them. Since Rite Aid is currently running a BOGO1/2OFF on all nail polish this week, and I also had a $3 off Borghese coupon burning a hole in my pocket, it was FINALLY time to pick these up and experience them for myself. Borghese polishes retail for $8 each, but with the BOGO1/2OFF, that brought my total down to $12 (for two) and then with the coupon my total was $9. Not bad!

First let's look at Pistacchio:

This was super streaky on the first coat, and the pic above is actually after three coats. It definitely required three coats for total opacity. After I put it on, I immediately thought, "This REALLY reminds me of Sinful Colors San Francisco." San Francisco is one of my all-time favorite shimmery Christmas-greens, so here's a pic from my review of Sinful Colors San Francisco from last year:

As you can see, Borghese Pistacchio has more of a "minty" feel to it, while San Francisco has more yellow in it, making it a true Christmasy shade. But honestly, if you already have one of these shades, I can't say you need the other. They're pretty darn similar and only a true green polish fanatic might want to own both (guilty!).

Next up, Menta:

I wore this polish in my "How do I store my coupons" post from yesterday and I had two people ask me what color I was wearing. I guess you're liking it as much as I am! Yay! But let me tell you, this gorgeous, teal shimmer is not without its faults. I understood going into it that this was probably going to be on the sheer side, which is fine. But I didn't expect it to take five coats, and even then be pretty sheer. So yes, the above pics were taken after FIVE coats (pretty much a first for me as I have no patience when it comes to multiple coats of the same color). And guess what? It chipped after a day and a half. Bah!

Menta is a totally high-maintenance shade, however I still love it. Why? Because it reminds me of those colored plastic wraps they came out with a few years ago. Seriously, Menta looks like teal-colored plastic wrap on your nails when you see it in person, and it's totally eye-catching in a shimmery-mermaid-in-the-sea kind of way.

Since this chipped so quickly, I naturally had to play around with it and decided add a nice layer of...any guesses? Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, of course!

In this pic, you can kind of see how Menta has a transparent quality to it. Hidden Treasure and all its beautiful flakes add an extra dimension of sparkle. Super fun.

I love how Menta brings out the pink and yellow in Hidden Treasure. It basically makes Menta feel like little speckled Easter eggs on your nails. :)

So, do you have any shades from the Borghese Tutti Gelati Collection? What do you think of them? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

New Cover Girl Eyeliners (possible UD dupes!)

I don't have much info about these because I haven't seen them in person, but one of my awesome Twitter followers, @PSmap85, tweeted me a pic of this display today, taken at her local Walgreens. HUGE thanks for this pic, @PSmap85! Check it out:

New Cover Girl Liquiline Blast Eyeliners

She told me that, in person, they look like Urban Decay 24/7 liner dupes, and from looking at this display, I have to agree with her! If these are UD dupes, that also means they might be a lot like Prestige Total Intensity liners, as well as Milani Liquif'eye liners (click here to see my post where I compare the UD liner to the Prestige and Milani versions).

I'm SUPER curious to see how this new Cover Girl interpretation will stand up to the other drugstore versions (L'Oreal HiP makes a version as well). And of course I can't wait to see how it compares to the one that started it all: Urban Decay 24/7.

Have you seen this display yet at your local drugstores? And if so, have you used one? I'd love to hear from you if you have! Also, check out the colors in this pic--lots of pretty, bright shades for summertime. Are you excited about these new CG goodies?

How do I store my coupons?

You'd think that someone who calls herself "Recessionista" would have a pretty fancy way of keeping coupons organized, right? Well you are so wrong! I have dreamed about owning one of those fancy accordion-style contraptions that has multiple sections for each coupon category (food, cosmetics, etc) but the truth is, I'm pretty low-tech when it comes to how I keep my coupons.

A while back, I found a really cute little makeup bag at my local Japanese dollar store. I initially purchased it to hold my feminine products (it's the perfect size for those types of things) because, well, I'll come clean and tell you I'm really lame when it comes to keeping feminine products in my purse. I can't count how many tampons I've wasted because I was in a hurry, threw a few in my purse, only to dig them out a few months later with wrappers tattered or totally destroyed. So anyway, I bought this bag thinking I was going to use it to keep my feminine products nice and pristine, however the bag had other ideas and eventually became my coupon holder:

If you've never been to a Japanese dollar store, a lot of the items have cute sayings printed on them. Sometimes the sentiment gets lost in translation, but this one makes perfect sense. It always makes me smile when I see it:

Let's have a happy time every day.

Wanna see inside?

So the challenge with this bag was that, after a while, all of my coupons would get mixed together and I'd find myself having to go through every single coupon to find the one I was looking for. Luckily, Mr. R came up with a great DIY idea. I used an old file folder and it cut it down into strips that fit inside the bag. The paper used to make file folders is sturdy enough to use as separators, but it's not so thick that it adds a lot of extra bulk to the bag. To jazz it up a bit, I covered each strip of file folder with some leftover vinyl cabinet liner paper (pink gingham design) and presto! Coupon separators!

Now I've got sections for cosmetics, bath and body products, food and household items. Yay!

It is SO much easier to find exactly what I'm looking for now that I've got these little separators to keep everything neat and tidy.

I also am trying to make it a habit to go through my coupon bag every Sunday and toss out all my expired coupons, and also pull the coupons that are about to expire and move them to the front of the bag just to remind myself that I either need to find a way to use them, or toss them to make room for new ones.

I hope this post has inspired you to create your own coupon organizing system. It literally can cost pennies to do this, and the rewards are tenfold. If you use a bag that fits easily into your purse, you'll never be without your coupons again!

If you've already got your own system, I would LOVE to hear all about it. Please leave a comment on this post and let us know how you work your coupon magic!

A tiny request (pretty please)

After months of having the same poll at the bottom of this page, I finally removed it (thanks to ALL of you who took the time to vote--I am listening and bringing you more makeup reviews!) and I put a new poll up in its place.

If you have a minute, I would love to get a better idea of the various ages of my readers (you!).  This will be so helpful in terms of certain products I may choose to review later on down the line.

So thank you in advance for taking the time to participate in the poll at the very bottom of the page.  I can't promise a major change in the types of products I will review here, but I will definitely make an effort if the demographics surprise me. (And they just might! Who knows? We'll never know unless you participate in this poll!)

Thanks so much,

R. xo

Spotted at Dollar Tree...

A big thanks to one of my lovely Twitter followers for the heads-up on this one!

Maybelline Expert Eye Eyeshadow Singles in tons of different shades!

It looks like Dollar Tree has gotten a large stash of Expert Eye eyeshadow singles recently in colors like green, teal, brown, peach, silver, purple, white, etc.  If you're a fan of these singles, definitely stop by your nearest Dollar Tree and see if you can find these.  This is a great deal since the retail price of these at most drugstores is $3.49 each. 

If you saw my review on these (click here if you missed it) you know that I was pleasantly surprised by the singles that say "New Formula" on the front.  I couldn't spot any singles at Dollar Tree that said "New Formula" so I'm guessing they're getting rid of these old-formula singles in favor of the new ones. BUT, if you have used the old formula and like it, then now's your chance to stock up. I don't have much experience with the old formula, but maybe there are some hidden gems here (if you know of any, definitely leave a comment and let us know!).

Happy hunting!

Book Review: Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets

I am an absolute bookworm and I'm an old-school bookworm to boot. If you and I were friends "in real life" I would talk your head off about why I love real books more than electronic versions. I won't bore you with the reasons why I love traditional books (the feel and smell, for starters), but you can imagine my sheer joy when I was approached recently by Sterling Books, the publishers of: Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Gorgeous (published April 2010 in paperback).

I jumped at the chance to receive this book for review because, not only do I love all books, I especially love books that claim to be chock full of beauty tips. Are there any of us here who don't crave fun, light, beauty-oriented reading for summer days at the beach, lake, park, or just our own backyard? There are always so many distractions when I'm trying to read in public, and especially during the summertime. Something light, that I can put down and pick back up easily, which doesn't require too much sustained attention or concentration is exactly what I crave during the summer (not that I don't love challenging or difficult books--I just reserve those for the peace and quite of my living room couch).

Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets (from the editors of Cosmopolitan) is exactly the type of book I would grab on my way out the door to the beach. Not only is it packed with fun, easily-digestible beauty tidbits, it's even got a "wheel" built into the cover so that you can choose a beauty tip and be directed to it immediately. How's that for instant gratification?

Some of you may be thinking that this book is full of fluff and information that's been rehashed in every beauty magazine under the sun. Sure, there may be some common sense bits of information here, and things we beauty junkies already know like the back of our hands. But there are plenty of surprises and pieces of information that I personally found interesting. In other others, this book managed to teach me a thing or two. Really!

Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets is broken down into chapters such as "Skin", "Nails", "Body" and "Hair". Within these chapters, there are sections that will definitely grab your attention, such as "Find the Right Foundation Shade" and "Amazing Arches". It's in these sections that you'll find the real gems. For instance, I really enjoyed the section on "How to Disguise a Bad Home Bang Trim" because, trust me, I am the queen of bad home bang trims. This segment actually gave me some ideas I had never heard before, and the tips are totally doable. Score!

What I also love about this book is that it's not just one big advertisement masquerading as a book about beauty. The product images are intentionally generic (in other words, you're not going to find anything like, "For the perfect pout, try this new lipgloss by Max Factor" with a big picture of Max Factor lipgloss next to it. The information is more general, and I love that because it doesn't make you feel like you have to buy a specific brand in order to get the most out of these tips.

Another thing I love about this book is that the expert tips come from experts we all know and love (Carol Shaw, Deborah Lippmann, Mally Roncal, and the list goes on). New York makeup artist Matin provides an excellent tip for disguising red eyes, and it's something I had never heard before (you'll have to get the book to see it for yourself). Skincare expert Cornelia Zicu provides a great (and extremely economical) recipe for a DIY lip mask that had me thinking, "Why didn't I think of that?" Genius!

And one more thing I love is the beauty trivia that is peppered throughout each chapter. I love books (and magazines) that have a lot of fun little tidbits scattered throughout each spread (as opposed to long blocks of text) and these bits of trivia are quite interesting (for example: do you know why we often open our mouths when applying mascara? You'll have to turn to page 61 in this book to find out).

This book is actually a pretty comprehensive look at beauty and I think it's got something to offer for just about everyone. Perhaps you're already a master of eyeshadow but you wish you knew more about perfume. Not to worry, because there's a chapter on fragrance that includes accurate, helpful information for the perfume novice (such as the difference between floral and gourmand aromas, for example).

While I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to women in their late teens and early twenties who are just beginning their beauty journey, I think it's got just the right mix of "standard" beauty info and interesting tidbits to make it a fun read for women of any age (except for the very young). Why not the very young? Well, you can expect a few "tantalizing" tidbits in this book (it is from the editors of Cosmo, after all), which might not be appropriate for very young girls (i.e. how scents "seduce" a man, etc.). For women in their late teens and up, I think this is a fun, yet very informative, beauty book that deserves a spot in your personal beauty library. Regardless of age, it just might surprise you.

You can purchase Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets at your local bookstore or online at sites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The list price of this book is $16.95 ($21.95 in Canada).

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.