Nail swatches: Sinful Colors, Confetti & 10 Professional polishes

Here are some new shades I've recently acquired--I thought it would be nice to condense this down into one post with four different shades, as opposed to posting them one at a time. I've been on a manicure roll for the past few weeks and I'm finally putting all my new polishes to good use!

First, a few of the polishes I purchased during the Sinful Colors deal last week:

Sinful Colors Boogie Nights (retail: $1.99)

I've been on coral kick lately and I am LOVING Boogie Nights. I took this, and the other coral creme from Sinful Colors (can't remember the name right now) over to the WnW display to see how they compared to WnW Tropicalia (which I also own and love). Boogie Nights was dramatically different (much more orange than pink, but still a coral) so it went in my basket. It's way prettier in person than it looks in these pics.

Sinful Colors Bali Mist (retail: $1.99)

I've been eyeing Bali Mist for a looong time now. Every time I see it, I get captivating by its swirly, shimmery purple goodness. Unfortunately, it's just as sheer as I dreaded it would be. The above pics were taken after four coats. Bummer. If you have a suggestion for jazzing up this color (layering it over something else) please let me know!

10 Professional Nail Lacquer Moonlight (retail: $3.99 at CVS)

If you missed my previous post about 10 Professional, this is a new line of polishes currently available at CVS and distributed by the same company that makes the other new line of nail polishes at CVS, Confetti. Since this is the "professional" line, it seems to contain a few more "safe for work" shades and Moonlight is definitely one of them. But even though this color brings out the red tones in my skin (boo!) I love it because it's work-appropriate yet manages to be trendy at the same time. No one's going to stare at you for wearing this color, but yet it's still an on-trend color and a nice alternative to nudes. I LOVE it and even though it reminds me of several polishes I already own, I'm glad I purchased it (I can do a comparison swatch post of Moonlight and other shades if anyone's interested). One thing I do want to note is that the brush is VERY long in these polishes, so even when you think you've swiped off enough polish, you run the risk of depositing way too much polish on your nails when you're painting them. That's really my only complaint so far though. The formula is nice and smooth--not too thick, not too thin. And this pic was taken two days into my mani with no chips and just a little tip-wear.

Confetti Long Wearing Nail Color in Moonstruck (retail: $1.99 at CVS)

OK, if you already own Rimmel Steel Gray or Sally Hansen Commander in Chic, you SO do not need Moonlight (and this is coming from someone who is obsessed with greige/mushroom shades and believes one can never have enough!). BUT, if you've been eyeing Steel Gray or Commander in Chic and have not yet purchased either one yet, I WOULD consider getting Moonlight if you want a much cheaper alternative. It's that close to the other two. Again, I can do a comparison post if anyone's interested. Also, the formula of this polish was thinner than 10 Professional and I could have used three coats (the above pics were taken after two). But other than that, it wore well--these pics were taken after two days and no chips.

Hope you enjoyed my mini-swatchfest! Do you own any of these shades? What do you think of them?

My favorite lipstain of all time: Palladio Lip Stain Extra-long Wearing Lip Markers

Given the recent rise of the drugstore lipstain (Cover Girl, Revlon, Maybelline) I've had plenty of opportunities to rave about my very favorite inexpensive lipstain: Palladio Lip Stain Extra-long Wearing Lip Markers (formerly Lip Ink).

I already had a few shades in my collection (I even reviewed Pinky a while back) but thanks to Palladio, I was sent the rest of the collection so that I could show you ALL of their wonderful shades:

Palladio Lip Stain Extra-long Wearing Lip Markers (retail: $5.99)

So what makes these my favorite lipstains of all time? Well for starters, they're about an inch or two shorter than other drugstore lipstains, making them much more convenient to throw in your purse. Also, I LOVE the longer application tip, which make them a breeze to apply because you can hold the side of the applicator up to your lip and swipe the color evenly and quickly. Also, they smell like watermelon!

But what I REALLY love about the Palladio Lip Stains are the colors and how they wear. Instead of a shocking blast of color to your lips (hello, Revlon!), Palladio Lip Stains deliver a sheer, yet long-wearing wash of stain to my lips. It's more subtle, but you can build for intensity. I love this for when I'm not wearing much makeup but just want the natural "I just ate a bowl of cherries" type of stain that will stay in place for hours.

And I cannot forget to mention the thing that sets Palladio Lip Stains apart from every other drugstore-level lipstain I've tried recently. When they wear off, they do NOT leave that obnoxious ring around your lips! In the pics below, you can see that after three hours, this stain wears evenly and beautifully.

I know I always apologize for how dry my lips are, but the weather has been so unseasonably cold lately in San Diego and my lips have taken a beating. But despite my dry lips, you can see that the softer pigment of Palladio Lip Stains doesn't really accentuate the dryness, and in person it looks even less severe than it does in these pics (close-up pics of dry lips always make them look 100x worse!). So anyway, my point is that these Palladio Lip Stains give me every single thing I could ever hope for in a lipstain AND they don't make my lips feel any drier than they already are.

If you're new to the whole lipstain world, or if you've tried another brand but weren't happy with the results, I strongly suggest giving Palladio a shot. You can find Palladio Lip Stains at Sally Beauty (in-store and online), the Palladio website and at various beauty supply stores across the nation.

PS: I almost forgot! I love love love that the color you see in the tube is either spot-on or very close to the color you're going to see on your lips. This is not the case with so many other brands!

Do you own any Palladio Lip Stains? How do you like them? I'd love to hear from you!

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.

The Wednesday Question

This week's question is sort of a tie-in question to the poll at the bottom of my blog (which, by the way, I encourage you to vote on--you can pick as many brands as you like per vote).  I can't wait to see your responses!

If you had to choose ONE drugstore makeup brand for ALL of your makeup needs for the next three months, which brand would you choose?

In other words, if you could only use ONE drugstore brand for everything--foundation, concealer, mascara, lip color, everything--for the next three months, which brand would it be?  My choice would be Maybelline, since I know I already love one of their concealers, eyebrow pencils and mascaras. Heck, I love many of their lip colors, nail colors, blushes, etc. so I don't think it would be difficult at all to survive on Maybelline products alone for the next three months!  So how about you? What brand would you choose?

My $10 CVS shopping trip

My main purpose in posting these drugstore shopping trips is to inspire you and give you ideas about how you can save a bundle of money when you go to your local CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, etc.

So let me tell you what I bought this weekend at CVS and then show you what I actually PAID, and explain exactly how I did it:

50oz bottle of Tide Mountain Spring detergent (retail: $9.99)
8-pack of Bounty paper towels, regular size rolls (retail: $10.99)
9.5 oz bottle Dawn Hand Care dish detergent (retail: $1.99)
10.3 oz Dawn Ultra Anti-Bac dish detergent (retail: $1.99)
12-roll Charmin Basic toilet paper (retail: $7.99)
Maybelline Eye Studio Cream Eyeshadow Trio in Pedal to the Metal (retail: $6.99)
(Yay for one FUN item! Review to come...)

My total before tax was $39.99

But check out my receipt!

How funny that I had more coupons than I did items in my basket! Anyway, let me break it down:

Everything I purchased, with the exception of the Maybelline trio, was on sale (as indicated by the "SAVED" column on the far right).

Then, I had a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon that CVS emailed to me a few days ago (don't forget to register online or you'll miss out on these valuable coupons!).

Next, I had 3 Extra Bucks from previous purchases, which I applied to this purchase.

Then I had two $0.25 coupons for any size Dawn detergent that I got from last Sunday's paper. Usually I think, "25-cents is LAME for a coupon" but I remembered that the small bottles of Dawn often go on sale at the drugstores for 99-cents, which brings it down to just 75-cents a bottle. And of course I bought two papers last Sunday because of the good Cover Girl coupons, so I had two 25-cent Dawn coupons, which is why I bought two bottles. Each bottle: 75-cents.

Next, I had a $2 off any Maybelline Eye Studio Product coupon that I got from the CVS slot machine a while back. I paired that coupon with a $1 coupon I had from the Maybelline Salsa Sun Collection display (tear-pad). My price for the Maybelline trio: $3.99

I also had a $0.25 coupon from the newspaper for Charmin toilet paper. My price for 12-roll Charmin: $5.24

Next, I also had a $0.25 coupon for Bounty paper towels (also from the paper) and I ALSO had a $2 off Bounty paper towels coupon from the CVS slot machine, which was about to expire (so glad I found a good use for it!). My price for 8-pack Bounty: $4.74

Using all of these coupons brought my total down from $39.94 to $13.42 before tax.

BUT, what I forgot to mention is that THREE of the items I purchased all had Extra Bucks deals attached to them! This week, if you buy select products from Charmin, Bounty and Tide, you get 1 Extra Buck per item.

So THAT brings my grand total down from $13.42 to just $10.42.

And what's funny is that if I drive just a little bit past my normal CVS, I end up in another county where the sales tax goes down from 9.75% to 8.75%. Hey, every penny counts, right?

I hope this inspires some of you who are trying to save money to go out, get the newspaper, pay attention to drugstore sales and coupons, print coupons online and plan ahead a bit. Pairing store sales with store coupons and stacking them with manufacturer coupons is totally the way to go!

Review: Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara

(Maybelline The Falsies in-store display)

Probably no other product in the entire beauty universe is as personal as mascara. I could sit here and say, "Yeah, this is great and here's why" but, chances are, half of you could buy the same mascara and find it to be a complete disaster. I attribute this to the fact that we all want different things from our mascara (thickening, lengthening, separating, curling, the list goes on...). Couple this with the fact there are a zillion and one ways to apply mascara (each of us has our own distinctive technique, I'm sure) and you've suddenly got a product that is going to work very differently depending on the user.

This is probably why it takes me so darn long to write mascara reviews. There's a lot to consider! But there was another reason why it took me so long to write this review. You see, I got many tips and warnings from fabulous beauty bloggers who had already encountered The Falsies, so I listened to their advice and applied it accordingly.

Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Mascara in Blackest Black

BeautyjunkieLondon told me very early on (the UK got this product way back in April) that this product gets better with age. After a few weeks, the formula thickens up, which makes it better to apply. I'm no stranger to letting a mascara thicken up (my beloved Max Factor Volume Couture would reach its peak and become absolutely perfect in every way after about two weeks of use). BeautyjunkieLondon also told me that she had better results by applying The Falsies using the flat, wider side of the brush. These two things needed to be tested, and that takes time!

Amber from Beauty Junkies Unite echoed BJL's thoughts and also said, in her great review, that she had better luck using the flat, wider side of the brush. So of course I had to alternate and try applying with the skinnier side on some days and the flatter side on other days, just to see if my results matched Amber's (newsflash: my results will never fully match Amber's because Amber's got thick dark lashes that make me cry tears of jealousy).

Speaking of thick dark lashes, Jamie at Maquilagem Masstige warned me that this mascara flaked like crazy for her, so again, this was something that I needed to pay close attention to while I tested this product.

Well that was a ridiculously long intro to this review, wasn't it? But I can honestly say that no other product I have reviewed on this blog has required so much preparation, planning and testing. So with that, let me show you some pics:

(click once to enlarge, again to magnify)

In the above collage, I showed you the difference between using the flat, wider side of the brush vs. using the narrow side of the brush. As you can see, depending on what side you use, the results are visibly different. I have found, after many, many uses, that the flatter, wider side of the brush is best for my short, straight lashes. The short bristles on the flat side of the brush, combined with the curavture of the brush, help to push my lashes up and out, and it keeps my lashes much more uniform. Using the narrower side of the brush actually yeilded less clumps, BUT, my lashes got all wonky, as you can see in these pics.

So...it's a toss-up. Wonky clump-free lashes, or fanned-out, uniform but clumpier lashes?

Some other things I've noticed:

According to the in-store display, The Falsies claims that it will give you "no gaps from any angle", which is where it gets its name (the gap-free look of false eyelashes). As you can see in the above pics, I still had gaps.

The brush itself is flimsy. It's not as sturdy as other brushes, so it's got a lot of give. This may or may not be a good thing depending on your personal application technique.

I really, really, REALLY like how this mascara works on my lower lashes. If you regularly apply mascara to your lower lashes, you know that certain formulas don't adhere as well to lower lashes, which can make you look like you have no mascara on at all. On the other side of the spectrum, some mascaras deposit far too much product and give your lower lashes the spider-lash syndrome. For me, The Falsies deposits the perfect amount of product on my lower lashes and really helps make them look long, defined and separated (I apply my mascara to my lower lashes by holding the brush in a vertical position and using just the tip of the brush--I haven't tried using this brush on my lower lashes by holding it in a horizontal position so your results may vary if that's your technique).

As for flaking, smudging, smearing and fading? That's where it gets weird. The first two or three times I used this product, it flaked. By end of day, I could see a few little flakes under my eyes. But, after using this for about a week, the flakes just suddenly went away. I do believe that as this formula thickens up, the tendency to flake decreases. Or at least that's how it has been for me. And since day one, I have had absolutely no issues with smudging, smearing or fading. In these respects, it performs just as beautifully as the wonderful Colossal Volum' Express (which I've raved about here several times in the past).

Final verdict: If you are already a fan of Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express, you might enjoy this mascara as well, but only after you figure out which way to use the brush. Despite the clumping issues I encounted, I still like this product. It gets sooooo much better after about two weeks, once the formula thickens up a bit. I don't regret my purchase at all (considering I got it on sale and also had coupons, I paid far less than retail for it). I'd wait for a sale and grab a tube and play around with it. It could end up being a fantastic product for you. And remember, I think it ROCKS for lower lashes, so definitely worth a shot just for that.

Have you used The Falsies yet? I'd love to hear what you have to say about this mascara!

A note about comments (please read!)

This morning I logged on to respond to the comments I received last night (I receive email alerts when I have new comments and I read them as they come through). I was so excited to respond to your wonderful comments, but then when I clicked on the posts, I discovered that half the comments on almost all of my posts are GONE. The number of comments is accurate (for instance, for my last post about my nail polish storage system it says I have 21 comments) but when I click on the post, only 7 comments are visible.

Please note: I did not delete any comments (there was one spam comment that I wanted to delete but it's actually one of the missing comments). So if you left a comment here and you do not see it today, please know that I didn't delete it!

Blogger is well aware of this issue and they are currently working on trying to fix it. Until that time, please continue to comment as usual, even if your comment disappears. I believe it will eventually come back and at that time I will try to respond to it!

I'm so sorry for any trouble this has caused. I love hearing from you and it's frustrating to know that you've taken the time to leave me a comment and now we can't see it. Fingers crossed this gets fixed ASAP.

Thanks,

R. xo

My $10 Nail Polish Storage System!

I don't care if you've got 10 polishes or 10,000. The fact of the matter is: everyone needs a good storage system.  Otherwise, you'll forget what you have, and you'll be more inclined to buy new polishes thinking to yourself, "I don't think I have this color at home. Oh what the heck!" only to discover that yes, you DO have this color at home (or something very similar).  Unless you're a nail junkie, no one really needs 20 shades of candy-apple red nail polish.  So my point is, there are lots of advantages to having a good nail color storage system.

A simple plastic container or shoebox will do if your collection is small, but what if you've got years worth of polishes in your collection and, like me, you've got various boxes and crates scattered around the house causing complete chaos when you're looking for a specific shade?  Well, if you've got some extra cash on  your hands, you can get the much-coveted Helmer at Ikea.  The deep drawers of the Helmer allow you to store your polish upright (trust me, you do NOT want to store your polish bottles in any other position) and, to the casual observer, the Helmer allows your addiction to polish to go virtually unnoticed. Looks like just a regular piece of furniture, right?

I could have purchased the Helmer and been done with it.  But at $49.99, that wouldn't have been very Nouveau Cheap of me, right?  So for the past few weeks, I've been scouring Target, Michael's, and finally, dollar stores, to find just the right, and VERY INEXPENSIVE, way to store my polish.  It's been a challenge, but I finally found success at my local Dollar Tree.

Now, let me just get this out of the way: I'm obsessed with nail polish and I always have been (I'm talking since the late 70s when I was in elementary school).  So in case any of you think that I've only recently built up the following collection of polishes, this is actually the accumulation of many years of collecting (I only wish I had hung on to my original Wet n Wild polishes from the late 80s just for memory's sake but, sadly, they disappeared years ago).  The polishes below were all purchased over the last 15 or so years (anything older than that was lost a long time ago).  Yes, I've been on a little "polish bender" as of late, so I actually was horrified to learn that the amount of polishes I THOUGHT I owned (about 150) is actually much higher (300+).  

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me introduce you to my new storage system:

(click to magnify)

Each individual crate in this "system" was purchased at Dollar Tree for, of course, $1 each. I required 10 crates to store my entire 300+ polish collection (lucky guess since I bought 10 crates right off the bat and didn't need to go back to Dollar Tree mid-project to get more!).  

The most important thing to note about these square-shaped crates is that they're DEEP.  In my journey to find an inexpensive storage system, I've encountered so many containers that just aren't deep enough to enable you to store your polishes upright.  Many will store standard bottles, but I've got a lot of Japanese bottles that have VERY long brush handles (one in particular that's shaped like a guitar is well over 4 inches tall) so that's one reason why these crates ROCK.  Even my Japanese polishes can stand upright with a few inches to spare.

Another reason why I love these crates is because each one holds roughly 40 bottles of nail polish. So you can easily catagorize your polishes by color, and since you can see through all sides of each crate, you can visually scan though the crates and grab just the crate you want (if you've got a hankering to paint your toes purple, no problem. Just grab your purple crate and head to the couch!).

Let me also mention that these crates are STURDY. Even stacked 5-high, they do not wobble one bit. And they align themselves beautifully with no effort at all. Once you stack them up, they're not going anywhere.

And finally, I love how you can reconfigure these crates in any combination you want.  In the above collage, I stacked them in two different ways (4 in front/six in the back, and 2 stacks of 5, side by side), just to give you an idea of how you can totally customize these to suit your needs.  I also want to note that in the photos of "two stacks of five crates each" I deliberately left a small space in between the two stacks of 5 crates, just to show you that they're not connected. These crates stack together, with no spaces in between, quite easily.

So there you have it! My entire nail polish storage system, which can hold 400+ polishes, has a retail price of just $10 at Dollar Tree.  It may not be pretty, but I don't think it's an eyesore and the best part? IT WORKS!

PS: Each crate is less than a foot wide and a column of 5 crates stands roughly to my hip (I'm 5'5").

So tell me...how do you store your polish?

Spotted at Rite Aid & CVS: new NYC, Prestige, Jesse's Girl and another new polish line

I'm a collage-making fool these days (they're just so easy and fun to make, and I think they spice things up a bit--especially if I've got a lot of pics to show you). That said, on to what I spotted at the drugstores this weekend!

First up, at Rite Aid:

(click to enlarge, again to magnify)

I want to thank several of you for emailing and leaving comments about this new collection. As I always say, Rite Aid ROCKS for always having the new and limited edition NYC displays, and I was very happy to see this one over the weekend. It's a beauty, with two new shimmery Color Wheel bronzers and two matte powder bronzers, two LE waterproof eyeliners (shimmer bronze and teal), two nail colors, two Metro Quads and, last but not least, two limited edition Kiss Glosses which seem to be cremes! I purchased the coral one, which I will show you in greater detail once I've had a chance to try it.

Another quick shout-out to Rite Aid: I have achieved Silver+ status (click here if you have no idea what that means) so instead of paying $2.99 for this gloss, I paid $2.69. It ROCKS to automatically get 10% off on any purchase you make at Rite Aid, so if you haven't gotten your Wellness+ card yet, I highly recommend signing up. It took me no time at all to get to Silver+ and I'm well on my way to Gold+ (20% off all purchases). PS: I would have only paid $1.69 for this darn gloss but my NYC coupons all expired on 6/30 (boo!).

Next at Rite Aid:

Argh! I misspelled "marbleized" in the above collage and by the time I realized it, it was too late to correct it. Anyway, I'm super excited about this new collection of brow products! Not only am I intrigued by a marbleized brow pencil, but I'm always on the lookout for a good clear brow gel that doesn't flake, yet manages to keep my unruly brows in place. And it comes with cute tweezers? For under ten bucks? Yes, please!

And the last new product I spotted at Rite Aid over the weekend:

Ah yes, the mood lipstick! It's been a while since I've seen one of these, but they seem to make an appearance once every few years (the first mood lipsticks I remember seeing were back in the 80s and they were matte and super drying). I'm sure they've improved the texture of this type of lipstick over the years, so if you've tried a newer version, leave a comment and let me know what you think of them. I have to admit, I think this display is really cute and colorful and it totally sucked me in!

Moving on to CVS:

So I turn the corner at my local CVS and right next to the Confetti Nail Polish display, I see THIS new display! The 10 Professional Nail Lacquer Collection contains 36 different shades, and the bottles look very similar to Arissa Nail Polishes (I know this because I purchased the Arissa polish below during my last Cherry Culture haul--I'll be reviewing it soon if you're curious about this line). Check it out:

Anyway, from what I could tell, the 10 Professional Nail Lacquer line is all about business. The majority of the shades are cremes (yay for me!) with just a few sheers, jellies and shimmers thrown in for good measure (actually, the gold and silver polishes might be metallics). So anyway, it's a much more "conservative" line and I really liked the variety of shades.

These polishes retail for $3.99 and I purchased the light greige shade called 458 Moonlight, pictured above (are you shocked I bought this shade?). I was actually going to purchase the deeper taupe shade, but when I pulled it from the rack and compared it to the taupe I bought from Confetti, they were pretty much identical. Also, I compared the light lilac/lavender creme from 10 up against Confetti's lilac/lavender creme, and again, they've VERY similar. This caused me to wonder if 10 and Confetti are made by the same company, so when I got home and was able to put on my glasses (there's no way in heck I can read the fine print on a polish label without glasses!), sure enough, both brands are distributed by MBA Beauty. I'm hoping that since 10 is called a "professional" line, the quality is a bit better than Confetti (especially since the price per bottle is two dollars higher). I'll definitely post a review in the future and let you know what I think!

Whew! That's it for this drugstore report. Are you excited about any of these new goodies? Do you already own any of the products mentioned above? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Big Lots Alert!

I was at a local Big Lots yesterday and I saw some new beauty items that I wanted to mention to you in case you have a Big Lots in your area. There are some pretty insane deals at Big Lots these days!

First off, my Big Lots had a TON of the old Sunsilk shampoos, conditioners and styling products for $2.50 each. I predicted this would happen back in February when I first mentioned the newly redesigned Sunsilk line and the time is finally here. If you're a fan of the original Hydra TLC, Captivating Curls, etc. products, get over to your Big Lots ASAP to stock up. They literally had everything from the old line and lots of it.

My Big Lots also had a TON of Garnier Fructis shampoos, conditioners and styling products, and also lots and lots of John Frieda Brilliant Brunette and Sheer Blonde products. Everything was $2.50 each.

So here are the makeup goodies I spotted:

1. Almay Pure Blends Mineral Foundation (I believe these were $3 each but I can't remember)
2. e.l.f. individual false eyelash kits ($0.50)
3. Revlon lipstick 4-packs ($4) and Styli-Style lipgloss 2-packs ($4)
4. Revlon Pink Ribbon Super Lustrous Lipglosses ($2)
(They had two colors available: magenta and red)
5. Lypsyl Lip Balm ($1.25)
6. Revlon Double Twist Mascara 2-packs ($4.50)
7. Maybelline nail polishes ($1) and Borghese nail polishes ($2)

That's it for this Big Lots report. I'd love to know what goodies you've spotted at your local Big Lots lately, so leave a comment and let us know!

Don't forget to pick up the newspaper today!

If you're in the US, your day today is probably going to be filled with fun, food, sun and (later) fireworks. But if you can, don't forget to make time today to get the Sunday paper because there are some great coupons this week! Here are a few noteworthy coupons I just clipped and will definitely be putting to good use soon:

Cover Girl: Buy 1 mascara get one eyeshadow single FREE

Cover Girl: $1 off any Cover Girl product

Pantene: $1 off any Pantene styling product

Pantene: $1 off any two Pantene products

(A lot of you have indicated to me that you've been putting Pantene coupons to good use by applying them to clearance sale products that have the old-style packaging, so this will be a great way to stock up on old favorites before they're gone.)

And remember, if you're a Cover Girl fan, you might want to buy TWO papers today, since Cover Girl coupons don't seem to be as easily available as say, Maybelline coupons, which are often available on the web and in-store (tear-pads on displays). If you come across a BOGO1/2OFF sale at one of the drugstores, remember that you can use TWO coupons per purchase (one for each product you're buying). In other words, let's say you buy one CG lipgloss and one CG mascara during a BOGO1/2OFF sale. You'll get $1 deducted from your lipgloss AND $1 deducted from your mascara if you have two coupons!

I also want to mention that if you're an Olay fan, you definitely want to pick up the paper today because there are a TON of Olay coupons in the P&G insert (1 off skincare, body lotion, body wash, etc.).

Oh, and before I forget: here's a pic of what Mr. R made me for dinner last night. If you saw my pics of his last sushi-making efforts, you can see that he's getting pretty tricky these days and putting rice on the outside of the roll now, and this time he also added thin layers avocado to the outside of the roll. It was delicious!


Happy 4th of July!

Review: Infusium 23 (moistur)ologie Conditioner

When I was in junior high (in the early 80s--yikes!) I remember I had a best friend whose older (and very cooler) sister used to use Infusium Leave-In Conditioner on her long, thick, beautiful wavy hair. I remember staring at her in her bedroom while she was doing her hair and wondering what that magical potion was that she'd apply to it right after the shower. But despite my fascination (which I cannot believe I still remember after all these years), it took me until very recently to actually try an Infusium product myself.

I'm not sure what kept me away from Infusium all these years, but my best guess is that the packaging of their products always sort of intimidated me. They're not like other drugstore haircare products in that the packaging is not super colorful, no gimmicky names or claims, and everything just looks rather scientific.

A while back I spotted a coupon for Infusium in my Sunday paper, and there just so happened to be a good sale at Walgreens (I believe Infusium products normally retail for $7.99 and they were reduced to $3.99, which I'm assuming has something to do with the fact that Infusium recently underwent a packaging makeover--the bottle in my pics is the older-style packaging). So I was able to get the bottle below for just $2.99.

(PLEASE NOTE: I believe they have recently changed the name of this product to Moisture Replenisher Conditioner)

I figured it was now or never so I snagged myself this bottle of (moistur)ologie Conditioner (now called Moisture Replenisher) and decided to give it a whirl. What I didn't expect was to be absolutely blown away by this product. I literally have not used another conditioner on my hair since I purchased this product, and that's really saying something considering I have lots of great conditioners in my shower.

What sets this conditioner apart from so many others for me is that not only does it detangle and moisturize like crazy, but it manages to leave my hair SUPER soft and bouncy without weighing it down one bit or making it look flatter than it already is (for those who aren't longtime readers of this blog, my hair is fine in texture, long, naturally wavy, oily at the roots, dry on the ends and color-treated). It is such a challenge for me to find drugstore conditioners that will deeply moisturize my ends while not adding oil to my roots. Also, I REALLY love this conditioner for when I straighten my hair, because it just leaves it so frizz-free yet I've still got great volume and bounce.

And let me talk about the fragrance for a minute. The first time I used it, I knew it smelled familiar. It's got this soft, very feminine "perfumey" scent to it that instantly appealed to me. And then it hit me: the smell of this conditioner totally reminds me of old-school Anais-Anais perfume! So I've got yet another 80s-flashback going on whenever I use this. :)

If you've got hair that's similar to mine and you're in need of a new conditioner, I think you might want to consider giving Infusium 23 (moistur)ologie Conditioner (aka Moisture Replenisher) a try. I've been using it with several of my shampoos (Suave, Aveeno, etc.) and it works great with all of them.

Are you already a fan of Infusium products? What are your favorites from this brand?

Free shipping on new Almay, Revlon and CG mascaras

Did you know that on Walgreens.com, there are several items that qualify for free shipping (no strings attached)? There are currently a few makeup items that are worth mentioning (click here for a complete list of all items that ship free):

New Almay One Coat Dial Up Mascara $7.99 + free shipping

New Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara $8.99 + free shipping

New Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion $9.99 + free shipping

Again, these items ship for free, no minimum purchase required. So if you've been having a hard time finding these new mascaras in your area, this would be a great way to try them.

If you're planning on doing more shopping (more than just one mascara), remember that all orders over $25 always get free shipping at walgreens.com, and right now there's a code for $5 off $30 purchase (hurry, ends today July 3rd): SUMMER5

If you wanted to take advantage of the above promotions and do some serious shopping (basically get $30 worth of product for $25 + free shipping), remember that Walgreens.com has those Revlon Super Lustrous Glosses everyone's been loving lately (and yes, even Lilac Pastelle!) and they're currently BOGO1/2OFF both online and in-store.

Also, I want to point out that Walgreens.com has a selection of Black Radiance products, which I know are harder to find in some areas. They have the Ice Angel Refreshing Lip Glosses I love and reviewed a while back, as well as the new duochrome-y Illusions Lip Glosses that I've been wanting to try and of course the fabulous Eyeshadow Duos.

Hope this helps some of you!

Hurry! Free polish + free shipping at Sally Beauty

Whoo hoo! I love 4th of July sales and I'm sure we can all agree that nothing beats free shipping and free nail polish, right?

I just got the following code in my in-box from Sally for free shipping with $10 purchase: 555114 (EXPIRES JULY 8TH)

And thanks to retailmenot.com, I spotted this buy 2 Fingerpaints polishes get 1 free code: 555155 (EXPIRES JULY 31ST)

As many of you know, Sally sometimes lets you stack codes, so I am pleased to report that I could use both codes successfully to get the free shipping AND the free polish!

Here's what my order looked like:

(note: you aren't going to get the $4.49 price on Fingerpaints unless you're a Sally Club member)

1 Nail Color by Fingerpaints: Online price: $4.99 $4.49 (Sally Club price)

1 Nail Color by Fingerpaints: Online price: $4.99 $4.49 (Sally Club price)

1 Nail Color by Fingerpaints: Online price: $4.99 $4.49 (Sally Club price)

-$4.49 Buy two, get one free Fingerpaints

Subtotal: $8.98
Shipping/Handling: $5.95
Free Ground Shipping -$5.95
Shipping Total: Free
Sales Tax: $1.43
Order Total: $10.41

Now, if nail polish isn't your thing, there are of course TONS of other things you can buy online at Sally if you want to use this free shipping code. Don't forget about Palladio Herbal Eyeshadow Primer, Lipstains, Baked Shadow Trios and Tinted Lip Balms (all of which I've reviewed on this blog and love!).

Do you plan to use this code this weekend to snag yourself some free polish or other goodies? I would love to hear about what you're considering purchasing!

New Milani Limited Edition Nail Flash Collection

Wow! I didn't see this one coming! I was at my local CVS the other day and I spotted this brand new limited edition polish collection from Milani:

(click to enlarge, again to magnify)

Obviously the concept behind this collection is polishes that give you a "flash" of color, but I didn't really see the flash in the two red shades or the brown shade. I don't know--I'm NO expert--but to me, the two red shades kind of seemed to have a China Glaze Ruby Pumps vibe. If you're a Ruby Pumps lover, I think you might like these.

The one I actually purchased, which in my opinion had the most "flash" quality to it, is called Flash Light and it's a beauty! But of course, I had a hard time capturing the gorgeousness of this shade in photos, so here are pics of it in various forms of lighting. The large swatch in the middle really captures the pink flash in this shade the best:

In my opinion, Flash Light is so sparkly it's got a foil effect when applied, but then it also has that duochrome-y pink and gold flash effect going on as well. It's a deep orange with so much going on--you really have to see it in person to appreciate it. The above pics were taken after two coats, but it would probably be even prettier with three.

So, have you seen the Nail Flash collection in your area yet? Do you own any shades? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Review: Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstain in Feelin' Rosy

Well well well. If it isn't another new drugstore lipstain! It seems like just yesterday I was in a frenzy over Revlon's new Just Bitten Lipstains (click here and here if you missed my reviews).  And then last weekend at Rite Aid, I see one of the employees opening up a box with silver tubes that say "Color Sensational" on them. I had to immediately walk closer to see what this new product was all about (as so many of you know, I'm a nut for Color Sensational lipsticks and glosses and I've done several reviews on this blog of different shades of each). If you're a longtime reader, you know that I just about squealed when I saw that it was a lipstain! I'm freaking obsessed with lipstains (I can't even count how many I've owned over the years: Vincent Longo, Stila, Benefit, Cover Girl, Palladio, and so many others).  To date, Palladio lipstains are still my number one favorite of all-time, but I'll go into detail about that in other post (coming soon).

Let me get this out of the way before I continue: unlike most new drugstore products I review here, I do not have a photo of the actual display for Color Sensational Lipstains. Why? Well, because the employee at Rite Aid was still in the midst of putting up the display when I came along and very politely asked if I could purchase one.  She said, "Of course!" and let me choose which color I wanted, and it wasn't difficult to determine that Feelin' Rosy had to be mine.

I can't seem to locate my receipt as I write this review, so I'm going to tell you that these retail for $8.99 at Rite Aid but I could be off by a dollar either way. I do remember that I had a Maybelline coupon with me, so I got this for $1 less than retail. 

Anyway, let me cut right to the chase.  Maybelline has done it again! Everything I disliked about Revlon Just Bitten? It's not a problem with this lipstain.  The color isn't as deeply pigmented and dark as the colors I tried from Just Bitten.  Feelin' Rosy may seem dark at first, but within a few minutes on my lips, it levels out to the beautiful color that I always WANT from a lipstain. When I wear a lipstain, I want my lips to look like I've just eaten a bowl of cherries. And that's the exact effect I get from this shade.  It's not an artificial-looking rosy-berry shade, it's a natural-looking rosy-berry.  

The other thing I love is that, unlike Just Bitten, you can easily control the level of pigment you apply to your lips. One coat of Feelin' Rosy yields a soft, almost transparent berry color on my lips. Two coats and it's much more vibrant and dramatic.  Three coats and it looks like ONE coat of Just Bitten, if you know what I mean!

As for how this lipstain fades, well, that's the only downside for me.  If you look at the above collage, you'll see that after four hours, there is a visible ring of color around my lips, and this stain tends to linger on the areas of my lips that are the most chapped (my lips are dry, dry, dry right now).  BUT, I can honestly say that the ring around my lips after four hours was not as dramatic as the ring that was left after wearing Just Bitten.

Also, the flavor is very mild (not as bitter as other lipstains) and the fragrance is wonderful. To my nose, it's like a combination of watermelon and cranberry. I love it.  And the formula itself didn't further dry out my already-dry lips, which I'm very happy to report.

So no, Color Sensational Lipstains are not perfect.  But coming from someone who is totally lipstain-obssesed, I think they are superior to Revlon's version, because you can easily control the pigmentation and build for more intensity, and they wear a tiny bit more evenly (for me, at least). They smell heavenly and Feelin' Rosy is a gorgeous shade that is MUCH truer to the color on the tube than either of the Just Bitten lipstains I reviewed. I cannot wait to try out some other shades (click here to see the complete collection).

In short, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstain has me feelin' rosy!

Have you seen these new lipstains at your local drugstores? Will you be picking up a tube when you spot them? I'd love to hear from you!

New feature on Nouveau Cheap: Weekly drugstore makeup deals!

In an effort to try and make things as easy as possible for all of us, I've decided to add a new feature to my blog and I'm very excited to share it with you!

I've mentioned a few times on this blog that there are lots of sites where you can go for a "weekly rundown" of all the makeup sales for CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens. And since many of you might get your information about weekly sales elsewhere, I never felt it was important for me to start posting weekly sale info on this blog.

For many months now, one of my primary sources for getting my weekly drugstore sale info has been via my pal, Make-up on the Cheap. In my humble opinion, she posts the sale info very early in the week and she's quite thorough. Plus, she sometimes includes a little "haul pic" in her post, of something she has recently purchased, which makes it even more fun to read.

So beginning today and going forward, every Wednesday or Thursday (depending on when she posts) I will post HERE with a direct link to her post. Consider it a little "heads-up" that her post is up, if you will. That way, we'll all know what's going on at the same time, and it will be more fun to discuss good deals, coupons, etc.

Now, if there are any crazy insane deals that you should know about (sale + coupon + whatever else there may be going on that week) I will continue to blog about it and let you know ASAP. That is never going to change! But for all the "regular" weekly drugstore sale info, Make-up on the Cheap has got us covered, and now it will be even easier for you to access her weekly rundowns (there's no forgetting about it because not only will I let you know when her post is up, but she's also in my blogroll too).

I hope you find this new feature helpful, and to start things off right, here's Make- up on the Cheap's weekly drugstore sale post for the week of 7/4 - 7/10. You can also click the logo above to go directly to her post as well.

The Great HiP 510 Debate of 2010

[UPDATE: IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO GET THIS AT YOUR LOCAL CVS, DON'T FORGET TO PRINT OUT THIS COUPON FOR $1 OFF ANY L'OREAL PRODUCT!]

If you have no idea what the title of this post is in reference to, then it just means you might not follow me, or the lovely GlowyJoeyBunny (of Pink Sith fame, and now author of her own blog) on Twitter. You see, for the past few days, actually ever since I posted these pics of a new HiP eyeshadow duo display I recently spotted at CVS, Joey and I have been debating, via Twitter, about whether or not one of the duos in this display is actually the same duo that apparently caused quite a stir on MakeupAlley last year.

The duo in question, Electrified 510, was apparently so beautiful that it reached covet-worthy proportions. People were quite upset when it became impossible to find (I'm not sure if it was LE when originally released or what the deal was--I wasn't even aware of the frenzy in the first place, but that's only because I'm not as into HiP as so many others out there).

One side of this duo was a gorgeous, richly-pigmented, shimmery taupe, while the other side, well, that's one of the things that spurred this recent debate. You see, Joey told me, via Twitter, that she posted about this duo on Pink Sith last summer (click here to see her review). And when I looked at her pictures, it didn't really look like the duo I saw at my local CVS (which happens to go by the exact same name, Electrified 510). In her photos, I thought the darker side of this duo looked more like a dark reddish bronze, while the duo I saw at CVS looked like a deep purplely-plum. So the question became, did L'Oreal re-release the original 510, or did they release an altogether different duo with the same name as the one from last year?

For some, this might seem silly to debate. But for drugstore-eyeshadow-loving me, and taupe-eyeshadow-loving Joey, it was serious. We needed to get to the bottom of it, and I'm ashamed to admit we both lost a little sleep pondering just what the heck was up with 510. Her pictures didn't match the pictures I took of the display, plain and simple.

But then others got pulled into this debate. The lovely JA99fitt hopped in on Twitter and told us SHE found the display in her area, and she bought 510 (naturally) and loved it so much she visited three other CVS locations just to buy back-ups. We asked her if she could tweet us a pic of her duo, so we could compare the shades to our pictures (more on that later).

But then it all became too much. I figured, "I need to just get my booty down to CVS and buy the @$%& thing and settle this once and for all." So yesterday, I did just that. I bought it, and I couldn't even wait to get home before tweeting a picture of it to Joey, for verifcation purposes, of course.

I tweeted her two pics of my 510 duo while still in the parking lot of CVS. Yep. And guess what? Joey confirmed what we were hoping for all along: the newly released Electrified 510 IS THE COVET-WORTHY 510 OF LAST YEAR! It's BAAAAAACK, folks!!!

But of course it couldn't end there. JA99fitt then tweeted us a picture of her 510, and, *gasp*, it didn't look a thing like MY 510! I started to panic for a bit, until JA99fitt so graciously confirmed for me that she had taken her photo in artificial light, which slightly altered the shades. But she confirmed, with 100% certainty, that the 510 currently in my possession, matches the 510 currently in her possession.

So that, my friends, means this case is official closed. The Great HiP 510 Debate of 2010 has come to an end. And what did we accomplish? Well, now we can share with all of you the great news. Electrified 510 is back, and if you missed it the first time, it can be yours (and right now it's even on sale at CVS for $6). Yay!

And if you've made it through this post, I'm sure you're all a little anxious to see some pics, so here you go:

As you can see, the colors of this duo look really different depending on whether the lid is closed or open. But let me tell you a little bit about 510 in case you haven't seen it in person. OH MY GOODNESS. The taupe on the left is so shimmery it can look like a foil without even applying it wet. It is INTENSELY pigmented and, dare I say, maybe one of the most pigmented shadows I've ever seen at the drugstore. In some lights it looks like a silvery taupe, while in other lighting it looks more golden. I don't really care what you call it though, because to me, it's just a whole lotta gorgeous.

And the darker plum shade? WOW. Just, wow. In full sunlight, this shadow is loaded with baby-fine multi-colored microglitter that gives it the most lovely glow. Really, you need to see this shade in person to fully appreciate it.

So what else can I tell you? If you aren't convinced that you need 510 by now, I don't think you'll ever be convinced. if you're a taupe lover, you've just gotta have it. And by the way, the wonderful Rural Glamour just gave me the heads-up that CVS is printing out Extra Bucks on receipts today so, well, yeah. It's kind of a no-brainer.

Big, huge thanks go out again to Joey and JA99fitt for their help in ending this debate. Love you gals!