The Lipstick League - week of 5.9.11

image source: LatestBeauty.com

A young Kim Basinger for Maybelline...

This week's Lipstick League Question of the Week:

What was the first beauty product that you ever tried? 

G's answer: I believe it was the original Kissing Potion by Maybelline (pictured above). I can still remember the clear, thick, syrupy consistency of these glosses--I adored them and I loved the heavy, "gold" lids and (real) glass tubes. They felt heavy and substantial in my hand, and boy were they glossy! If this wasn't my first beauty product, then it was definitely Village Lip Lickers. Anybody remember those? They were the first lip balm to come in a slider tin, and I was obsessed with them--I had them in every flavor (Peach was my favorite!) and I even had the giant "double-barrel" ones that had two flavors in one tin. Aaaaah, memories!

The Lipstick League Links of the Week:

Pink Sith - Joeybunny has 3 new TAUPE eyeshadows to show you with her Introduction To Silk Naturals post!

Phyrra  - raves about Sonia Kashuk Makeup Remover and tells you why it's her favorite.

Vampy Varnish - loves the new Kat Von D Angeles Eyeshadow Palette.

we heart this -  All this beauty has made us thirsty! Doesn't a Lemongrass Mojito sound good right about now? We've got an original recipe for you.

Beauty Junkies Unite - has the scoop on the newest eyeshadow releases from bareMinerals for Summer 2011, and she can't stop looking at the colors. Check out her easy to re-create "Calypso Sunrise" eye look!

Clumps of Mascara -  is in a Target Beauty contest and needs your vote to advance to the next round. Vote daily!

EauMG -  EauMG introduces a perfume that proves that smelling good does not need to cost a fortune. Move over Montale! Here’s Pirouette Essentials.

Lipglossiping - will use any old excuse to drag out her collection of NARS blushes.  It’s a NARS Blush-a-palooza!!

Nouveau Cheap -  My favorite post this week is actually one I did at another blog! These new eyeshadows and liners from Hard Candy aren't just hot, they're downright baked and molten.

 What was your first beauty product?

Spotted: clearance deals on nail polish Walgreens

I have a few Walgreens clearance deals that I'd like to tell you about but, before I do, I want to say that I'm aware that sometimes not ALL Walgreens locations clearance the same items at the same time, so I cannot guarantee that you'll find these deals at your locations. BUT, it's always great to know what others are finding so that we can be on the lookout, right?

First off, the lovely Ruthie spotted ALL of the core collection Maybelline Express Finish polishes on 50% clearance at her local Walgreens recently. She even took the time to list all of the shades in her post, which you can see here. Thanks for the heads-up about that, Ruthie! (And if you spot them at your Walgreens today, you can still take advantage of the BOGO1/2OFF sale!)

Second, my sweet Twitter follower @deyimizu just told me that she spotted ALL of the Sally Hansen HD polishes on 50% off clearance at her Walgreens. You can see her pic and more details on her post here.

Thanks for the heads-up, lovely ladies!

Happy clearance-polish-hunting, and please leave a comment on this post if you have spotted these deals at your local Walgreens. The more info the better!

Correction

I am just full of mistakes this week, I tell ya! I want to thank my lovely reader Lily for setting me straight about the Physicians Formula deal at CVS this week. The sale is not $6 for PF foundation, powder, bronzer, blush or concealer, it's $6 OFF THE RETAIL PRICE. Big difference there, and a huge mistake on my part.

Thanks again, Lily, for catching that. And sorry to get everyone's hopes up.

Weekly Drugstore Makeup Sales!

NOTE: Today (Saturday) is your last chance to grab one of the new Rimmel Match Perfection foundations for just $1.49 (or so) at Walgreens. If you have the $2 off coupon from the May issue of All You Magazine, it's your last chance to get this foundation while it's 50% off (ends tonight!). That's a great deal if you've been wanting to try this foundation!

It's that time again, dear readers! Here are the drugstore makeup sales for the week of 5/15 - 5/21 (and as always, you can check out my picks for the best deals of the week here, which includes things like skincare, haircare, etc.):

CVS

Revlon cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

Rimmel cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF (excludes Match Perfection makeup)

CoverGirl cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

Physicians Formula foundation, powder, bronzer, blush or concealer $6 OFF

Neutrogena foundation, powder or concealer $9.19

Neutrogena eye, lip or blush $6.99

Spend $15 on L'Oreal foundation, powder, blush, concealer or eye cosmetics, get $5 Extra Bucks

L'Oreal True Match foundation, powder, blush or concealer $6.99 (excludes Compact Roller)

L'Oreal Extra-Volume Collagen, Voluminous Million Lashes, Telescopic Mascara, Voluminous Eyeliner or Mascara $5.99

RITE AID

L'Oreal cosmetics 30% off

Spend $25 on L'Oreal cosmetics, skincare, hair care or hair color, get $10 +UP Rewards (many of these items are on sale this week)

CoverGirl eye and lip products BOGO1/2OFF

Free CoverGirl Lash Blast Mascara when you spend $25 on select P&G products from CoverGirl, Pantene, Secret, Venus, Olay or Satin Care (many of these products are also BOGO1/2OFF this week)

Sally Hansen cosmetics and beauty tools BOGO1/2OFF (includes nail products)

Spend $10 on Sally Hansen, get $3 +UP Rewards

Rimmel cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

Spend $15 on Rimmel, get $5 +UP Rewards

Revlon ColorStay cosmetics and beauty tools BOGO1/2OFF

Almay cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

WALGREENS

CoverGirl cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

Kiss or Broadway Nails kits or accessories BOGO1/2OFF

L'Oreal cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

Revlon cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

Maybelline foundation, concealer, powder, blush, eye or lip cosmetics BOGO1/2OFF

I'm bummed that there are no 40% off, 50% off or BOGOFREE sales this week for cosmetics at ANY of the drugstores. And apologies to those of you who read this earlier--the PF deal at CVS is $6 off, not $6 each.

Anyone know of some good coupon match-ups to go along with the sales this week?

Heads-up: Target Deal of the Day and NYX sale tomorrow

Two great pieces of info I want to make sure you know about today:

1) Today's Target Deal of the Day is a good one for Sonia Kashuk fans! A HUGE thanks to the lovely jbrobs for giving us the heads-up that today's Deal of the Day is:

image source: target.com

Sonia Kashuk Glitter Glows Eye Palette (retail: $16.99)

Target Deal of the Day price: $9.99 with FREE SHIPPING

Note: this offer is only good TODAY, Saturday, May 14th.

Thanks so much for the heads-up, jbrobs! By the way, if you haven't seen jbrobs' swatches of Zoya Apple, you must check them out here. I neeed that polish! 

2) My lovely Twitter follower and fellow blogger @tinabeana12 was kind enough to let me know that in honor of their 12th anniversary, NYX is having a 12-hour sale on their website TOMORROW, May 15th, from 12PM to 12AM Pacific and select items will be on sale for just $1.20 each! For more info, check out @tinabeana12's post here. Thanks for the heads-up, girlie!

Do you plan to pick up the Deal of the Day today, or take part in the NYX 12-hour sale tomorrow?

Spotted: more new products from CoverGirl!

There are three new products from CoverGirl on the horizon, and I've got pics of the displays to share with you! These products don't "officially" launch until July, but two of my fabulous readers have already spotted them in their areas and were kind enough to share pics with us. I am so excited about one product in particular that I can hardly contain myself (more on that in a bit)!

I posted about the new CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mascara earlier this week, but here's a refresher:

image credit: Georgiana for Nouveau Cheap

My lovely reader Georgiana spotted this display at her local Walmart recently, and I believe some of you have also spotted this mascara at your local Walmarts as well.

But that's not all! My longtime reader and pal BeautifulMonday spotted two additional new CoverGirl products recently at her local Bed Bath & Beyond:

image credit for the following photos: BeautifulMonday for Nouveau Cheap

CoverGirl Intense Shadow Blast Eyecolor (with built-in primer)

And last but certainly not least:

CoverGirl Lash Perfection Mascara

I am SO EXCITED about this new Lash Perfection Mascara, and let me tell you exactly why: my holy grail mascara for many years was Max Factor Lash Perfection Volume Couture Mascara. After P&G decided to stop selling Max Factor in the US a few years ago, I thought I had seen the last of this amazing mascara. Well, did you notice that this new CoverGirl mascara is called LASH PERFECTION? Yep. I obviously have no way of knowing for sure, but it definitely looks like P&G decided to bring back this AMAZING product under the CoverGirl brand. And if that's true, well then I'm the happiest gal in the world right now. A long-lost holy grail product, back in my loving arms? It's too good to be true!

If you'd like more information about the new NatureLuxe Mascara or Intense Shadow Blast Eyecolor check out the lovely Amber's post here (her post includes product images and detailed info about the formulas and shades so it's definitely worth a read!).

Are you excited to try any of these new offering from CoverGirl?

Thanks again, BeautifulMonday and Georgiana, for the great pics and scoop!

Spotted at Rite Aid: LA Colors, Organix body and skincare and more!

It's "crazy season" again at the drugstores, my lovelies! There so many new products hitting store shelves right now that I can hardly keep track of it all! I've got lots and lots to show you so let's get right to it.

First up, I want to thank my lovely reader Sephiria for these great pics of some L.A. Colors products she spotted at her local Rite Aid recently. I have never seen L.A. Colors at Rite Aid before, so this was a complete shock to me!

image credit: Sephiria for Nouveau Cheap

Sephiria spotted L.A. Colors nail polish 7-packs, which retail for $5.99 each. She also spotted these L.A. Colors 50-shade Artist Eye Palettes (price unknown). I have never seen 50-pans from L.A. Colors before, so this is pretty exciting! Thanks so much, Sephiria, for the great pics and scoop!

Remember a few weeks ago when I spotted some of the new Organix skincare products at Rite Aid? Well I was at another Rite Aid recently and spotted even MORE skincare and body care products from Organix (click here if you missed my Organix Coconut Milk White Lotus Body Mist review--it's divine!).

 Organix Tea Tree Willow Bark Natural Acne Care 3-Step Trial Kit

(includes Antibacterial Acne Wash, Oil Control Toner and Anti-Acne Lotion)

 Organix Coconut Milk Goji Berry Slimming Lotion

Organix Coconut Milk Sugar Cane Smoothing Body Lotion

NOTE: all of these products have hang-tags on the bottles with info regarding a $50 rebate available via beautypureandsimple.com.

 Organix Coconut Milk Brown Sugar Exfoliating Body Scrub

Organix Tea Tree Spearmint Oil Control Toner

 Organix Cherry Blossom Rice Milk Silkening Body Wash

Organix Cherry Blossom Poppy Delicate Cleansing Milk

 Organix Cherry Blossom Moringa Oil Nourishing Body Butter

I also noticed that Rite Aid's house brand, Pure Spring, got a HUGE makeover (their old products are all 50-75% off if you can still find them):

 Pure Spring Bath & Shower Creams, Bath & Shower Gels, and Body Sorbets in:

Organic Honey & Caramel

Organic Strawberry & Pomegranate Juice

 Organic Lemon Juice & Mint

 Pure Spring Hand Creams and Whipped Body Creams in:

Organic Honey & Caramel

Organic Strawberry & Pomegranate Juice

 Organic Lemon Juice & Mint

 

According to the label, the above products are cruelty-free.

And finally, I spotted this other new line of bath products at Rite Aid called Daily Necessities:

 The fragrances in this collection are:

Sweet Berries

Sparkling Peach

Cucumber Melon

Fresh Linen

Wild Jasmine

Have you spotted any of the products mentioned in this post at your local Rite Aid stores? I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment and let us know!

New bath and body collections from Calgon

Since I'm an absolute bath and body product fanatic, it's not surprising that I'm very excited about the new collections from Calgon that are set to launch this June (I loved their 2010 makeover, which I showed you here).  Today I've got all of the details on the new collections, directly from Calgon's PR:

The Calgon Sensual Collection will be sold nationally in retail stores and on the brand’s e-commerce site beginning in June 2011. The collection includes:

Fragrance Mist (4 oz.)

Silkening Double Mist (6 oz.)

(a dual-phased mist with extra conditioners that leaves your skin feeling silky smooth)

Shimmering Moisture Mist (4 oz.)

(a formula with luminous pearls that leaves your skin glowing and sparkling)

Swirl Luminous Body Cream (5 oz.)

(a blend of cream and shimmering gel, leaving your skin soft and radiant)

All products will be available in three fragrances:

Flirty Tease

(playful and provocative with an enchanting blend of sparkling red currant, orange blossom and exotic Egyptian jasmine)

Femme Inferno

(fiery and seductive with a hypnotic blend of pink pepper, vivid bergamot and lily of the valley)

Angelic Kiss

(romantic and ethereal, with a creamy blend of golden bergamot, mandarin zest and oriental floral heart)

The Silkening Double Mists and Shimmering Moisture Mists are innovative formulas and one of the first of its kind in the mass market. The collection is housed in custom made packaging featuring luxurious details such as highlighted “kiss” lips and metalized applicators resulting in a an upscale look and feel.

The anti-aging bath line, called Ageless Bath, includes 16 oz. Bath Pearls, 24 oz. Bath Body Scrub and Soak and 26 oz. Milk Bath with Serum Beads. 

All products are created with Calgon’s exclusive Vita-Pearl technology, a unique blend of Vitamin E, Pearl Powder and Collagen, which helps provide antioxidant protection, luminosity and dryness relief.

With the Renewing Bath Pearls, dull skin is immediately brightened and skin tone and texture are visibly improved leaving a woman’s skin looking young and fresh. 

The 2-in-1 Bath and Body Scrub exfoliates dead skin cells and relaxes the body revealing radiant skin. 

The Milk Bath is infused with serum beads, which helps comfort the skin while fighting visible signs of aging. 

Calgon is sold at Walmart, Rite Aid, Dollar General, Kmart, Target and Kroger among other national retailers. Calgon products can also be found online at http://www.takemeaway.com

Calgon fans: what do you think of these new collections? Are you excited to look for them in stores next month? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Drugstore dupe alert!

With all the current Blogger technical difficulties, I took to Twitter and Facebook last night to give you a sneak peek of a drugstore dupe that I recently discovered. If you saw the pic I posted, I did not disclose which shades were swatched, so now I'd like to end the suspense:

I found a fantastic dupe of NARS Dolce Vita blush, folks!

Looking at them in the pans, it's difficult to see the similarities. But look what happens when I swatch them on my skin:

Be sure to enlarge the above photo to get a closer look

As you can see, NARS Dolce Vita blush has a bit more pink to it, but when applied on my cheeks, it's incredibly difficult for me to tell them apart. I really have to study my face to pick out which is which. The biggest difference, aside from there being more pink in Dolce Vita, is that the Milani blush has more dimension to it, as opposed to the more matte wash of color you get with Dolce Vita. With Fantastico Mauve, you get a soft sheen on the skin and gold sparkle as well (I've mentioned in previous Milani posts that the gold sparkle can be easily buffed away if you so choose).

I'd also like to note that NARS Dolce Vita is an incredibly pigmented blush (it's easy to overdo it if you're not careful) and Milani Fantastico Mauve really gives it a run for its money. I find the pigmentation of the Milani blush to be right on par with the pigmentation of the NARS blush, however I believe that the Milani blush applies slightly better on my skin than the NARS. The Milani blush glides across my cheeks with such ease, but if my skin is a little dry, I find my NARS blush can leave a bit of a spotty, inconsistent color on my cheeks (certain areas of my skin look darker than others). For what it's worth, I've never had that issue with the Milani blush.

While not an exact match, I think Fantastico Mauve is so close that I feel comfortable calling it a dupe. If you can't afford the real thing, I think Milani Fantastico Mauve is an excellent alternative and--dupe aside--it's a lovely, extremely pigmented shade that I think would work with a variety of skintones. The quality is amazing and, at just $7.99, I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

Do you own NARS Dolce Vita and Milani Fantastico Mauve? If so, do you agree with my dupe assessment? 

A sample of Milani Baked Blush was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. NARS Dolce Vita was purchased with personal funds. 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.

Blogger issues...

As many of you know, Blogger, the platform I use for Nouveau Cheap, has been experiencing technical difficulties for the past day. For a while yesterday, I understand that many of you weren't able to access my blog at all (as well as other Blogspot blogs). Access was restored, thankfully, but you may have noticed that my posts have reverted back to last Wednesday. In other words, every post I've written since Wednesday is now gone. 

Well, the good news is that Blogger is aware of this, and has informed us that our missing posts will be restored eventually. The bad news is, we don't know when that will be, and what's even worse is that all comments since Wednesday seem to have been lost too.

I'm hesitant at this point to publish any new posts, because I don't want them caught in some sort of limbo once Blogger restores my older posts. I'm going to wait a few hours, and if things don't improve, I'll go ahead and publish at least one new post today. I've got quite a few lined up and ready to go and it's driving me crazy that I can't share them with you!

I thank you for your patience during this frustrating period, and I hope things return to normal ASAP.

Freebies!

Before I start this post, I want to make sure that those of you who subscribe, via RSS, to the comments on my You Tell Me post know that I have added a third part to this post. Since the comments were in the hundreds on the previous post, it was time to create a new post with a clean slate. Part Three of You Tell Me is now accessible via the link on my left-hand sidebar, and in that link you can still access parts one and two to see all past reader comments. This is just an FYI to update your RSS subscription to Part Three, in case you subscribe. Also, if you'd like to leave a comment on the You Tell Me post, please be sure you leave it on Part Three, and not on the previous parts. Thanks!

On to the freebies!

First off, I want to thank two of my wonderful readers, coco_fiere and CocoaKimchi, for alerting me to this one. TODAY ONLY:

Sephora Beauty Insiders: Ojon Trade-in Event! Bring in any empty full-size shampoo or conditioner on May 12, 2011 and receive one full-size set of Ojon damage reverse™ Restorative Shampoo and Conditioner for free. While supplies last.*

CocoaKimchi called her local JC Penney Sephora and they were NOT taking part in this promotion, so if you plan to take advantage of this deal, go to a free-standing Sephora store (or call ahead to find out if your JC Penney Sephora is participating).

Thanks, ladies, for the heads-up on this--what a great deal, considering that the Ojon damage-reverse shampoo retails for $24 and the conditioner retails for $25!

Next up, here's a great offer for Sally Beauty Club Members:

OFFER ENDS MAY 19TH

You MUST be a Sally Beauty Club member to take advantage of this deal--if you're not a member yet, and you shop at Sally Beauty, you should consider joining (it's $5 to join, but you get a $5 store credit when you join, so you do get your money back). Plus, you'll get a discounted, members-only price on most merchandise, and lots of member-exclusive offers like this one throughout the year.

So just print out this coupon before you hit up your local Sally, or use code 555397 if you're ordering online.

Do you plan to pick up some free Ojon haircare today, or a free bottle of China Glaze sometime this week? What shade of China Glaze are you thinking about getting (if you go to Sally)?