Hello and welcome!
If you love drugstore makeup, you have come to the right place, baby! I've been obsessed with drugstore makeup since I was in Girl Scouts (and let me assure you, that was a very long
time ago). After decades of keeping this obsession to myself, a few
years ago I decided to devote an entire blog to it, and I haven't looked
back since.
It doesn't matter to me if you're on the down-low
about using drugstore makeup (hey, we all have our secrets) or loud and
proud (like me!), I want you to feel at home here. You're amongst
friends who totally understand the thrill you get when you buy a $2
lipstick. Heck, some of my $2 lipsticks look better on me than my $25
lipsticks and THAT is the true beauty of drugstore makeup.
So
if you're a first-time or new reader, I would absolutely LOVE it if
you'd take a moment to read this post. Let's get acquainted, shall we?
THE ESSENTIALS
- This blog primarily focuses on DRUGSTORE beauty products. I rarely review products that retail for over $20, and MOST of the time the products I review on this blog retail for under $10. Sorry, you won't find any $100 eye creams here!
- Occasionally I do blog about higher-end beauty products, but only if I'm telling you how to get them at a discounted price.
- Every week I tell you about the best drugstore deals for the coming week. I do all the research so that you don't have to! There's a link to my Weekly Drugstore Makeup Sale wrap-ups on the upper menu bar of this blog, for easy access.
- Aside from my own research, I have a large and amazing network of readers who also share their money-saving tips, so you can be sure that if there's a hot beauty deal going on, I'll probably cover it (and if I don't, leave a comment on the You Tell Me page, which is located on the upper menu bar of this blog, and let us know about it--please!)
HOW TO FIND MY PRODUCT REVIEWS (OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR) ON THIS BLOG
- Please click here for a quick tutorial.
NAME CHANGE
When I first started this blog at the beginning of 2009, I thought it would be fun to use the name "Recesssionista" as a screen name. But recently I was informed that this name is actually trademarked within the state of California by another blogger, so now I just go by plain ol' Gianna, or "G" as my friends and family call me. So if you see my older posts and see the name "Recessionista" and wonder, "Who is that??", it's me and that's just my former name.
WANT TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, ETC.? HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IF YOU DO
- Click here to find out what I share on all of the various social networks (hint: I don't share the same things everywhere!).
COMMENTS
I LOVE comments. I learn so much from all of you, and I value every comment I receive (and I try my best to respond to them as time permits). I do have a comment policy that you might want to take a look at before you comment here though (click here to read my policy). If you post a comment on my blog and then discover it has been deleted, I want you to understand why.
WHERE TO GET THE BEST MAKEUP AND BEAUTY COUPONS
There are a ton of resources for getting great coupons, but here are my favorites:
There are a ton of resources for getting great coupons, but here are my favorites:
- Look for coupons on new product displays (Maybelline is notorious for putting "tear-pad" coupons on their displays).
- Visit the retailer's website. For instance, Walgreens has great printable beauty coupons, and so does Target.
- Get your Sunday newspaper and look for Red Plum, Smart Source and P&G inserts. There are always makeup and other beauty product coupons in those inserts!
- All You Magazine is a WONDERFUL monthly magazine that you can purchase at Walmart or subscribe to via Amazon or other magazine subscription sites. At just $2.50 an issue (cheaper if you subscribe!) the magazine pays for itself and then some.
- Printable coupons are all over the internet and you can use these at any drugstore! Check AllYou.com, Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, RedPlum.com and of course brands themselves often feature coupons directly on their sites, so if you have a favorite product or brand, visit their site and poke around--you may just find a coupon for your favorite product!
- Facebook is another great resource for coupons! More and more beauty brands seem to be posting exclusive Facebook coupons for their fans, so locate your favorite brands on Facebook and see if they have any coupons listed on their fan page!
COUPONS 101
I talk A LOT about coupons on this blog, and how you can maximize your savings on drugstore makeup simply by waiting for sales and using coupons during sales. I've noticed over the past year that many of you might have misconceptions about the use of coupons, so I'd like to take a minute to address the BIGGEST misconceptions I see on a regular basis:
You can use more than one coupon at a time if you follow these simple rules:
Generally,
stores will accept ONE COUPON PER ITEM during a single transaction. For
instance, if you're buying three items in one transaction, you can give
three coupons to the cashier (it breaks my heart when people think you
have to make three separate transactions just because you have three
coupons. No no no!).
During
a BOGOFREE or BOGO1/2OFF sale, you can generally use two coupons per transaction
(one coupon will be applied to each item). Unless otherwise specified
by the retailer, you may use a BOGOFREE coupon during a BOGOFREE sale
and you'll get BOTH items for free.
You
can use TWO coupons for ONE item if and only if they are not the same
type of coupon. If one is a store coupon (issued directly by the store
itself) and one is a manufacturer's coupon, then you're good to go! The
retailer will accept both of your coupons toward that one item. For
more information on coupon stacking, INCLUDING HOW TO TELL THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MANUFACTURER'S COUPON AND A STORE COUPON, CLICK
HERE.
DRUGSTORE REWARDS PROGRAMS
If you're new to shopping the drugstores for makeup and other beauty products, and you don't quite understand how drugstore rewards programs work, please click here to see the post I wrote for Beauty Junkies Unite. I break down the rewards programs for CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens in this post and TRUST ME, knowing how these programs work will save you a ton of dough!
DEALS YOU COME ACROSS AND WANT TO SHARE
If you ever come across a great deal or sale at the drugstore, discount store, etc. and you'd like to share it us, all I ask is that you first search my blog and see if I've already posted about this deal. If you're anything like me, you get super excited when you spot a great sale at the drugstore and you want to run and tell everyone about it! I LOVE that you're like that--it means we instantly have something in common! But there's also a chance that I, or another reader, may have already posted about the same great sale, so before you take time out of your day to alert us, do a quick search on my blog and see if I've already mentioned that deal.
The quickest and easiest way to get your info to me is by leaving a comment on the You Tell Me page (link is in the top menu bar above). Regular readers of Nouveau Cheap
check this page for great deals, so know that your comment is going to
be read, and it will help A LOT of us. (And thank you in advance!)
OTHER GREAT RESOURCES
