Maximizing my CVS Extra Bucks

I mentioned on Twitter that I felt like I won the lotto when I scanned my CVS card yesterday. The red scanner box printed out my quarterly Extra Bucks ($4), then I also got another $5 Extra Bucks (Beauty Club reward) AND a coupon for $5 off when you buy 2 Revlon eye or lip products. Score!

Since I know I personally love seeing how people maximize their beauty purchases at the drugstore, I thought I'd share how I put my Extra Bucks and coupons to good use yesterday.

OK, here we go:

In my first transaction, I purchased the following items:

John Frieda Go Blonde Controlled Lightening Spray (retail: $9.99)
This is a brand new product that looks like a grown-up version of Sun In--remember Sun In? Anyway, since my hair is pretty light these days, I thought it might be fun to use this for root touch-ups instead of breaking out the usual box of color. It's heat-activated (you run your hair dryer over your hair after you apply it).

John Frida Full Repair Condtioner (retail: $7.49)
I've been wanting to try a product from this line for a while now, and since I'm running low on conditioners, I thought I'd start with this.

Revlon Age Defying Spa Concealer in Light Medium (retail: $10.99)
I've heard so many raves about this one--it's finally time for me to see what all the fuss is about.

Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Petal (retail: $8.99)
This is one of the new shades from the Colorburst line.

Without sales or coupons, my total for this purchase would have been $37.46.

But now it's time for the magic:

First and foremost, I had an email coupon from CVS for $5 off a $25 purchase, so we can immediately deduct $5 from the total:
$32.46
Revlon is BOGO1/2OFF right now, so that shaved off $4.50:
$27.96
I also had that $5 Revlon coupon from the scanner box:
$22.96
John Frieda shampoos and conditioners are on sale for $5 each this week so subtract $2.49 for the conditioner:
$20.47
I also had a newspaper coupon for $2 off any John Frieda shampoo or conditioner, so subtract another $2 from the conditioner:
$18.47
There was a $2 off instant peelie coupon on the John Frieda Controlled Lightening Spray:
$16.47
I also had a coupon for $1 off any Revlon Colorburst product from an old Sunday newspaper:
$15.47
Then I used my $4 Quarterly Extra Bucks:
$11.47
And finally, I used my $5 Extra Bucks from the CVS Beauty Club.

GRAND TOTAL OUT OF POCKET FOR THIS PURCHASE: $6.47

Transaction #2:

Purex Complete Crystals Fabric Softener in Fresh Spring Waters - x2 (retail: $6.49 each)
I've heard a lot of good things about this new softener and, you know me and gimmicks, so I had to get these.

Dawn Dishwashing Liquid in New Zealand Springs (retail: $1.69)
I'm a sucker for new dishwashing liquid scents, so, well, it was calling to me.

Without sales or coupons, my total for this purchase would have been $14.67.

First off, when you spend $10 on John Frieda products this week (which I did--see transaction #1) you receive $3 Extra Bucks, which I applied to THIS purchase, so that brings my total down to:

$11.67

Purex Crystals are on sale at CVS this week 2/$8 so deduct $4.98 since I bought two bottles:

$6.69

Next, I had two $2 off coupons for Purex Crystals (one I got from the Sunday paper and the other my mom gave to me from her Sunday paper) so that's another $4:

$2.69

The small bottles of Dawn are on sale at CVS this week for $0.99 so deduct $0.70:

$1.99

And finally, I had a P&G coupon for $0.25 off any size Dawn dishwashing liquid.

GRAND TOTAL OUT OF POCKET FOR THIS TRANSACTION: $1.74

The total retail value for both of the above transactions: $52.13

My total out of pocket for both transactions: $8.21

So basically I got everything you see in the above photo for roughly the price of just ONE Colorburst lipstick.

I realize that's nowhere near the level of "Extreme Couponing" but I'm pretty darned happy with my savings and you can totally do this too if you just clip your coupons and watch the sales!

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share your recent budget-friendly purchases in the comments. I love hearing them!