My Bed Bath & Beyond Haul (and why BB&B is one of my new favorite stores)

As you all know, it's crazy season for drugstore makeup lovers since this is the time of year that all the new launches for 2012 start surfacing in stores. If you'd like to see my coverage so far of all the new products headed your way for 2012, click here (and be sure to click "older posts" when you get to the end of the page for more posts).

I've got a lot of info about Bed Bath & Beyond in this post, so please take a moment to read through--I don't want you to miss anything!

If your local Bed Bath & Beyond has a Harmon inside of it (a store-within-a-store), this is THE place right now to find many of these new products. In my experience, Bed Bath & Beyond is putting out new product displays before the usual drugstores are, so if you have a Bed Bath & Beyond with a Harmon inside of it in your city, you're in luck.

NOTE: I was just told by a lovely reader that the store locator on the Bed Bath & Beyond site might not be 100% reliable in terms of finding locations in your area with an extended beauty section. So JUST to be safe, call a store in your area and ASK THEM if they know of any stores in your city that have a Harmon inside of them. That's what I did the other day, and the sales associate confirmed that in San Diego, only the Mission Valley and Chula Vista locations have Harmons inside of them.

IMPORTANT: when I made the following purchases yesterday, my friendly BB&B clerk told me a few things I want to pass along to you. I cannot guarantee the validity of these statements when it comes to your city/state, but it's worth looking into:

• Bed Bath & Beyond accepts returns/exchanges on used beauty products. If you buy something, try it and don't like it, you can return/exchange if you have your receipt.

• Bed Bath & Beyond accepts manufacturer's coupons.

• In SOME states (I believe she said there are 8 states total that do this, California being one of them), BB&B accepts EXPIRED manufacturer's coupons. I had an expired L'Oreal coupon in my wallet and they gladly accepted it, which is seriously a dream-come-true for me since I tend to hold on to expired coupons more often than I should (hey, now I have a reason for not cleaning out my purse!).

I was literally shocked by the prices of the products I purchased yesterday, and BB&B's prices on beauty products in general. In many cases, their products were about $1-$3 less then what I've been paying elsewhere these days. Add coupons to the mix (even expired ones if your state allows it) and you're looking at a heck of a savings.

So, here's what I bought (which of course I will be testing and reviewing here on the blog in the days to come):

Revlon PhotoReady 3D Volume Mascara in Blackest Black (BBB price: $6.79)

The early buzz on this mascara has been incredible, so how could I NOT try it?

Revlon Nail Color in Whimsical (BBB price: $3.79)

This is the Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air dupe. Since I can't afford the original right now, I'm happy to take the dupe!

L'Oreal Infallible Eye Shadow in Golden Sage (BBB price: $8.79)

How could I NOT get one of these? I've been lusting after these Armani Eyes to Kill dupes ever since they first surfaced in Canada.

Revlon ColorStay Eyeshadow Quad in Siren (BBB price: $6.79)

Since Revlon is getting rid of the old-style ColorStay quads in favor of these new ones, I had to pick one up to see how they compare.

L'Oreal Balm SPF15 in Plush Plum (BBB price: $5.79)

You know I love my Revlon Lip Butters, so of course I need to see how these new L'Oreal versions compare!

I hope this post helps some of you who've  been looking for these new drugstore beauty products. Please check back soon for my reviews of all of the products mentioned in this post.