Review: White Rain Boutique Collection Skincare from Dollar Tree

Purchased by Me 

When it comes to bath & body products at Dollar Tree, I feel like they can end up in one of two categories: "pleasant surprise" or "epic fail." So when I finally found the new-ish skincare products from White Rain at my local Dollar Tree a month or two ago, I just had to give them a shot. I mean, for a dollar each, why not roll the dice, right?

White Rain Boutique Collection Skincare

(retail: $1 each at Dollar Tree, 4 oz.)

Keep reading for my full review...

Sneak Peek: Burt's Bees Holiday 2014 Collection

If you're a fan of the annual Burt's Bees holiday gift sets, then this is the post for you! I just received details about the Holiday 2014 collection, and this year Burt's Bees is giving us a whopping 19 different sets. Let's not waste any time--take a look!

Just a few of the Burt's Bees Holiday 2014 Gift Sets...

The Burt's Bees Holiday 2014 Collection will start to show up in drugstores and mass retailers in November. Everything in this collection is priced between $4.99 and $14.99.
Keep reading for lots and lots of pics...

First Impressions: NEW Yes To Coconut Hydrate & Restore Head-to-Toe Restoring Balm

Purchased by Me

So I finally found three of the products in the new Yes to Coconut line at my local Walgreens last week--I had been looking for the display since my original post about two weeks ago. Hopefully, if you've been looking for this new line too, you've been able to find it at Walgreens (I haven't seen it anywhere else as of the time of this post).

There are three items in the Yes to Coconut display at Walgreens but there are actually three ADDITIONAL products on the Yes to site here (Protecting Hand & Cuticle Cream, Eczema Relief Spray and Coconut Oil Body Wash). I decided to purchase the Restoring Balm (I'll show you close-up pics of the other two products now at Walgreens at the end of this post). I originally wanted to buy the Ultra Light Spray Body Lotion, but then I saw this little tidbit on the Restoring Balm tin:

Yes to Coconut Hydrating Head-to-Toe Restoring Balm
(retail: $9.99, 3.0 oz)

Notice the little blurb in green on the right-hand side of the label above that says "Awesome Applicator Included". SOLD. I simply had to know what this "awesome applicator" looked like. I mean, this could potentially be revolutionary, right? An applicator inside a tin? I don't recall ever seeing a body balm/cream in a tin with its own self-contained applicator before (at least at the drugstore)! 

Target beauty sightings

If you haven't been to Target in a while, there are some interesting things popping up that I thought I'd share with you today. I spotted these products myself over the course of a week, bopping from Targets to Targets in my area, but I have heard from several of you who have also spotted some of these products at your local Target stores, so you should probably be able to find these in your area too!

First up, some Target-exclusives:

Target-Exclusive Essie Spa Collection

(retail: $8.49 - $10.99)

Review: Freeman Bare Foot Repair for Callus Softening and Cracked Heels

Press Sample 

Longtime readers of this blog know that I love many Freeman skincare products, but I have actually never tried any their Bare Foot products or Bare Foot Repair products. So when Freeman sent me a few of their Bare Foot Repair products for review a while back, I was so excited to try them. My heels are in a constant state of dryness so I'm always up for trying new, affordable products that are targeted toward the heel area--especially now that we're in full-blown Sandal Season. Because let's face it, it's kind of a nightmare to look down at your heels while you're wearing flip-flops and see that they're dry and/or cracked, am I right?

 Freeman Bare Foot Repair for Callus Softening and for Cracked Heels

(retail: $6.99 each, 3.4 oz)

Review: New CeraVe Renewing SA Cream For Extremely Dry, Rough, Bumpy Skin

The product featured in this review was given to Nouveau Cheap directly by the brand. For my full disclosure, please see the bottom of this blog post.

CeraVe has some new product for 2013 and one of them is this new, heavy-duty cream for extremely dry skin. Since I happen to suffer from the occasional patch of extremely dry skin, it was quite easy for me to test this product, and today I'd like to share my thoughts with you.

 CeraVe Renewing SA Cream

(retail: around $20, 12 oz)

CeraVe products can be found at most major drugstores and mass-merchandisers. This product is a bit high, price-wise, but it's currently on sale at CVS.com for $17.59 (normally $21.99). If you'd like to purchase it in-store, you can print this $1 off coupon to help bring the price down a bit.

Keep reading for my full review...

Review: Alpha Hydrox Foot & Problem Area Cream 12% Glycolic AHA

Of all the things I've inherited from my mom (skin that's not prone to wrinkles, the ability to cook, bargain-shopping skills, etc.) the one thing I wish she wouldn't have passed down to me was chronically dry feet. Both my mom and I suffer from dry, icky heels that, if left unchecked, can pretty much double for an emery board.

Since my early twenties, I've had to stay on top of the dry heel issue with the diligence of a tax collector. For a while now I've been using my Swedish Clover Fot Fil in the shower every day, my Ped Egg every other week, and in between using those two tools, I must slather my feet with some type of lotion or cream every single night or else the dryness creeps back in like ants at a picnic.

I've probably tried hundreds of foot creams in my life, some great, some not so great. But the one that has stuck in my memory for many years is the Alpha Hydrox Foot & Problem Area Cream 12% Glycolic AHA, which I purchased on a whim probably a decade ago at my local Big Lots. Recently I was contacted by the folks at Alpha Hydrox and they kindly asked me if I'd like to select a few products from their catalog for review.

Alpha Hydrox Foot & Problem Area Cream 12% Glycolic AHA

(retail: $10.99, 2 oz)

Let me tell you, the VERY FIRST THING I chose was this foot cream (but stay tuned because I'll be reviewing some of their other products in the near future). Since this cream is hard to find in stores in my area, I desperately wanted to try it again to see if it would live up to my fond memories.

I'm very pleased to report that it's exactly how I remember it. Here's the deal: this cream may not look or smell fancy, but it's the only cream I've ever used that truly exfoliates my feet.

Alpha Hydrox Foot & Problem Area Cream 12% Glycolic AHA comes in a basic squeeze tube, and it's unscented. The texture is pretty standard--it feels like a medium-consistency lotion during application. But the true MAGIC of this foot cream is that 12% alpha hydroxy acid. This is what, at least on my heels, delivers true exfoliation in a way that no other foot cream I have ever used manages to accomplish.

I like to apply this foot cream at night, right before bed. In the morning, and for several days afterward, I can honestly feel its effects. It manages to keep the dryness at bay for days, and that just doesn't happen for me with other foot creams. I have used everything from straight-up Vaseline to pure shea butter on my heels (and everything in-between) and I always, always feel the dryness creep back in within a day or so. With this cream, I can go probably four days without feeling any dryness and that, my friends, makes this a holy grail product for me.

The best part about this product, for me, is that you only need a little to do the job. Since the tube is small (2 oz) I like to concentrate it solely on my heels, and I've even used it on my elbows with great success. I use it about once a week on my heels, and I find that when I use this cream, I need to use my Fot Fil less, as well as my Ped Egg. Oh what a liberating feeling to be able to skip a step in my foot-care routine and not live in fear that my dry heels will snag the bed sheets!

FINAL VERDICT: Alpha Hydrox Foot & Problem Area Cream 12% Glycolic AHA is a true miracle product for me and my foot-care needs, and if you suffer from seriously dry heels, it might be a great match for you as well. Its heavy-duty exfoliating properties allow me to skip the other parts of my routine for much longer than I have ever been able to do in the past. As with any foot cream, consistency is the key, so you must keep using this cream consistently to maintain the results. But that's no big shocker to someone like me who has had to deal with dry heels all her life. If you don't stay on top of it, the dryness always comes back. At least with this cream, I can be lazy for a few days and not suffer any consequences whatsoever.

You can purchase Alpha Hydrox Foot & Problem Area Cream 12% Glycolic AHA on the Alpha Hydrox website, Drugstore.com, Amazon, and I believe Ulta carries it as well. And if you're ever lucky enough to spot it at Big Lots, could ya let me know? I'd buy them out!

As with any product of this nature, be sure to do a patch test first, especially if you've never used an AHA before.

Have you ever used any Alpha Hydroxyproducts? How did they work for you? Do you have any favorites?

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.