Tag Archives: freebie

Jun15

Sephora Birthday Haul

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Sephora Birthday Haul

Hello!! I have been in dire need of my beloved Better Than Sex mascara by Too Faced for several months now. However, I refused to buy it until recently so that I could cash in my Sephora birthday gift. You all know I live for my freebies! Normally, I shop Sephora online because they run some great promotions like a freebie after spending X amount of money. This time around, though, I went in store because I needed some new lipstick too. Unfortunately, my go to lippie is no longer made so I spent some time browsing the store and swatching different shades as I went. We’ll check out a swatch from my new Too Faced lipstick tomorrow. But, for now, take a look at my birthday haul:

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The Haul:

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced Lip Injection in Filler Up

Youth To The People skin care set with a Superfood Cleanser, Superberry Dream Mask, and Superfood Moisturizer

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it time and time again: The Better Than Sex mascara is, hands down, the best I have ever used. During my time without my favorite mascara, I tried out a few different brands and nothing even came close in comparison. Needless to say, I am very happy to have a new tube and back up one again! I missed my big, bold, look at me lashes so much and consider each twenty-six dollar tube to be worth every penny. I especially find this to be true now after using cheaper brands that did nothing for me. And, hey, sometimes you have to splurge for the good stuff!

During my Sephora shopping trip, I started at the Too Faced department and ended there too during my lipstick search. Although I am not a big makeup girl, I figured it would be pretty easy to find a lippie in a similar shade to the one I used up. WRONG. There were SO. Many. Options. to choose from and it was overwhelming lol. It felt like I totally forgot the color I was even looking for and everything I swatched wasn’t quite right. I was about to give up when I realized I didn’t pay too much attention to the Too Faced Lip Injection collection. This was much more like it and I cannot wait for all of you to see Filler Up. It’s sooo pretty. 🙂

The last order of business was checking out and selecting my free birthday gift. There are several options online for what you can pick out for your prezzie – skin care, hair care, fragrance, or makeup. In the store I went to, however, the choices were limited. But, as luck would have it, the Youth To The People skin care set that I wanted was up for grabs. It’s no secret that I am skin care obsessed so it is always fun to test out higher end products. I am particularly excited about the Air-Whip moisturizer, which promises to be nice and light and perfect for the summertime!

After this trip to Sephora, I came to the conclusion that I don’t know anything about makeup lol. I was definitely jonesing to go to TJMaxx afterwards to get reacquainted with simpler things like shoes and clothes! Either way, I’m happy to have gotten what I needed and next time I need new makeup, I am bringing my sister along for help. 😀

What is your favorite makeup brand? How often do you get new makeup? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr27

Bath & Body Works Mini Haul

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Bath & Body Works Mini Haul

Hello!! One of my neighbors blessed me with a Bath & Body Works coupon he got in the mail as he had no use for it. So, on Tuesday I popped in the shop during my afternoon break to double dip on my April freebies. My bath and body care hoard runneth over but you just can’t beat free! I had no intention of getting anything besides the travel size item the coupon allowed for, but B&BW was running a good promo on their wallflowers so I grabbed two of those too. The fragrances I picked have me feeling oh so spring! Check it out:

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I don’t know if it’s just my Bath & Body Works or all of them, but I have noticed that their travel size selection is severely lacking the past several times I’ve went in. There were only a handful of scents, maybe three, that were available and it was mainly fragrance sprays and lotion. I am pretty well stocked on all of my bath and body products thanks to the winter semi annual sale and I didn’t want any more perfume. Then, I had a brain blast and remembered that their bar soap is part of the free travel size promo too. This was much more like it! I have used their bar soap a few times and loved it so I picked one out in Apple – my favorite scent. And, as you guessed, it smells exactly like biting into a crisp, juicy apple!

For my wallflower fragrances, I followed a similar motif with fruity scents. I couldn’t say no to Pink Apple Punch, which features notes of “crisp apple, melon, and sugared crystals”. I can’t speak for the melon portion of the fragrance because it just smelled like apples to me and that was perfectly fine! I also purchased Aloha Kiwi Passionfruit as my Johnny loves a tropical scent. This one offers notes of “tropical passionfruit, radiant kiwi, and juicy pineapple”. I could really smell the pineapple on this wallflower and it was such a sweet, punchy fragrance that will definitely brighten up the living room. I can’t wait to use it. 😀

This quick visit to B&BW was such a nice little treat. The fruity fragrances I left with put a spring in my step and will compliment the lovely spring weather beautifully!

What kind of fragrance do you like? What is your favorite fruit scent? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr16

Mini Madness

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Mini Madness

Hello! During the work week, I typically have an hour and a half or so of time in between shifts to run errands on Tuesday. I take full advantage of this because then I don’t have to pencil in time during the weekend to make it happen. If I have nothing that needs done, I’ll post up in a Panera or Starbucks and grab a drink and set up my laptop there. This past Tuesday, I had a few little odds and ends to take care of including a quick stop in Bath & Body Works and TJMaxx for some mini goodies. Check it out:

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I have been running dangerously low on my Better Than Sex mascara. However, I simply refuse to buy more from Sephora until my birthday month in June so I can get my free birthday prezzie with the purchase. During my last TJs shopping trip, I purchased some Ellen Tracey mascara to tide me over. Unfortunately, it was the most crap lousy product I have ever used in my life. I needed to go to TJs anyways to make a return so I just bought a mini MAC tube of mascara to get me through until June. I was disappointed they didn’t have some Better Than Sex mascara in store because they sometimes do, but beggars can’t be choosers. -_-

After my astoundingly quick time in TJMaxx, I went to Bath & Body Works next to cash in a free travel size product coupon. Normally when I get a freebie coupon, I like to try new to me scents. This time around, I reverted back to a fragrance I got in my January freebie haul: Calypso Clementine. This scent is exactly what you think it is and it’s delightful. I am extremely partial to citrus and just had to get Calypso Clementine in a fragrance spray too. I have a feeling I am going to be wearing it all summer. It is bright, zesty, and screams sunshine! Highly recommend. 😀

Good things come in small packages and that was definitely the case with this Mini Madness. Now, here’s to hoping I won’t need any more mascara until June! #fingerscrossed

What is your favorite brand of mascara? What is your favorite summertime scent? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Mar4

Bath & Body Works March Freebie

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Bath & Body Works March Freebie

Howdy!! After going absolutely insane during Bath & Body Works’ winter Semi-Annual Sale, I have been receiving hella coupons in the mail and it is great. Each packet has contained a free travel size or full size product coupon and even though my shelves are fully stocked, free is free! 😀 This past Thursday, I had a quick minute to run into the store and used my coupon to get a free travel size shower gel in B&BW’s new scent, Tropidelic. I never would have picked it for myself so I was glad that the sales associate pointed it out! Let’s discuss:

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Whenever I stop into B&BW during the work week, I am going at high speed because it’s in between shifts. I am a woman on a mission and I have been told as such the past two times I walked into the store lol. As per ushe, I bee lined to the travel size section to pick whatever tickled my fancy. I am never too picky when it comes to the smaller size because it’s nice to try something new without having to use it for forever.

As I was making my decision, the sales associate asked if I had tried out the new Tropidelic line, I said no, and she returned with a fragrance spray tester stick. I took one whiff and it was good enough for me. Tropidelic offers notes of “passion flower, ylang ylang, and misty rainforest”. I’ll be honest with all of you, I have no idea what any of this is supposed to smell like lol, but I liked it! This really is a lush scent that teleports you to a tropical climate. It’s slightly floral, but the main notes are quite earthy. Tropidelic is way different than what I normally go for. I can’t say I would make the plunge to buy it in full size, however, I’m happy to sample it for a while. 😀

Bath & Body Works has been dropping new fragrance lines like it’s hot so if you are looking for a new spring scent, you know where to go!!

Do you like to use one specific scent or do you change it up? Do you swap scents with the seasons? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb3

Bath & Body Works January Freebie

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Bath & Body Works January Freebie

Hello!! January was the month of a full fledged bath and body care restock. I came, I saw, I shopped during the Semi-Annual Sale at Bath & Body Works. Because I went absolutely nuts, I was rewarded with lots of coupons that included two free full size products. One in the mail and one because I’m a B&BW rewards member. Just when I thought I was done with Bath & Body Works for a while, I happily returned with another mail coupon for a free travel size product. I don’t think I’ll need to re-up my stockpile any time soon! Here is what I picked out:

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When I get a coupon for a travel size product, I like to try and change things up from my usual scents. My theory is that I won’t be using them for too long so I might as well experiment! For my freebie, I went for a body cream in the scent At The Beach. I am a fruity gal when it comes to fragrances and shy away from more natural or musky scents. However, I needed some sunshine after an eternally grey month and I figured a beachy scent was the next best thing!

At The Beach features notes of “frangipani blossoms, toasted coconut, and bergamot waters”. While I can’t speak for what frangipani blossoms smell like or what they even are and I have no clue what bergamot waters are, I can definitely smell the coconut lol. This lotion smells exactly like sunscreen and I’m kind of there for it. Is it my favorite scent? Not really. Is it good enough? Absolutely – anything free is! I don’t think that I would get anything from this fragrance line again, but I’m glad I tried something new.

Thanks to all of these Bath & Body Works goodies, I will be the best smelling gal this side of the Mississippi. But is it bad that I’m already beyond excited for the summer Semi-Annual Sale?!

How do you feel about beach scents? What is your favorite bath and body care brand? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan19

Bath & Body Works January Freebies

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Bath & Body Works January Freebies

Hellooo everyone!!! I live for my freebie coupons that come in the mail for Bath & Body Works and after a while of not receiving any, I finally got one for a free full size product. More than likely because of my hand soap haul and a huge semi annual sale purchase (Which you will see more of later!). I also had another free full size product to cash in from my rewards points so I couldn’t wait to hit up the store and pick out some goodies. I didn’t have the best weekend so I definitely needed a little treat! The best part about this little treat is that it ended up being over thirty dollars worth of product completely free. You can’t beat that! Check it out:

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For my free items, I decided to do one shower gel and one lotion. These were very easy choices to make because there were lots of new scents from Bath & Body Works to try. I went for Calypso Clementine for my shower gel and Butterfly for my lotion. The clementine one is brand new to B&BW and I’m not sure if Butterfly is too, but it is new to me. Within ten minutes, I was in and out of the store with my freebies and I cannot wait to use them because they both smell fabulous!!

As you might have guessed, Calypso Clementine features notes of “juicy clementine, neroli nectar, and coastal woods”. Well, maybe you guessed the juicy clementine part anyways lol. This shower gel smells like summer in a bottle and I am obsessed. I am a huge fan of citrus scents and they are often my go to. I like that citrus fragrances tend to be more pungent than your typical fruit scent, but they are by no means overpowering. The Calypso Clementine is zingy and bright and smells good enough to eat.

I wasn’t sure what Butterfly was going to smell like, but I’m really glad I took a whiff instead of breezing by it for the fear that it might be too flowery for my taste. Butterfly offers notes of “raspberry nectar, iris petals, and airy vanilla”. I absolutely adore sweet/tart raspberry scents so this one was perfect for me! While I love vanilla and am not too fond of anything floral, I couldn’t smell the hints of either and that’s okay. All raspberry everything is what I wanted and that’s what I got!

This was a fantastic freebie haul from Bath & Body Works and I am most eager to use my new shower gel and lotion. Stay tuned for my semi annual sale haul that will go live the day after my Busy Day OOTD Bloopers tomorrow! 🙂

What is your favorite fruit scent? How do you feel about floral fragrances? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct3

Bath & Body Works October Freebie

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Bath & Body Works October Freebie

Hello! After having COVID, I felt like I had a billion things to do! Disinfecting our COVID lair, getting caught up with work, and tons of errands. Even though it has been busy, busy – it feels good to be well enough to be doing anything! No errand day would be complete without a trip to Bath & Body Works and I was excited to cash in my October freebie coupon. This month, it was a free hand cream and although I am not a huge fan of this product by B&BW, free is free! I chose the Find Serenity hand cream from their Aromatherapy line in Mimosa & Spearmint:

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This trip to B&BW was an interesting one because my sense of smell is lacking thanks to COVID. So, I simply went in, grabbed a tube of hand cream at my whimsy, checked out, and left. I chose the Mimosa & Spearmint scent because I was intrigued. I genuinely thought that it was going to smell like an actual mimosa and, sadly, that wasn’t the case. In fact, I still have no idea what this “mimosa” is that they speak of! Hold on… Let’s give it a Google…

OH – It’s a flower! Okay, that makes much more sense than a hand cream smelling like an alcoholic beverage haha. Now that that mystery has been solved, let’s talk about this scent! From what I can smell of it – it doesn’t really smell like anything. It’s not really floral, it’s not really minty, it’s just neutral. I read the reviews for Mimosa & Spearmint to see if it was my COVID nose playing tricks on me and I am pleased to report that that wasn’t the case! This scent seemed to be a headscratcher for those who purchased it because it wasn’t true to its description. That is fine by me, though, because good or bad, I don’t care about the scent of lotion since I only wear it before bed. I’m just happy my sense of smell was accurate! 😀

Is this a must buy from B&BW? Who’s to say? If you are looking for a fresh, neutral scent then go for it. If you are looking for something that packs more of a punch, then you can definitely skip on Mimosa (It’s a flower!) & Spearmint.

When did your sense of smell fully return after having COVID? Who is excited for the Bath & Body Works Christmas line? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug20

Bath & Body Works Halloween Scents Pt. 3

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Bath & Body Works Halloween Scents Pt. 3

Hello!! Other than purchasing hand soaps from Bath & Body Works and shopping the occasional Semi-Annual Sale, I really don’t buy anything from there. The remainder of my B&BW stash comes from freebie coupons that get sent out monthly or bimonthly. Because of rarely spending money when I visit the store, it has taken a long time to rack up points for their rewards program. After my Halloween hand soap haul, I finally got a free full size product reward and stopped by to cash it in.

I thought I bought all of the Halloween scents in hand soap form, but I was mistaken. There are actually two other fragrances that I missed – Everlasting Magic and Midnight Spell. Midnight Spell was a massive dud, but I LOVED Everlasting Magic, so I used my rewards points for a body cream:

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Everlasting Magic is one of my favorite Halloween scents from B&BW. It’s not as good as Purrfect Pumpkin, but I actually think I might like it more than Vampire Blood. That’s really saying something! Everlasting Magic offers notes of “bejeweled berries, phantom petals, and magic musk”. Normally, I am not a fan of musky fragrances – this one, however, was fine because I really couldn’t smell it! To me, it smelled like rich plum and blackberries with the softest touch of floral. Also, can we talk about how pretty the packaging is?!

As always, I am a huge fan of the Body Cream from B&BW so I was really happy to snag it for free. While I will forever be partial to The Body Shop products, this cream is a close second. With a shea butter base and hyaluronic acid, it is so hydrating and nourishing. My skin feels and looks soft after every use and I think it is one of the best products that B&BW carries. I would definitely recommend getting a bottle for yourself the next time you go shopping! In Everlasting Magic, perhaps? 😀

There were several Halloween scents from B&BW that I didn’t care for at all and I feel like Everlasting Magic was a redemption in that regard. Here’s to waiting another year plus for my next free product reward lol!

What is your favorite B&BW Halloween scent? What is your favorite product they carry? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Aug10

Bath & Body Works July Freebie

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Bath & Body Works July Freebie

Hello! I have been busy, busy, busy these past few weeks and completely forgot about my July Bath & Body Works Freebie. This was a quick pop in because I really didn’t need anything, but I sure felt like I did. B&BW’s Halloween collection is already out and it is absolutely fabulous! The self constraint that I showed was admirable, but I can’t speak for the purchases that will probably happen when I get my hand soaps soon. 😉 So, I put my blinders on, cashed in my coupon, and got out of dodge lol. Check it out:

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I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of B&BW’s hand cream. It’s okay, but I have mentioned in previous posts that I would only use it if I got it for a freebie and I stand by that. Coincidentally, the coupon I had was for a free hand cream specifically so here we are. Told ya I stood by it! Not only was I trying to avoid blowing my paycheck during this trip to B&BW, but I was on a time crunch too. Rather than smell all of my different options, I simply grabbed one and checked out.

I went with the Breathe Deep Eucalyptus & Lavender from the Aroma care line. Not because I like lavender because I don’t, but because the Aroma line hasn’t been available in travel sizes until recently. When I smelled it after the fact, I was surprised that I didn’t completely hate it! It definitely is more eucalyptus than it is lavender. The lavender is almost an afterthought and it’s quite pleasant. And, knock on wood that I don’t get a fall or winter cold, but I could imagine that this would be so nice to slather on when you’re stuffed up.

Although the hand creams from Bath & Body Works aren’t the best, you can’t beat free! Keep it posted for my hand soap haul soon with ALL of the fall scents! 😀

What is your least favorite fragrance? Are you stocking up on fall goodies already? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

 

Jul18

Glossier Cloud Paint Swatches In Eve & Spark

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Glossier Cloud Paint Swatches In Eve & Spark

Hello!! During my Sephora Birthday Haul, I wasn’t overly impressed with the free sample selection for my purchase. As per ushe, I opt for skin care as my two free samples of choice and loved the Alpyn Beauty moisturizer I received. The remaining options were makeup, hair care, and fragrance which I usually shy away from as I’m pretty unadventurous in that regard. For swatches’ sake, I went with a sample pack of four Cloud Paint blushes by Glossier. Today, we are going to take a closer look at Eve and Spark. Tune in tomorrow for a peek at Storm and Dawn! Now, let’s get to it:

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Eve:

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Spark:

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When swatching Eve, I put what I thought was a tiny dab on my finger and blended away onto my hand like the instructions said. However, our definitions of a tiny dab were way different! I blended and blended and blended some more and it still applied quite dark. The rich plum color was gorgeous, though, and I resolved to use an even smaller amount when I swatched Spark. Even with the minuscule amount I used, it still showed up really visible in a bold, pure red.

While all of the colors from this sample pack are very pretty, Eve and Spark were too much against my complexion. I suspect the same will be true for Storm and Dawn as well. These blushes would look stunning against a darker skin tone, but it is a definite no from me in terms of ever buying a full size. I will say that the Cloud Paint applied so easily and was soft to the touch. Once it was on, I couldn’t even tell that it was there and that is a high point for these blushes for sure.

I am always curious about what other people think about products that I am sampling and the Glossier Cloud Paint got really good reviews on Sephora for the most part. The resounding comments were in terms of ease of use and the high pigmentation of each shade. Although the colors in my sample pack did nothing for me, I am very curious about Puff, which is a frosty light pink. I might have to treat myself to a full size of that next time I shop Sephora!

Keep it locked tomorrow for the swatches of Storm and Dawn as well as a date night OOTD coming soon!! ❤

What is your favorite blush? Do you prefer a powder or cream blush? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah