Tag Archives: stock pile

Jul2

Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul

Posted on July 2, 2025 by lifewithlilred

Hello!! When it comes to bath and body care in my household, Bath & Body Works reigns supreme. We are huge fans of their foaming hand soap, shower gel, lotion, wallflowers, and hand sanitizers but I would never consider paying full price for them. Rather, I wait until the summer and winter Semi Annual Sales and do a massive restock of all of the goods that keep us smelling good. A few weeks ago, I received a text that said B&BW was offering an early preview of the Semi Annual Sale to their reward members and I hopped on it! For seventy dollars, I scored a total of eighteen items and you just can’t beat that! Check it out and let’s discuss the hand soaps from this haul:

Normally, I go nuts on hand soap during the Semi Annual Sale because we use ours constantly throughout the day. However, I just had a restock of my beloved soaps so I limited myself to four different scents – a couple of the classics and some Christmas in June vibes. I am smelling two of these for the first time as I write this so let’s see what I think lol:

Hot Cocoa & Cream: Wow, this is an incredibly straightforward and new to me scent. If you have ever had a steaming mug of hot cocoa, frothy whipped cream, and sweet marshmallows on a winter day, then that is exactly what Hot Cocoa & Cream smells like. In fact, the featured notes closely mimic what I just said with “decadent milk chocolate, fresh steamed milk, and mini marshmallows”. This would be an amazing scent to do holiday gift baskets with. Love it!

Winter Candy Apple: Other than Vanilla Bean Noel and Twisted Peppermint, Winter Candy Apple is one of my favorite holiday scents from B&BW. Of course, I love anything with the word apple in it when it comes to fragrances! Winter Candy Apple offers notes of “red apples, winter rose petals, and candied oranges”. It smells like a freshly made winter potpourri or tea and is a perfect blend between the apple and orange. It has a bit of spice to it but is primarily oh so sweet.

Fresh Amalfi Lemon: This is the other new to me scent in the batch and it is an interesting one. I was assuming Fresh Amalfi Lemon would be straight up lemon but it surprised me with the notes featured of “lemon leaves, chilled spearmint, and cedarwood citrus”. This is lemony and minty all in one and I actually don’t know how to feel about it lol. It’s not the best nor the worst, but I wouldn’t purchase this one again.

Cucumber Melon: A timeless classic, indeed! It’s hard not to think about Cucumber Melon when you think about Bath & Body Works. It is such a nostalgic scent from junior high and I can vividly remember the notes of “crisp cucumber, watery honeydew, and juicy cantaloupe” wafting around the gym locker room lol. This scent is so melony, so fresh, and just top tier B&BW. I always have to get a little something something from the Cucumber Melon line every Semi Annual Sale!

Stay tuned for more from my haul all week as well as a brand new OOTD! ❤

What is your favorite B&BW scent? Which scent do you wish B&BW would bring back (It’s Pearberry all the way for me!)? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan11

Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul

Posted on January 11, 2025 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! Every summer and winter, I look forward to the Semi Annual Sale at Bath & Body Works. I simply refuse to pay full price for anything from there, so it is my time of the year to stock up on my favorite products for a song. Rather than visit the store over my holiday break, I shopped online and was adding items to my cart like a mad woman. And why not? I got twenty-one products for seventy dollars!! I think Johnny and I will be A-okay in the bath and body care department for a long while with this haul:

When shopping the Semi Annual Sale at B&BW, I like to get a little bit of everything. This includes shower gels, lotion, hand soap, and hand sanitizers. Even if it seems like a lot, these are products that I know will be used and I’d rather buy them on the cheap now than on the expensive later lol. Typically, a shower gel at B&BW runs for close to sixteen dollars (Ridiculous!) and my cost per item ended up being three dollars and thirty-three cents. When you run the numbers like that, it makes sense to load up the shopping cart like your life depends on it!

Every Semi Annual Sale, I make a point to get several different shower gels for Johnny from the men’s line. He happily uses my fruity fragrances but is never opposed to switching things up with a scent that almost certainly as “bourbon” or “whiskey” in the title! The rest of the haul is, honestly, whatever struck my fancy. It can be tricky to shop for something like bath and body care online because, obviously, you can’t smell it lol. So, I went with tried and true favorites as well as a few new to me fragrances too. Whether they are a hit or miss, we’ll find out together in my upcoming reviews so keep it posted. 😀

There is nothing better to me than a full bath and body care stockpile. I can’t wait to replenish my skin care at TJMaxx next with my Christmas gift cards!!

Which stores run the best sales? Did you shop the B&BW Semi Annual Sale? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

May27

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Posted on May 27, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello! This past Tuesday, my mom and I enjoyed a fabulous shopping trip at TJMaxx. TJs is our happy place and, although I like to go by myself, it is SO much better with my mom. These shopping outings have been a tradition since I was little (What can I say, I’ve always loved popping tags lol) and I don’t plan on breaking it ever! My main priority at TJs was restocking my skin care hoard because it was getting quite bare. Nothing pleases me more than a skin care haul because I love testing out new products and I got exactly what I wanted. Check it out:

When I am shopping skin care, I like to get a three month supply for my moisturizer, serum, and eye cream. While that may seem a bit impractical, it is one of my money saving techniques. Trust and believe I could go to TJs monthly to restock my skin care, but I would most definitely end up buying more than that! My requirements for which products I pick are pretty simple, they must be non animal tested and they have to have at least one ingredient that I am partial to like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, retinol, or collagen. Last time I had a big skin care haul, it was difficult to reach those parameters because the shelves were pretty depleted. This time around, it was smooth sailing and it was awesome!

For my selection, I was able to find some new to me brands like IZMO, AllAboutSkin, Skin Assistant, and Purifect. I am particularly interested in trying the Purifect serum because the packaging is ridiculous and it spoke to me. I already tested out the IZMO lip mask and it is so very nice! I also scored some new to me products from familiar brands like Provence Beauty, Clean Beauty, and Vital Beauty. I guess I am drawn to brands with Beauty in the name lol. In total, this haul costed less than sixty dollars and you just can’t beat that. I don’t even want to know what the grand total would be if I paid full price and, as a full fledged maxxinista, I never have to. 😀

Tune in tomorrow for more skin care as we discuss my May empties and be on the look out for reviews for some of these products coming soon!

What is your favorite skin care brand? Where do you get the best deals on skin care? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb10

New & Improved Beauty Stock Pile

Posted on February 10, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! There are a few things about my apartment that drives me absolutely nuts. One of which is my under the sink cabinet in the bathroom. At my old apartment, both of these cabinets opened perfectly and I was able to house all of my beauty care supplies. Here, however, the left cabinet is stuck something fierce and it is a pain to open. You literally have to rain blows upon it from the inside to get it to open and it is incredibly annoying. It also makes it very difficult to store all of my products because I can essentially only use one side of the cabinet. So, I decided on a simple AF solution that I am so happy with:

As all of you know, I take my beauty stock pile seriously and it currently runneth over with skin care and Bath & Body Works hauls. What I love most about my hoard is being able to see all of the products and choosing which one to use next because it’s kind of like going shopping. This experience wasn’t possible with the cabinets so I used a chest of drawers to keep all of my goodies in instead. These drawers are old as dirt and I wasn’t using them for anything important – just random odds and ends that I had completely forgot about lol. I did find a ton of socks that I had convinced myself were gone for good, though, so that was a huge score!

Once I cleared out the top two shelves and condensed them to the bottom two, I began to fill each drawer. Bath and body care on the top shelf and skin care on the second one. This process was done in a flash, but it felt so good to do! I always consider my wardrobe to be my own personal boutique and now I get the same vibes with my beauty care. It was most pleasing to line them up in the order I wanted and have a visual of everything. It was pretty hard to tell what I even had in the cabinets when everything was piled on top of each other. In fact, I ended up finding tons of travel size B&BW freebies that got lost in the mix and is proof that this quick fix project needed to happen. 😀

Is this an HGTV level renovation? Not even HGTV Junior lol! But, I was able to problem solve and no longer have to punch my cabinet to get things out of it. Total GREAT SUCCESS!

What is a project you completed recently? What are your favorite things to stock up on? 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

Posted on February 3, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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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:

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

Jan23

Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul Pt. 2

Posted on January 23, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul Pt. 2

Howdy! Judging from yesterday’s post, it’s safe to say that I come alive during the Bath & Body Works semi annual sale lol. With such amazing deals, I would be shocked if I didn’t! I can’t say that I have ever paid full price for anything from B&BW between their coupons, promotions, and fabulous semi annual sales and that is how it should be. I couldn’t imagine spending almost fifteen dollars for one body wash! And, for this haul, I didn’t have to. Each product totaled out to be about four dollars and fifty cents and I was on thrifty girl cloud nine! Let’s check out the rest of this haul and discuss further:

When I shop in store at B&BW, I tend to have my blinders on because I know exactly what I need and don’t want to be tempted by anything else. So, I was shocked to see that B&BW has skin care products as I online shopped my way through the semi annual sale! Despite the fact that I just had a major skin care haul from TJMaxx, I added a dry skin moisturizer to my cart anyway. The reviews for the moisturizer were pretty average and it only received three stars. Normally, I would shy away from something that doesn’t have stellar reviews, but curiosity got the best of me. It was also way cheaper than a moisturizer from TJs. I will be eager to try it out and will be sure to let you all know what I think!

Like the moisturizer, I really didn’t need more hand soap because I just had a holiday scent haul for that too. Also like the moisturizer, the hand soaps were dirt cheap and you all know that they are an absolute necessity in my household. The two soaps I chose were Express Your Elf and Very Berry Good Days. Express Your Elf was described as a “merry cookie” scent and I thought that was hilarious. With fragrance notes of “buttery shortbread, vanilla bourbon icing, and spun sugar”, I have to say that the merry cookie description was dead on lol. Hilarious, yes. Accurate AF, YES! 😀

Very Berry Good Days was said to have a strawberry soda scent and this one was just okay to me. The notes featured are “fresh strawberries, bubbly seltzer, and crushed ice”. It actually does smell like a fizzy, fruity soda and I thought that was cool. However, the strawberry scent translated more as a cough medicine and that was a turn off. One whiff of this soap had me wishing that they went for a limeade fragrance instead because I think that would be delightful.

Last but certainly not least from this haul is the Sun-Washed Citrus fragrance spray and shower gel. (Peep yesterday’s post for more on Poppy!) I am a fruity scent girl through and through and that includes all things citrus. It’s just so invigorating and fresh and gives summertime vibes in the dead of winter. Sun-Washed Citrus is exactly what I imagined it to be with notes of “sugared lemons, mandarin, and agave nectar”. The mandarin is soft and sweet while the lemon adds the perfect amount of zest and it is so very nice. Highly recommend!

This semi annual sale haul was one for the ages and I am so pleased with all of my purchases. The fragrances are sweet, but the prices were (Dare I say?) even sweeter!

What kind of fragrances do you like? What is a fragrance you can’t stand? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan22

Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul Pt. 1

Posted on January 22, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul Pt. 1

Hello!!! Countless stores run semi annual sales, but the only one that I participate in is Bath & Body Works. You simply cannot beat their promotions, which include up to 75% off of full size products. It’s not a deal, it’s a full on steal and their winter sale couldn’t have come soon enough because I was running low on the bath and body care products in my stock pile. I shopped the semi annual sale online and, admittedly, went a bit nuts lol. However, I won’t have to restock my supplies for a good long while and it was worth every penny!

My haul included twenty-two products (The ones not pictured are for Johnny!) for a grand total of one hundred dollars. This made each item about four dollars and fifty cents as opposed to upwards of eighteen! Like I said, worth every penny. Because this haul was so massive, I will be breaking it up into two parts starting with the following:

There was a point in my life when I was obsessed with the wallflowers from B&BW. What I liked most about them is the fact that they offered a way to add scent to the apartment without being overpowering. I feel like I can taste some of the air freshener brand plugins and I am SO not about that! Then, my favorite Wicked Apple plugin that I kept in the living room broke after a guest bumped into it and I never bothered replacing it. The wallflowers themselves are inexpensive, but the plugins are kind of pricey. The semi annual sale was the perfect time to rectify this and I purchased a new apple plugin and two new wallflower scents in Raspberry Thumbprint and Hanukkah.

I am a HUGE fan of raspberry scents and the Raspberry Thumbprint is just as delicious smelling as I imagined it to be. This wallflower features notes of “buttery shortbread, rich raspberry jam, sprinkled with powdered sugar”. It’s like a bakery in a bottle and I love it so very much. The Hanukkah wallflower was purchased for no other reason other than I was curious. What does Hanukkah smell like? Let’s find out because I’m taking a whiff for the first time now…

Coincidentally, I feel like Hanukkah smells exactly like Raspberry Thumbprint lol! The notes for this one include “Pillowy fried donut, sweet jelly filling, sprinkled with powdered sugar”. So, in other words: Raspberry Thumbprint haha. Hey, kudos to me for trying something different!

While I was most excited to see what scent Hanukkah is, what I was most looking forward to was my purchases from the Poppy line. Poppy is quite possibly one of my all time favorite scents from B&BW and when I say I needed all of it, I mean ALL of it! I ended up with three shower gels, three lotions, and three body creams in Poppy and it took all of my self restraint to not buy more. The fragrance notes of this scent are “fresh morning dew, wild poppies, sugared rhubarb, and juicy pear”. I can’t speak for the morning dew or the wild poppies because, to me, Poppy smells like a strawberry/pear combo and it is magnificent. It is fruity and sweet without being too much because the mellow pear balances out the strawberry scent. It is absolutely divine. ❤

Stay tuned for more from my Bath & Body Works Semi Annual Sale Haul tomorrow because we have a lot more fragrances to discuss. See you then!

Which store has the best semi annual sale? How often do you restock your bath and body care products? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan9

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Posted on January 9, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Howdy!! For Christmas and my birthday, I know for a fact that I am going to receive lots of gift cards to TJMaxx. Everyone seems to know by now that it is my happy place and a gift card to TJs is truly the perfect gift for me. With my Christmas gift card hauls, I always like to do a major restock of my skin care supplies. While it would be fun to blow the lot on new clothes and shoes (And I have before!), I like to get things that I actually need and skin care is of the highest priority. I take my skin care routine very seriously and I got enough product to last for at least five months FO FREE. You just can’t beat that! Check it out:

^^^ All of these products are Leaping Bunny Certified!

I visited TJMaxx on January second and the store was understandably pretty bare to prep for their spring shipment. Unfortunately, this meant the skin care department was nowhere near as well stocked as usual. I had to really look to find the serums, moisturizers, toners, eye creams, and cleansers that would not only work for me but were cruelty free too. This was a lot easier said than done and I spent a majority of my shopping trip scouring the shelves. While I did walk away with everything I needed, the biggest disappointment was not being able to find any of my tried and true Evoluderm Micellar Water. Normally, TJs has an entire shelf full so that was a bummer but, luckily, I have more gift cards for when they get a restock! 😀

For this haul, I walked away with two toners, one cleanser, four moisturizers, four serums, and one eye cream. I was very happy with this because of how bare the skin care section was and I was able to find some familiar brands and brand new ones to try. What I am particularly curious about is the Provence Beauty serums in the bright yellow and baby pink bottles. And, yes, I did get them specifically for what they looked like lol. What can I say, I’m a sucker for pretty packaging! I was also most excited to find another Simple eye cream because of what a fantastic value they are. I have been using a similar product by Simple for the past FIVE months and I am still not even close to being done. Highly recommend!

I am very pleased with my gift card haul from TJMaxx and planned it out to perfection. I only paid nine additional dollars for what my gift cards didn’t cover and I thought that was a great success. Nothing makes me happier than a fully restocked skin care hoard and I can’t wait to test out the new to me products!

What are your thoughts on any of these products if you have used them before? What is important for you when it comes to skin care? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Oct22

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Posted on October 22, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! During my last shopping trip to TJMaxx, I went with the intention of finishing up my in store Christmas shopping and I am pleased to say that I did. The last thing that I want is to be in a crowded store, browsing through a picked over selection as the holiday season gets closer! Of course, I couldn’t say no to a few treats for myself either and I’m amazed I made it this long into my early shopping without purchasing a gift for myself too lol! While I was at TJs, I decided to restock the skin care items I needed to get me through the rest of the year. Now, I really don’t need to be in a store until 2024. 😀 Check it out:

^^^ All of these products are cruelty free!

Thanks to previous Skin Care Hauls from TJs, my beauty care hoard was still fairly well stocked. However, it wasn’t good enough to bring me into the new year and that was the goal. The first order of business was more of my beloved micellar water by Evoluderm. I am halfway through my last bottle in the stock pile and that simply won’t do! There have been several products that I have gotten from TJs that I have loved and never seen in stock again. Thankfully, that is never the case with my micellar water and there was still plenty to spare on the shelves after picking up three bottles!

As a rule, I like to have three of each item in my beauty routine readily available. I was all set for eye cream but definitely needed to achieve my perfect balance for moisturizer and serum. For a new moisturizer, I found a Palmer’s cocoa butter night cream that I think will be fantastic. I am a fan of anything cocoa butter and I’m sure this cream will be lovely once it starts getting really cold out. I also went with a collagen serum by Provence Beauty. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the skin care options during this shopping trip as a majority of the products weren’t cruelty free. I probably would have selected a different serum if more choices were available, but maybe this one will surprise me.

The last item on my restock list was a new face wash and I am excited to try the Hydrate Foaming Cleanser by ValJean Labs. I have never heard of this brand before, but foaming cleansers are my absolute favorite. A foaming formula always makes my skin feel squeaky clean without drying it out and I was glad to find one for the winter months. The brand name also reminds me of my niece’s name, Valerie Jane, so it was like a sign that I had to get it! 😀

With my beauty hoard fully intact again and my in store holiday shopping complete, I am thrilled to be done. Now, all that’s left to do is online shop till I drop for the remainder of my gifts and it will be smooth sailing all the way till Christmas Day! 🙂

Have you started your holiday shopping yet? What are your winter skin care staples? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep12

TJMaxx Skin Care Haul

Posted on September 12, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! On Labor Day, I had the potential to go into work but as luck would have it, I had the day off. Johnny and I made the most of our free day by visiting his parents, going grocery shopping at Aldi, and shopping at TJMaxx. I was fresh out of moisturizer and needed to do a restock of my beauty hoard. And, of course, I never say no to early holiday shopping and treats like a gorgeous new sweater you will see tomorrow! The skin care department was severely lacking during this trip, but I managed to walk away with the following:

Normally, it doesn’t take me long to pick out skin care when I’m at TJs. I know which brands I like and are cruelty free so it’s just a matter of locating them and filling up my cart. This time around, I couldn’t find any of my go to brands! I was really hoping to find another jar of the Rescue Me moisturizer by goodhabit, but it was nowhere to be found. To add salt to the wound, the majority of the selection was from brands that weren’t cruelty free. I spent SO long going through all of the moisturizers and serums and coming up empty handed. Not that I mind the thrill of the hunt for skin care, but even I was getting annoyed!

For moisturizers, I ended up with three jars that I probably wouldn’t have bought if the pickings weren’t so slim. I’m sure they will be fine and maybe I’ll end up liking them, but I am always partial to a gel based moisturizer! These were the literal only cruelty free ones I could find and were relatively cheap at six bucks a pop so what can you do? I also found a serum that I am kind of interested in trying out with all of that shimmer. I love a touch of glitter and I’m hoping it will bring a pop of brightness during the grey months of fall and winter.

One final thing that caught my eye was some floss picks, which I also happened to be running low on. Rather than making a separate trip to Giant Eagle for them, I thought I’d give these plant based picks a go. You never know what you’ll find at TJMaxx! I have taken my oral health very seriously since my raging success at my last periodontist appointment. Floss picks have become a must have staple for me and it makes me feel good to be taking much better care of my teeth. I’m just hoping these plant based picks will be as durable as the ones that I usually use!

Am I thrilled with this TJMaxx Skin Care Haul? Not particularly and it was a very lackluster showing on TJ’s part. On the bright side, these are all new to me products and it’s always fun to test out new brands. We’ll see what happens!

What are your must have beauty products? What is your favorite cruelty free brand? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

	lifewithlilred on Spirit Christmas Haul
	oliveunicorn on Spirit Christmas Haul
	Simon on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers
	lifewithlilred on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers
	Simon on Thxgiving OOTD Bloopers