Tag Archives: vanilla

Mar8

Bath & Body Works Hand Soap Haul

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Bath & Body Works Hand Soap Haul

Hello! During my first in store shopping trip to Bath & Body Works in forever, I got an amazing deal on the foaming hand soaps that Johnny and I love so very much. They were $3.50 each AND I got twenty-five percent off of my purchase to thanks to my coupon. It doesn’t get much better than that and now I am well stocked for months to come in the hand soap department of my stock pile. Check it out:

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Would I Buy Again?

  • Pink Pineapple Sunrise: YES
  • Cozy Vanilla Almond: YES
  • Turquoise Waters: MAYBE
  • Mango Papaya Paradise: YES
  • Blueberry Bellini: MAYBE
  • Peach Bellini: YES!! (My favorite!)

Shopping in store at Bath & Body Works was such a treat because it had been so long since I could actually smell the products that I was going to buy as opposed to just crossing my fingers with online orders. However, after a while of smelling literally everything the store has to offer, everything starts to smell the same! Most of these soaps were ones that I took a whiff of before adding them to my basket but some of their names sounded good enough that I didn’t bother.

Johnny is very partial to tropical scents, which B&BW had a lot of in their new spring line. The Pink Pineapple Sunrise and Mango Papaya Paradise are both delightful and definite safe bets if you are ordering online. The Turquoise Waters was just okay, though, and I wish I would have went with another fruity soap rather than beachy. If you are a fan of the sandy beach scents, you will love it!

The Cozy Vanilla Almond was also a really nice one that I picked out more for me because I love anything vanilla. It has a light scent but still smells so lush and, dare I say, COZY. This one and the Peach Bellini would make great gifts because it’s hard to picture someone not liking it. The Peach Bellini is my all time favorite scent so maybe I’m a little biased but I always have to purchase one during my soap shopping. 😀

The Blueberry Bellini soap was one that I didn’t test out in store because it had the word Bellini in it lol so I figured how bad could it be. It didn’t blow me away but I also didn’t hate it. It just smelled blue if that makes any sense! This is one that I probably wouldn’t buy again but am fine with using it or being gifted with it.

Overall, I am really pleased with my haul because I consider it a GREAT SUCCESS when all of the soap scents are tolerable. The awesome deal for them also made this purchase even better!

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

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Oct24

Bath & Body Works Haul

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Bath & Body Works Haul

Hello! When it comes to my beauty hoard, I like to keep it very well stocked. This means having at least two backups of my most used products on hand at all times. Johnny and I are both extremely partial to the hand soaps from Bath & Body Works so when I saw that we only had one left, a restock was definitely in order! Check it out:

Would I Buy Again?

  • Island Papaya: YES
  • Ghoul Friend: YES
  • Afternoon Apple Picking: YES
  • Blueberry Maple Pancakes: NO
  • Peach Bellini: YES
  • Let’s Get Nuts: MAYBE
  • Spooky Hand Sanitizers: YES!

Despite a couple of misses during this B&BW haul, I am still pleased with it. The Island Papaya was a huge success with Johnny who loves all things tropical and I am always happy to get another Peach Bellini hand soap – it’s my favorite! Afternoon Apple Picking was also a scent that we both really liked because it smelled strictly like apples without a touch of cinnamon, which we both hate lol. Now, let’s move on to the not so liked buys:

When I saw the Blueberry Maple Pancakes soap, I thought that it would smell amazing and was looking forward to its arrival in the mail. Unfortunately, it missed the mark big time. Instead of a delicious blueberry bakery scent, it just smells like straight up syrup and is almost sickeningly sweet.

Let’s Get Nuts is another scent that I could probably do without. It is your basic vanilla and, don’t get me wrong, I am a huge vanilla fan. However, vanilla can be kind of boring when there are so many other fun hand soap scents to explore. I actually didn’t plan on buying the soap but almost all of the Halloween scents were sold out so I added it to the shopping cart to make the most of the six soaps for twenty-four dollars deal.

The biggest success of this haul was not the soaps but the hand sanitizers! Last month, I got a coupon for a free sani and I absolutely loved it. The scent was nice and light and it made my hands feel clean without drying them out. Since we couldn’t get many Halloween scented soaps, we settled for the five for eight dollars spooky sani pack which is a great deal. Johnny and I are both currently using Vampire Blood and the only thing that would make it perfect is if we had the hand soap too – it smells SO good!

Hit or miss, you can never go wrong with the foaming hand soaps from Bath & Body Works. I am already looking forward to the next restock! 😀

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

Sep28

September 2021 Finishes

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September 2021 Finishes

Howdy! September was a super exciting time for Lil Red as I completed my 1,000 day streak of writing! It was also a hugely successful month for product empties because I got to finish up a lot of the skin and bath and body care that I had been using for a while. Some of these products were new to me too, which is always fun! Take a look at my empties and let’s discuss:

Would I Use Again?

Why/Why Not?

B&BW Body Wash: Other than apple, vanilla is one of my favorite scents and I was really eager to try Bath & Body Works interpretation of Vanilla Bean. It definitely didn’t disappoint and this is actually one of my favorite scents that I have tried from them. While I love vanilla, I hate when it is scented too strongly or too sweet. B&BW’s Vanilla Bean was nice and light and wasn’t sugary in the slightest. It took me a month and a half to finish one bottle.

Tree Of Life Serum: For some reason, Amazon has stopped selling the Eclat Vitamin C serum that I was using and I was so disappointed! The Eclat serum had an unbeatable price (seven dollars) and my skin had never looked better when I was using it. The Tree Of Life Vitamin C serum was the next cheapest alternative (ten dollars) that still had good ratings so I gave it a shot.

This serum is much thicker than the Eclat one, which is nice because you don’t need to use as much of it. Most importantly, it worked well on my skin and gives an extra boost of brightness and radiance. My main qualm with this product isn’t so much the product itself as it is with the dropper. It is so short that by the time you finish two thirds of the bottle, you have to start tipping it out into your hands because it can’t reach the rest. Annoying? Totally. Deal breaker? No.

LANEIGE Mask: I so enjoyed using the Berry Lip Sleeping Mask by LANEIGE, which you can read about more in the linked post. It took me almost four months to complete the tiny sample sized jar!

TBS Mask: The Japanese Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask was, easily, one of the worst products that I have used by The Body Shop. That is really saying something because I have a deep love for most of their products. After twelve or so uses of this mask, I still didn’t notice any type of difference in my skin afterwards. Whomp Whomp.

TBS Eye Cream: On the contrary, the Vitamin E eye cream from The Body Shop is the absolute best! My favorite thing about this eye cream is that it literally lasts for forever and it took me about three months of morning and night uses to complete the tube. This eye cream makes the delicate skin around my eyes feel so moisturized and stronger too. It also does wonders in decreasing the designer bags under my eyes which isn’t so bad, either. 😀

Like I mentioned before, I finished a lot of products this September and almost all of them were a success. Here’s to pampering products for all in October!

Which products did you finish up this month? What is your favorite eye cream? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Aug3

Bath & Body Works August 2021 Freebie

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Bath & Body Works August 2021 Freebie

Hello!! I love shopping bath and body care at Bath & Body Works and recently had a huge haul during their semi annual sale. B&BW always runs the best promotions and I love that they send coupon packets every few months for freebies and percentages off your purchase. This month, I ran into Bath & Body Works to pick out my free travel size hand cream and it smells just as good as the name of it sounds! Check it out:

When it comes to freebie coupons, B&BW usually offers a travel size lotion or shower gel. I have never had the option to pick out a hand cream before so I am definitely excited to test this Vanilla Butter Cream scented hand cream out. This product smells exactly how you are probably imagining it smelling right now – a rich, sugary vanilla like a birthday cake. While it does have an absolutely delicious aroma, it is a tad overpowering. I would never wear this hand cream during the day but I’ll be happy to lather some on before bed!

It is also worth noting that the Halloween fragrances are already out at Bath & Body Works and the scents and packaging are divine. It took a lot of self control for me to leave the store without buying multiples of each Halloween themed product. My favorite things to look out for were the spider shaped hand sanitizer holder and the spooky snow globe candle holder. SO. CUTE. 😀

What is your favorite Bath & Body Works scent? Which store offers the best promotions? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sep15

Feeling Snacky

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Feeling Snacky

Hi! It has always been important to me to have healthy food and snacks in my apartment. I rarely eat sweet treats as I prefer the savory but Johnny, on the other hand, requests something in the dessert department whenever I go grocery shopping. And, when that time of the month rolls around, I am oh so happy when there is chocolate or cookies handy compliments of Johnny’s sweet tooth! ❤

When Aunt Flo comes for a visit, my primary craving is ice cream. However, I can’t justify buying a tub of ice cream that I’m barely going to eat. My solution? Frozen Greek yogurt!

Living that #YOGURTLIFE in the words of Terry Crews from Brooklyn 99!

My newest snack craze has been sticking a yogurt in the freezer and crumbling a chocolate chip cookie for the topping. I love the ice cream like texture of the yogurt once it freezes and with that extra bit of cookie it feels like I am eating a low calorie sundae.

Your topping preference is up to you but for the yogurt I definitely prefer the Light & Fit by Dannon. The vanilla Greek yogurt is so rich, creamy, and flavorful and it’s seriously hard to believe that it’s only eighty calories! I like how filling it is and sometimes, if I’m not snacking sundae style, I will have a yogurt with my medication before bed.

The Dannon Light & Fit yogurts were actually not my first choice but Johnny brought them home from the grocery store as my primary option wasn’t available. He is always getting me to try new things and this one just happened to become a staple at chez moi!

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

Jul11

Bath & Body Works July Freebie

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Bath & Body Works July Freebie

Hello everyone and happy Hump Day! It’s no secret by now that 99% of the time that I go into Bath & Body Works is because I have a travel sized freebie coupon. That certainly rang true when I ran in last week to pick up this here mini shower gel! Take a look:

sugarrr

In my humble opinion, you can NEVER go wrong with vanilla scented anything. Candles, perfumes, lotions, and, of course, shower gels! I’ve been a bit underwhelmed with the freebie fragrances that I’ve been getting lately, so I decided to go for an old standby this time around with Warm Vanilla Sugar. It combines the decadence of vanilla that I love with the sweet warmth of brown sugar, making for a totally delicious scent during shower time!

What is one of your go to fragrances when it comes to bath and body care products? What is your least favorite scent? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr11

Iced Coffee Obsession

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Iced Coffee Obsession

Hiii everyone and happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far. So, if there’s one thing that a Lil Red loves, it’s her coffee! I’m a caffeine fiend, so a smooth, strong, hot cup of coffee is a must for me when I am working, lounging, doing nothing, and doing everything. I am a hot, black coffee drinker through and through and I will be a monkey’s uncle before I succumb to putting cream or sugar in my cup. But, when the warm weather hits, which has happened this past week in Ohio, my tastes change to absolutely craving a good cup of iced coffee.

One of my favorite things to treat myself with is an iced coffee from Starbucks. A venti iced coffee with cream and vanilla, to be exact! “But wait! I thought you don’t believe in cream in your coffee!” You might say? I DON’T. But, iced coffee is a totally different story. I hate iced, black coffee more than anything and I just need that little splash of cream to turn the beverage into a drinkable delight. So, yeah.

Anyways, it’s a rare occasion that I get Starbucks now that I don’t work at the mall, so I always really enjoy it when I get it. But as you all know, I am constantly balling on a budget and it’s not like I love spending three dollars for a drink that I could totally make at home. So, make it at home I did. I have been making my own iced coffee every day for the past week and it has been an absolutely delicious experience. My coffee concoction has tasted great every time, and not shelling out the dough for basically the exact same thing at Starbucks has been a freaking blessing, lol.

An iced coffee recipe may seem self explanatory, but mine has turned out really freaking good so I’m going to share it on here, anyways:

Sarah’s Iced Coffee Masterpiece

  • Make yourself the amount of coffee that you plan on drinking.
  • Once complete, let the coffee sit for about an hour so that it can cool.
  • Add 4 to 5 ice cubes to a glass and pour the now room temperature coffee over it.
  • Add a splash of flavor. I have been totally obsessed with Coffee Mate’s Natural Bliss Vanilla creamer.
  • Drink and enjoy!

If you aren’t hip to the Coffee Mate Natural Bliss creamer collection, then you need to get on it ASAP. It is the purest, richest vanilla creamer that I have ever tasted and it literally will transform your iced coffee. I do not say this lightly, because it makes my coffee creation taste one million times better than what I used to get at Starbucks. AND it costed like two dollars for a bottle, which is awesome!

My iced coffee revelation may seem like a simple thing, because it really is pretty simple. BUT, I am so excited that I’ve made myself something that 1) saves money and 2) doesn’t sacrifice the taste, just in time for the warm summer weather ahead! GO ME!!

So there you have it, my Iced Coffee Obsession! Who else makes their own coffee creations at home? What is your caffeine beverage of choice? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Apr25

Monday Update: Really Good Scones Edition

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Monday Update: Really Good Scones Edition

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new week here on lifewithlilred! I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend. If there’s one thing that Lil Red loves, its cooking and baking. I could spend all day in the kitchen whipping up new meals and treats and have the time of my life. Recently, my mom acquired a new recipe from Today’s Kitchen in Wooster, Ohio to make Raspberry White Chocolate Scones and they are just as amazing as they sound. These scones are one of my favorite things to make and I just had to share the recipe with all of you since I made a fresh batch this weekend. They were delicious, if I do say so myself, so take a look at my finished product and then stick around for the recipe:

scones

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones:

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 3/4 cup heavy cream, half and half, or milk
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (I use 1 tsp)
  • 1/4 cup raspberries (I use 22 raspberries on the dot)
  • 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

The Glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla powder (I use 1 tsp)
  • 3 tbsp cream or milk

Directions:

  1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2.  Whisk sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in butter until it is in small pieces. With a spatula stir in 3/4 cup cream, extract, berries, and white chocolate chips. Add more flour if dough is too wet. (Dough should form a relatively smooth, firm ball.)
  3.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead gently. (I usually have a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour handy because the dough will still be pretty wet.) Press or roll out into a 6 to 8 inch circle and cut into eight wedges. Place the wedges, not touching, on baking sheet. Bake scones for 20 minutes or until golden and slightly firm when pressed. (I bake mine for 12 minutes because my oven sucks.)
  4.  Cool on a wire rack and then coat with glaze.

These scones are simply to die for and I hope all of you enjoy them as much as my family and I do! Thank you so much again to Today’s Kitchen in Wooster, Ohio for the divine recipe!

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Really Good Scones Edition! What is your favorite thing to cook or bake? Has anyone had any kitchen disasters lately? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan22

Bath & Body Works January Freebie

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Bath & Body Works January Freebie

Hi everyone and TGIF! First things first, before we start to discuss my Bath & Body Works January Freebie, I have to mention my all star student status. I’m writing this as I take a homework break and I had the most terrifying test taking scenario ever that I managed to overcome…

I was taking a timed test and less than half way through, I realized that I really had to go to the bathroom. I mean it was bad. I couldn’t just walk away from the test though, so I did what any normal person would do…squirm around in my seat, speed through the test as quickly as possible, and leave the grade up to fate. Despite this major bathroom set back, your girl still managed to get a 100!! HOLLER. #starstudent #selfcontrol #blessed

ANYWAYS, now that we got that important announcement out of the way, let’s talk freebies! Just about every month, I get a coupon from Bath & Body Works for a free travel sized product to add to my hoard. Thanks to a shopping trip this week with my sister, I scored my January freebie which was a travel sized lotion of their scent A Thousand Wishes.

I always really enjoy my monthly trip to B&BW to snag my freebie and I have to say, I love the scent that I picked out. A Thousand Wishes is a super sweet holiday scent with hints of cranberry and vanilla that I just can’t get enough of. I’ve always been fond of cranberry fragrances – I live for The Body Shop’s seasonal cranberry scent, so I was pleased to find this cranberry infused goodie from B&BW. I like that A Thousand Wishes has an aroma that’s very soft and subtle because if there’s one thing that Lil Red hates, it’s an overpowering fragrance. And can we talk about how cute the packaging is?! LOVE.

Thanks to my B&BW freebie coupons, I’ve been able to have monthly sweet treats for myself and who doesn’t love that? I’ve also been able to avoid the awkwardness of not giving a gift to someone who got me a present this holiday season. I was simply able to put together a little something from my collection and be on my merry way without being labeled as a non-gift giving asshat. Thank you, Bath & Body Works! 😉

To get monthly freebies of your own, simply put in your email address or phone number next time you make a purchase at Bath & Body Works to get some coupons sent your way. You can also do some shopping and enter in your email address on their website! To keep the B&BW coupons coming, make sure you enter your email address or phone number each time you make a purchase or cash in a freebie coupon to keep all of your information up to date. You’ll be glad you did once you have a nice little hoard of your own!

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So there you have it, my Bath & Body Works January Freebie! What stores give away the best coupons or freebie items? What is your favorite B&BW scent? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah