Friday Haul: ecotools, eclos, Tarte & more!

Happy Friday! I hope you are all doing well today. This week the drugstores are a total dud for me. Not much to speak of as far as great deals there. So I ventured into Ulta looking for some deals, and I, of course, found some.

I initially went in to only get ecotools cosmetic brushes at buy 1 get one 50% off, and pair that deal with my $1.50 off 2 coupon form here. And the $3.50 off $10 coupon from Ulta here. But as I was browsing, I found some FREE after rebate items from eclos! I have one product from this brand, and it's decent. I like that they are paraben free products, and that most of their ingredients are understandable and I know what they are! So, I picked up 2 items that had "TRY ME FREE" stickers on them! Here is how it will all work out:

$6.99 ecotools Deluxe Fan Brush
$5.99 ecotools Eye Enhancing Duo Set
$10.99 elcos Daily Facial Cleansing Oil
$17.99 eclos Aqua Balm Finishing Spray
-$2.99 (Buy 1 get 1 50% off sale on ecotools)
-$1.50 (Coupon on ecotools from here)
-$3.50 (Ulta coupon from here)
-$10.99 (eclos Try Me Free Rebate for Cleansing Oil)
-$17.99 (eclos Try Me Free Rebate for Aqua Balm Finishing Spray)
$4.99 for all 4 items after Rebates!

Then, since I was at the mall already, I decided to head to Sephora and see what they had going on in there. I love looking at the little displays next to the registers for pint size treasures. I happened upon this cute little set from Tarte. This is a travel/trial sized duo of Tartes Brazilliance as well as their Park Avenue Princess Bronzer. This was $10 and I think well worth the price to try these items out. Plus, the cute lady helping me gave me 2 free samples of Ren skincare!

I also happened upon the bareMinerals store while I was there :) They launched their new liquid foundation on QVC a few months ago, and it's just now available in the store, so I thought I would check it out and see if it was worthy of my money. As I was asking about it, the sales accociate told me that she had some samples and asked if I wanted one! YA! So, she gave me a sample of the color that she thought would suit my skintone, and I can't wait to try it out!

That's all for my haul this week! Sorry to disappoint on the drugstore shopping, but there were truly not any awesome deals that got me shopping there this week. I feel like I made up for it with the free after rebate items, though. I hope you can find some of these deals where you are! Let me know what you score.

My Holy Grail High End Products

Makeup

Primer: The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost

Foundation: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation

Concealer: Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Waterproof Concealer

Powder: BareMinerals Mineral Veil

Lip Balm: N/A

Lip Gloss: Buxum Lip Gloss

Lipsick: Tarte LipSurgence Skintuitive Lip Tint

Lip Liner: N/A

Blush: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush

Bronzer: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil

Highlight: Stilla All Over Shimmer Duo in "Kitten"

Finishing Spray: MAC Fix +

Eyeshadow Primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Eyeshadow: Lorac PRO eyeshadow

Eye Liner: N/A

Mascara: Too Faced Better Than Sex

Eyebrow Product: Tarte emphasEYES in Taupe

Skincare

Facial Moisturizer: The Body Shop Aloe Night Cream

Facial Oil: Argan Oil

Eye Cream: Tarte Maracuja C-Brighter Eye Treatment

Scrub: dr. brandt Microdermabrasion

Mask: The Body Shop Nutriganics Soothing Mask

Clensing Oil: The Body Shop Moisture White Shiso Cleansing Oil

Body Moisturizer: Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Ultra-Hydrating Body Butter

I will add/change this list as things change or I find new products that fit my liking.

 

Friday Haul: Wet n Wild, NYC, Almay and more!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope your week has been great so far. I have an exciting haul today... have you been to Rite Aid this week? If not, you are missing out! They have some GREAT sales on makeup right now.

 First, lets start with the Wet n Wild deal! At Rite Aid through Saturday, all Wet n Wild cosmetics are 40% off, plus, if you get $10 worth, you get a $3 up+ reward for your next purchase. These cosmetics are such a great bargain anyway, that I had to get this deal! Their shadows always blow me away with the pigmentation. So, I got 2 shadow palettes that are fairly new to the line and I didn't have. Then, I got one shadow palette that I've gotten before and wanted a backup to depot or something! And, I also got 2 of their new Balm Stains. The new stuff (2 newer shadow palettes and Balm Stains) had $1.00 off coupons stuck to them, making this deal even sweeter! Here is how the deal worked...

$3.99 "Tunnel Vision" eyeshadow palette
$3.99 "I'm His Breezey" eyeshadow palette
$2.99 "I'm Getting Sunburned"eyeshadow palette
$2.99 "Nudest Colony" Balm Stain
$2.99 "A Stiff Pink" Balm Stain
-$6.78 (40% off sale)
-$4.00 (4 $1.00 off coupons from 4 of the products) <--- there is also a coupon from Sunday's paper
-$3.00 (up+ rewards for next purchase)
$3.17 for 5 products! Only $0.63 per item!

Now, onto Rite Aids NYC deal. All NYC cosmetics are buy one get one 50% off. Plus, if you buy 2, you get a $1.00 up+ reward for your next purchase. And, coupons.com has a coupon for $1.00 off any NYC product that retails for $1.79 or more. You can do this deal twice, and get a total of $2.00 up+ rewards. I purchased 4 sparkle eye dust's and here is what the deal looked like for me:

$2.99 x 4 (4 Sparkle eye dust @ $2.99 each) =
$11.96
-$2.99 (Buy one get one 50% off sale)
-$4.00 (4 $1.00 of coupons from here - you can print 2 per computer)
-$2.00 (up+ rewards for next purchase)
$2.98 Only $0.74 each eye dust!

And the last thing from Rite Aid, was another shadow softie. I have all of these shades, but I couldn't pass up a free item, so I'll save this for a friend or something. All Almay cosmetics are 40% off this week. Plus, I went to Rite Aid a few weeks ago, and I got a coupon that printed with my reciept for $3.00 off any (1) Almay Eye Cosmetic Product! So, combining the sale with that coupon, I got a free shadow!

$4.99 Almay shadow softie in "Creme Brulee"
-$1.99 (40% off sale)
-$3.00 (coupon from a Rite Aid trip last week)
FREE Shadow Softie!

 And, last thing for the week, is from bareescentuals.com where they have a promotion going on every Monday for a month. These items were from March 31st. I told you all about this deal on Facebook, so make sure you go and "like" me so you can get in on these great deals! So, for new customers, when you add yourself to the email list, they send out an email for you to get a free eyeshadow. Then, on that Monday only you could enter the code SWAK at checkout for a free full size lip gloss! You had to actually purchase something, so I got one of my go-to shadow shades in "Well Rested". Here is how the transaction worked:

$9.50 "Well Rested" Eye Color
$9.50 "Real Deal" Eye Color
$18.00 "Go Getter" Lip Gloss
$3.95 (Shipping Charge)
-$9.50 (Free Eye color for joining mailing list)
-$18.00 (Free full size lip gloss for entering code SWAK at checkout)
 $13.45 for 3 full size BareMinerals cosmetics!

I absolutely love drugstore deals. I saved $55.26 this week! I got over $70 worth of cosmetics for under $20! What were you able to get this week?

Ipsy: March 2014

Have you heard of Ipsy? It's a beauty subscription that costs $10/month and they send you 4-5 products inside of a cute little makeup bag. I've been subscribed to them for around 10 months, and I always get my money worth, with some of my bags valuing at over $50! Plus, it gives me a chance to try things that I normally wouldn't try. I love it! Here is what I got in this month's bag:

First of all, how cute is the bag this month? It was designed by an artist named klari, and I love the colors! It's a fun bag this month for sure.

 First thing I got, was this gorgeous deluxe lipstick from BareMinerals in the shade "Get Ready". The full size of this Lipstick retails for $18.

Next is a full sized pallet from NYX. It's their Love in Rio line, and this pallet is called "Cabana Boy", and this has a retail value of $6.

And, on to another full size product. This is the NEW Chella eyeliner pen in "Indigo Blue" and it retails for $24! I've gotten Chella products in my Ipsy bag before, and they are great!

Lastly, I got this Flawless Beauty Primer from Pixi. Retail of this is $9. The above swatches are: on top, the product straight from the tube, and on bottom, sheared out. This is a very brightening and non-silicon feeling primer!

There you have it! Had I purchased each individual product alone, I would have spent $57 retail! Plus, I got a cute little bag! I love Ipsy!

Tip Tuesday: Using Bright Blushes

One of the more widely used items in my makeup case, are my blushes. I love how they make me look like I'm not dead, and that they can perk up even the most bland of skin days. As we head into spring, I feel like the most colorful and spring-like thing you can add to your makeup routine is a bright eye popping blush! I have several blushes in my collection that would make most people cringe, but here are 3 reasons why I love them so much.

1. Bright washes of color on the apples of your cheeks makes you look more youthful. I was reminded of this on Sunday when I was curling my 6 year old daughters hair. Her cheeks had this hint of color on them that made her simply glow. As we age our skin looses pigmentation. So, adding that pigmentation on your cheeks makes you look younger.

2. It can save you money! This post was inspired by a bright blush I purchased just yesterday (I'll tell you more about that in my haul post on Friday). Bright colors can make for some very clown-like looks if you aren't careful. But, with a light hand and a good quality blush brush, you can use a very minimal amount of that blush, so it will last a long time. And, if you read my haul Friday post, you'll see just how affordable it truly can be!

3. Bright colors show up and look great on everyone. From the lightest of lights to the darkest of dark's. Bright, bold colors are universally flattering no matter what color your skin might be. I'm very pale, and you would think that using a bright, highly pigmented blush would make me look like I've got neon cheeks. However, I apply it very carefully and with a light touch to both the product and my skin. So, I'm left with a light wash of brightness that wakes my face up and makes me look alive again. You can always add more blush if you feel like the pigmentation isn't enough for you, so build it up until you get the color you want. But, always start with a very small amount.

So, there you have it! Below I've given you some examples of the blushes that are in my collection that are super vibrant and pigmented.

1. Maybelline Master Glaze Blush in "Pink Fever"
2. NYX Rouge Cream Blush in "Glow"
3. bareMinerals Blush in "Fruit Cocktail"
4. elf Studio Blush in "Pink Passion"
5. essence Silk Touch Blush in "Life's a Cherry"