Ulta Black Friday Deals

The Ulta flyer for Black Friday ad has been sent out. You can view it here.

You can also use a coupon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Polish Giveaway Continued

Hello everyone.

Because of my extended stay in the hospital and then my recovery for surgery, I was unable to end this giveaway and send out the present at the right time.  I am going to extend the giveaway until next week.  If you have entered in the past, then you can enter your email address to enter the giveaway again.

Sorry about this.  There may be additional prizes because of the inconvience.

I hope you are all well.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Texas Girls - HEB Deals 10/17/12

Hello everyone!!!  I'm mostly back now.  Last week was really bad, I was so sick all week long.  I ended up missing a week of work and not being able to leave my house except for doctors appointments.  My husband was and is being a great help and taking good care of me, so I have that going for me!

I have been better this week, though I have to have some tests done next week.  I should be in full swing on the blog this week though.  Thanks everyone for putting up with my absence!

Onto the HEB Beauty deals of the week!

• $1.25 any CoverGirl or Queen Cosmetic product - "B" Coupon - Two weeks ago a ton of CG coupons came out in the newspaper that you can stack with this coupon.  If you weren't able to pick these up, you can order coupons from some websites.
• 40% off any Physicians Formula Cosmetic product - "B" Coupon
• $2.50 off any Almay Cosmetic - "B" Coupon
• $0.50 Cents off any New York Color Cosmetic product - "B" Coupon - Some brands of NYC nail polish is $0.93 normally!  Nail polish under $0.50!
• $2.00 off Nivea Hand or Body Creams or Lotions - "M" Coupon
• $1.00 off St. Ives Face Care Products - "M" Coupon
• $2.00 off any OXY Acne Clearing Treatment Item - "B" Coupon
• Buy One Cetaphil Skincare Item, Get 2nd of equal for 50% off - "B" Coupon
• Buy St Ives Body Lotion, Get St Ives Body Wash Free - "M" Coupon
• $1.00 off any OPI Nail Decal - "B" Coupon

Enjoy!!!

Why It Is Important to Know What Is On Sale

Hello everyone!  I am on the mend and beginning to feel better after a week of being very under the weather.  Save for trips out to doctor appointments, I have been stuck in the house.  Today I was finally able to go out and see all the sales I was missing!  I'm so very happy that I did too!

Last week it was reported by lovelies at Nouveau Cheap that the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure products were being put on clearance for $1.89 at Walgreens.  The day I heard this report I went to one of my local Sally's and checked it out to see if it was in Texas.  And lo and behold it was!  Sadly, just this one tiny section had polish left in it.

$1.89?  Oh yeah, get in the cart!

Today when I went to the Walgreens that is across the street from my apartment (a different Walgreens then the one before), I found that nothing was marked with the orange tabs, just the regular price on the products.  I also found a completely full display of products.

$7.99 a pop ... what?!?

I asked the cashier to verify the price on a few of the polishes and she told me that they were ringing up on sale at $1.89.  Stupendous!  I dove in and scoured the rack for whatever caught my eye!  I will probably go back for more, I didn't want to go too crazy as I couldn't recall which ones I already owned.  $1.98 polish down from $7.99?  I love a good deal!!!

   My haul!  Ohhh purple!

I purchased Grass Slipper, Calypso Blue, Good To Grape, Purple Pulse, Plum Luck (and a car airfreshner) for $14.56!

Happy Shopping.  I hope this deal is still going on in your area!

Seen any good deals in your neck of the woods?  Let me know in the comments below!

And don't forget about GIVEAWAY!!!

Check Out - Nailgasm - Indie Polish Maker

Hello everyone!  Check out Indie Polish Maker Nailgasm!!!  She makes her own beautiful polishes.  I just picked up Star Dust from her and will be doing a review on it once I feel human again.  If she can reach 100 likes on her Facebook page she will be having a sale for 10% off.  Check her out and get some beautiful Indie Polish!

Ulta $5 off $10 thru 10/13

In Stores Only.  Ulta $5 off any $10 purchase.  Use this coupon 10/11 through 10/13.  On all items, this includes sale and clearance items.

Here is a link to the coupon!!

Happy Shopping!!

Texas Girls - HEB Deals Postponed

Hey everyone, I'm sorry but I will need to postpone this weeks Texas Girls until tomorrow or Friday. I have been under the weather all week and am unable to run over to the store to check out today's deal. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Hope everyone is well!

Polish Giveaway!

I am going to do my first giveaway.  Five polishes!  You have until 10/20/12 to enter.

The prize is CHI Behind Closed Doors, Sally Hansen LustreShine Copperhead, ZOYA Daul, NYC Matte Top Coat, Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Made in Jade.

Please enter below.  If we get over 50 subscribers, I might add a second prize.  :)

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Urban Decay Sale - 20% off for Friends and Family

Urban Decay's Friends and Family Sale is going on now through 10/13.  Use code FFHOLIDAY12 at checkout.  It looks as if you can use the discount on items that are already on sale, like the $6.00 Vintage Eyeshadows.

Please let me know if you find any other great deals!

elf Deal : They Just Keep Coming!!

Along with the Trick or Treat sale you can use code TREAT at checkout for an additional 50% off during the elf sale.  Code good until 10/15!

e.l.f Trick or Treat - Treasure Hunt

e.l.f. announced their Trick or Treat Treasure Hunt this morning.  Various items on their website can be purchased for up to 80% off the original price, though you have to hunt them down.

If you go looking for items, you will find this image:

 if one of the items is discounted.  You will then have to find which item is discounted further.

I have compiled a list for everyone here.  Happy shopping!

Single Eyeshadow: Buttercream $1.50
Mineral Eyeshadow for $1.50 : In Outdoorsy, Dreamy, Beachy, Smoldering, or Flirty
Eye Brightener $1.50
Glitter Eyeshadow for $1.00 : In Nature Girl, Beachy Chic, Party Animal, Night Owl
Shimmering Facial Whip for $0.60 : In Camilia
Cream Eyeliner for $1.50 : In Copper
Eye Primer and Liner Sealer for $1.50
Shimmer Eye Liner Pencil for $0.50 : In Blissful Blush
Mineral Infused Mascara for $1.50
Mineral Eyeshadow Primer for $1.50 : In Sheer
Eyebrow Stencil Kit for $0.60
Dramatic Length False Eyelashes - Limited Edition for $0.60 : All colors
Dramatic Full False Eyelashes - Limited Edition for $0.60 : All colors
Silver Box Eyelash Kit - Limited Edition for $1.20
Individual False Lashes for $0.50 : In Brown
Mechanical Eyelash Curler for $0.60
Mineral Eyeliner Brush for $1.50
Mineral Lash & Brow Comb for $1.50
Mineral Smudge Brush for $1.50
Studio Pout Perfecter for $1.50
Plumping Lip Glaze for $0.60 : In Baby Doll
Mineral Lipstick for $2.50 : In Runway Pink and Rosy Tan,
Luscious Liquid Lipstick for $0.60 : In Ruby Slipper and Maple Sugar
Soothing Lip Balm for $0.50
Corrective Concealer for $1.80 : In Neutralize & Conceal
Translucent Matifying Powder for $1.80
Mineral Kabuki Blush for $3.20
Shine Eraser for $0.60
Powder Puffs Set of 4 for $0.60
Mineral Glow Kit for $9.00
Mineral Face Line Filler for $2.50
Shimmer Sheets for $1.50 : All Colors
Elements Custom Lips for $0.20 : All Colors
Elements Custom Face for $0.20
Signature Case for $4.00
Signature Train Cases for $6.00 : All Colors
Nail Polish for $1.00 : In Pearl, Cranberry, Mango Madness, Plum, Party Purple, Purple Dream, Royal Purple, Dark Glitter Purple

That's all the deals I found.  Let me know if I am missing one.  Thanks!

Water Marble Monday - Green and Black

Today's Water Marble is an oldie but a goodie.  I used Sinful Colors San Francisco (green) and Orchid Black Tie Affair (black).  The look was very easy to accomplish by swirling the orange stick in the water over the polish.  I used the green as a base coat before doing the water marble.  Hope you all enjoy!

Personalized Polishes - Make Your Own

Today I made my own nail polish colors.  It was very simple and fun to do, if not a tad messy.  I used the eyeshadow method.  In the next week, I will write a post on it but I wanted to show the colors that I had made in some quick swatches.

I wanted to thank Zazzlesthe7th for the inspirations.  All the talk you had on Indie polishes made me want to try my own.  And I wanted to thank SolarBears for the advice she gave me.

Here is a quick couple of swatches of the colors I made today.

Cream Pink, Cream Green, and black with dark blue sparkle

The possibilities with this seems pretty endless and I think I am going to have another obsession on my hands very soon.  But it's fun!!!

Any colors you guys think I should try?

Sally Beauty Supply Haul

Thursday night I posted about a Clearance sale at Sally Beauty Supply.  On Friday, I was able to swing by the store and see what goodies I could get.  If you'd like to see, please click after the jump.

The Sally's sale was great for me.  I had a lot of issues with the last Clearance sale to the point that I emailed Sally's corporate about their customer service.  When I went in on Friday, I first spoke with a manager to make sure that the sale was as it should be.  All red tagged items an additional 50% off.  They told me it was certainly on and I got to shopping.

I have been eyeing the China Glaze Bohemian Collection something fierce and already owned two of the polishes.  Luckily the set was all on sale.  I was able to pick up one of the China Glaze Hunger Games polishes for $0.75.  I also picked up an ORLY and two Finger Paints polishes.  

I was able to purchase 12 polishes.  With the clearance mark down this came to just under $20, so I picked up a mini black Sally's polish for $0.99.  Doing this allowed me to use a $10 off $20 purchase.  For my 13 polishes I paid $11.56!!!

I am ecstatic!!!  I love a good nail polish deal!!!

Anyone else able to get in on this deal?

Giveaway at Pinked Polish

Pinked Polish is a lovely Indy polish maker.  Seriously go check out her polish.  She has recently reached 500 members and is doing a giveaway.  Go check her out.  Really, go now!

Swatch - We're In It Together - Essie

Hello everyone!  I wanted to post up a swatch for everyone.  With this being Breast Cancer Awareness month, there are a lot of new polishes and makeup palettes to remind women up the importance to get routine checkups.  Essie has one display with four polishes that I blogged about here.

I did a swatch for the color I liked the most from the set, which is called "We're In It Together".  This is a "shimmery, iridescent pink", which in the bottle looks to have a shimmer between purplish blue and reddish pink.  It is wonderful to look at in the bottle, they way it would sparkle in different light.  That sparkle doesn't transfer to the nails very well though.

I found the polish to go on very oddly and very thin.  To get a serviceable look to it, I had to use three coats before the polish was opaque.  The polish would pool at the sides of the nail and into the cuticle.  Sadly the shimmer only is seen in very certain, very up close lighting.  Otherwise it looks like baby pink polish on the nails.

Here is a swatch of the color:

Here is the color in the bottle:

Under the flash of the camera, one can see the sparkle of the shimmer on the nails.  I would still have gotten the color as it has it's purposes, but as a baby pink polish I am sure there are some better and less expensive polishes out there.  I would pass on it, unless you are like me, and like to collect the new collections that come out.

This collection of Essie polishes can only be found in stores and retail from $7.75 - $9.00.

Texas Girls - HEB Deals - Essie Update

Last night, reader Krystl discovered a coupon at the HEB website for $2.00 off an Essie product.  Essie products retail for $7.75 at HEB.  Recently I have found coupons attached to the Essie displays for $2.00 off.  The coupons are for HEB only, but they say manufacturer coupons at the top.

While talking about the deal on Reddit, it was suggested that the coupons may be able to be used together.  Technically, the printed coupon is a 'B' coupon which normally stacks on to a manufacturers coupon.  We were curious if this would work, since they are both HEB Only coupons.

Today I tried it and, surprisingly, it worked for the two Essie polishes I purchased.  Now there is a bit of a catch to this.  I asked the cashier, a very nice gentleman who was very patient, to scan the coupons that I found in the store first.  Those came off without a problem like regular manufacturers coupons.  The first printed 'B' coupon worked without a problem, but the second one gave us some issues.  After two tries, the cashier simply overrode for the coupon.  The printed coupons do come up as 'Big Savings' coupons, but the in-store ones do not.  The point can be argued that they should stack.  It worked for me.  But like all coupon deals, your mileage may vary on how it works.  But give it a shot!  Essie products for $3.75 or $5.75 is better than the $8.00+ it retails for at other stores!

Update - Texas Girls - HEB Deals

Thank you so much, Krystl (a reader and fellow Random Acts of Polisher at Reddit), for sharing this link for a coupon at HEB that can be used on any Essie Nail Polish or Treatment!

$2 off Essie Product

They also have these coupons at the store.  I have seen them attached to the Essie displays at random so keep your eyes open for them.

Thanks again, Krystl!

Sally Beauty Red Tag Clearance Sale 10/5 - 10/7

Hey everyone!  I received an email this afternoon from Sally Beauty Supply.  They will be having another clearance sale this weekend.  50% off all red tagged items.  This discount should apply to the red tag price, so if it is marked down to $3.00 it should sell for $1.50.  I had issues with this last sale, but have confirmed with Sally Beauty's corporate that the items should ring up at 50% off the discounted price.

So hurry in to your local Sally Beauty!

Update:  I wanted to add that it looks as if the China Glaze Bohemian Luster is on clearance and those puppies will go fast!

Texas Girls - HEB Deals

Happy Wednesday everyone!  It is time for the HEB roundup.

If you need a reminder of how the M and B coupons work, please click here.  Let's get to this weeks coupons:

Expires 10/9/12:
$1.50 off Aquaphor Skin Care Healing Ointment - 'M' Coupon
$1.50 off Curel Lotions - 'M' Coupon
Buy HEB Cotton Rounds or Squares, Get $1 Cosmetic Bag Free - 'B' Coupon
$1.75 off Jergens Lotions, excludes 3 oz. lotions and Trial Size) - 'B' Coupon
Buy any one Nivea Lip Care Balm, Get 2nd Free - 'M' Coupon
$1.50 off Nivea Hand or Body Creams or Lotions - 'M' Coupon
Buy Suave Skin Lotion, Get Suave Body Wash Free - 'B' Coupon
$2.00 off Eucerin Face Creams or Body Lotions - 'M' Coupon
$1.00 off any L'Oreal Sublime Sun, Sublime Bronze, or L'Oreal Facial Cleanser - 'B' Coupon
$1.50 off Biore Face Care Products - 'M' Coupon
$3.00 off any L'Oreal Facial Moisturizer or Treatment - 'B' Coupon
$1.00 off Dove Body Wash or Bar Soap - 'M' Coupon
$1.00 off Nivea Men's or Women's Body Wash - 'B' Coupon
$2.00 off L'Oreal Lip, Foundations, Powder, Blush, Concealers and Mascara - 'B' Coupon
$2.00 off Revlon Nail, Eye, and Beauty Tools - 'B' Coupon
$3.00 off Revlon Face and Lip - 'B' Coupon
Buy any one Orchid Professional Nail Lacquer, Get 2nd Free - 'M' Coupon
Buy two Pantene Shampoos, 2n1's and/or Conditioners, Get Pantene Styler Free - 'M' Coupon
$1.00 off any L'Oreal EverPure, EverSleek, EverStrong, EverCream or EverStyle Shampoo, Conditioner or Styler Product - 'M' Coupon

Expires 10/30/12:
$1.50 off Burt's Bees Lotions - 'M' Coupon
$1.00 off Sea Breeze Astringent - 'M' Coupon

Happy Shopping!!!

Essie Breast Cancer Awareness - 31 Days of Pink

Essie is doing a neat little countdown of days in October, with "31 Days of Pink".  Each day wear a different color of pink.  You can find out more here.  Essie has a new collection out this month with four pink shades to help raise awareness.  While I can not find any information about sales of the four shades going to charity, the Essie websites does say that they have made a donation to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer foundation.

Has your life been touched by someone who has had Breast Cancer?

Sinful Colors Bewitched and Take a Bite Collections

I finally spotted the new Halloween collections for Sinful Colors.  I found these at two different Walgreens on the opposite side of town, which is frustrating for me.  I wish my closest Walgreens would step it up a notch!  There are two collections, Bewitched and Take a Bite.



The first Halloween collection is called Bewitched.

Bewitched Collection

The Bewitched collection includes three stripers, in Orange, Black, and White.  The returning colors in the collection are Let's Talk (blue), Courtney Orange, and Black on Black.  The new color in the collection is Pumpkin Spice.  

Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice is very pretty in the bottle.  It is a red and golden glitter that goes on smoothly, but as many glitters requires a few coats to look full.  It reminds me more of maple leaves and fall, then pumpkins however.  I think when placed closer to the orange color in the display, it looks more orange, but on the hand it looks more red.  I think it is pretty however and would look good with any fall looks someone wants to create.  In the swatch I used a base coat of Seche Clear and two coats of Pumpkin Spice.  On my ring finger I used one coat of Sinful Colors Sugar, Sugar and one coat of Pumpkin Spice.

Pumpkin Spice Swatch

The second collection is Take a Bite.

Take a Bite

Sadly, there are no new colors in the collection, but the Crackle may be new to Sinful Colors.  I am not a fan of the crackle look, so I don't collect them.  If anyone knows if the shade "Black Crackle" is new to the Sinful Colors line, please leave a comment and let me know.  The Take a Bite collection includes Black Crackle, Irish Green (not pictured), Sugar Sugar, and Cloud 9.  The three colors are part of the normal Sinful Colors line.

Do you like the new Pumpkin Spice polish?  Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Water Marbling Monday

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope the weekend went well for you!

It is time for another Water Marbling Monday.  This weekend I wanted to support the home team, so I did a Burnt Orange and White water marble.  You guessed it I'm a Longhorns fan.  It's hard not be when living in Austin.  This was done by using the steps in the Water Marbling Tutorial, which can be found here.

For this marble, I used OPI Clubbing til Sunrise and Orchid Love At First White.  For those that don't know, Orchid is a brand of polish that can be found at HEB in Texas.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday!  Hook 'em horns!!!  \m/

Drugstore Deals 9/30/12

Good evening, everyone!  I wanted to put up a post about the forth coming deals for the week at Walgreens and CVS.  We do not have Rite-Aids in Texas, so currently I am not scouring their ads.  Maybe one day we'll get some, as they do normally have pretty good beauty deals.  For now we'll stick with Walgreens and CVS though.

I am not all that impressed with Walgreens sales in the beauty department this week.  CVS seems to really be kicking it up a notch however.  Use coupons to get the most bang for your buck on CoverGirl products and Wet n Wild is Buy One Get One Free.  Now is the perfect chance to find those Wet n Wild items that are the perfect dupe for high cost brands!

CVS:

$10 extrabucks rewards when you spend $30 on P&G products

- CoverGirl Face, Eye or Lip Buy 1 Get 1 50 % off

- CoverGirl Perfection Mascara, Lip Perfection lip color or lip liner 2/$12

- Pantene Shampoo or Conditioner 2/$8

- Olay Regenerist Kits or Treaments $22.99

Get $3 extrabucks rewards when you spend $10 on any L'Oreal Lip or Nail product

- L'Oreal Paris Face or Eye Buy 1 Get 1 50% off

Get $7 extrabucks rewards when you spend $10 on any Physicians Formula product (excluding clearance)

- All Maybelline Cosmetics Buy 1 get 1 50% off

- Almay Eye make-up Remover pay $5.49 get $2.00 in extrabucks rewards

- Buy 2 CVS Brand Cotton Balls, Squares, Rounds or Polish Remover get 1 Free

- Olay daily facial cloths $4.99

- Olay Total Effects facial spend $18.99 get $1.00 in extrabucks rewards

- Olay body wash, bath bar 6 pk, or ultra moisture lotion spend $5.49 get $2.00 in extrabucks rewards

- Aveeno Hair, Skin, or Sun Care Buy 1 Get 1 50% off

- Neutrogena Shampoo, conditioner, Naturals Cleansers or moisturizers Buy 1 get 1 50% off

- All Revlon Buy 1 Get 1 50% off

- Buy 2 Simple Facial Care, St Ives Facial Care, or Noxzema, Get 1 Free

- Wet n Wild Cosmetics Buy 1 Get 1 Free

Walgreens:

- L'Oreal Eye, Lip, or Nail Buy 1 Get 1 50% off, Buy 3 get 500 points

- Covergirl Cosmetics Buy 1 Get 1 50% off

- Simple Skin Care 33% off, get 1500 points

- Maybelline Foundation, Primer, Concealer, Blush, Powder, and Lip Cosmetics - Buy 1 Get 1 50% off

- Pantene Hair care 2/$8

- Almay (Featured Products) Buy 1 Get 1 50% off

Happy Shopping!!!  Hope everyone has a great week!

New Sunday Coupons 9/30/12

Tomorrow is the beginning of the month for the coupon ads.  The paper, for most markets, should have four sets of coupons.  One from Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo., RedPlum, and Smartsource.  There are some fairly good beauty coupons in the ads, so they are worth checking out.  For example, the Procter & Gamble ad will have a $3/2 coupon.  This combined with some of the deals at the drugstore this week it should work out in the shoppers favor.  Good makeup products for less!  I love it!!!

Following are some notable coupons in the beauty world that are coming out tomorrow.





Procter & Gamble:
- Covergirl $1/1 product
- Covergirl $3/1 Simply Ageless excludes SErum Primer
- Covergirl $3/2 products
- Olay $2/1 complete facial moisturizer, daily facial or cleansers
- Olay $3/1 Total Effects facial moisturizer or facial hair removal
- Olay $5/1 ProX or Regenerist facial Moisturizer or Prox Cleansing Device
- Olay Buy facial cleanser get $2 off bath bar, body wash or in shower body lotion
- Pantene $1/2 products

Smartsource:
- Neutrogena $1/1 Naturals Cleanser
- Neutrogena $2/1 Naturals Moisturizer

RedPlum:
- Pond's $1/1 cream, towelettes or cleansing products
- Pond's $1/1 Luminous Clean Product
- Simple $2/1 product

Happy shopping!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Makeup

Only one display spotted so far for makeup in Breast Cancer Awareness month and it is by Revlon.  This display was found at Walgreens.  Beyond pink makeup it includes pink and black hairbrushes as well.

The Revlon "Pink your Look" Collection, includes four Super Lustrous Lipsticks, two Lip Butters, and two Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stains.

The lipsticks are:

• Skyline Pink - 025
• Fuchsia Fusion - 657
• Softsilver Rose - 430
• Gentlemen Prefer Pink - 450

The lipbutters are:

• Lollipop - 075
• Cotton Candy - 045

The lipstains are:

• Cherish - 015
• Sweetheart

Seen any new Breast Cancer Awareness displays in your area?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Support Breast Cancer Research in your area.  Learn more here.

Breast Cancer Awareness Displays - Nail Polish

October is creeping up on us and with it comes Breast Cancer Awareness month.  There are pink colors popping up all over the place in my local drugstores, so I thought I would take a moment to share what I have seen so far with you.

The first sighting was ORLY "Cancer Schmancer Movement" set.  The set includes three glitter polishes all in the pink family.  Each polish comes with a small pink ribbon clasp attached to the bottle.

Cancer Schmancer Movement Display

Embrace

Be Brave

You Are Not Alone

The next set I have is from Essie.  I didn't grab a picture of the title, just the polish, and here that is.

There are four shades in this set:  Good Morning Hope, Check Up, We're In It Together, and I Am Strong.  All varying shades of pink.

That's it so far for the nail polish.  Stay tuned for new makeup displays!

Spotted - ORLY "Spellbound" Collection

More Halloween stuff than you can shake a stick at.  While out this afternoon, I happened on an endcap with these little lovelies on it.  ORLY "Spellbound" Collection for Halloween.

This set includes three glitter polishes and one smooth black color.  (Please excuse the blurry quality of my pictures, I took them in a hurry.)

Monster Mash - different shades of green glitter

Right Amount of Evil - orange glitter

RIP - black and orange glitter

Liquid Vinyl - a smooth black polish

The "Liquid Vinyl" shade has a tag wrapped around the neck of the bottle, which I photoed and included here.  It reads "Flash GlamFX.  Layer over black to intensify the effect."

I was unable to purchase these today.  Has anyone else tried them that likes them?  I am thinking I may pick up the orange and black polish.  Hope you find them at your stores!  Good luck.

Texas Girls - HEB Beauty Deals

I love saving money.  There are always great deals to help save on beauty products.  Girls in Texas have an extra place to look for deals at our local HEB!  For those outside of our "little" state, HEB is our local grocery store.  Their health and beauty selection has a pretty good range of products and their prices tend to be less expensive than Walgreens.  Wednesday is when HEB rolls out their weekly deals, so I will be keeping up with their new beauty sales each week in this "Texas Girls" section.

HEB has sales in a few different ways and I would like to go over them before I break down the deals.  First, HEB puts items on sale or mark down, these items will be tagged as a  yellow tag with a red header.  Most of the time these deals are only for a few cents, so be careful that it is something that is actually on a good sale.  Second, HEB will put items on Clearance and leave the items on the shelf.  These items are often tagged with a yellow tag with a purple header.  Most coupons work with clearance items.  A lot of beauty items get tagged with an orange price sticker and thrown in a box or on a shelf marked as Sale or Clearance, keep your eyes open for these.  Right now, my HEB has a whole endcap dedicated to clearance items that includes makeup and nail polish from OPI, Essie, Revlon, and L'Oreal.

HEB also accepts manufacturers coupons as well as their own in-store coupons.  There is a trick with coupons though that one has to be careful of here.  HEB has three different types of in-store coupons, they are all yellow (in October they are normally bright pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month).  On the bottom of the coupon there are the words "Good Only at HEB", then underneath that there is a code.  It will say either M, B, or S.  M stands for Manufactured Sponsored, B stands for Big Savings, and S for Store Sponsored.  I have not once seen an 'S' coupon.  What I want to talk about here are the M and B coupons. M coupons work like any manufacturer coupon that you would get in the mail or from a website.  You can not stack other manufacturer coupons with an M coupon.  B coupons, however, allow someone to stack a manufacturer coupon with a B coupon.  Most beauty coupons are "B" coupons.

For example, HEB has an in-store "B" coupon for $2.00 off Revlon. Nail, Eye, and Beauty Tools.  I have a coupon for $1.00 off any Revlon Color Product.  I want to purchase a bottle of nail polish for $3.97.  At the checkout after all my items are rung up, I hand the cashier my manufacturer coupon to scan, then my in-store "B" coupon to scan.  The total discount taken off for the product is $3.00, and I pay $0.97 + tax for my nail polish.

You can click here for the HEB coupon policy that explains this methodology.  Let me state again, most beauty coupons are "B" coupons, so you can get more savings!

Now onto this weeks HEB deals!

Good thru 10/02/12:

• $1.25 off any CoverGirl or Queen Cosmetic - "B" Coupon
• $0.50 off any Wet n Wild Cosmetic - "B" Coupon
• $1.00 off any Hill Country Essential Face Care Product - "B" Coupon (Hill Country is HEB's brand)
• $1.00 off Irish Spring Body Wash 15 - 24 oz - "M" Coupon
• $1.00 off Rimmel Cosmetics - "B" Coupon
• $0.75 off Suave, Dove, or TRESemme Dry Shampoo or Conditioner - "B" Coupon Use a manufacturers Coupon to save more! (required sign up)
• $2.00 off Organix Body or Hair Care Products - "M" Coupon
• $2.00 off Got2B Hair Products - "M" Coupon
• $2.00 off Anthony Salon Product - "M" Coupon
• $2.50 off any Almay Cosmetic - "B" Coupon

Good thru 10/09/12:

• Buy Suave Skin Lotion (18 - 22.5 oz) get Suave Body Wash (12 - 18 oz) free - "B" Coupon
• $2.00 off Revlon Nail, Eye and Beauty Tools - "B" Coupon
• $3.00 off Revlon Face and Lip Products - "B" Coupon

Theses are the coupons for the week!  So dig out any manufacturers coupons you may be holding on to and get on down to HEB.  It's a good time to pick up Revlon Lipsticks, the regular brand is only $1.97 with the in-store coupon.  Happy shopping!

Water Marbling Monday & Tutorial

On Mondays, I plan on trying to do a new water marbling with new colors and various designs.  This first week I am going to demonstrate the process of water marbling, including the products I use and some clean up.  This post will be picture heavy to describe the tutorial.

I also have a new product to share!

Image:  Wicked Collection by China Glaze

This is the new Halloween collection by China Glaze called Wicked.  I purchased this at Sally Beauty Supply where it retails for $9.99 or $8.99 for Beauty Club Members.  It includes four China Glaze nail polishes, titled Roguish Red (a bright Halloween Orange), Glitter Goblin (a glitter with orange, blue, and silver pieces), Bizarre Blurple (a shimmery purple with a blue tinge), and Ghoulish Glow (a glow in the dark).  It is a very cute set and I am happy for the purchase.  Though I don't know when I am going to need to wear the glow in the dark color, but we'll see!

On to the Water Marbling!  For this tutorial I used the Roguish Red and Bizarre Blurple.  I also used a base coat of Seche Base and a top coat of Seche Vitte.

The products I use for water marbling are a small Dixie cup, room temperature filtered water, Vaseline, paper towels, and a bamboo skewer.  I use skewers that I found at my local grocery store for $1.00 a pack.  They're cheap and I can throw them away after a few uses since the paint will stick to them.  Many people use orange sticks.  I use Dixie cups for my marbling because they are disposable.  It is important to note that any vessel you use to do marbling in will be covered in paint that you will not be able to get off.  Use something that you are willing to destroy, not your grandmothers fine china.

A couple of things to note here.  Firstly, I find that room temperature filtered water works best for me.  When I am done with a water bottle, like the one pictured, I fill it with water from our filtered tap water and let it sit out in my office some where out of the way.  Thus it is at room temperature when I need it.  Secondly, there are many ways to protect your hands from the polish.  A lot of people like to tape off their fingers with scotch tape.  I do not like that method personally, but it might work for others who try it.  The reason I do not like to tape is that I have short fingers and because the cup I use for marbling is small, I have to be able to bend my first knuckle.  When I tape off my fingers, I always tape off too much, making it impossible for me to bend the knuckle the way I need to.  Therefore, I use Vaseline.  I swipe it around my fingernail and the cuticle and around the finger normally to the second knuckle.  A thin layer will allow you to wipe off the excess that is left on after dipping.  Everyone has different methods, try what works best for you.

On to the marbling process!

First, you will want to set aside some paper towels to wipe off the excess paint on.  Have those ready to your lap or to your side before you get started.  Secondly, fill the Dixie cup with water almost but not quite to the brim.

After using my favored base coat, in this case Seche Clear, I than put on a base layer of one of the colors I will be marbling with.  In this case, I picked the orange as my base.  After painting a single coat on my nails, I did not clean them up as I would clean them after I did the marbling.

After painting my nails with the base coat, I prepped my nails for dipping into the water.  Using the Vaseline method, I simply rubbed the Vaseline around my finger to create a thin coat.  I made sure to get all the way up to the cuticle edge and underneath the fingernail.  This will help with cleanup later.

Image:  Vaseline lining nail around cuticle

Now onward to the fun part!  Once I was done with the prep of my fingers, I got started on creating the design on my nails.  Taking one color at a time, I let a single drop fall into the waiting water in the Dixie cup.  I alternated back and forth between my two colors until I had a good size "bulls eye" in the water.

Let a drop from the polish brush fall into the water.  It will spread out.

Continue until there is a good sized "bulls eye".

Once I had my bulls eye, it was time to make a design in the polish.  Taking my skewer stick, I placed the tip of the stick into the middle of the eye and drug the stick up to the side of the cup.  Pressing the tip of the stick, gently to the side of the cup can anchor the polish to it, but will only work if the polish is still wet enough to move the stick through.  I took the stick and drew it down to the bottom of the cup as well.

Once I had middle drawn out, I started to create the design.  There are numerous ways to do this for different designs.  For this method, I drew the sides of the polish in to the center of the eye.  Doing this numerous times at different angles created the petals.  After nearly every drag through the polish, I would wipe my stick off on the paper towel so it was clean to pull through the polish again.  When the outer rings started to get tacky, I pulled my stick in to the next ring that was still wet and drew inward.  

After pulling too much polish into the center of the design, I had a big gloppy mess.  I simply dipped my wooden skewer into the design where the mess was.  This "tightens" the design, taking away the excess and bringing in the polish so that it looks neat.  Once I was done with the design, I dipped my prepped finger into the polish aiming it for one of the petals.  I dipped my finger in making sure that the nail hit the polish first, then extended my finger into the water so it was mostly submerged.  Than taking my skewer, I removed the excess polish from the top of the water.  Once all of the polish was removed, I pulled my finger free of the water slowly.

The mess!

While the design was on my thumb nail, it was also all over my thumb.  But after a quick, careful wipe with a paper towel ...

Later I would go back to do the final cleanup, but for the moment I just wanted to clean the Vaseline and polish off my fingers.

I then started another bulls eye and repeated the process until all of my fingers were dipped with a design.

Before Cleanup

After Cleanup and a Glitter Bomb

After I was done dipping my fingers, I cleaned off the Vaseline then did the cleanup that I normally do around the edges of my cuticles.  Once I was sure it was dry, I top coated with Seche Vitte.

I hope this tutorial helps others that want to learn how to water marble.  If you have any questions, or would like to see a certain design or colors please leave a comment.  Enjoy!

Urban Decay Sale Part II - Sephora Bound

Hey folks!  Sephora sent out an email earlier today announcing some of their new fall products.  At the very bottom of the email was a small blurb on a limited time sale for Urban Decay Vintage eyeshadows.  Old favorites are on sale for $6.00!  That's a steal.  Get them while supplies last.

I went by Sephora today to do some swatches and was told by the MUA there that the sale is online only.  However, it is being reported over at Nouveau Cheap that you can get these sale at the stores.  I would caution to call ahead to your local store to see how they are handling the sale.

Happy shopping!

Review - e.l.f Studio Eye Enhancing Eyeshadow Blue 2

I recently made a large purchase from e.l.f. during their sale on free nail polish.  With their exceptionally low prices on good drug store makeup, it is easy to splurge.  The affordability of their products makes it easy to try out new items in colors that I would not have picked up while out shopping at the store.

Case in point is the new Eye Enhancing Eyeshadow palette in Blue 2.  The palette retails for $6.00 on their website.  I purchased it because it has a good range of colors and I did not have any eyeshadows that I thought would duplicate the blues or the terracotta in the palette.  I do not normally wear blue eyeshadow, so this was just something to play with.

The palette comes in a sleek, small case that is easy to open.  In the clear window opening, you can clearly see all the eyeshadows.  From here they looked well pigmented.  The package includes a mirror when the case is opened and a sponge tip applicator.

There was already some fallout just after opening the palette that got along the outer edges of the pans.  More fallout was to come as I swatched each eyeshadow.  The palette includes six colors.  The dark navy blue has blue glitter in it, while the gold/tan color has red glitter in it.  The sky blue and gray blue have a little shimmer to them, while the linen white and terracotta color have little to no shimmer, but I believe it would be a stretch to call them purely matte.  After seeing the sparkle in the dark blue, I was very excited as I had not seen anything quite like it before and thought that it would be fun for a "night on the town" sort of look.

After swatching however, I wasn't nearly as impressed.  The navy blue does not hold the pigmentation or the sparkle once used.  The glitter came out in chunks and ended up everywhere but on the swatch.  It was messy and hard to work with, even on my arm.  The lighter blues were not as bad, while the linen shade took several applications to get it to stand out.  The golden and terracotta colors were nice, but the sparkle in the gold color did not translate either.  The eyeshadows are powder and very dry, they do not feel buttery and smooth like other drugstore eyeshadows I have tried.

I tried the three brownish colors on my eye, but the results were less than wonderful.  There was a lot of fallout, both in the pan and on my cheeks.  The golden color, which I used on my eyelid, did not show up after trying to build it, which was disappointing.  The linen color would work well as a highlighter with other neutrals but would not hold up on its own.  The terracotta did standout, but after a short time of wear it was very dull and faded.

I believe all the colors could be enhanced with an eye primer, though I don't think that will help the navy blue.  It seems very unworkable, in my opinion.  It would take some work to build the colors and blend them.  If anyone is looking for a navy blue color Wet n Wild has two blue palettes that contain one and it may work better.

In summary, I would pass on this palette if anyone is looking to get it.  The pans are small and the pigmentation in the palette doesn't quite translate to the eye, only leaving a powdery mess all around.

Urban Decay Sale - Get It While It Lasts

Urban Decay has many great products and here is a chance to try a few out at lower than normal prices.  If you are a fan of their eyeshadows they have some great ones at $6.00 a piece and some of their more off the wall lipsticks are $3.00 a piece.

You can see all the sales here.

Sinful Colors - Muse

I just got back from Walgreens with a very pleasant surprise.  The new Sinful Colors collection has hit!  I love these!  They are rich and dark!  All of the colors are grayish toned and I love that.  Here is a picture of the display:

Interesting shades, right?  I picked up everything in the display, though I already owned Last Chance and Rain Storm.  That means there are six new products here!  This is what the Muse Collection contains:

Left to right:  Last Chance (948) & Rain Storm (1053)

Jungle Trail (1132) & Smokin (1131)

Mesmerize (1128) & Muse (1129)

Inkwell (1130) & In The Mist (1063)

I swatched all of the colors so everyone can get a good look at them and I think they are gorgeous.  A few of them are streaky with one coat, but I was being quick about getting them applied to the nails.  These are only with one coat.

Without flash:  (Left to Right) Rainstorm, Mesmerize, Muse, Jungle Trail, Smokin, In The Mist, Last Chance, Inkwell

 With flash:

That's the collection.  I really love the colors, especially Mesmerize.  It is a deep purple that I do not have in my collection yet.

Does anyone have any dupe suggestions for any of these colors?