Coupons and Deals

I want to do more posts that actually help you save money on good makeup products.  Today I decided I would give myself 30 minutes to look at coupons and drugstore ads to find some great deals.

Holy cow!  This is not an easy task.  Most drugstore deals aren't as good as they seem when you factor in that part of the savings has to be used on another transaction.  With stores like Rite aid you have to come back the next day or later to redeem your "reward."

So here's what I found...

If you live near CVS and need toothpaste (I know, not exactly beauty related) you can get some for free on the spot.  Follow this link to get a manufacturer's coupon ($1 off) and go to the store to print out a coupon from the red box ($2 off) and use both for free toothpaste. :)
Also they have Crest toothpaste for $2.99 and you get a $2 reward for buying it and there's a coupon for 50 cents off here.  So you would still pay $1.49 out of pocket, but then you'd have $2.00 to spend on something else.  (I might be super boring and domestic and use it to buy two of their dawn dish soaps that are on sale for $.99)

At Target if you buy three Secret deodorants you get a $5 gift card.  Use these two links link link for coupons off of the deodorant.  Buy it and then do the rest of your shopping and use your gift card.    If you don't want to buy three deodorants you can buy one or two and then round out your three required items with mouthwash, toothpaste, body wash, feminine hygiene items or shampoo/conditioner (here).  Coupons for these items: Crest here, same link Tampax, Always, Pantene, Olay, Head and Shoulders.  Almost everything in this promotion has a printable manufacturer's coupon.

At RiteAid they have L'oreal cosmetics 40% off and I have a $2 off coupon.  I'm planning on getting some of their True Match Mineral Makeup.  I've had this loose foundation in the past and loved it.  I am really not liking any liquid foundation at the moment :(
They also have Physician's Formula cosmetics BOGO free.  Which is awesome!  You don't see this deal that often.  Also if you spend $30 on select makeup you get a $10 reward.  If you are running low on a lot of stuff you could make this worth you while.  

At Walgreen's they have Sinful Colors nail polish for 99 cents.  If you have coupons preclipped they have other okay deals, but if you just rely on printables there really isn't any deals that are that great.


If you get the Ulta ad make sure you save the $3.50 off of $10.  Also the Victoria's Secret Semi Annual Sale starts today (see this post for tips on insane prices for bras) and there's a great sale going on at Rue 21 (text "june" to 78321 for the coupon).

Birthday Spending Money

This year for my Birthday I had a really hard time deciding on specific things that I wanted.  I've been really, really good at not spending money on myself this year.  We set a budget for almost everything and anything we would want to or need to spend on and I have tried really hard to make sure we come in under or at budget on everything.

I feel like it is like a starvation diet.  Anytime I am in a store I see all of the pretty things and if I weren't naturally a very frugal person, I know I would have a crazy binge shopping spree.

I had some birthday coupons, a leftover gift card from my birthday last year, and some birthday money.  So I took myself on a much needed birthday shopping spree!  Jackson and I went to three stores and got a lot of fun stuff.

First we went to Ulta.  I wandered around the store, but couldn't really find anything that I really wanted that was less than $30.  I didn't want to spend all of my money in one place so I used my free birthday mascara code and moved on.  

They give you a free full sized CK one mascara for your birthday.  It usually retails for $18.  There was something wrong with my code, but they had amazing customer service and made it work for me.

Next we went to Rue 21.  They had a whole table full of $5 shirts.  I almost went crazy and bought a bunch of them.  There were so many cute ones!  It is Rue 21 though and I have had a bit of bad luck in the past with their stuff holding up, and my little closet is already bursting at the seams.  So I reigned myself in and got the most practical cute shirt.  This one with black and white stripes and the long back.

Then I wandered around the store in search of some cute colored or floral skinny jeans.  I didn't find any that fit me, but I did find this really dark simple denim pair for $10 that actually fit well.

I had to check out their jewlery.  They always have cute stuff that is within my budget.  I found a few things I kinda liked that were not on sale.  Then I found quite a few necklaces that I really liked and realized that they were all on sale for $2.  So I got these three.

When I rang up I used the remainder of a gift card that I got last year.  So I paid $4.96 for a pair of jeans, a shirt, and three necklaces.  Wahoo!

My last stop was Victoria's Secret.  They had a few bins already set out for the Semi-Annual Sale.  I found a gorgeous bra for $19.99 (I thought).  $10 for an awesome bra!  I was so excited, so I went to ring up and realized that I had been distracted with Jackson and in a hurry and the sign actually said $19.99 and up.  The bra was still thirty odd dollars with my $10 off coupon.

I had to awkwardly tell the lady that I had been confused and that I didn't want the bra at that price.  Jackson at this point decided that he had had it and started screaming.  The cashier tried to hand me the bra and I probably was kind of rude when I said, "No. I don't want it."  Props to her because she was really cool about it and not rude at all when I came back to the register a few minutes later.

I was able to get him calmed down, which was nice, because I thought we were just going to have to go home at that point.  I found a concealer that was regularly $15.  It was on a 30% off sale and with my $10 off coupon I bought it for 53 cents.

So I went on a crazy fun little shopping spree and spent...$5.49

Thanks for reading!! P.S. I'm linking up with Beauty and the Greek and Manic Monday.

Almost Free Makeup!

I did a post before about makeup sales and couponing.

To read those tips click here.

So what can you get for less than a dollar this week using ads and coupons?

At CVS Wet 'n Wild cosmetics are buy two get one free.  There is also a $1 off one WnW item coupon from the redplum 5/4/14 insert.  Snag two of those coupons, see if friends or family have an extra, offer to swap another coupon(s) for it.

Use two $1 off of 1 item coupons and get your third item free.  If you get items that are $2 which is how many WnW products are, you get 3 items for about two bucks!!

What should you get?

• Wet 'n Wild Lipstick (I've heard amazing things about them
• Nail Color
• Bronzer in "Reserve your Cabana" (use as illuminator a little bit more $)
• Color Icon Blusher "Pearlescent Pink" (also a bit more $)

Or you could go to Walgreen's their WnW is on sale for 40% off.

So anything that is about $2 would be $1.20 and then you can use the $1 off coupon.  I think that this is actually the better deal.  Especially if you really don't want to spend any money and only have one coupon.

You can get quite a few different things for about a quarter!

If you don't have any coupons saved, don't worry you can start now.  You can get a ton right now online at coupons.com

Right now there are coupons for Revlon, Covergirl, L'oreal, and a bunch more hair care and body care coupons.  I clipped only those coupons and there were 47 totaling $65.65 in potential savings.

So go clip and print and then see if you can do it again.  If you clip two coupons you will be able to use both on a BOGO sale and save quite a bit.


A  few words of caution: really watch how much you are spending in order to save.  If it is money you wouldn't have otherwise spent then really think about whether you want to spend it.  My Grandpa once told my Grandma "I can't afford for you to 'save' us any more money."  Even if you are saving a ton, if you don't need the items and they each cost a few $'s it adds up.  Coupons can make you spend more money if you aren't careful.  You should try to match them with sales, store coupons and/or store rewards.  I shared these deals because you actually can get close to free makeup.

Also don't be confused by sales.  BOGO 50% off sounds great, but you have to spend money on two items.  If you buy two items that are exactly the same price you are only saving 25% on each item.  If they are different prices it is even less of a savings.  So if you really want to look for savings look for the 40% off sales.  You can buy as many or as few items as you want or need (you don't have to buy in increments of two) and you actually are saving more on each item.


Hope this can help you save your hard earned dollars and also help you get more beauty stuff with those dollars :)

Welcome to The Price is Right!

Drugstore makeup is an incredible bargain when compared with high end makeup.  But it is still not the cheapest stuff and can really add up.  By planning ahead you can save 50% or more on your favorite makeup.


How does one do this?

• Sales
• Manufacturer coupons
• Store coupons
• Store rewards

In order to really save I try to match up at least 3 of these 4 on a transaction.

For example: 

Riteaid had Maybelline products buy one get one half off and a $5 reward for spending $15 on Maybelline.  I also had a manufacturer coupon for Maybelline mascara.  I bought 3 products (it would've been smarter to buy 4) and saved quite a bit.

Another Example:

Ulta had Revlon products on sale for BOGO half off, I had a manufacturer coupon for $1.50 off a foundation and another for $2 off a foundation and an Ulta coupon for $3.50 off a $10 purchase.  I saved a ton on this one!  I got both foundations for slightly less than the price of the more expensive one.

Most of my coupons I find and print from coupons.com.  I also get some redplum and P&G coupons in the mail.  I don't get the Sunday paper so I actually probably miss out on some good coupons each week.

I look at the Riteaid ad online about once a week and look for good sales that also have +UP rewards.  You get money back basically as a gift card/voucher with the +UP rewards.

I also look for sales at Ulta, especially if I can use their coupon with the sale.

Hopefully this gives you some good ideas and inspiration so you can save some of your hard earned dollars!!