Shop Miss A!! A bargain hunter's dream?

What if there was a dollar store that had amazing makeup, jewelery, and accessories and you could shop for all of it from your couch?  What if they offered free shipping on orders over $30 and had good customer service too? I found this amazing site called ShopMissA.com and I love it!!  I have placed 3 orders so far and I have been able to get a wide variety of their products and feel like I can tell you what to look for and give you tips on it all. The biggest thing to watch out for is lead in their jewelry.  This is my only disappointment with this store.  I love the jewelry that I got from them, but several of the pieces had warning labels that stated "not intended for children," "for ages 14 and older," etc.  I believe one even had the "this product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause.." label.  Some of their jewelry items do say "lead free" on the website but not all do.  In the future I will only be ordering items that state "lead free" on the website. My only other warning is that you need to check your package and everything in it thoroughly right when you get it.  If anything is broken or defective or you just want to return or exchange something, you only have 3 business days from when your package arrived to you.  I had 3 out of my 40 something items that were broken/defective in my first order and 1 in my second order and 3 in the third. With the 1st order I contacted them about 2 weeks later and at first they just told me their policy and that I had missed their cutoff.  They did give me store credit when I complained that their cutoff date was not a normal amount of days for a return and that it was only listed on the site under the returns tab (which you wouldn't check until you were already trying to do a return and you might already be too late without even knowing it at that point).  The only other con is that stuff sells out quickly.  They get some really amazing things for $1 but usually the best colors and options are sold out when I look at the site.  They have an email subscription that alerts you when they add inventory and I would highly recommend joining it if you love the site. Thanks for reading!!  Have you ever tried this site?  Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!

Zit Fix! The 3 Best Spot Treatments

I have had acne off and on since I was about twelve.  Unfortunately it's been mainly "on" and very rarely "off."  I have tried so many different acne products both prescription and over the counter with little success.  There are a few products that are worth sharing though :)

If you have acne often or even if you only get a "spot" rarely, the best strategy may be just to treat each spot.  Often using a strong or drying product on your entire face will cause more harm than good.  These three use a variety of active ingredients to help you get rid of zits faster.

The first is Murad's Acne Spot Treatment.  This baby is $16 for a little tube that will last for a very long time.  It is very soothing and effective at reducing the swelling and pain of a zit while helping it heal faster.  Here are the claims straight from Sephora, "High performance ingredients, such as sulfur and salicylic acid, reduce the appearance of blemishes while supporting natural cell turnover. Zinc and licorice root extract help support natural healing. This product is dermatologist developed."  I just barely ran out of this and I will miss it.  The only downfall is that it is a little smelly due to the sulfur.

The second product is a glycolic acid acne spot treatment called the Zit Zapper from Perfectly Posh.  This is also a small tube with the same amount of product as the Murad treatment.  It also will last forever!  This acid is great for getting rid of the dead skin cell plugs and oil that causes zits, blackheads and whiteheads.  It can shrink some zits in a matter of hours!  The claim straight from Perfectly Posh "Aggressively exfoliates clogged pores to reduce duration of blemishes."

The third product is actually a mask but I liked it a lot better as a spot treatment as it was a little too drying for my entire face.  It is Proactiv's Skin Purifying Mask.  This product was great for making you feel like you were instantly shrinking and drying out your zit.  It also always made them heal up in about half the time that they would heal in without this treatment.  The mask uses sulfur, kaolin clay and tea tree oil to clarify skin and kill bacteria.  The claims from Proactiv "Containing sulfur medicine and kaolin clay, it draws out impurities, reduces excess oil, and keeps pores clear, helping prevent new breakouts. It also soothes and calms skin as it reduces redness, irritation and blotchiness."
These three have really helped me with my skin when I was desperate to fix a nasty spot or two (or three).  :)  I hope they will help you out too!
What are your favorite acne fixes?  I'd love to hear in the comments below!

How to shop at Victoria's Secret

VS can be a very expensive store to shop at, but thay have some amazing things. Super comfy sweats, beautiful bras and panties, great beauty and fragrance items, gorgeous and practical workout gear, and the best swimwear.

The great thing about VS is how much you can save on their products. I have gotten so many great deals and many free items throughout the years. Yes, completely free :) The even greater thing is that you don't have to spend a ton to save a ton.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Semi-annual sale:

This is the best! It happens at the beginning of June and January each year. You can get bras for $15 each and bath and body products for $3.

Before the sale starts go in and get sized and try on their sample bras. They have plain bras in each model in the dressing room so you can figure out what you like. Then write this info down. They typically have little cards for this.

Go back during the first few days of the sale and find the bins with your size and find the models that you liked and get what you want.

They mark everything down more each day that the sale goes on, but they have a price adjustment policy. Look at your receipt to see how many days you have and how much longer the sale goes on. Come back within your price adjustment period close to the last day of the sale (make sure you go in before the sale ends). 

In the past I have done this and have been able to get what I want before everything is picked over. Then I came back and had the price adjusted to the lowest sale price ($14.99).

Look over the clearance clothes and body care too if you like that stuff. You'll love what they have and how cheap it is. I always stock up on lotions and body wash for me and to give as gifts.

2. Clearance:

I have a swimming suit that I love from VS that I got for a really good deal from their online clearance. I even had to exchange the bottom for another size, and I still would do it again in a heart beat. I also have two pairs of their PINK brand sweat pants that I got on clearance. One pair was $25 and one was $15. If you've ever looked at those pants you know that's a great deal. They typically cost around $50 each.

I don't usually find much on clearance in stores. So I shop clearance online. Shipping and handling does cut into your savings a bit, so you'll have to factor that in. Returns and exchanges for me have been painless and once you've paid shipping on the item you don't pay again for an exchange.

3. Coupons:

Being in VS's mailing system is a beautiful thing. When they send you coupons they are good coupons. So good that you don't even have to buy anything and get a free pair of panties.

They do this to get you back in the store to buy something, but you don't have to. I have used the coupons both with and without a purchase. Remember they sent you the promotion because you have spent money in their store and they want you to continue to be a customer. 

They also will send out a coupon for $10 off a bra. You will save more by shopping at the semi-annual sale, but if you can't wait until the next sale, at least make sure you use one of these coupons. 

I'm also including secret rewards in this category. When they do a secret rewards promotion they give you a card with each purchase that is worth at least $10. So when I bought my PINK pants I bought the first pair then the second and used the card and actually received another card that I used to buy the hair mousse they used in the fashion show last year. It was $14.50, I used my card and got it for $4.50.


Have fun shopping and saving!!




Be sure to check out Fry Sauce and Grits here for a wonderful link up party dedicated to lifestyle blogging.

Also check out Agape Love Designs link up here

Brown Sugar Facial Scrub

I'm starting to get excited for spring! But it's very much still winter, so... Here's a quick pick-me-up for your skin. Winter can be--or actually is--really hard on your face. This will exfoliate and moisturize your skin and leave it baby's bum soft :)

The recipe:

One part grape seed oil (or olive oil or coconut oil or any oil you want to use on you face)

Two parts brown sugar

I just put the sugar in the little dish and poured a bit of oil in. Then I went to my bathroom sink and scooped some up in my fingers and started gently massaging it in circular motions into my whole face. Then I rinsed with warm water. Your face will still be slightly oily but it will absorb in and make your skin really soft and moisturized. 

If you have oily, acne prone skin don't go all crazy and start doing this every day. It might make you break out. Once a week or so should be plenty to get the moisturization and exfoliation benefits without overdoing it.

Benefits of brown sugar and grape seed oil:

The sugar is high in glycolic acid which helps in skin turnover and in helping acne and skin discoloration. Brown sugar is better for sensitive skin vs white sugar. Grape seed oil is great for moisturization and for actually helping acne! It also helps dry skin/sensitive skin issues like eczema. It has mild astringent properties, helps tighten pores, and makes skin smooth.

How I fixed my dry broken out skin: New skin care routine

I posted about my skin problems during pregnancy and how I was able to improve my skin then. My postpartum skin (and hair) has been a whole other beast. I have had dry skin again, but no amount of moisture, oil or exfoliation was fixing it. I also have had bad breakouts on my chin, above my lips, around my nose, and on my forehead. My strategy was to moisturize and my skin could even itself out and this would stop the breakouts. It worked for my pregnant skin. After about a month of my skin still being extremely dry and my acne getting worse, I decided to change my strategy. It worked!

I decided to treat my acne with a salicylic acne wash at night, follow that with grape seed oil as moisturizer, and use gentle soap and alternate between Jergen's gradual tanning face lotion and St. Ive's timeless moisturizer in the morning. 

It's been a week and a half and my dry flaky skin is no longer flaky and all of my acne is healing and I have no new zits forming. It's amazing! My skin has changed from a nightmare in less than two weeks.

I have no concealer, foumdation or powder on in this pic. Also I did not use a filter. I can't wait until my hyper pigmentation spots heal too!