Showing posts with label Cosmetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cosmetics. Show all posts

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Scrubbing up the savings....

I have a friend of mine who is looking for a fun and relatively simple craft type project for this winter.  Since she also adores her sugar scrub from Bath and Body I thought this would be a great project for her to try, its also super inexpensive compared to what you get in the retail stores.

SUGAR SCRUB

1. Natural oil of your choice, something like olive, grape seed, canola or apricot (Don't use baby oil, it will not soak into your skin and will clog your pores.)
2. Sugar of your choice; Sugar in the Raw has the right size in comparison to the retail scrubs, but you can use regular white sugar or brown sugar.
3. Your choice of scents, you can use perfume oils or aromatherapy oils.

Its that simple, just mix the first two ingredients until you have a nice slush consistency then add in a few drops of whatever scent you like to what ever strength you like.  You can even add some extras into the mix if you want, like lemon, lime or orange peel to add energy to tired legs, ground lavender to relax or ground ginseng to get the blood flowing.  You can also try different exfoliant options instead of sugar, table salt will do the trick but can be a problem if you have any nicks or cuts from shaving, Epsom salts can be great for the athlete to help relieve aches and pains from a workout, regular coffee is great if you have varicose veins because it tightens blood vessels (that's why caffeine is being used in some of the eye creams now), and flax seeds are great for very dry skin, as is oatmeal (NOT instant).  I have made this in the past and when I make mine I add in two or three table spoons of Vitamin E oil which you can find in most stores in the vitamin isle.

I found some great deals on the supplies you need, you can also usually find a lot of what you need in the dollar store. There are a few coupons for the oils, Pompean has $1.00 off 1 bottle of their olive oil, there is a $1.00 off a bottle of  Filippo Berio Olive Oil at SmartSouce, and there is a $1.00 coupon for Goya Olive Oil at their site.  Imperial Sugar has coupons for both their white and brown sugars on their web page.  There is a $1.00 coupon for Quaker Standard Oatmeal from Target (you may need to scroll through their coupons to find it).  There are a couple coffee coupons if you want to try that option, $2.00 off Eight O'Clock Coffee, and $1.00 off Caribou Coffee.  For your scent  Puritans Pride is having a wonderful sale on their aromatherapy oils, buy two get three free.

Now that you have your batch all made up you are going to need something to put it in, your only limited by your imagination here, but I would recommend plastic since you are making a bath product that is slippery.  The little bear bottles are fun if you have any left from your honey, you can even mix in a little honey into your scrub for extra moisture and scent if you like.  You don't need to be too fancy here either, you can use the new Ziploc Twist 'n Lock containers or check the dollar stores for something more fun.  This is also great for birthdays, get well gifts,  hostess gifts, the holidays or just because.  If you give it as a gift you may want to add a cute little spoon to stir the mixture together again when it separates from sitting in the shower or by the bath.

Have a great weekend and stay warm.

C.Q.









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Friday, December 31, 2010

Friday's freebie...

It looks like the eyes have it, with a new year starting tomorrow why not try something fun.  You can get a sample pair of colored Fresh Look contact lenses just for filling out your mailing information.  You can get colors as subtle as grey or honey or as vibrant as Amethyst purple.  This is a fun way to see if you would like to change the color of your prescription lenses or just spend the day having eyes like Elizabeth Taylor.  While your experimenting with color you can grab a sample of Two Faced Lash Injection Pinpoint mascara to really make your eyes pop.  You can get your free sample from Sephora inside JC Penny stores, just bring in the printable coupon.  

Have a terrific and safe New Years eve everyone!

C.Q.


Friday, July 30, 2010

Make up with your money…


Yesterday I posted a free sample of mascara from Sephora and JC Penny and my friend Jen reminded me that you should always toss old mascara because it can have bacteria in it that can cause eye infections and other problems.

I don’t wear make up often and yet I am as susceptible as any woman to seeing pretty colors and new products on sale and usually end up purchasing things I will only use once. So that begs the question when I open up something for the second time, “is it still OK to use?” Well here is the rule of thumb on all things beautifying. The biggest advice here for penny pinching is don't over buy, knowing how long these things will last will keep you from buying the latest new item in every shade available.

For Mascara and eye liner go no longer than six months before you get rid of them. I will admit I have a black eye liner pencil in my make up that is about 5+ years old that I need to toss.

Any other eye cream based products including shadows and night creams should be considered old after a year, they may look fine but you just don’t want to take chances with your eyes.

Most liquid concealers, blushes and moisturizers will last over a year, a good rule of thumb for these products is the texture and smell, if they have started to break down and get watery or have an off smell to them then get rid of them.

Finally, powders can be fine for up to three years, just make sure they don’t get matted or clumpy and still go on evenly. Lipstick can go up to three years as well, but if it is waxy and hard to apply throw it away.

So now that we have emptied out your make up supply here are some great sale items to stock back up. Sephora almost always has a sale going that is worth checking out and they offer free shipping on orders over $50.00, free samples with your purchase and free returns if you don’t like something. Right now you get a free Juicy Couture parfum roller ball key chain when you enter coupon code JUICYCOUTURE at checkout. Be sure to check out their other beauty deals.

Ulta.com is having their Summer sale of 20% off your purchase, use coupon code 51194 at check out. Hurry though this sale ends today (July 31st). They also are offering $3.50 off of a $10.00 purchase with coupon code 49499 and 3 free samples with every online order. If you miss the sale you can still get free shipping by using coupon code 59031, if your order is over $50.00 you won‘t need the coupon.

If you order direct from Estee Lauder they are offering free shipping on orders over $50.00 as well as 2 free samples of your choice.

Sally Beauty Supply has a large sale and clearance section and they offer free shipping on orders over $50.00, there is also a coupon offering $25.00 off a $100 purchase, just use coupon code 555165 at checkout.

Have a great weekend everyone!

C.Q.