CVS Shopping Trip For Week of 7/28/13

This has been the biggest couponing haul that I have completed! I am so excited because i saved the MOST money so far!!!

I paid only $0.09 for everything that you see here!! Yes, NINE CENTS!! PLUS, i got back $7 in extra care bucks from CVS.  It feels so great to be able to purchase all of this for just nine pennies. I wish my mama would have known about this when i was growing up, it sure would have saved her thousands of dollars with three kiddos in the house.

Enough of the babbling, let's get on with HOW i did this. :D  
        -Surrrrrre, I'd be HAPPY to share with you! :D

Transaction #1: First CVS:

To start off i'm sure the first thing that you see is the Dawn dish soap. They were each on sale for $0.99 so I got 6 of them. I bought 3 newspapers from Sunday (7/28/13), that's how i was able to get so many. There is no frequency limit on how many you can buy so i took advantage.

In this transaction i got:
       - 3 of the Dawn Hand Renewal so i used (3) $0.25 off of one dawn product and (1) $0.50 off Dawn Hand Renewal dish soap.
       - 1 Pantene Shampoo and 1 Pantene Conditioner. The deal was if you buy  on sale for 2 for $7. I had a coupon of buy one get one free. This coupon deducts the maximum value of $4.99.
       - 4 Men's Speed Stick. They were on sale for $1.99 each. I used 2 manufacture coupons from the sunday's newspaper, which were $0.50 off one, and 2 printable coupons from cvs.com. One was $2 off of any 2 deodorants purchase. Since i purchased 4, i was able to use 2 of them. The second coupon from cvs.com was $1 off any $5 deodorant purchase.
       -1 Stayfree pack of pads. The deal was if you bought 1 at $2.99 then you received $1 in extra care bucks back. So i used a $1off manufacture coupon that i got from the Sunday's newspaper.
       - 1 Starbucks iced coffee 11oz for $1.50. The deal was if you bought one at $1.50 then you got back $1.50 in extra care bucks. I had a $1 off manufacture coupon that i got from coupons.com (there is a link to the coupon on the blog that i got it from - which is an awesome blog by the way- www.2littledollzdeals.com).

This brought my total to just under $11.00. This would be the out of pocket paid by me if i didn't use any extra care bucks from previous visits to CVS. I used an $8 ECB and a $3ECB.
I had to pay $0.05 in taxes.... :D I don't know how that happened but i thought it was great!

So with this transaction I ended up getting back $3.50 in extra care bucks to use on another transaction.



Transaction #2: Second CVS

       -I took advantage of the deal in the add of spend $10 of Colgate select products, get $5 in ECBs.  Sooooooo, I got (1) 16.9 fl oz mouthwash and (2) 7.6oz toothpaste. I used (1) $1.00 off manufacture coupon off of the mouthwash from the sunday's newspaper. (2) $0.75 off one toothpaste - there was one for $1.00 off in the newspaper but i didn't have it with me so i used what i had - these coupons were from inside the actual store. As i was strolling through the isles i came across a little coupon dispenser that had these, so i took 3. I used these 3 coupons in conjunction with the coupons printed from CVS.com. The first coupon was $3 off any mouthwash, toothpaste, toothbrush or floss of $15 or more. The second coupon was $2 off any two oral care purchase.
        -I got 2 more of the Dawn Hand Renewal  with two more of the $.50 coupons from the sunday's newspaper.
        - 1 Venus razor - not the disposable ones. I used a manufacture coupon from the sunday's newspaper that was $5 off any Venus razor (excluding the disposable razors). This deal was if you bought one then you got back $2 in ECBs.

This brought my total to roughly around $13 something. Of course, this would be my out of pocket expense if i didn't have any ECBs from previous visits. I used a $5 ECB, a $3 ECB that I printed from my email because CVS sent it to me, and the $3.50 of ECBs from transaction #1.

My out of pocket expense for this transaction as a total came out to $0.04!! PLUS i got back $7 in ECBs to use on my next purchase!



Phew! that was a lot of information! :D It is a lot of money to pay out of pocket if you do not have any ECBs to start out with but if you make small transactions and roll the money over in ECBs like i have then your our of pocket will not be so high. I did start out just the same. It took me a while to get the hang of couponing and I'm still learning everyday.

Try to start out by just getting what you know you are going to use, what you need and what you have coupons for. If you do not mind paying a little bit out of pocket, then go crazy! :) Once you start building the ECBs then you'll start getting the hang of rolling them over and getting the best "bang for you buck".

Happy couponing!
-Crystal K
     xoxo

Beaded Cross Bracelet

 I remade this bracelet with some wire so it is more sturdier than with elastic.

I don't really like the elastic cord anymore, it just doesn't feel secure.

I thought this was super cute. I just wanted to share this. :D

I have been wearing it for the past day or so and i love the way it sounds! Lol

I was extremely easy to create and i hope i can give you an idea/inspiration to make something new.

-Crystal
     xoxo

CVS Couponing from week 7/21/2013

Hello,

I'm going to try something a little different. I will posting on here little couponing hauls that i do that aren't really big enough to make a video for. 

This blog post is the exact thing I am talking about. I only got three things but it was such a good deal that I can not go by without telling you! I want everyone to save this kind of money because who doesn't need more money in their pockets now-a-days. 

I will be breaking down things for those of us that are still learning the coupling process. I am not an extreme couponer or anything. We can learn together. :)

In this shopping trip i went to CVS. This is one of my favorite places to shop because not only can you get items for extremely inexpensive but they give you money back!! 

I only did one transaction here....obviously, i only had 3 things! Lol

Here's what i bought:

     (1)    Head & Shoulders 14.2 fl oz shampoo   =   $4.99 on sale - regular price is $5.99

                                   The deal for the H&S was just that they were on sale for $4.99

     (2)    Colgate Total Advanced 7.6 oz whitening toothpaste   =   $4.99 not on sale

             The deal for the Colgate was if you spent $10 you got $5 back in extra care bucks. I spent $9.98 which still triggers the sale. YAY! :D

My total without tax at this point is $14.97

Here are the coupons that I used: 

     (1)   Manufacturer coupon of $.75 off 1 Colgate toothpaste of 4 oz or larger

     -I could have used two but i reached my limit on Coupons.com because the dummy using the printer tried to recycle paper and it printed on the wrong side! (dummy aka...ME!)

     (1)   Manufacturer coupon of $2 off 1 Head & Shoulders shampoo or conditioner. 

     (1)   Red box coupon of $1.50 off of any oral care of $5.

     (1)   Red box coupon of $3 off of any toothpaste of $5 or more. 

     (1)   Red box coupon of 30% off your entire purchase.

-I used an expired $5 ECB that i had from previous weeks coupons. 

I paid $.94!! PLUS I received $5 back from the Colgate deal! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!!??!?!

Stay tuned for more CVS hauls that I'll have! There should be no end to getting things for free by couponing! I hope you give this a try and study your adds and coupons to get your savings as well!!

Thank you for stopping by! 

-Crystal

    xoxo

NYX Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder

Here are the color wheels from NYC. I got these two from the same Style21 haul. (style21.com) I love this website, very inexpensive and products always on sale.  I got the two of these for $2.99 each. I've always wanted to try these and i just decided hey! why not? :D I will soon put up pictures using the products and I'll keep track of the swirls I make with the brush so you can see the intensity that is built up on the cheek. 

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This is in the color Plum Passion. It is really pretty, difficult to swatch because it is very light. It is not completely matte but there isn't an overload of shimmer either. It is buildable a bit powdery. It does come off pink and you pick up the darkest pink in the color wheel. I am excited to use them. :D

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This is in the color Pretty in Pink. Same as the description above. This one is especially difficult to swatch. I think it will be really pretty on those with lighter skin tones because you won't be able to pick up the peach too well but again I'll post photos with the blush on and we'll see how well they do. :)  When i swatted the color it showed up more white(light) than anything, meaning I didn't pick up any of the pink the little swatch that I did.

Neither of the powders are very pigmented but you certainly can work with them. they aren't really much to rave about.....for now! We'll see if my thoughts change once I begin to use the powders. :)


Thank you so much for stopping by.

-Crystal
    xoxo

NYX Round Lipsticks

Hello Lovelies,

Here are the swatches to the NYX Round Lipsticks that I purchased from Style21.com. I love this website. Everything is very inexpensive and products are always on sale. I got 8 lipsticks and they are in order of appearance from my style21.com video. I purchased all the lipsticks on sale, which were $2.49 each. I have all the lipsticks individually swatched so you can see the colors a little more up close. On this particular site it is hard to pick out which shades you want because the swatches aren't so great on the site. All it shows is the lipstick in the tube and sometimes the photo isn't as good OR the color worn isn't what is it looks like at all in the tube. So I hope you enjoy this and it helps in making a decision on some lipsticks you'll want to buy. :D

                                                   This is an overview of all the colors so you can see. They are all super pretty.....except the 2 frosty shades.... :( I don't like frosty-ness on my lips....Boo! LOL This picture was taken incorrect because i was supposed to turn it up right buuuuut i don't know what i was thinking! So the colors begin to the far left >>>>>>> and come over to the right<<<<<<<<. So for those that are still a little confused, hold your right arm bent in front of you and the colors start by the wrist and come back towards the elbow. LOL sorry! 

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This lipstick is called Louisiana. It has shine to it but there aren't any sparkles, glitter or frosty-ness. 

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This is Strawberry Milk. This has a beautiful shine and again there is no frosty-ness, glitter, sparkle..... blah blah blah! :) The swatches are the furthest color to the right.               

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This is Power and it is the same as the others above - No sparkle, just pretty shine. This one is my favorite. It is pink/purple....verrrry pretty.  

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This is Paris, a more neutral pink as you can see from the swatch. Very pretty and again no frosty-ness. I haven't played around too much with the lipsticks but i love the range in colors and they don't smell funny or have a drying feel to them. I will get back to you when I wear them a bit more. :) 

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This is Indian Pink. I always want to call this one Indian Rose. I don't know whyyy!! :D Anyways! This one is a bit frosty. It is a very pretty coral but me personally I do not like frosty lips. I will just wear this particular lipstick with a lipgloss that doesn't have any glitter or shimmer to it and it'll be fine. This photo looks well for color but the photo below will show the swatch again but you can pick up the frost.  

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This is Christie. :( I don't like this color because it is frosty. It is a pretty pink but it is not for me. Booooo!  If you look at the photo below you can reeeealy pick up on the frost that this color has. 

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This one is Thalia. I LOVE this one because it is a deeper pink neutral. Shine, no frost! YAY!!  This is the type of color that I wear most often. Pink but neutral.

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 This is Tea Rose. Very prettttttty!!! :D  As you can see I bought mostly alllll pinks. :D No shimmer, glitter.

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Here is the video of the entire haul. 

(I say entire like if there was a whole bunch!! Lol)

-Crystal
    xoxo

ELF 32 Piece Cool Eyeshadow Palette Swatches

Ok! I'm sorry I'm a few days late with this but here are the swatches of all 32 colors.

Here is the overview of the palette...

And here are the swatches going across, row by row.

This is the first row. On some, I have 2 pictures of the row because on some you could see colors better than others and blah blah blah.... So the top row is mainly bronzes.... which i like.... to be fair all the colors have 2 swipes over each other.

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      This is the second row and this is where you begin to see the coluh!!! :D The pink shade ( 3rd from left to right) isn't very pigmented... it actually feels very chalky.  Maybe you just can't see it on my brown skin... :D

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 This is the 3rd row.....obviously! and I was disappointed with the beginning colors because you can't seeee them!! :( With the first few colors, you'll have to use a pigmented colored base in order to get that pretty color pay off that you're looking for. The 4th green, (I talk about in the video) isn't pigmented at all! This one goes along with the pink shade in the 2nd row that feels chalky as you apply it. It feels dusty.... not smooth like the other colors. The 3rd color (the lighter shade of green) is really pretty!! That one feels almost silky. :) That one is a yes BUT again, a light base is probably the best to use with it so the color can really stand out.

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This is the last row in the bunch and it is my favie! :D I like smokey eyes so that purple is GORGEOUS!! I have to be honest... that last color is supposed to be the black shade of the bunch.... it is not pigmented at all which is a shame. :( In this picture, the 3rd color from the left is blue and looks black. I do have to say that one is one of my favorites because it has that silky texture to it and it is super pigmented. I love it!! OH!! and that first color that you see at the far left, i love to use as a highlight on the brow bone. In the palette it looks pink but it actually comes off white. :)

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I actually can't stop using this palette. I mean, it does have some misses on it - I'm not going to lie, but it does have a nice variety of colors and it is something that isn't expensive. 

 I am sorry for the delay in putting up the swatches but I hope this helped and thank you so much for dropping by!!

-Crystal K

   xoxo

ELF 32 Piece Cool Eyeshadow Palette

Here is my video on a little review of the ELF 32 Piece Cool Eyeshadow Palette. I do love it! Some eyeshadows aren't as pigmented, which is expected from ELF but others are fantastic!!

Overall I do love the palette, especially because it is small enough to carry with you for travel and it has all the basic colors you would need for anyyyyy look! :D I do have to give it two thumbs up!! :D

I will try my best to put swatches of every single eyeshadow in here to determine whether or not this is a good palette for you! I will try to have them up by November 28, 2012.

-Crystal
xoxo