L.A. Couponista

Baby Lips Bargains

2012-02-21T13:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't been couponing much lately but I kinda went to town this week at CVS. My favorite drugstore. It's been months since I've been to Wags or Righty's

I partook in 3 different deals over 3 different stores. I'm going to write it up as if I bought it all in one transaction so if you see more than one $10/$50 thats why. Though apparently CVS's new coupon policy allows you to stack $/$$ coupons.

4x Nivea Lip Balms @$2.50 each Sale Price =$10
10x Maybelline Baby Lips @$4.29 Reg Price B1G150% = $32.17
2 x Maybelline Color Tattoo @$7.29 Reg Price B1G150% = $10.93
1x Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Foundation Reg Price $12.99
3x Maybelline Mascaras $5.99 Reg Price B1G150% = $11.97 (2 were 1/2 price because of the foundation)
2x Maybelline Lipsticks $8.49 Reg Price B1G150% = $12.73
1x Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer Reg Price $10.99 ( Had the first store had the color I need I could have saved more buying it with the foundation)
3x Got2B Hair Styling Products @$3.99 each Sale Price = $11.97

Subtotal $113.97

Minus 2x CVS Coupon $10/$50
$20 CVS Coupons

Subtotal $93.97

Minus Manufacturers Coupons

12 x $2/1 Maybelline Lip Coupons =$24
3x $3/1 Got2B Styling Product Coupons =$9
2x $2 Maybelline Foundation Coupons =$4
2x $3/2 Nivea Coupons = $6
3x $1/1 Maybelline Mascara Coupon =$3
2 x $1/1 Maybelline Eyeshadow Coupon = $2

$48 Manufacturers Coupons

Subtotal $45.75

Minus ECB Received

$3 ECB for Nivea

Subtotal $42.75

Minus CVS Cash Cards Received

3x $10 =$30

Subtotal $12.75

Beauty Bucks Earned $10

Subtotal $2.75

Actually I received $15 in ECB 2 days after this transaction so really came to $0 for $173 retail value. I used ECB and CVS cash cards to pay for most of the transactions so I only paid tax out of pocket. Could have paid even less if I had started my trip at the most well stocked CVS makeup wise because I could have used more $10/50 coupons AND gotten the 50% off of the concealer.

Makeup Haul 2011

2012-02-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

I really did plan to break this down into several post explaining the deals I got on everything but never got round to it so this is most of the makeup I got in my couponing adventures in the last 4 months of 2011. ¡Enjoy!

Most everything was either free or a money maker. If not then under $1

Lip Palettes

2012-02-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it. I'm OBSESSED with lip palette and eye palettes. I think I wanted to be a painter once upon a time since anything that looks like an art supply I love. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Whats more fun than using palettes? Making them. When you buy a premade lip palette your stuck with just the lipstick that company makes and their ideas of what colors work. What better way to get something with all the lipsticks you like to wear and some forgotten ones to make a lip palette.

This is a small one I made from lip stick samples. I love it except for one thing. The lipstick formulations has mint in it so it makes your lips tingle. The palette is from Japonesque and they make lots of great lipstick palettes.

This time I'm trying to go a little bit more professional. I order some metal eyeshadow pans from eBay. They were about $5 for 20 pans (as you can see I really need 21) I'm using an empty Mac Eyeshadow Palette which I've removed the divider for. But that's because thats what I had you can make one from any hinged container you like. What would be super cute is a pencil tin. You could probably fit 2 rows of shadow with room for a lipstick brush like my palette above. The eBay store also had round pans which would just fit into the Mac palettes without removing the divider.

Here's how to make a Hello Kitty palette.

And heres the video that inspired me to make the palette I'm going to make

DIY Hair Results

2012-01-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well the hair adventure worked out well and with some work, planning and professional supplies I got a professional result and managed to even out all the layers of box color and get a nice chocolate brown. It has a shimmery shiny quality but it's not a dramatic change in fact Don Coupon couldn't tell the difference.

What did I use?

1/3 a tube of Wella Koleston Perfect in 6/0 Neutral, 6/2 Matte and 6/7 Brown with 4oz of 20 Volume Peroxide developer.

Before I colored for a week before I did the shampoo train where I shampooed several times using cheap shampoo to help lift the old color out and actually it did a pretty good job too. I put a "Malibu 2000" Color Correcting treatment on the day before I colored too.

So how did the pricing work out well the tubes of color were $10 each ( remember these are professional hair dyes so they are sold like paints and you mix them together and choose what strength of developer you need) and I used 1/3 of 3 colors so $10 for the actual color.

The pro level develop was $12 for 1L/33.3oz so thats 36c a oz and I used 4oz so $1.44 for developer.

So thats $11.44 for a single process color. Now the salon I used to use charges $85 for a single process color so thats over $80 savings. Now I know I mentioned previously I was going to use 5 colors and I am. In 4 weeks time I will refresh the ends with a demi permanent color using Wella's Color Touch in 6/0 Neutral and 6/77 Intense Brown. When my roots start to grow in I will retouch with the Koleston only in the roots. Just like the pros ;)

DIY Savings

2012-01-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

I'm a very DIY girl. It doesn't matter how much money I have I always want to do it myself. This includes haircolor and even making hair extensions. My latest project is formulating a hair color using professional dyes vs box color which I have been using and getting free or even the "professional" dyes you get at Sally's

I'm aiming for a nice chocolate brown with no reddy undertones. I have been reading the Killerstrands blog and have come up with a formula combination of 3 permanent colors mixed together for the base and 2 demi permanent colors to glaze over and to use to refresh the color periodically

So using 5 colors mixed together sounds expensive though when you consider it that I'll likely get 4 applications it doesn't sound so bad. I guess the real cost benefit analysis will be how good it looks and whether the quality will compare what I get out of the box vs what I get at the salon.

New Year New Savings

2012-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

I have to admit this last month I've been very burnt out all over and having been couponing much but this morning I got up, put my big big big girl panties and grabbed a toilet paper deal at CVS.

I've been thinking about posting about how to save on your beauty related expenses as well as just coupons. Things like how to make your own clip in extensions and how to highlight your own hair. That and some comparisons between high end makeup and drug store steals.

Vegas on a dime without feeling cheap

2011-12-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

There are certain times in Vegas where the city is deserted. December is one of them and you can pick up some killer room rates. If you do a quick search you'll see you can get rooms for as little as $12 a night. We chose to stay somewhere new at the Rumor Hotel. Rumor is a boutique hotel that is not attached to a hotel. This is perfect if you plan to drive to several other hotels for food and entertainment because the time to get from the door to you car is about 30 seconds and valet is equally efficient.

We paid $41 for a suite that would go for about $200 on a busier weekend. Like all things in Vegas you get a lot of style for your money. Though as lovely as the hotel was it didn't have the glitz and glamour as some of the more upscale hotels such as the Bellagio but we'd paid $300-400 a room for that luxury so for 10% for 80% of the style well this couponista will take that bargain any day.

Service was great for the price not excellent but personalized. When we checked out they knew what room we were in and they had our car out front without asking. Though the entire city was deserted so we may have simply been the last guest scheduled to check out that day.

The room was almost exactly what was pictured on the website and we had a suite that stepped right out onto the pool area. Pity it was freezing!

To save money and time we drove ( yes driving from LA is quicker than flying nowadays ) plus when you have your own car in Vegas you save big bucks on taxis. Valet is always free and you just have to tip $1-2. Having your car out front already buys the valet a nice $5. If you lose your valet ticket and they find your car for you anything less than $10 is being cheap and mean. One thing we NEVER skimp on its tips. These are your fellow human beings here trying to make money to take care of their families. Don't be a jackhole and stiff them just because you think shouldn't have to pay.

Another thing I don't skimp on is food but again that doesn't mean you can't save. I love a good buffet and my 3 favorites are the Bellagio, The Rio and The Wynn. The Wynn buffet can run you $36 a person at night but during lunch is about half that at $18-20.

If you like to play the slots make sure to join the casinos slot club. Usually they'll give you a few bucks to play with. You can stretch that into an hour of entertainment. Grab a free cocktail ( don't forget to tip!) and your on your way to a good time. Don't forget to quit while your ahead

Turning of the TIDE

2011-11-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I'm not really that brand loyal when it comes to cleaning products. I think they all have the same ingredients and paying significantly more doesn't make sense. Of course some very low end laundry detergents are low quality but the average laundry detergent is good enough for me. So I'm not a TIDE girl. I know TIDE devotees swear up and down that TIDE cleans better than the others but I'm just NOT interested.

What I am interested in is paying less for more. So when the TIDE's aligned I was receptive to trying new things in the laundry department.

The sale was on the TIDE 32 loads bottles which sell for around $9 a CVS. Might be (probably) cheaper at the supermarket. This week they are on sale for $5.94 PLUS they are part of the buy $30 get a $10 Gift Card PLUS I had a $5/25 CVS Coupon and 5x $2/1 TIDE coupons. The math breaks down like this.

Regular Retail $45

5x $5.94 = $29.70 - $5/25 = $24.70 - 5x $2/1 = $14.90 - $10 Giftcard received = $4.70

94c a bottle.

I used my ECB that I earned on Thanksgiving Day so I only paid 91c OOP and a got a $10 American Express Giftcard back effectively turning my ECB's into cash. You'll notice I only had $29.70 towards the spend $30 get $10. CVS gives you a leeway of about 50c on these deals. YMMV though.

Thanksgiving Day CVS Haul

2011-11-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

I came I saw I got my Extra Bucks on.

I rolled into my favorite CVS store at 9:30 in the morning and didn't really expect much since it seemed my fellow couponer's on AFC were going at either Midnight or 6am. I excepted to get there and the cupboard to be bare.

A pleasant surprise not only were my husband and I the only people in the store but the store was fully stocked with all the freebies and all labelled too. I didn't get everything that was free since I'm well stocked on cold and flu items. The only things I "forgot" to get since I was so happy to have gotten everything was the coffee drinks which I wouldn't have drunk anyways and the toothbrushes and balance bars. Not a big deal since they come as freebies on a regular basis.

I won't do an elaborate breakdown. I did 2 transactions. One on each card. Paid $31.73 OOP after coupons and the $13 ECB I had coming in. I didn't have many ECB's which is why only 2 transactions and why I didn't get everything. Came out with $62.32 in ECB's. Overall I got a retail value of $87.22 and it was a Money Maker of $17.54.

Mixed Feelings About Black Friday

2011-11-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

You would think as a bargain hunter I would be all gung ho to burst out of my apartment at some ungodly to head to the stores. Alas dear reader I shall not. Why? Because the bargains aren't that good on Black Friday. The first year after I moved to the States I lined up super early at Best Buy to buy a CD Writer ( hey those things used to be pricey) of course have been in the country for all of 3 weeks I wasn't aware of the strategies involved or where things were located or the fact they store may only have 3 of them. Needless to say I left empty handed and bitter.

I DO plan to go over to CVS sometime on Thanksgiving Day so see if I can get some of there bargains but if I can't I'm not going to be super upset because those deals will roll around again just one at a time not all at once.

Whats your Black Friday strategy?

Righty's Haul

2011-11-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

When my sister from New Zealand came to visit a few months ago she had a desperate need for a flat iron at 1am in the morning so off to Rite Aid we went. Except she doesn't call it Rite Aid she calls it "Righty's" much in the same way my mother dubbed the 110-105 interchange "Spaghetti Junction" Not sure if it's a hereditary thing or if it's a New Zealand thing. Need more data on that one. Anyways the name has stuck in my household so off to Righty's it is. This week I did 3 different deals

Deal #1 was the Slimfast deal: Buy $25 Get $10 +UPs. The 4 packs were on sale for $5 each I had 4x$1.50/1 and 1x 0.95c/1 coupons. So the math works out like this:

5 x $5 = $25 - 4($1.50) - 0.95c = $18.05 - $10 = $8.05 = $1.61 4pk or 40c bottle.

Deal #2 was on some Almay Eyeshadow. They were on sale BOGO50% PLUS plus one get $4+UP (limit 2) I also used 2x $1/1 coupons I had grabbed off a display tear pad at CVS.

2($7.49) - 50% off second item $3.74 = $11.22 -2($1) = $9.22 - 2($4+UP) = $1.22 or 61c each

Deal #3 was my favorite the Wet N Wild deal. All Wet N Wild 40% off PLUS Spend $10 after discount and get $3+Up (limit 2) I got 4 of the 6 eyeshadow palettes. These things have a cult following and can be hard to find in other parts of the country. I had 4 $1/1 Wet n Wild coupons left. Here's what I paid.

4($4.99) - 40%off 4($1.99) = $12 - 4($1) = $8 - $3+UP = $5 or $1.25 each

A balm to heal your soul

2011-11-13T14:01:00.000-08:00

Or that must be what drives me to buy so many lip-balms. Every time a lip-balm comes up on sale I HAVE to buy it and not just ONE but several. Luckily there are store limits so I don't have a collection of 1000 lip-balms (yet).

Most of them I got for free after store incentives and coupons. Walgreens is the holy grail of lip-balms. I acquired most of my burgeoning collection from there. Every other week they seem to have a lip-balm for free after Register Rewards usually a Blistex or Carmex one. The Maybelline Baby Lips I got in last weeks CVS gift card/BOGO50% sale. The Nivea ones were free for the blue "Touch of Smoothness" ones and 50c each for the others.

To be fair I do have a history of losing lip-balms and they do get gunky and unhygienic pretty quickly but I wonder how long it will take to go through this many. Maybe I should stop buying them?

Nah!

Maybe she's born with it.

2011-11-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

Or Maybe it's Maybelline.

I have to admit I'm not that impressed with Maybelline and I would never pay full price for any other their product except for their Great Lashes mascara though nowadays there are better mascaras out there. It has nothing to do with the quality of their product more that their image is not attractive to me. It's more your mother's makeup.

But I don't let that get between me and a deal. This week at CVS they have a BOGO50% sale paired with a Buy $30 get a $10 gift card. I also had 2 of the free Illy coupons which worked into my senario nicely as it gave me a little bit of overage. Here's how things played out.

The retail price for Maybelline is ALOT more in my stores than it is online about $2 more in some cases so that threw my scenarios off a little.

2 Maybelline Baby Lips $4.29 + $2.14
2 Maybelline Color Sensational Lipliners $7.99 + $3.99
2 Maybelline Shine Sensational Lip Gloss $7.49 + $3.74

Total pre-coupon for Maybelline: $29.64

2 Illy Cappuccino Drinks $2 (the coupons gave me 50c overage each)

Grand Total before coupons: $31.64

Coupons used: 6x $2/1 Maybelline Lip Color + 2x $2.49 Illy Coffee Drink

Total after coupons $14.66
Received $10 American Express Gift Card

Final Cost after gift card $4.66.
Final Cost after 10% back from Beauty Club about $1.50
Breakdown per item 77c or 25c after Beauty Club

For that price maybe I could be a Maybelline girl. At least until the next makeup sale.

Nielsen Consumer Panel

2011-11-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Now if your even vaguely familiar with T.V ratings you will have heard of A.C Nielsen Company. What you may not know is that do more than just TV ratings they also have a Home Scan program where buyers record all their purchases into a scanner and upload it once a week. They also have the participants answers surveys about their buying habits and why they buy what they buy. I applied to join their National Consumer Panel (which is what the renamed the HomeScan program to) to be one of their panelists and I was chosen to receive a scanner and become a panelist.

I've always had a love of making my opinion know and I love to answer surveys. I actually was a radio ratings participate when I was a teen in New Zealand where they gave you a cute little notebook to write down what radio stations you listened to, at what time and for how long. Everyone in the house had their own and were to record their listening for 2 weeks. I was overjoyed. Of course I didn't really listen to that much radio but pencilled in what I though were cool teen appropriate choices. Alas my mother started recording her stations into my notebook so the ratings people probably thought I was a very dorky 13yo that listened to Cool FM which you KNOW is anything but.

So fast forward to about 10 days ago when my scanner finally arrive. It's a very cool retro looking thing and it took a bit of learning to get the scanning down right as it has this little pointy protrusion that you run over the barcode to scan. Though once you got that down it's fun and easy to use.

Transmitting was a bit of a challenge though it was eventually pinpointed down to the fact that the mouthpiece of my retro Pottery Barn phone could not make a tight seal with the speaker on my scanner. Plugged in a old phone with a regular mouthpiece. Works like a charm. I had assumed when I joined the panel that the scanner would sync via the internet but it actually transmits over the phone like a fax machine. A little weird but I guess they want a cross section of opinions not just those with the internet. Fair enough.

Now I would have done this just for the smugness that comes from know my opinion counts just a little bit more than yours. However they do allow you to earn points to earn gifts so thats a plus. But the BEST part about it? The scanner has a coupon button on it. I am going wear that thing out!

Lumene Your Life

2011-11-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Now I originally did not see this in last week's flyer when I first looked over it so was not fully prepared for this sale. While Don Coupon was getting his flu shot at the Minute Clinic I took the time to wander up and down the aisles as CVS and stumbled across a sale for Lumene for Buy One Get One 75% off. Of course I silently squealed with delight knowing I could order some $4/1 coupons and combine them with the $5/20 skincare coupons that the magic coupon machine was spitting out. I ended up doing 4 transactions over 3 cards to score all kinds of lotions and potions.

So here is how it broke down. The prices listed are the regular full price for that item. Each pair of items rung up as one at full price and one at 75%. I ordered 10 of the $4/1 Lumene coupons. The coupons excluded trial sizes and 10c wipes. I DID have to exchange one of the wipes packettes because after I unpacked my haul I noticed one had been opened and some of the wipes used. EEEWWW. Luckily CVS did not give me any hassles about that.

Trans #1 11/2
10 Lumene 10ct wipes. $3.19

No manufacturers coupons used. Used $5/20 skincare. Was $15 for 10 packs paid for with GC and ECB's $0 OOP

Trans #2 11/3
Pure Radiance Night Cream $23.99
Pure Radiance Beauty Drops $23.99
Used $5/20 and 2x $4/1 Qs Came to $13.88 after Qs $3.88 OOP after ECB

Trans #3 11/3
Radiant Touch Toner $11.79
Radiant Touch Moisturizing Cream Cleanser $11.79
2x Arctic Touch Deep Cleansing Peat Masking $10.49

Used $5/20 and 4x $4/1 Qs $6.84 OOP $1.84 after ECB's

Transaction #4

2x Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover $6.79

Used 2x $4/1 Qs OOP $0.48c. Gave last two coupons to the cashier. Grand total $5.42 + tax OOP. I earned $5 Beauty Bucks on each account which gives me $15 to replenish some of the ECB's I used to lower my OOP.

Total Retail Value : $138.02 I could have dropped that at Sephora for one cream and a toner. I am proud of my haul. My goal of buying one of everything in the line is almost complete.

Wet n Wild Haul.

2011-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

So I decided to get the Wet N Wild 8 Shadow Palettes with some of my $1/1 coupons. I got "Blue had me at hello" "Comfort Zone" and "Petal Pusher". The regular price is $4.99 so with the $1 discount they came out to $3.99. Only a 20% savings over retail but the real value come when you compare them to MAC eyeshadows as many of the colors are near duplicates of MAC shadows and the quality of the Wet n Wild Palette is pretty good the colors are very pigmented.

Ok so for each palette there are 8 shadows at a cost of 25c each. A Mac shadow is about $15 so retail at MAC the same colors would cost you $120 for a palette. Now the Wet n Wild pans are about 1/2 of a normal MAC so in reality about a $60 value.

A 97% savings?

Free and Wild!

2011-11-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

This coupon in my sunday preview paper makes me happy. I like Wet n Wild that make cheap but fairly good quality makeup items if you know what to look for. Their "666" lip pencil is infamous. W n W is good for trying out crazy new colors you'd NEVER pay full price for. With many items for 99c or less this makes a nice free thrill.

The wording is weird though. $1 off on any wet n wild eye, lip and nail products/

So is it $1 off any 1 or just $1 off any products you happen to be buying. IDK Theres no one per purchase disclaimer either. It seems like it was written by a copywriter who is not used to writing coupon fine print.

I'm going to use it as a $1/1 because that makes sense but if I buy more than 1 item does that preclude me from using more than one coupon? Thoughts?

Bargain or Bust?

2011-11-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

I'm a Stila makeup girl ( Smashbox too ) I've been really good and haven't bought any very high end makeup in over a year. Last year Stila released a holiday eyeshadow palette that was like a color wheel. I really really really wanted that but refrained because it was a need. So I've been pining over it ever since.

This year they released another one a "Dreamcatcher" palette that also included blush and came with a free eye pencil. This year it seemed like a better bargain coming with 7 blushes and 29 eyeshadows and the aforementioned smudge stick eye pencil. The cost $39 a bargain for prestige cosmetics but a fortune when you can compare it to what you can get at the drugstore will deals and coupons.

I had just received my $10 P&G rebate gift card so I used that to reduce my OOP to $29. Now on the box it states you are getting a $366 value which I guess is based on the concept of you buying each eyeshadow individually A single eyeshadow from Stila is $18 and blushes are $20 and I HAVE paid that in the past. Of course these aren't full size pans but let's compare anyways 29 x $18 = $522 plus 7 x $20 = $140 plus the smudge stick alone is $22 so bought individually it would cost you $684 so I guess the retail value figure is probably correct prorated based on how much of each color you get.

Of course good couponistas would NEVER pay that much for fear of having their binder seized and their coupon privileges revocked. So lets see how this compares to other bargains. So I paid $29 for it. Now lets assume that we got the $22 smudge stick for 50% off so $29 - $11 = $18. Ok divide that by the 36 eyeshadow + blushes it comes out to 50c per color which is exactly what I paid for the Covergirl singles in this weeks CVS sale. Now the pros and cons. Pro = better quality shadow than Covergirl. Cons = Less product than the Covergirl singles.

I think its a bargain. I have Stila palettes that have lasted me for years and colors are fantastic. What do your think. Bargain or Bust?

Mailbox Surprises: Target Beauty Bag

2011-11-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

I received this little gift from Target yesterday in the mail. I had submitted for it months ago when I first started being a "extreme couponer" All the other bloggers had reported receiving theirs so I assumed I was SOL. Before whenever I used to try and get those little beauty giveaways I would always be the last to know and miss out. Now I'm connected to the freebie matrix I've had ALOT more success.

The best part about this freebie is the bag. Its a nice quality lined little cosmetics bag and came at the perfect time as I was hunting around for something to put my eye pencils and mascaras in. Problem solved! The coupon booklet was disappointing. Not because the coupons weren't goo but because they expire in 2 weeks. Sadness :( . The samples were a 5pk of Ponds Cleansing Wipes. Always useful. A sample of John Frieda's Full Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. Probably more excited about the attached coupon though it's actually printed on an empty foil packet. I know the cashier I present that one to will be like Huh? There are also samples of Tressemme and Garnier and a sample of L'Oreal's Youth Code. Have wanted to try there creams but they don't have the super coupon deals like Olay does.

All in all a nice little mailbox surprise.

Got a dirty mouth? Clean it up!

2011-11-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Now when I first started using coupons one of my goals was to find a good deal on whitening strips for your teeth. I had first started to use them when they came out several years ago and the price was reasonable but then they started to add more claims and features I started buying them less and less as the price when up and up. I think a set of white strips costs now between $35-50. Even with a $10 coupon that is pricey especially since I don't do the full course but just use one here and there to just lift the surface stains off. I've heard there are trial packs of the white strips but I've never seen them.

The night before I found this deal I had had a coupon dream about finding a killer deal on Crest White Strips. So you can imagine my delight at discovering that the Krazy Coupon Lady had posted a deal to get a 7 day supply of white strips for free. The deal was that you signed up as a new customer of SaveMore.com and they gave you a $10 credit. Then under the daily deals was a deal from Smile Bright for a 7 day supply of white strips for $7 ( normally $29 ). Use your $10 credit and they were free. If its free it's me.

Now this deal wasn't without it's hassles. I received my order on 11/1/11 but the order was originally placed on 9/9/11 so 8 weeks for the product to arrive and I had to contact Smile Bright several times and eventually had to contact SaveMore to ensure I got my order. Based on that alone I would not reorder. Also the strips come in very plain unmarked packaging. I'm sure they will work just the same maybe better but if you love fancy packaging this may not be the deal for you.

BOGO's and Coupons and +Up's OH MY!

2011-10-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

My favorite type of couponing are the more subtle deals. The ones that require combing this sale and that coupon and getting that incentive or rebate. The type of bargain hunting the average person can't or won't do.

The weekly sale at Rite Aid starts on Friday in Southern California and often the big coupon matchup sites don't have their drugstore matches up until late Saturday but I wanted to shop today so I had to make my own deals. The early start usually gives me a chance to use coupons that expire before Sunday which is a nice perk

This week select Gillette and Old Spice Bodywashes, sprays and deodorants are on sale BOGO50% which for those of you not familiar with the slang means Buy One at full price Get One 50% off. There is also another promotion which is spend $50 on select P&G products get $15 +UP's back. I had some $2/1 Gillette Bodywash, $2/1 Gillette Deodorant, $2/1 Old Spice Body Spray and $1/1 Any Old Spice Product coupons that expire 10/31. So I wanted to put them to good use.

Now Rite Aid has a coupon policy that only lets you use 4 like coupons per transaction and the register will actually beep at the cashier when they try to scan more than 4 so you can't be sneaky and try and sneak an extra coupon or two through. Now my cashiers at my local Rite Aid know this and will ask you if you want to do multiple transactions which is why I like that location. I don't actually ever DO multiple transactions but it' nice to have the option. I had preplanned my trip to only use 4 of each coupon as the P&G coupons have wording on them that limits them to 4 like coupons per shopping trip and I like to honor that where possible.

I bought 4 Gillette Body Washes, 4 Gillette Deodorants, 4 Old Spice Body Sprays and 2 Old Spice Body Washes. I had $2/1 coupons for everything except the Old Spice Body Wash which I used the $1/1 ANY Old Spice product coupons on. All of them were $4.99 regular retail which makes the math really easy. The regular retail price was $69.86. With the BOGO50% the precoupon/tax total was $52.36 which was enough to trigger the spend $50 get $15 deal. After coupons the total was $26.36. I used a $15 +UP from last week. Paid $11.36 + tax in cash and got a $15 +UP to replace the one I spent.

An 84% savings over regular retail price. Now of course the bargain doesn't stop there. Each bodywash came with a free mini deodorant. These travel sized deodorants normally sell for about $1 at Target so thats another $6 in retail value. If I had done separate transactions and not gotten the Old Spice Body Wash and gotten another 2 of the products I had $2/1 coupons for I would have gotten change from a $10 bill.

I'm happy with the deal I got though 20 items for $12 thats 60c each which is my buy price for premium body wash and deodorant. Besides I'm an Old Spice girl. Don Coupon will be smelling good for a good while to come.

Even Squirrels Love Coupons!

2011-10-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Filmed this little guy outside my apartment. I was being frugal and licking the last remains of the peanut butter from the jar. Then through the corner of my eye I see this squirrel barreling down the driveway making a beeline for my door. He stood outside sniffing. I put the jar outside to see what would happen.

The Skippy Peanut Butter was naturally purchased with a coupon I think I paid about 50c for the jar. Secret Squirrel appreciated and approved of my purchase! Maybe he'd like to try the Planters next time.

Tell me a story...

2011-10-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for a good story. A color story that is.

To quote Mary Lisa Gavenas

"A story. That's what women get when they come to the beauty counter. A parable that takes strange, scary styles and explains them as something any women can own and wear. A diversion, an amusement, a distraction from woes and worries. A fantasy, a fable, a romance with a role for them to play"

With couponing to get the best deals on makeup you have to buy multiples of single items. Blushes or lipsticks or eye shadows. To get the whole story, the whole package will cost you a whole lot more. But let's face it we crave the story. We can't look like the model and live the fantasy like but you can wear the lipstick.

I wanted to see if I COULD buy the whole story and see how much I would save. I KNEW I wouldn't get it down to free but I could keep the OOP down and with using drugstore rewards maybe not pay any cash out of pocket.

Color stories are usually consisted of a few lipsticks a light one, a dark one and a crazy one and warm and cool eye shadows and sometimes matching blushes and eyeliners/mascaras. I'm normally inspired by the eye shadows and that's usually what I buy assuming I can match it up with a lipstick when I get home. I used to end up with eye shadows and no lipstick and no blush or only lip glosses.

I was originally inspired by the L'Oreal Project Runway Fanciful Fowls collection and in particular the Watchful Owl color way. Color stories don't tend to stay on the store floor very long. Stock is limited so despite this collection being heavily advertised in all the Rite-Aid flyer's this month it was no where to be found in store.

I had seen it in store at CVS but Rite Aid had the far better deal this week with all L'Oreal being Buy One Get One 50% off PLUS $15 +UP rewards when you spend $50 before coupons. I DID end up buying two color collections. The "Color of Hope" collection. This collection is produced every year in support of ovarian cancer and L'Oreal donates $1 for each item purchased from the collection. The collection itself consisted only of eyeshadow palettes and lipsticks. I got the warm palette "Nostalgic Beauty" and the cool palette "Sentimental Splendor" and two lipsticks "Faithful" and Courageous" I chose what I thought were complementary blushes and a grey and brown eyeliners which I think are more wearable than black.

For coupons I had several $1/1 any L'Oreal Cosmetic, $1/1 any L'Oreal Eyeshadow and $2/1 any Blush. I also had a Rite Aid Video Values Coupon for $2/1 Color Riche Lipstick. With all the coupons and +UP I had from last weeks deals I paid $22.83 with taxes and got $15 +UP back. Not bad for 2 "stories"

Just dab a quarter sized amount on.

2011-10-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

A quarter sized checkout that is as in 25c.

I really like taking good care of my skin and Sephora has traditionally been my first stop for my skin care needs but when you think about it Sephora's whole concept is to have a drug store like feel where you can browse or shop without the sales people getting in the way. Or it used to be. I remember the first Sephora's so nice and clean, it was fun to sample and play but now they have too many makeup artists annoying you and the displays are alway s empty and grotty dirty that it doesn't really make me want to buy. That and my coach wallet has a hole in it.

So as part of my savings adventure it makes sense to see how far my skin dollars can go. I have been buying my Retin-A from Mexico for years so I'm not stranger to skin care adventure.

Everything you see was purchased for 23c + tax cash OOP. I DID use some ECB/+UP/ so if you were to recreate these hauls without any ECB or +UP's banked up You might pay $15 for over $100 worth of skin care products. In addition to only paying 25c out of pocket I received back $10+UP from Rite Aid $10 ECB from CVS and $10 CVS Beauty Bucks.

The first transaction at CVS I did I picked up the Lumene Anti-Puffiness Roll-on Eye Serum. It was on clearance for $2.10 and I used a $4 off Lumene coupon. The coupon should have been adjusted down but was not and the overage applied to the rest of my transaction.

The second transaction at CVS was the Lumene deal. Spend $20 get $5ECB I bought the Lumene Radiant Touch Toner and the Arctic Touch Deep Cleaning Peat Mask. Both were $11.79 each and I used a $4/1 coupon on each.

The third transaction was at Rite Aid. The sale was buy one get one 50% and then also buy $30 get $10+UP. Then you could submit for the $10 Olay rebate as well. I used the $3/1 any Regenerist Moisturizer or Cleanser coupons. This was the transaction that was 23c OOP. The other two came out a zero balance.

If you just wanted to buy moisturizer you could use the $10/2 coupon thats for the more expensive moisturizer only. It would be $35 for 2 of the moisturizers -$10/2 plus submit for the rebate and get the $10 +UPs so $5 for 2 expensive moisturizers.

For a money maker you could buy 6 of the $7.99 cleansers and use 6 of the $3/1 coupons and receive the +UPs and the rebate for a $3MM. You'd have to do two transaction because of the P&G limit and Rite Aid's own limit 4 of each kind of coupon.

My last transaction was a MM transaction and a zero balance before taxes even without ECB. I have two CVS cards so I was able to get the Lumene deal twice. These little pots were $3.99 each and I had a $4/1 coupons. Now the coupon DID say they were not to be used on trial products but I researched and it seemed this company makes an even smaller pot that is the trial size and that others had not had any problems using thing coupon on this item. So due diligence done and my CVS had no problem with them and if they had I wouldn't have fought them on it.

So my total was -.05 before taxes plus I received $5 ECB making it a $5MM. It also triggered me over for another $5 Beauty ECB.

Not bad for a budding frugalista.

The Green Bag Tag

2011-10-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

In my haste I forgot to mention the third reason I love CVS: The Green Bag Tag.

The way it works is pretty simple. You buy one for $1. They are available at the checkout counter where the CVS giftcards are usually kept. The cashier will scan it every time you make a purchase and decline a plastic bag. You can either use your own bag : reusable, recycled plastic, paper etc type doesn't matter OR just hand carry your items out. For ever 4 scans you will receive $1 ECB so 25c a transaction.

Fine print: You can only get the credit once per card per day. Picking up prescriptions count which is good since they come in their own bag. If you a shopping with a friend you can both use the same green bag tag as they are not tied to a particular card.

I keep mine on my keychain so I never forget it.