Black Friday Hauls! (Makeup, Bath/Body, Clothes)

Black Friday could very well be my new favorite day of the year.  Almost better than Christmas- you just don't see these kinds of deals on a regular basis!  And it wasn't until I started working in retail that I realized just how many sales go on.
So obviously I did a little shopping, first Friday morning at 3:30am with my cousins, and then Friday afternoon/today with my mom of course (she's my favorite person to go with!).  It's just not the same by myself.  This was the first year I woke up super early and braved the crowds, too.  Let me just say it isn't worth it for me!  My cousins and I stood in lines at Target and Kohl's that wrapped all the way around the stores.  It was beyond insane, and the things I bought I could have gotten any other time.  But hey, you live and learn.  :)
Shopping Friday afternoon/today with my mom was the most fun.  The clothes she bought for me as intentional Christmas presents, but then decided I could just have them now.  Mom, you are seriously too good to me!
(I think it's because I'm home on break and have been gone all semester.  She did the same thing when my sister was away at school!)

Anyway, here's everything I got (It looks like so much!  I'm telling myself it's OK because I've been really strict with my purchases the last couple of months.. haha, oh, rationalization).

Target: (not pictured- Maybelline Mineral Power Powder Foundation- I needed another!) Aveeno Positively Radiant moisturizer SPF 30, Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash scrub, Yes to Carrots Pomegranate lip butter, Secret Fresh Effects Cucumber Aloe deodorant/body spray (came as a set), Venus razor refills

Walgreens: Maybelline Mocha Velvet blush (on clearance for $2.99 and I used a $1 off coupon from redplum.com, making it only $2!)

Dollar Tree: NYC Deep Plum liquid eyeliner, Almay Pure Blends mascara, Maybelline Pink Halo Dream Mousse eyeshadow, Revlon Tempting Teal matte eyeshadow

A few quick notes- I'm currently suffering from severely dry lips and heard good things about these Yes to Cucumber lip balms.  My first impressions of it aren't the best, but I'm hopeful!  Also, the NYC liquid eyeliner and Almay mascara are going in the trash- thankfully they were only $2 total from the dollar store.  I used to love the Aveeno Positively Radiant moisturizer when I was younger, so I'm excited to try it again.  And I'm LOVING the smell of the Secret deodorant/body spray!  Usually I dislike "fresh" scents, but I'm a fan of the quality of these deodorants and Target had bonus packs of deodorants and body mists for only $3.99.  This one is lovely.  I used to use the "coco butter kiss" scent, but grew tired of it.

Bath & Body Works: I haven't been to a Bath & Body Works in FOREVER!  They don't have one near me in Chicago, so I was just so anxious to go shopping.  I used my coupon for a free item up to $13 with a purchase of $10+, and got the Dark Kiss body lotion+spray.  I bought these in the mini sizes when they first came out and I repeatedly get compliments when I wear them.  I wanted the eau de toilette but didn't want to spend more money on perfume, because when I was at working at Victoria's Secret I bought...

(I forgot to take a picture, sorry!)

VS Shine Pink perfume!  It was on sale for 50% off, so I only paid $15 after tax.  I've loved this one ever since it first came out, but couldn't justify buying it.  It has peach and tiare flower in it- a lovely fruity-floral.  

Hollister: The leather jacket and ruffled cardigan are from here.  I've steered clear of Hollister for years, and it wasn't until I somehow came across the website that I decided I needed to give it another shot.  If it weren't for the logos splattered across half of the clothes I would have totally bought more!  The jacket was a great deal, though- $50- half off of the regular price of $99.

Charlotte Russe: The jeans I got along with a skirt, lace top, and two pairs of tights, but last few are getting wrapped up for Christmas.  :)  I really needed a new pair of jeans, so I hope these last a fair while!  Charlotte Russe had everything 25-50% off, so they were discounted a little. 

The lace print headband I got from Target.  They have a lot of cute, girly ones!  

Whew!  Thanks for reading, guys.  Unfortunately I left my camera at school (I used my mom's), so no makeup swatches/pictures.  I tried to change my mom's camera's settings but I just couldn't get it right.  

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving/shopping time!  The weekend isn't over yet, though, and Cyber Monday is around the corner.  And my bank account hasn't been totally emptied.... ;)

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Collective 'Haul': Random Goodies- Updated

Update:
So, I had a chance to try out the: Covergirl & ELF quads and B&BW Dark Kiss.  I am in LOVE with Dark Kiss- it smells so "expensive" and dark and mysterious!  The Covergirl quad is so pigmented!  I'm really impressed with this.  And lastly, the ELF quad isn't too pigmented like I said towards the end of this post, but it makes a really pretty neutral eye with a nice shading in the crease (Using the dark mauve color).  I'll try to do an EOTD soon with both of these.
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I haven't done much heavy makeup buying the last week or two, but these are some random things I've purchased.  I keep going into Target or Walmart or wherever I am and only buying one little thing.  There hasn't been too much drugstore makeup that's screamed for my attention!

Top: Victoria's Secret Secret Garden hand & body creams in Luscious Kisses and Sweet Surrender

Middle: Maybelline single eyeshadow in Amethyst, Bath & Body Works lotion in Dark Kiss, ELF eyeshadow quad in Matte Mauve, Sinful Colors nail polish in Fiji

Bottom: Covergirl eyeshadow quad in Tropical Fusion

The VS hand & body creams I have wanted for so long!  Luscious Kisses has valencia orange, coconut and tonka bean; Sweet Surrender smells like jojoba butter.  

This Maybelline Amethyst eyeshadow is a really pretty purple.  If you have green or brown eyes, I think this would look gorgeous on you!  The pigmentation is also really nice.

Dark Kiss is the new scent from Bath & Body Works, so like with all their new scents, you can "preview" it in a travel size.  This is the $1 lotion.  It has black raspberry, plum, amber, vanilla bean, and balsam.  Very fall/winter.

This ELF Matte Mauve eyeshadow quad I've wanted from the website for a long time, but just never got.  I found it at my local Dollar Tree today!  They have a bunch of other ELF items, along with some Max Factor eyeshadows, Almay Pure Blends eyeshadows and lipglosses, and other new things.

Sinful Colors is on sale at Walgreens this week for $.99.  I picked up the color Fiji and really like it so far!  

Lastly is the Covergirl eyeshadow quad Tropical Fusion.  I stayed away from this because of my past experiences with poorly pigmented Covergirl single eyeshadows.  However, this one was just calling my name so I decided to try it.  Look how pigmented it is- at least for being Covergirl!

Obviously it's not crazy-pigmented, but for what I expected, it performed great.  I can't wait to try this on my eyes.  

Swatches of Maybelline Amethyst and ELF Matte Mauve:

The lowest performer in this group is definitely the ELF quad.  I thought this would be just as nice as my other quads, but it just failed in comparison.   

I'd highly recommend the VS Sweet Surrender hand cream.  Actually, any of the three in this collection are really moisturizing and light (There's one with cocoa butter and one with shea).

Thanks for reading!  And thanks also for bearing with my random posts.  I know I said to expect normal posting to resume, but my sister was here and we were spending every last minute together. 

Tomorrow I get my wisdom teeth out, so as long as I'm awake and not feeling terrible, I should have lots of time to post.  :)

<3

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Perfume: My Favorite Warm Winter & Light Summer Picks

Since I started working in the beauty side of Victoria's Secret, I've come a long way in the world of perfume!  I never used to wear it let alone think it was at all worth my time.  But now I just love it.  Wearing something that smells good makes me feel 100 times better.  It's the perfect way to complete my "look", if that makes sense.

I'm very seasonal with my perfume; I have a hard time wearing heavier scents right now, or lighter scents during the fall/winter.  These are my top picks for perfumes I like in the spring/summer, and then ones I can't get enough of during the colder months (And no surprise- most of them are either from VS or B&BW).  I tossed in a couple of my favorite lotions, too, because I can't get enough of them.  :)

Light scents for warmer weather

(Descriptions talk about the products above from left to right):

Coconut Lime Verbena from Bath & Body Works is an old favorite.  I love this travel size of the lotion too, because it fits perfectly in my purse.  

Fresh. Sugar Lemon perfume was featured in my June favorites post here.  It's such a citrus-y, summery scent.  

Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Heavenly Flowers perfume is a discontinued scent that was brought out this spring.  A big reason it's popular is because it smells similar to Heavenly Bloom, a discontinued scent from 2009.  I personally like Bloom better, but this is a nice alternative and smells, well, like the title: Flowers!

VS At First Sight body spray is part of the Secret Moments collection.  It has notes of "romantic violet and bergamot", and when I spray this I just feel like summer.  I often overlook this scent.  I love it, but don't reach for it as much as I should.  

VS Very Sexy Now 2010 perfume is seriously so YUMMY.  That's one of the best descriptions of it I can give.  It has notes of frangipani nectar, jungle lily, and purple orchid.  The perfume doesn't hang onto my skin for too too long, maybe 3-4 hours tops, but I enjoy it all the same.  One of the best Very Sexy Now's I've smelled.

Warm scents for cooler weather

(Descriptions from left to right):

Sensual Amber from B&BW is one I like to put on right before bed, after I take a shower.  It's one of my favorite "relaxing" scents.  I hate to say it, but between Victoria's Secret Amber Romance lotion and this one, I have to choose Sensual Amber.  I swear I'm not a traitor!

Victoria's Secret Parfums Intimes Velvet body spray is my "go-to" warm, winter scent.  I'd get the perfume in this if I had some extra money!  My mom got me a gift set with the four different scents included in the Parfums Intimes collection for Christmas, this one included, so that explains why it's so small.  It has notes of amber and blackberry in it, and it's just divine!  On me I smell more of the blackberry than I do the amber- probably my favorite part about it.

VS PINK Warm & Cozy body spray has "toasted vanilla, pink peony, and raspberry" notes.  Normally I dislike peony, but you can't really smell it in this spray.  Another favorite of mine from the PINK body collection is the Sweet & Flirty (The purple logo).

VS DA Heavenly Kiss perfume is one I just bought today!  We had these at our semi-annual sale, and there were some leftover.  It's an older one that was discontinued, but gets brought back for the sales.  It's an early birthday present for myself that I got so my mom can gift it to me later, haha. It has vanilla, red berry, freesia, and jasmine in it.  In my opinion, it's versatile enough to be worn all year round.  My current favorite!

VS DA Heavenly Enchanted body spray was probably my 2nd favorite behind Velvet last fall/winter.  It's limited edition as well, unfortunately, but is really nice and warm.  It has notes of amber, raspberry, and coconut milk.  

Have you tried any of these scents?  What are your favorite for the different seasons, or do you wear whatever you feel like no matter the time of year?  

Thanks for reading!

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Bath & Body Works Sale

B&BW started their semi-annual sale today!  So exciting!  Haha.  Since I work at the mall, of course I had to stop over there after my shift.  They have all of their Signature Collection body lotions for $4, and then their Classics body care for $5, to mention a few.  They also have tables with 50% off bins, along with a few that are 75% off.  Then there's a big table that has the travel-sized body care, some lip products, and home fragrance accessories 5/$15 or 7/$20.  Those are the main sales I saw, but there are other small tables that had little deals, at least in the store I went to.
I got some goodies for a great, great price.

(Victoria's Secret PINK Fresh & Clean lotion, Sweet Pea Forever triple moisture cream, Forever Sunshine 2oz lotion, Twilight Woods 2oz lotion)

Everything except the Forever Sunshine lotion was on a 75% off table.  The Twilight Woods was only $.87!  There was no way I was passing that one up.  The Fresh & Clean and Sweet Pea Forever both came to $3.00 after the discount.  The Forever Sunshine is B&BW's new scent that launches in July, so they were just sitting up by the cash registers.  It was $1.00.  Speaking of which, I'm really excited to get a full sized lotion of this.  

They gave me a "Free full sized body care product with $10 purchase" coupon in my bag today, which starts July 6, so I want to pick up one of the Forever Sunshines.  I like the smell so far!  I'll have to take a closer look at what's in it.  Edit- The website says it has notes of "golden apricot, pink peonies and a hint of praline".  (Source: http://bathandbodyworks.com)

I was really excited to see the PINK lotion on sale, as I work at Victoria's Secret and we never have those on sale.  Even at our semi-annual sales- at least the one back in January.  Fresh & Clean isn't my favorite, but for $3.00 I'll take it.

I totally would have spent more had I more money to blow.  Like the table that was 5/$15 had a ton of those C.O. Bigelow and Liplicious lip glosses, which were really hard to pass up.

My total was only $7.87 before tax; how great is that?

Have any of you hauled anything from Bath & Body Works' semi-annual sale?  Do share!

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Lotion!

Darn Bath & Body Works, they seem to have me hooked lately.  I went in there for Mother's Day (Which I blogged about, I think) and came out with more than I planned, and I'm also on the email list so I hear about all their great deals.  Which is why I ventured in again today.  I got another one of those "Free Signature item with $10 purchase" coupons.  They are so hard for me to pass up, by the way- I mean, $10 is super easy to spend in there, and a free full-sized signature item is a pretty good deal.
I really wanted some travel-sized lotions, like the ones I bought for my mom, so I thought that would be a great way to spend $10.  Then I picked out the White Citrus moisture lotion for my free item.

White Citrus, Moonlight Magic (2oz), Sensual Amber (3oz), Coconut Lime Verbana (3oz)

I actually wish I got the Coconut Lime Verbana as my full-sized one.  It's one of my favorites (Next to Twilight Woods, which I already have)!  But it does smell pretty similar to White Citrus.

Normally I don't even go for light, citrus-y scents- I love the depth of ones like Sensual Amber and Twilight Woods.  Victoria's Secret has a perfume called Velvet, from their Parfums Intimes line, and I'm all over that during the winter.  But anyway, I thought these would be great to have during the summer!  And they're so easy to throw in your purse.

With the 3 for $10 promotion Bath & Body Works has, my total today was $10.60.  Not too bad, I must say (Although I know you get more for your money by buying the larger sizes).

Oh yeah, and shame on BBW again- I'm destined to go in there at least one other time this month, because they put another one of those coupons in my bag!

I love lotion :)

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Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you all are enjoying a nice day with your moms, or some woman in your life that is special to you.
I got my mom a book of New Yorker "mom" comics and a lotion she likes from Victoria's Secret (Acai Berry and Magnolia from their Naturally collection; I love it too!).  I also picked up some things from Bath & Body Works to give to her from my sister- my sister lives in California, and she's bad at sending things in the mail, so we figured this would be the best option.  :)
Oh, one quick note about Bath & Body Works before I move on:  they had a great deal today, at least at the one in my mall.  The minute I walked in, a woman handed me a free travel sized lotion in "Moonlight Path", along with a coupon to get a free regular sized item from the Signature collection with any $10 purchase.  Awesome!  Usually free coupons are only with like, $20+ purchases.  My sister wanted something under $20, so I picked up the 3 for $10 travel sized lotions, the 2 for $5 antibac lotions, and got my free full-sized Twilight Woods body cream and free mini Moonlight Path.  All for $15.90.  :)

So I just wanted to mention a post I'm going to do later, after I get home from an outing with my mom.  I found a pretty close dupe to the Clinique eyeliner I wore in my last post.  And it's cheap, which is the best part!
Stay tuned, ya'll.

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