Ulta Extreme Wear Cream Eye Shadow

My favorite place to shop for beauty items has been Ulta ever since I first discovered it about 7 or 8 years ago.

My new favorite eye shadow is Ulta's own brand of cream shadow: Extreme Wear Cream Eye Shadow. My little sister, who also functions as my fashion and beauty guru, suggested I try them. I bought two to try....I loved them so much I had to go back for two more.

My favorite colors so far--

#106: Almost Famous

#100: Rising Star

#104: Premiere

#102: Socialite

Ulta sells them for $8 each. I happened to get them when they were on sale: 2 for $8. I also had a store coupon, so I scored them for about 2 bucks a piece. Nice!

Tips:

• The cream shadow wears lighter than it looks in the bottle.
• After swiping the shadow across your lid, don't wait too long to blend it. The cream shadow dries quickly and stays put (what I love most about it!).

Extra 50% Off at Loft

Here are my picks:

Starburst Knot Tee

Reg. $29. Now $10

Poplar Wash Modern Slim Leg Jeans
Reg. $59 Now $15

Petite Sunday Flutter Dress

Reg. $89 Now $10

Beaded Bangles
Reg. $19 Now $6.50

Tips:

• Visit your local store for more selection and possibly even better deals.
• If you find great bargains on summer items, you will have something to look forward to wearing next spring and summer.

Very Low Cut T Shirt

Did you know that besides being an adept bargain huntress, I am also an excellent seamstress and fashion designer? See below...


I'm getting tired of my summer wardrobe, and I have a few old t-shirts lying around that I don't really wear anymore.

(Like this one)

So I took my scissors, and cut a slit in the t-shirt from the neckline to just above my belly button

Voila!

Tips:

• Check out a real seamstress and fashion designer at no big dill.

Coupons...Are They Worth It?

Lately, my sister-in-law has been sharing with me her killer deals. For instance, last week she got a bunch of toys at Target on clearance. Many of her deals involve coupons, but you know how I feel about coupons. On the other hand, she puts forth a convincing case with all the freebies (and almost freebies) she gets. She shared with me one of her secrets: MyDallasMommy.com. A lot of the deals on this website involve coupons, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I scoured the Tom Thumb weekly ad for deals and store coupons ("sc" in coupon lingo). Then I went online to find matching coupons from manufacturers (aka "mc"). When I finished my list (this whole process took about an hour--I'm a newbie), it contained about 12 items....

Here we go...

While in Tom Thumb, I gathered my groceries within 10 minutes. However, my sojourn at the self-checkout lasted almost twice that. Thank heavens for Natalie! She should get employee of the month.

This is what I ended up with for $40.

A majority of the food I bought fits into our family's nutritional scheme. A few items, however, are ones I never would have bought without the coupons--gushers, refrigerated cookie dough, etc.



The breakdown:

Fiber One granola bars: $0.49
Nature Valley granola bars: $0.49
Gushers: $0.75 per box
Golden Grahams: $0.99
Trix: $0.49 (I never buy these, which is why they got devoured in less than 24 hours.)
Multigrain Cheerios: $1.74
Honey Nut Cheerios: $1.99
Refrigerated crescent rolls: $0.59
Pillsbury Sweet Moments: $0.59
Refrigerated cookie dough: $0.59
Freschetta Pizza: $3.50

My receipt noted $27 in coupon savings...not bad.

Several of the cereal boxes you see in the picture above I happened to find on a 50% off stand, so I snatched up a bunch--no coupons involved.

Yet to be determined:

• Is it better to avoid the self-checkout when using a stack of coupons?
• Will my overall grocery budget shrink? Or will I spend more on items I don't need?
• Is my time worth the savings? (I'm not sure it is, but I'm not quitting yet. Hopefully I will become more efficient.)

Tips:

• MyDallasMommy.com has a tutorial for newbies like me. Check it out.
• Check to make sure the coupons actually save you money. You can usually get store brand items quite a bit cheaper. This time, though, using store coupons with matching manufacturers' coupons, I got a better deal on name brand items.
• You can borrow my rules of thumb: If snack items are under $0.10/oz, it's a good deal (especially if it has some nutritional value). When cereal is under $0.15/oz, that's a good price (under $0.10/oz means it's time to stock up!).