Cyber Monday is lame.

Hope you all placed your orders over the weekend because scoping out these Cyber Monday deals has made me disappointed.  All it has been is just extensions of many cosmetic and bath & body company Black Friday deals.  No point in even posting them, just see my previous Black Friday posts & go to the company websites & it will say on the main page what the deals are... all the same.  Except on Cyber Monday, you can pick through the leftovers & hope & pray you actually get what you want as the best stuff is already out of stock.  I think I remember last year being the same.

I did place some orders through Lush, Me Bath!, & Sephora.  Mostly stock up for myself.  Ha!  I'll start posting more when I start receiving the bathing goodness!

FYI - ROCHESTER NY LUSHIES!

New scent mix for the bath & my thoughts on Black Friday.

I'm going to start off on my daily bath tonight which consisted of:

• Big Blue from Lush
• Crisp Breeze soap from Brandon Essentials
• Raspberry Puree body lotion & Oceanus body splash from The Body Shop.

Lush bath bombs I can have a love/hate relationship with them because of the "extras" they can contain.  Mostly it is the ones with confetti or glitter that is not fine.  I still have some glitter infused (somehow) into the bottom of my (awful, plastic) tub.  Big Blue is awesome though because of the color it turns the water & the seaweed that floats around in the tub as I am bathing.  It reminds me of the ocean & the seaweed is slippery so it's not stuck all over me when I get out of the bath.

I'm not really sure what made me decide to use the Raspberry Puree lotion tonight but I am glad I did.  That, in combination w/the Oceanus, gives off a sweet & salty type scent & I am LOVING it!  It is getting me in the mood for another West Coast trip. (Sorry friends on the WC, don't get your hopes up because it will not be anytime soon!) :)  I think maybe other fruity smells may go well w/the ocean type scents but I am very happy I tried this combination & will probably stick with it for a while.

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I am not a big Black Friday shopper.  I do keep my eyes out for deals but the majority of stuff I want this time of year is for gifts.  Those gifts never tend to be on sale on Black Friday & I am not big into electronics, nor do I have children.  Even if I don't buy anything I still love to "window" shop, even if it's online, & I STILL end up buying more for myself.  I really like the after Christmas, or Boxing Day sales.  (I live very close to Canada.)

I really wasn't impressed w/what I have been seeing.  The Body Shop's Mistletote Bag is already sold out online but I was really disappointed in what it contained.  You can get ALL of the products individually & the bag, like last year's, is pretty hideous.  At least last year there were a ton more things in it & many that could not be purchased individually!

The Bath & Body Works Black Friday VIP Tote is the same thing except the bag is nicer.  All the sales going on between the 2 companies are things that they do at different times through year anyway so it's nothing extraordinary.  Like, last month I stocked up on B&BW buy 2 14.5 oz. candles for $20 right when they got them in, so I'm not pushing & shoving anyone for the same sale now, they have B3G3 a few times per year also.  The Body Shop's buy 3 for $30 only works out if you are getting something super expensive, & there are exclusions also.

So let's see if Cyber Monday will bring anything exciting.  Maybe not.

One thing I DID take advantage of was Me Bath!'s sale.  I noticed a few bath ice creams were already sold out, like the Sweet Peppermint (that one I REALLY wanted to try) & I really cannot afford an individual bath bomb of theirs at $9 each... sorry! So instead I end up spending almost $200 on all the sale bath bombs I have never tried before then stocked up on a few mini bath ice creams I really like. SMH at myself.  Well, they say free gift valued up to $100 w/every order over $25, & w/how much I spent I better be getting something good.  I will keep you all informed as to what it is once I get it.  If it's crap, I will complain!

I have not yet placed my Lush order.  I will most likely do it this weekend when I am feeling a bit better.  No Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals being I am placing the order from their UK site.  Lush NA is having a Golden Ticket game where if you get a gift you get a game code that could win you one of many things.  Then their Black Friday deal was this...

Get a FREE $10 e-gift card

Free Ground Shipping when you spend $100* Free Air Shipping when you spend $120**

& the fact they released 15 new products, which were already available on the UK site months ago.  How unexciting.  & they want you to spend a LOT to get this also.  I could have spent $5 at Me Bath! & still had free shipping.

So there are both praises & complaints in this post.

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I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (for my friends stateside).  I slept most of the day & was extremely crabby because I've been fighting off migraines since yesterday.

Then everything I planned to shop for online today ended up not working out.  Like, as an example, a friend of mine wanted T3 hot rollers, which had been $85 on the QVC website for as long as I can remember since I started keeping my eyes on the best deal.  Then magically today they ended up being $90 on their site.  She decided she didn't want them anyway so I had to figure out something else to get her. & then I got in a spat w/my dad because I had to work today so I asked him to see if he could find a Black Friday deal on something specific for my boyfriend.  He said he would & then later in the day when I talked to him he told me he saw something he was going to get but is holding off.  Well then if he wasn't going to get it today, if there was no deal, there's no point in him getting it for me.  I can get it myself!  Then he sends me an e-mail w/a link of what he wants to get but it's available online only & since it's MY gift to MY boyfriend there, again, is no point in him ordering it.

Oh how I HATE this time of year also!

More ONLINE Black Friday deals.

I received an e-mail from Philosophy today.  Some items are not yet available, so no links.  Their sale starting tomorrow will include things like:

• Free ground shipping on all orders.
• Holiday sale (GOING ON NOW).
• 52% off Skin Care Favorites Trio.
• 50% off Dream A Little Dream Duo.
• 50% off When Hope Is Not Enough capsules.
• 56% off When Hope Is Not Enough replenishing cream.
• 50% off Celebrate Duo.
• 50% off Purity Made Simple cleansing bar.
• 50% off Summer Lip Shine Duo.

Here's a code for Origins, $10 off and free shipping on orders $25 or more.  Ends 11/28.  Use code: TENOFF.


Wick-edly Sent is also having a sale 11/25 only:
100% Soy Candles BOGO.
20% off everything else.
This is a bit complicated though, from their e-mail this is how it would work:

This is only going on 6-9 a.m.  After 9 am, it will be regularly priced.  To shop online, just place your order between 6-9 a.m., and fill your shopping cart and choose Pay by Phone.  After 9 a.m. just call us at 585-394-5260 or 1-888-467-WICK (9425) with your order number and we will apply the sale.

 

  

  

HAPPY SHOPPING!

DEALS GOING ON NOW & some to come!

Nov 25-28

Nov 26-28

GOING ON NOW!

GOING ON NOW!

GOING ON NOW!

GOING ON NOW!

GOING ON NOW!

Rewards programs - It's SO worth it.

Points programs.  The 3 best are probably through Sephora, Ulta, & The Body Shop.

I'll start w/The Body Shop's Love Your Body program because this one you do pay for.  It's SO worth it though because the $10 you put into it, you get back on any purchase you make in your birth month!  You also get an additional 10% off any purchase & many times when they are having sales or promotions, they do not absorb the 10% into the discount they are already giving, but add it on additionally.  So say a sale is 20% off, the LYB will make it 30% off.  Many times they will also have special dates where LYB members can get 20%+ if using their card also.  So if something is already 20% off, you end up w/40% off.  I forgot specifically how the "points" & "qualifying purchases" work but I know you get a good chunk of change worth of $ off a product on the 4th, also the 8th point.  Plus on the 8th point they will renew your membership for FREE.  This is SO worth it.

Sephora has the Beauty Insider or V.I.B. (Very Important Beauty Insider) program.  You have to start off as a regular Beauty Insider account, which is absolutely free, but in order to qualify for the V.I.B. you have to spend $350 over the course of a year & get upgraded the next year.  These are SO worth it because for every $1 you spend you get a point, the points do not expire, & so you can hold onto them for different levels of point "perks."  These perks are usually for deluxe sample sized products at the 100 point mark, or full size products if you wait for the 500 point mark.  I just got an e-mail for the 500 point perk they are now giving away a really cute Dior charm bracelet w/Addict to Life.  I'll be honest, I usually get a lot of stuff through Ulta now because their overall prices are cheaper, they have more coupons, & I can find more stuff there in an overall beauty trip, but there are a lot of products where the prices are set the same between the 2 companies.  But I can always find a ton of promo codes for deluxe samples when placing an order w/them, plus you can pick 3 extra samples when ordering online, & a free program to get points to eventually get free products... it's SO worth it.

Ulta also has its own rewards programs.  2 actually.  Ultamate rewards & The Club at Ulta rewards.  I really have no clue what the difference is as it seems one in the same & the fact that the Ultamate rewards doesn't go into detail about what's so different about it.  I know The Club at Ulta will send you a reward certificates when eligible, & special offers through mail & when shopping in their store.  It almost seems better.  This is SO worth it because, again, it's free!  Now I have had some trouble with Ulta though.  My online account keeps getting deleted for some reason, maybe because I shop in their stores instead of online.  I have to keep re-entering my card number & it never shows me what my point balance is when I do.  It really has been a frustration w/them.  But, it has given me some really good deals in store.  Like Sephora, deluxe samples, BOGO items.  It still is SO worth it.

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I took a bath tonight w/a Lush bath ballistic.  Had no idea what it was.  To save on packing when I get my huge UK orders they usually don't individually wrap them so I have to guess what's what.  Usually isn't a difficult game to play.  I took it out of my stash & it looked like a Dragon's Egg but after I put it in the water I was pleasantly surprised by the spicy scent, light glitter, & amazing oils that filled my tub.  I do know it is not in their line of products for this holiday.  So sad because I would have stocked up on this one!

In addition I used Almond Fudge Milkshake as shampoo & body wash from Philosophy, and some Brazil Nut body butter from The Body Shop.

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I really started my holiday shopping months ago.  I kind of do it year round if I see things I like.  I am not a crazy shopper on Black Friday & will, most likely, be disappointed in the deals that I find online on Cyber Monday, just like last year. (It was quite sad.)

Something to maybe check out though, The Body Shop has a bag that will be available in stores on the 25th, but online on the 24th.  Last year it was filled with a TON of products & Jolly Orange items, which I love!  This year they say it's an 8 piece exclusive set, valued at $120.  Last year you had to buy other products & spend so much then pay, if I remember correctly, $25 to get the bag but it was SO worth it.  Those details have not yet been released.  This I am excited for!

Good baths & good movies.

Can you believe I actually went to my local Body Shop the other day & purchased NOTHING!?  Even with the deal.  I remember the woman saying something about getting 45% off, when if I would have purchased online it would have been 50%.  Deal is over by now but I had pretty much everything in the store I wanted.  I'll see what they have after Thanksgiving.  I'll probably find better items on their online site.  I did get a chance to check out their new holiday ginger line though.  Very mild ginger smell which is nice.  I want some ginger tea now!

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I really want to start writing about some of the companies & new products I am finding through eBay, & local companies, or smaller companies.  I have been kind of all over the place lately but I'll start simple right now w/a review of a small company I found on eBay called Swanky Bath & Body.

I put in bids for bath bombs on their eBay site.  A 3 pack was listed at $5.14 but I put a max bid of $6, because that's what they sell for on their main site anyway.  I won 4, 3 packs consisting of Champagne, Margarita, Balsam Fir, & Eucalyptus & they threw in 1 extra of an Almond Biscotti.  Shipping was approximately $12, which is $1 over the price for the priority box that was used.  Their bath bombs contain kaolin clay & witch hazel, which have skin calming effects & also cocoa butter.

I was really pleased with these.  I had ordered these mostly because of the scents.  I've been on a eucalyptus kick lately, bath bombs are better for the lady parts than bubble baths are, & I was also intrigued by the other scents listed.  Some common but the others not all that common.

The eucalyptus was not overpowering which was nice.
The balsam fir I used in combination w/a rose scented body wash & the combination was amazing.
The margarita I used in combination w/Need a Margarita? body wash & finished w/a coconut lime body spray.
Last, the champagne I paired up with Philosophy's Bubbly body wash & I am sure it would go amazingly well w/any of their champagne scented washes that they seem to like to put out during the holidays.

They leave a nice froth on the top of the bath & all smell divine, leaving just enough scent on the skin.  They are not hard as a rock so they don't take forever to dissolve, but they also don't last too short of a time either.  The bath experience is not oily & I come out w/soft skin & no pruned fingers, still always use lotion after.  I am really happy with these & would definitely get them again!

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To spout off on my personal life now.  Yesterday, my friend Laurie & I went to see the new Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt. 1.  What?  It's not out yet!?  Well, last minute I got an e-mail for a pass to an early screening.  I had just seen the 3rd movie the other week on one of my movie channels & I have to say I am getting addicted.  Never read the books though now I would like to.  I remember my friend Deenok was telling me about the books years ago just before they became the "next big thing."  I always do enjoy books better because they always have much more to them than the movies.

I was joking around on Facebook that I was going to post spoilers but I'm not like that.  Very intense though & it's rated PG13.  I personally would wait until the kids are 16 to see this... or older.  Very adult!  & for all I know it actually may be tame compared to the book, from what I have heard of it.  If you are a fan though, you will not be disappointed.  Ended well to take us to into the last movie that will be coming out.  Eventually.

Where do I get these early screenings?  To be honest I have no clue how I got on the lists for these but I think it had to do w/when I lived in Los Angeles.  What was cool about living out there was you could get on lists to see movies that were still in production.  Like, I saw Radio when it was in post-production.  They took us in groups through street sets until we go to the theater & after were asked to stay in a focus group about the movie where they asked questions about it & then after we got free movie tickets!  Here it's nothing like that though.  You go, you watch for free, you leave.  They have reserved seats for press & I have seem them pick people to interview after the show at times, rarely, & not groups.  Chris & I have seen other movies through these including Watchmen, and The Hangover before they were officially in the theater.

Most likely you will need to be living close to a major metropolitan area, or a large city to take advantage of these.  So if your interested, check out sites like Gofobo or Film Metro.  If you do sign up for these & have events in your area though, they keep track of what you take & what you go to.  So don't reserve spots for everything if you are not going to go.

LAST DAY for an awesome Body Shop deal.

Still trying Sweeps4Bloggers. Of course I am mostly excited when I see bath & body products & candles. It's helping me find new companies to look at also. Haven't won anything yet but I have been pretty busy. There's a lot of contests & I can only spend so much time on the computer.
So I just entered for:
Catching Fireflies Aromatherapy gift set & Yankee Candle Holiday Collection.

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Now The Body Shop is having an AWESOME deal that ends today.  30% off your entire order & if you are a Love Your Body member you get an extra 20% off on top of that! It does exclude candles, jumbo shower gels, charitable items, gift cards & memberships.  Still a deal!  So 50% off almost everything.  Too bad I pretty much HAVE everything I want from them.  Still think I need a trip to the mall today to check it out.

Also want to visit Yankee Candle because I am on a hunt for this candle called Christmas Wish.  It smells like Jingles cookies to me & is my all time favorite for the holiday season.  They didn't have it at my local flagship store so the mall is next.  I have a feeling I will not get it but I enjoy sniffing the candles anyway.

They are also having a buy 2, get 2 on large jar candles.  Here's the coupon w/the information you need for online or you can print it & take it to a store!

It's the most wonderful time...

For LUSH shopping.  By the end of the month I will have put in my annual order for Lush goodness which will include some gifties for my girls.  So, for the love of Lush my bath included tonight a Fizzbanger bath ballistic from Lush, Pink Clover soap from HawkMoon Soaps, and my Hair Biscuit from One Bath & Body.

I love Lush products, the company, the messages they give & what they do for the earth, people, just all around good causes.  Alas, I cannot afford a huge order from the NA site, USA or Canadian.  Upon years of ordering from them, one year I decided I wanted to place my order through their UK site, mostly considering they had more products listed & items not available on the NA site.  Not only was I getting awesome products but the exchange is SO much better!  Even with shipping!  I have noticed that the NA & UK sites are getting to be more similar but I have saved hundreds (YES HUNDREDS) of dollars by ordering from overseas.  The exchange can be around $1-3 for soaps, melts, ballistics & up to $7 for liquid lotions, shampoos, & shower gels!

Every year, just in case, I start 2 orders on each of the sites for the same products, or those similar if not available, then tally up the costs including shipping & then calculate the exchange.  Last year I saved around $200.  Mind you, I am placing orders around $400+ USD.

The only problem with ordering from the UK is the ballistics & rarely other things like the bubble bars.  Because they are so environmentally friendly, they do not use a lot of packing materials, & so I usually receive broken items.  Usually even the broken ones are salvageable though & I can use them, but I have received some pulverized before.  The company is very good at replacing items that come as a lost cause.  Last year, I received many broken ones but I could still use them so I didn't complain.  The year before they shipped my overseas order in popcorn & it was a huge mess between the popcorn & the broken ballistics in the package & I had to have many items replaced.  Always take pictures if there is a problem also!

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My cough is much better.  I do not like the way the word cough looks.  Or the way it sounds.  It's a strange word.  I should put it in my list of words I dislike.  This includes other words like moist, and discrepancy.  But anyway, I am feeling much better on that part, & thanks to my new pulmonologist.

I am probably one of the few people here that is getting anxious for it to finally start snowing!  We missed out on the big east coast storm, which is fine as I don't like dealing with messes.  I am still getting calls from people who are telling me their power just got restored.  I think the south towns may get some tonight, but they've already had some.  I am north of the city of Buffalo & haven't seen any yet, but there is a possibility we may have some tonight or tomorrow.  I need to keep my eyes open!  I cannot wait!  I always love the 1st snow, the blanket of white on the holidays, & then after New Years I want it to go away & can't wait for summer.

Autumn Yankee Candle Mixology

• MacIntosh Spice
• Pumpkin Pie
• Autumn Leaves

Oh how wonderful it is!  The frost this morning was beautiful.  The day was productive. 

So it ended with:

• a Dead Sea salt bath,
• my friend's lavender oatmeal soap she made me,
• then a splash of Yuzu & Rice body milk,
• & also Apricot & Rice finishing mist from The Body Shop.

Not feeling like writing much more for now as I'm pretty exhausted from the day.  Getting excited for "Cyber Monday" but also getting ready to be let down.  Last year the sales for bath & body products were a laugh & the better deals still came, even to their sites, on "Black Friday."  We shall see!

Oatmeal isn't just for breakfast anymore!

The skin.  It's your largest organ protecting your insides, & yet it causes all sorts of problems.

I remember when I was reading up on bathing salts I came across a blog or an opinion site.  Not sure what it was exactly and I'm almost wishing I bookmarked it because what I read on it was quite ridiculous.  The person was going off on how your skin is waterproof & there's no proof or way that thing like epsom or Dead Sea salts could possibly help someone.  It went on & on.  Obviously the person was educated enough to use a computer but it seems like they may have never taken a science class in their entire life.

If that were the case, we would never sweat, our fingers wouldn't prune when in the bath, we would have no allergic reactions that would cause hives & could roll around in poison ivy all day & be fine.  Lotions wouldn't help, & people with skin conditions would never get any relief.

Our skin absorbs & releases.  Unfortunately, my loving of a nice hot bubble bath could cause havoc on my skin more so now with the dry weather season on its way (I am already being shocked around the house!) so, when taking a bath, if not using oils, I like to usually add some colloidal oatmeal w/the bubble bath.

Don't add it to an oil bath!  It's a mess!

Rite Aid, has their own oatmeal bath treatment in prepackaged packets.  One per bath works well.  Aveeno also makes their own soothing bath treatment but the drug store brands I have found to be the same.  Don't waste the extra few $.  Instead buy some of their other products that the drug stores don't mimic. :)  Take a packet, mix it in with your bubble bath you want to use & enjoy!



Some people like having brand name though.  It's your choice.  Just make sure you pat dry & moisturize after or your skin may become like tree bark this winter!

My overall health is still a roller coaster as I am having a hard time getting rid of this cough.  Can't seem to talk w/out hacking & then choking & then comes the asthma.  I would LOVE to have a eucalyptus bath right now though I don't really have any products that are just that.  Most also contain mint & I'm not really feeling the mint right now.  Think I need to search out some new products on eBay.