Black Friday, Cyber Monday Hauls and Disappointments

I'm back again! Thanksgiving was hectic, as I was cooking all Thursday. I got to break my meat fast for a bit by nomming on some turkey. I hope everyone got to spend some time with other loved ones! :)

I didn't think I spent that much money until I tallied it all up just now, lol. 

Here goes: 
I didn't buy much on Black Friday. I am super scared of big crowds and the cold. Black Friday's for the true fanatics! I stayed warm all day and ventured out to my local stores just to browse around. I picked up the N.Y.C. limited edition rose glosses Rite-Aid. Learn more about the collection here. The collection never showed up in the East Bay, but they found their way to my hometown. I was so excited to find them, because it's been a while since they've been released. And there was still one of each! I felt soo excited... until I got them home and realized that someone broke the safety seal on one of them and swatched it. Gah, but I decided to keep it and sanitize it with rubbing alcohol on the surface. Check the safety seal, it should be on all unopened rose glosses!

After dinner, I check out the local Ulta. They stocked some new Freeman products, so I, of course, helped myself to a new clay facial mask. I glanced over the ingredients for this one and I see no parabens, woot! (EDIT: I didn't looked closely enough, it does. :/) I'll get a new review up for this one soon. 

When I got back to school, I proceeded to haul some L'oreal products that have been heavily discounted. Thanks Gianna and Lisa for the tips! Another thanks to Gianna for alerting me that the new Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle nail colors were available at CVS.

CVS Haul

Here's the breakdown (yes, I made a chart)



I saved tons of money on the L'oreal sale, though I'm not a fan of L'oreal skincare or cosmetics. I've looked through the labels: way too much mineral oil/petrolatum and alcohol. But I'm pretty happy with my purchases nonetheless. Save even more money by printing out some L'oreal coupons. I found mine here. 

I kicked off Cyber Monday with e.l.f.'s 55% off sale on Sunday. It bugs me that it doesn't include free shipping, but $6.95 is manageable. Here's my forthcoming haul. 

The sale has been extended, so you still have a chance to get your haul on! Another way to save money is to spend over $30 on e.l.f., not including tax and not counting coupon savings. You'll then be eligible for a magazine. But if you forgo the magazine, you'll receive $12 rebate back. That's like super savings! Click here for more deets. 

Rants follow

Mega Haul / is there an item limit on addiction?

I swear I didn't mean for it to end up like this. I've been school-free for the past six weeks. Not of my own volition, of course. I dropped a class (though I managed to learn P(finding an upper division probability course too hard to take during the summer) ~ 1). The first few days were heaven, no school to be late for, no homework to toil and weep over. It was absolute freedom.

Which meant I got sick of it after two days.

I was so bored. As the saying goes, the devil finds work for idle hands. Well, my idle hands shopped! It was way too easy to shop with all the available time. Now I know what they mean by "retail therapy."
Bad mood? -> Wonder what sales are at Rite Aid?
Miss bf? -> I think I need more blushes.
I'm bored -> I really should get into painting nails.
And on and on. And blogs and vlogs only gave me more new products to try. This added up really quickly.

Here's what it looked like after hitting countless CVS's, Rite Aid's, Target's, and Walmart's.

Can you tell it took 20 minutes to arrange it so it would all fit in one frame?

Pretty scary, right? It looks like I emptied a drugstore shelf into my shopping cart (which wouldn't be too far from the truth). It's actually worse than it looks, because some products are hidden by others. If I expanded it, it would look insane.

It's weird. I'm more interested in skincare, but I have an absolute weakness for cosmetics. If I love a cosmetic blogger's taste, I will develop a lemming for her raved products like no other until I have them in my hands. I have absolute trust in other bloggers' take on cosmetics, because I'm so unfamiliar with it myself (not wearing any on most days).

In contrast, I will be more skeptical with skincare. I won't invest in a skincare product until I know its ingredients, no matter how many raves I see.

What are y'all's buying habits like? :)

I'll break this down by store I purchased it from:




Haha, I realize that making a spreadsheet is pretty neurotic, but that's how I am when I have nothing else to do. I love being detailed and crediting sources. :)

I didn't just buy beauty products either. After I read Elle's rave over Poketo for Target's collection, I went the very next day to get my hands on some. They were available in Target and online way before the August 10 release date.

My Poketo Haul
Further evidence of my inability to resist temptation. :P

I bought a laptop sleeve (which fits a bit snug for my HP TX2500, but would be perfect for small, super thin laptops), a pack of three bags (big one for my make-up, medium one for pencils, and wee one for camera/phone), and an umbrella (couldn't deny myself cute green bears = fail). The entire collection was all so cute that I applaud myself for not walking out of the store with it all (baby steps).

My out-of-control spending habits will hopefully diminish with the new school year starting in late August. I'll be too focused on school, clubs, etc. to buy things or go to stores. You won't see hauls like this anymore!

Well,

we'll see. ;)

Virgin Post: Be gentle!

I first wanted to post a haul, because this haul is significant to this blog. I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything after too many rounds of buyer's 'morse. Haha, prior to that I spent way too much money on something I basically wasn't sure I wanted. I've definitely been a shopaholic way before I regularly read beauty blogs, but reading glowing reviews on unfamiliar products is super enabling! ;)
So I resolved to stop shopping for six months....that lasted two days! Because I walked through Rite-Aid and saw this.

Temptation calling

I am a huge Freeman fan! They use some really lovely ingredients. I am always wary of skincare products when they seem to be composed mostly of fillers. But Freeman doesn't seem to do that. I've seen a good selection of Freeman products only at Rite-Aid. Perhaps they're better stocked on the East Coast?

Anyway, my bf reminded me of my ill-timed no-buy pact. But he said I could buy it if I wrote a review of the products on my blog. He's so sweet to encourage my blogging! Procrastinator that I am, this haul was from May 30. But I'm here now! :D

I bought:
Freeman Pineapple Facial Enzyme Mask ($3.99), thanks to raves from Muse and Jean
Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Detoxifying Mask ($1.99)
Freeman Dead Sea Minerals Anti-Stress Mud Mask ($1.99)
Freeman Avocado & Oatmeal Facial Clay Mask ($1.99)
N.Y.C. Blushable Creme Sticks in Plaza Pink and Big Apple Blush ($3.99)

Swatches

Natural Lighting: Big Apple Blush (Top) Plaza Pink (Bottom)


With Flash: Big Apple Blush (Top) Plaza Pink (Bottom)

I've tried most of these products already, so expect to see reviews coming soon!