Bargain Brag: Stocking Stuffer Edition

I recently scored this haul of beauty products during CVS Drugstore's winter beauty clearance.  CVS was offering 50-75% off of selected merchandise, so I racked up on inexpensive beauty products that make great stocking stuffers!

 After the 75% discount, these NYC eye palettes were just $1.25 each!  They even come with primer and highlighter. 

The 75% off made these NYC nail polishes only 25 cents each.  These four colors were on sale.  I bought ten bottles in all.   

These Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro polishes were a steal!  They came to $1.12 after the 75% off, but I also had $1 off coupons for Rimmel, meaning I paid only 12 cents per bottle!!!  

This entire CVS haul only cost me $5.90.  I bought these about one week ago, but, if you hurry, you might be able to find some clearance bargains still lingering at your local CVS.  

Even better than cheap beauty hauls are freebies.  All of these items in the above picture were completely free!

I got the Suave lotion for free through a Suave Facebook Giveaway.

The body spray is by "Essence of Beauty" which is CVS's store beauty brand.  I got this for free for liking the CVS Minute clinic page.

I found these Nivea lotions at Dollar Tree for $1, and I happened to have $1 off Nivea lotion coupons, making both of them free for me.

I plan to give all of these items as gifts.  I am going to make up little bags of goodies to share with a few friends who I usually don't exchange gifts with.  I like how sale items allow me to stretch my money further and show my friends I was thinking of them during the holidays.

So, what goodies are you planning on giving as stocking stuffers this Christmas?

  

Review- Nivea Lip Butter

Just a quick review...

Nivea's Smooth Kiss Lip Butter

I got this product from a giveaway promotion on the Nivea Facebook page.  I was really interested to try it.  My lips are abnormally dry, even in the summer.  During the cold winter months, they are unbearable.  They flake, crack, and even split.  Lipsticks and glosses tend to worsen my condition.  Even lip balm that is supposed to moisturize can sometimes turn my lips into a flaky crusty mess!  When my best friend introduced me to Nivea Kiss of Moisture Lip Balm it was instant love...I have never found a product that calmed and smoothed my troublesome lips like it does.  Nivea Kiss of Moisture Lip Balm is an absolutely crucial beauty item for me, so I'm always eager to try other Nivea lip products to see how they measure up.  I have tried pretty much all of Nivea's Lip Balm line, but Kiss of Moisture still stands alone as my favorite.  When I saw this new Nivea product, I couldn't wait to give it a try.

What the Nivea Website says:

• Enriched with Shea Butter and Almond Oil to intensely moisturize and soothe dry lips for long-lasting care.

• Rich formula melts onto lips providing long-lasting nourishment to make all your kisses better.

What I say:
This is a very good product, although I still prefer the Kiss of Moisture Lip Balm.  

The product is thick and creamy.  It goes on smooth. It leaves a soft frosty sheen to the lips that is pretty, but be careful not to use too much or it can begin to look too thick and white like doughnut glaze!  

There is no scent to this particular variety, but other products in the line have yummy scents or flavors, such as Caramel and Raspberry.

It does a good job of smoothing lips, but on the downside, it wears off fairly quickly.

Nivea Lip Butter is packaged in an easy-to-open tin.  I am not fond of using lip products in a tin, because  I am constantly re-applying on the go and applying with your fingers is messy.  Because of this, I only use this lip butter while I'm at home.  I keep it by my bed and apply it anytime my lips are feeling a little dry. 

Overall, it is a very good gentle and soothing lip product.  If my usual Kiss of Moisture Balm was not available, I would definitely buy this product as a second choice.  I would highly recommend it, especially if you prefer lip products in a tin over a tube.

Shopping Etc.

Just a few things I picked up lately...

"Fake" Tee- $7 at Rainbow

Forest Green Trench-Style Shirt- $6 at Forever 21

Black and White Stripe Crop Sweater- $3.50 at Forever 21 

Faded Leopard Print Sweatshirt-$ 6 at Ross

Rusk Being Shine Set- $3.50 at Ross

I got this full-size Nivea Lip Butter for free from Nivea's Facebook Promotion!  

My monthly subscription magazines: People Style Watch and Seventeen. 

Japanese Fashion Mags I bought online.

My Daily Skincare Routine

My Simple Skin Routine

Many people have told me I have nice skin.  My skin is pretty normal.  For most of my life, I've found that my skin was better when left alone. I've always used cleanser specifically designed for faces, and occasionally used lotion, but that's about it!  Using fancy masks, scrubs, or deep cleansers irritated my skin or made it oily, and indulging in moisturizer gave me pimples.  Now that I'm older, I've started to care for my skin more.  So while my routine might seem pretty basic compared to all the skincare enthusiasts out there, its actually much more involved that it used to be!

Up & Up Deep Cleanser Cream

This is actually the Target store brand version of Noxzema.  When I was a preteen, Noxzema used to give out a lot of free samples.  I liked the cool tingly feeling, so I used it on and off into my teens.  The last time I needed face wash, this was cheap and I was feeling nostalgic.

Missha Super Aqua Marine Forest Toner and Emulsion

I got this set while in Korea.  It came with the full size toner and moisturizer, and also a travel size of each one, which is very convenient since I travel as much as possible.  I use this set at night after showering.  The toner makes my face feel fresh without drying out my skin, and the lotion is a light water-based formula that keeps my skin from getting dry yet it isn't too heavy or greasy for my easily annoyed skin.  Its perfect for the cold winter months.  I absolutely love this duo!!! 

SkinMedica TNS Eye Repair

At $95 for .5oz...this is the most indulgent skin care item I have ever owned.  I recently bought it because I was concerned about my under eye area and thought I definitely needed to begin caring for it better.  I had researched eye creams, but there are so many out there that it is hard to know what to get. I saw a report on Good Morning America about the skin products that were rated best by dermatologists.  This cream got rave reviews, so I decided to invest in it.  I have been using it for a few weeks now and I do see a big improvement.  The skin under my eyes feels firmer and less puffy.

CVS Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover

This is pretty basic liquid eye makeup remover.  My sister actually bought this on clearance for 66 cents for the 2 oz bottle!  It works just fine! I usually use the Clinique version of this type of remover.  Previously, I was using a gel eye makeup remover from Missha, but I left it behind in a motel while traveling this summer.

Pond's Morning Refresh Wet Cleansing Towelettes

I picked these up one day at Ross and found them to be really useful.  On those nights when I'm feeling too lazy to take off my makeup before bed, I just use one of these instead.  They are textured so they do a good job of cleaning away any dirt or makeup and they leave your face feeling refreshed and smooth.  I liked them so much I picked them up a second time at Conway.

Nivea A Kiss of Moisture

This is my number one most important beauty item.  If I forget my lip balm, it is gonna be a baaaaaad day!  My lips are incredibly dry and crack easily.  I realized that, sadly, lipglosses make it worse, so I stopped using them altogether about two years ago.  All my life, I have obsessively slathered on lip moisturizers like chapstick or lipsmackers, but they didn't help much.  My best friend introduced me to A Kiss of Moisture and whatever is in this product soothes my lips better than anything I have ever tried! I'm so addicted.  Strangely enough, just this particular variety (the dark blue package) is magic for me.  I have tried various other Nivea "kiss of" products and they just do not have the same results.  I highly recommend this!!!

So, that is my fairly low-maintenance skin regimen.  Are you high-maintenance or do you keep it simple? What's the #1 skin product you can't live without?