September 2012 Empties

•  St. Ives Apricot Scrub (travel)
• Yankee Candle Garden Sweet Pea Hand Soap
• Bath and Body Works Paris Amour lotion
• Bath and Body Works Sea Island Cotton foaming hand soap
• Aveeno Nourish+Strengthen shampoo and conditioner samples
• Smashbox Photofinish Hydrating Primer (travel size)
• La Fresh non-acetone nail polish remover pad

• TRESemme Climate Control shampoo
• Physician's Formula Hydrating Eye Cream
• Bath and Body Works Fresh Picked Cherries deep cleansing hand soap
• Bath and Body Works Wild Berry Tulips lotion
• Carmex Healing Cream (trial size)
• Glade Bring on the Blossoms candle
• Heel to Toe Overnight Repair Treatment
• Bath and Body Works Sweet Pea HandiBac
• Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom

• CVS Dry Skin Therapy
• Olay Soothing Cucumber Body Wash
• Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Detoxifying Scrub (travel size)
• Skintimate Strawberry Tangerine Twist Shave Gel
• Suave Color Protection conditioner

Why I love Sephora!

So, as you know, I recently bought a Clarisonic from Sephora.com. I just wanted to tell you guys my experience. If you go to the product page on the Sephora site, the contents include a Peony Mia2, the charger, a travel case and Josie Maran Argan Oil, Moisturizer and Cleansing Oil. When I ordered the set 3 weeks ago, however, the list and picture included the Clarisonic cleanser as well. When I opened the box, however, there was no Clarisonic cleanser listed or included. I don't mind, but the product listing was incorrect. I decided to tell Sephora that, because I think correct product descriptions are important. I sent the customer service the following email on September 14th:

"I recently ordered and received the Clarisonic Mia2-Josie Maran set (sku #1460831) and discovered that it does not come with the Clarisonic cleanser, as is listed on the product description and seen in the picture. While I do not wish to return the set, as I am happy with what came with it, the description should be edited so others are not disappointed as I was."

 I received an automated response the next day and I thought that was the end of it. On September 16th, however, I received a call from the San Francisco area and it was Sephora! They wanted to send me a sample of cleanser since I did not receive the Clarisonic cleanser. They asked my skin type and verified my shipping address. I got a shipping notice and 4 days later I received these goodies:

I got TWO generous samples of cleanser, one from Ren and one from Ole Henrikson.

I just wanted to share how awesome Sephora is. I simply wanted them to fix their description (which they have since I emailed them) and they went above and beyond to make sure I was happy. Just another reason to shop at Sephora :)

Yeah, another haul. So sue me.

There were such good sales!

 I finally got a Clarisonic Mia 2 since Sephora came out with a Josie Maran Kit.I will do a separate post in a bit about the purchasing experience soon.

 CHINA GLAZE FOR $1.65 AT SALLY BEAUTY! I had a coupon for $5 off as well :) From left to right (I think...I am doing this several hours after I took the picture, and the colors are quite similar) Flirty Tankini, Hang-ten Toes, Love's a Beach, Pink Plumeria

 Adventure Red-y, I'm Not Lion, Purr-fect Plum, Rose Among Thorns (Neon) The last one doesn't have any printing on the bottle, but it was the only one I could find...

September 2012 Birchbox!

So I finally got my September Birchbox and I must say I am very happy with it. When I looked at the preview, I was a bit underwhelmed, but once I opened the actual box I was very happy.

• Fall Lookbook 
• Twirl by Kate Spade perfume sample: THIS SAMPLE HAS A SPRAY PUMP!! Woo hoo!
• Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator: yay for face wash samples! I actually use skincare and whatnot more than the makeup samples I get, since I don't really wear makeup every day.
• Mighty Leaf Tea: There are 3 tea bags in here, each a different flavor. I like that, especially since one is vanilla :)
• La Fresh Nail Polish Remover Acetone-Free Fresh Tuscan Orange scent: I already used this and ONE pad got all ten fingers worth of nail polish off. These actually smell good. I'm very impressed and considering purchasing these when I use my BB points.
• Jouer Matte Moisture Tint in Linen: Meh. This is really orange and apparently not as light as I am. 
• Color Club polish in Tweet Me: Nice formula, but I'm not digging the color. It is almost like a combination of OPI Fiercely Fiona and OPI Who the Shrek are You?

Like I said, I am very happy with this box! It was a nice surprise after watching the Endeavor fly over at the top of a really, really hot parking structure!

Bath and Body Works/Target haul...

It is so easy to spend money when you have coupons...

• EOS special edition Alice in Wonderland lip balm set: I finally found this at my Target! There are watermelon, blueberry and vanilla flavors which you can't get individually.
• Pond's Luminous Clean towelettes: I needed some more and I wanted to try these ones out
• Wallflower bulbs from Bath and Body Works: Moonlight Path, Paris Amour, Farmstand Apple, Eucalyptus Mint, Leaves
• Scentportable refills: Fresh Cotton, Cranberry Woods, Eucalyptus Mint, Farmstand Apple, Island Margarita
• Light up Wallflower Starter
• Cashmere Glow lotion mini (free with coupon!)
• Squirrel Scentportable holder

I only have "winter" scents left for my Wallflower and I wanted some fresher, lighter scents as it is still pretty hot here in Southern California.

Small Sally Beauty Haul

My Sally Beauty club card renews in September...so of course I had to go renew it and use my 15% + free item coupon!!! I don't need anything there but I want so much...

• ORLY Bubbly Bombshell because who doesn't need more fabulous pink glitter?
• ORLY Sweet Peacock because some girl in one of my anthro classes has a metallic blue polish I've been eyeing for a bit. This looks nothing like it, as hers looks more like Essie's Blue Rhapsody, but this one is metallic...and blue...so good enough?
• ion inspired by nature Nourishing Oil Treatment because it was on clearance and I've been getting into hair products lately and this was a good way to try a hair oil.
• ion Moisture Solutions Miracle Leave-In Conditioner because it was free and I've been wanting a leave-in for a while now.

Less than $17 for these four items and the card renewal, plus I got a $5 off coupon for next time :) I'm thinking I "need" one of the new duochrome China Glaze polishes...

August 2012 Empties

•  Suave Kids 2-in-1 Shampoo in Surf's Up
• The Body Shop Watermelon body lotion
• Softsoap Pampered Hands Tangerine Treat hand soap
• Herbal Essences Dangerously Straight spray

•  Nivea towelettes (bought in Costa Rica or Nicaragua)
• Simple Refreshing Face Wash Gel (travel size)
• AXE Fresh Phoenix deodorant

•  Bath and Body Works Aruba Coconut Glowing Body Scrub
• Bath and Body Works Gentle Foaming Handsoap in Japanese Cherry Blossom
• Sephora Instant Moisturizer
• Philosophy Kiss Me lip scrub
• The Body Shop Spa Wisdom Morocco body souffle
• Pantene Smoothing Creme
• Sephora Express Cleansing Wipes
• The Body Shop Cucumber Cleansing Milk

samples, samples everywhere!

• Tresemme Split End shampoo and conditioners
• Dove Visible Care Renewing body wash
• Juice Beauty Oil-Free moisturizer (sample)
• Supersmile mouthwash packet
• Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Detoxifying Scrub
• random shampoo from hotel

Not pictured:

• BBW PocketBac in Pink Sugarplum
• Head and Shoulders samples
• Pure Silk Melon Splash Shave Creme
• Serene Elements sample (trial)
• Aveeno, Clear and Garnier shampoo/conditioner samples
• Gold Canyon Clean Sheets candle