How to get the most for your money at Sephora

My husband and I are both very loyal Sephora customers (ok, so I do the buying for both of us). He has sensitive skin that breaks out very easily and loves the Peter Thomas Roth skin care line, and I love makeup and all of the free samples I can get and try, in my quest to find the perfect skin care and cosmetics! :)

Since buying makeup and skin care items at Sephora (or any specialty store) can get expensive, I have a few tips on how to get the most for your money when buying from them.

In-store: One of the best things about Sephora is the fact that they will let you try pretty much anything there. If there is anything that you'd like to try, just ask a sales associate and they will get you a little container of the product(s) for you to take home. This is an excellent way to avoid wasting money on something you don't like. If you do happen to buy something that you don't like, you can return it with no problems.

Online: This is my favorite way to shop at Sephora. There are so many opportunities to get free samples and little treasures with your order. First, with each order, you can choose three free samples. You can do this by clicking the "3 free samples" link at the top of the page, or just wait until checkout. When checking out, enter one of Sephora's promo codes to get some extra free stuff. You can get some pretty good stuff if you look for promo codes at the right time. Holidays are really good times to get some pretty awesome sample bags. RetailMeNot also has a list of promo codes that may not all be listed on Sephora's website. You can also get free shipping if the item(s) you ordered are over $50.

If you happen to be a VIB, you can use your accumulated points from previous purchases for free Beauty Insider Rewards either in-store or online.

Here is my latest Sephora purchse: 

Peter Thomas Roth face wash ($32), Buxom shimmer, shine and smoke kit (500 beauty insider points), 12-sample skincare sampler bag (free), and three free samples (free). I paid $41 for all of this, including shipping! In my opinion, pretty good.

Happy shopping!

Sole Society Shoes

About a week ago, I received my new pair of Sole Society shoes. I got a great deal on them, since I had a promo code that got me half off! That is wonderful. I almost never pass up an opportunity to get a pair of shoes I want at a discount.

I bought these cute little nude flats:

Buuuuut... they don't fit right. I really love them and wish they did! There is another pair of mustard-colored wedges I am just in love with, that I would love to exchange them for....

Here is the part where I give my honest opinion: so far, I am not too impressed with Sole Society. I really like the site, and I appreciate the discount code, but I am not very excited to order from them again. They make returns and exchanges very hard, and their customer service seems slow. There is no option to return my shoes on the website (there are instructions on my packing slip that came with the shoes, but the instructions are incorrect and do not work). I have contacted customer service with my problem, but no one has gotten back to me. On top of that, they charge a $7.95 restocking fee for each pair of shoes returned, so if you want to exchange them, you are actually going to have to pay $8 to do so. I felt like it was hardly worth it. The last thing is, I can no longer use my promo code ($25 off your first pair of shoes) for the pair I would like to exchange these for, so they will be twice the price. I might just search for some mustard wedges on Zappos or Amazon.

With as much as I love to save money and get a good deal, it pains me to pay a restocking fee of nearly $8.

I realize that was not the best review, but the shoes I got were good quality and cute. If you're sure of your size and you know the shoes will fit you, here is the discount code for your first pair: INFLUENSTER25, and it is good until the end of the month.

I couldn't resist!

Who doesn't love a super thoughtful gift that won't break the bank? For Christmas, some friends of ours commissioned a very funny British guy to sing a Christmas Carol for my husband and me. The best part? He was wearing a tinsel-covered thong. Even better? He said our names!! I couldn't believe it. The look on my face was priceless, my husband said. Our friends posted the video on one of our Facebook walls, and tagged us in it for everyone to see. It was awesome.

So of course, after seeing this amazingly creative gift that our friends got us, I went searching for something equally as creative to do for them in return. The things I found were amazing, but super expensive. Did you know that there is an evil clown who will stalk your child and send them threatening text messages the week of their birthday? I would have loved to have gotten a clown to stalk our friends! Of course that is out, though, because while its a funny prank, I don't want to scare them! It is also probably very expensive.

After seeing our profuse praise of their gift, our friends told us that they only paid $5 for that incredibly thoughtful and hilarious gift! How could this be? They went to a site called Fiverr, where everything is $5. How awesome! Here's how it works: people from all over the world take stock of what they are good at (or maybe even terrible at) and what people might find beneficial, and then they offer to do it for $5. You can find anything on this site! There are people who will sing in thongs, people who will crochet you a cute mini-monster and send it to you, people who will give you math tutorials, and people who will do advertising for you. I searched and searched, and I found this amazing gift for our friends:

This guy will write whatever you want him to on his amazing beer gut for $5. Is there a better gift?

The moral of the story  here is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE giving gifts any chance I get, and it is made even better by the fact that I am not paying an arm and a leg to do it. I am happy to have found, and to be sharing, Fiverr. 

Happy gifting! 

 

My Influenster Holiday VoxBox

I just LOVE trying new things. Especially when it comes to new products. I am CONSTANTLY on the quest for the perfect product, whatever category it might fall into. One thing I really don't like is wasting money. Unfortunately, I have done that way too many times, buying new products that don't work out for me.
This is why I love Influenster! I am addicted to social media and spend a ton of time online, so Influenster is perfect for me. In case you don't know, here's the deal: Influenster uses social media presence to get the word out about new products. By unlocking (fun) badges about your lifestyle, you qualify for different programs and may have a box of goodies sent to your house for you to test out! Social media addicts like me will find it easy to take pics, blog about and review different products. Each time you do this, you increase your score, and the higher your score, the more programs you will qualify for.

I have gotten three VoxBoxes so far... including the Holiday VoxBox, which was a wonderful treat to look forward to when I returned from my trip to the Middle East! Here's a shot of what was inside.

The site is just a little bit hard to use at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll love it. Especially if you love free stuff, like me. :)

http://www.influenster.com/

Until next time!

Welcome!

Hello out there in web-land! My name is Emily, and I love saving money, crafting, and all things DIY. I love it all so much, I decided to make a blog about it! Here, you will find tutorials, links, and tips on how to get the most for your money.

Before I make my first post, allow me to share a few things about myself. I am married to a wonderful man. We have two cats and a dog and they are our babies! I am a graduate student, and an Air Force veteran.

I can't wait to share with you!