Same hair product...by a different name?

Hey guys!  Ok, so I am back on hair maintenance and I have been sticking with my main products that I love like CON Argan Shampoo, regular ol' rinse out conditioner (mainly V05), my AO GPB as as a deep conditioner (when I have time!) and my avocado butter as a twistout, twist, braidout, braid, leave in product. I LOVE my avocado butter with a passion, I have been using it for about 8 years now and it will ALWAYS be a staple, as long as I can continue to buy it on Etsy :) :).

Anywhoo, on to my ramble of the day...
This next product (or products) I have to mention is the reason for the title of this blog post.  So, I love finding products that are cheap but effective.  I just never really got the whole "$ 50 for 2 oz of product" thing.  Don't get me wrong, I know that you get what you pay for, but c'mon. So I'm on youtube and I see a review for my Evoo and Moringa and the same reviewer mentions a product called "African Pride shea butter miracle bouncy curls pudding" and "African Pride shea butter miracle leave-in conditioner".  Now, I don't really use the "african" this and "african" that brand names, so I wasn't expecting anything special, but let me just say, whoever formulated this product was spot on.  The ingredients are seemingly pretty good and there is no mineral oil or petrolatum from what I can see.  I really like both products and what I REALLY like is that I got them for $3.45 at my local Fred's Dollar Store for 15 ounces!!   Yes, everyone that seems to be looking for it can only find it at Walmart (ugh, I don't do Walmart) and I have heard prices that range from $3.88 and up at Walmart.  For anyone that has a Fred's in their area, check it out, you'll be surprised at the wide range of products made for "us" there.  I also occasionally buy my castor oil at Fred's.  Walmart ain't always the cheapest ya'll. ;) ;)  African Pride also makes an "Olive Miracle" line but they contain Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil) and Petrolatum.  They are also cheaper (I have seen them as low as $2.69 at the beauty supply). :|

So, the African pride products are made by Strength of Nature, which also makes Elasta QP per their website.  A THIRD brand that they also make is Beautiful Textures per the Beautiful Textures website. Ya'll know I do my research, so check out the ingredients of Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Curl Defining Pudding vs the Shea Butter Miracle Bouncy Curls pudding vs Beautiful Textures Curl Control Defining Pudding:

Beautiful Textures Curl Control Defining Pudding
Ingredients: Aqua, Glycine Soja Oil/Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Argania Spinosa Nut Oil/Argan Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil/Coconut Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil/Olive Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit/Shea Butter, Mangifera Indica Seed Butter/Mango Butter, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract/Rosemary Extract, Dimethicone, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract/Aloe Vera, Phenyl Trimethicone, Panax Ginseng Root Extract/Ginseng Extract, Glycerin, Polyquaternium 11, Steareth 2, Steareth 20, DMDM Hydantoin, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Sodium Carbomer, PEG 150 Distearate, PEG 12 Dimethicone, CI 15985/Yellow 6, Parfum/Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Coumarin, d-Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Lyral, Methyl Ionone Gamma.

Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Curl Defining Pudding
 Aqua, Glycine Soja Oil/Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil/Olive Oil, Mangifera Indica Seed Butter/Mango Butter, Argonia Spinosa Nut Oil/Argon Oil, Cocos Nucifera Oil/Coconut Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Fruit/Shea Butter, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract/Rosemary Extract, Dimethicone, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract/Aloe Vera Extract, Phenyl Trimethicone, Panax Ginseng Root Extract/Ginseng Extract, Glycerin, Polyquaternium 11, Steareth 2, Steareth 20, DMDM Hydantoin, lmidazolidinyl Urea,Sodium Carbomer, PEG 150 Distearate, PEG 12 Dimethicone, Daucus Carota Sativa Root Oil/Carrot Oil, Parfum/Fragrance, Benzyl Benzoate, Citrai,Citronellal, d-Limonene, Geraniol, Lilial, Linalool.

African Pride Shea Butter Miracle Bouncy Curls Pudding 15oz
aqua,glycine soja oil/soy bean oil, hydrogenated vegetable oil, butyrospermum parkii fruit/shea butter, mangifera indica seed butter/mango butter, argania spinosa kernel oil/argan oil, cocos nucifera oil/coconut oil, olea eurpaea friut oil/olive oil,rasmarinus officinalis leaf extract/rosemary extract. dimethicone, aloe barbadensis leaf extract/aloe vera extract, phemyl trimethicone, pamax gingseng root extract/gingseng extract, aloe barbademsis leaf extract/aloe vera extract, glycerin, polyquaternium 11, steareth 2, steareth 20, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea sodium carbomer, PEG 150 diftearate, PEG 12 dimethicone, CI 15985/yellow 6, parfum/fragrance, benzyl benzoate, benzyl salicylate, coumarin, d-limoneme, hexyl cinnamal, lyral,methyl ionane gamma

Pretty darn similar, right?  I own the EQP and the AP Shea butter miracle and have seen the EQP at beauty supply stores for about $5.99 for 15 oz, which is still a great price, but I think the AP Shea Butter pudding will do just fine for me after the EQP is gone. :)

So, the rest of this blog will be about stuff I have run across while I have been trying to get my hair journey back on track (don't worry, my hair is doing AWESOME and growing back like weeds hee hee), I have been of course curious of all the NEW and NEW AND IMPROVED?? stuff that's circulating on youtube, blogs, etc.  I have never been a PJ, but I know it's easy to become one, especially with the literally THOUSANDS of products out here these days.  I have been fortunate and have been able to avoid it in my journey of the last 12 years.  That being said, I was low on my avocado butter so instead of ordering a new batch right now, I decided to check out some of the commercial products at the department store.

The first thing I did was check out youtube to see what some good recommendations were.  Anyone that knows me, knows I don't do expensive because expensive didn't get my hair to my tailbone before, so yeah...no.  First, I absolutely love Youtube's Naptural85's winter wash and go method with the oil rinsing. Love it, hands down.  I also love that she doesn't use a lot of products.  Just great methods, great information, gorgeous hair and minimal products. THAT'S how you do it. ;)

So I was in Walgreens one day and ran across the Nubian Heritage Evoo and Moringa line (that I have avoided like the plague since it hit the shelves because of those $11.99 and $13.99 price tags.) But this particular day, they had ONE jar of the Evoo & Moringa Repair & Extend Hair Butter...and it was on CLEARANCE.  Ya'll know I LOVE me some clearance.  It was $3.24 AND I had 1000 points on my Walgreens card that the clerk let me use, so I got it for $2.24.  Seriously, what was there to lose?  That being said, I took it home, tried it right out of the shower on a set of twists and I LOVED it.  It is almost the exact same consistency as my avocado butter but it has shea butter in it.  I am not a fan of shea butter but the consistency of the product just melts like butter in my hair, JUST like my avocado butter!  It also smells so good and citrus-y, like freshly squeezed lemons!  That being said, even though I really love the product, I will not repurchase it, because of the price.  Not when I can get a 12-16 oz jar of avocado butter for about 10-12 bucks, the same price as the Evoo and Moringa.  I am about halfway through the jar, so once it's gone, that will be it for me.  So on to the next...

Another product that I have been eye-ing was the newly revamped line from Eden Bodyworks.  I love the history behind the owner, and I didn't get a chance to try her products years ago before they were discontinued.  That being said, ya'll know I love a deal, so here was my scenario...

My Sally Beauty club card was set to expire in Sept 2013.  Those of you that have one, know that if you renew your card in the same month it expires, you get a $5 off coupon after you renew it, so it's like getting your money right back!  Also in Sept, Sally's was running a special on Eden Bodyworks.  You get $2 off any product.  So I went in to renew my card, I got my five buck coupon.  The next week, I went in and got the Eden BW Coconut co-wash and the Coconut Shea Curl Defining Creme.  They were $7.99 each, $2 off each and w/my $5 off coupon, I got both of them for about $7!  Once again, I hit gold.  The co-wash is great, it doesn't sud, which I didn't expect it to, but it does foam, which I love, because you can kind of squeeze the product through to the ends without wasting it, if that makes sense.  The curl pudding, on the other hand, the jury is still out.  It smells great, the consistency is good and moisturizing, but don't expect any good hold.  I don't think it's geared toward hold anyway. :)  Overall, the co-wash is great and I would purchase it again, but I need to get it on a good sale. :)


So that's it, I hope this helps someone out, peace love and (no) hair grease! :)

Another (long ago) discontinued lovely

Ok, so I have been reallllly into nail polish as of late.  I am still in LOVE w/nail polish strips/stickers/appliques/nail dress/nail wraps, etc, but I have really been drooling over the endless blog swatches out here on the net.

This post today is just a random "I don't know how I got to that blog, or what I was searching for or looking at to end up there" type of post.  For all the nail polish fanatics out there...Clarins 230...need I say more?

I have been salivating over swatches of this absolutely-freaking-ridiculously gorgeous nail polish for about 2 days now.  The questions that keep popping up in my head are "How did they do that?"  "Why did they do that?"  "Why did they discontinue it?"  "Why can't I have it!?" and then the hunt on every craigslist, ebay, listia, swap board, etc starts.  Yeah, sure, you can get it on ebay for about $ 100 bucks...no, I don't want it THAT bad, but it's tempting.

This blog about the much-sought-after "Unicorn Pee", as it's called in the nail polish fanatic world, had me ROTFLMBO, you have to check it out! She sums it up in less than 3 paragraphs.
http://pretty-random.com/clarins230

Enjoy!

Guilty pleasures

Ok, so maybe my nail fetish isn't "quite" close to ending just yet lol.  Ever since I started back doing my nails, I have become addicted to all of the uber-cute nail polish stickers, gorgeous colors available, etc.  This is just a quick post with some pics of what I have been doing with my nails lately. The polish stickers have also allowed my nails to grow out quite a bit, which is exciting considering my nails have been looking a hot, raggedy, deep-fried mess since before my munchkin was born 2.5 years ago.  **WARNING** This post is PIC HEAVY...Enjoy!

This first one is the Sally Hansen Salon Effects mani strips in "Noir Boudoir".  In other words, French manicure w/the black tip.  I absolutely loved the manicure and they lasted until I got bored, which was about a week later.  They didn't chip or anything.  These are the most expensive of the SH brand of strips, but I would say they are worth it.  I didn't buy these retail, I found this set on ebay for $7.99.  This pack comes w/16 tips, but as we all know, once you open the airtight package, they immediately begin to dry out being that they are real nail polish.  The pack also comes with 2 packs of 8 clear strips (similar to the 14 day nail shields, but clear).  I used one 8 pack for this set and just cut a couple of strips in half and was able to use the other clear pack later as a nail overlay (which was awesome!).

Just playing around one day and trying out some of my new colors. Pinky finger - Color Club Holographic in "Blue Heaven", Ring finger and thumb - magnetic polish by Claires (I think it was kind of green).  Middle and index finger - Magnetic polish by Wet n Wild, "Bad for credit cards" I think that was the name, don't quote me on that lol. These magnet polishes weren't as strong as my SH ones, but I think I forgot to shake the bottle before applying the second coat. Oh well, they were on clearance so no love lost.

This was a 2 day old manicure where I painted my nails with my Essie "In the Cabana" and was tired of the blue so I used my paper edgers and cut some scotch tape to make this funky design.  I used a regular black polish to get this effect. :)

This is the elusive "holographic" polish effect that folks have been after for the past few years.  I hopped on the bandwagon and bought this one by Color Club.  It's gorgeous in the sun!  My ring finger is painted w/ Essie's "beyond cozy" as an accent nail.

You'll see this design twice because I loved it so much, I had to do it again.  This was about a month ago, I used Kiss nail dress in "Lovebirds".  I am digging the french tip look in different colors. I put a SH nail shield on first, then the stickers.  This is when I want a quick change and I don't have to use nail polish remover. This is the THIRD manicure I have done with this design.  Remember, Kiss nail stickers come in packs of 28 so the possibilities are endless (well, at least 28 times) on how many times you can use one pack!  I have done the french tip two times, I have done all 10 of my toes (and they have been on for 2 weeks!) And I still have about 12 full strips left!  Yes, Kiss stickers are definitely worth the $6.99(Kmart, Kroger, CVS price) - $7.79(Walgreens) price tag.  I have seen these at Dollar General for about $3 (not as wide of a variety of designs) and they come in a pack of 18.  The second set is the 2nd picture (see different colors on different nails)

 
I know you have seen these before, but this is a different color of the Dollar Tree brand of nail strips that change color. These are the blue ones.

I used a different patten of my paper edger scissors to cut the design on the bottom, which defeated the purpose due to the black design already on the nail. Duh.

This next one isn't my favorite design of SH nail strips but it's doable.  It's called "Checker out".  I didn't use my half moon paper edgers and used one that is more of a diamond shape.  I didn't like it but rocked it for a couple of days.

This next one is a Jade green SH brand of polish underneath the "Toppings" collection top coat by Wet n Wild.  It's duo-chrome and it made the green look like dark blue. It also flipped to a purple color under natural light and sunlight.

 Ok, I absolutely LOVED the design of this next one...HOWEVER, I didn't like the sticker/application.  These were on clearance at Walgreens for $1.74 and they are the Studio 35 beauty brand.  It's a new brand that Walgreens is carrying and they retail for about $6.99 ( I think?) I got this design and a green and white polka dot.  I left these on for about a day and a half and then pulled them off. They were "ok" but I would say they would probably work better on a shorter nail.  They didn't stretch well or mold to the shape of the natural nail very well. They came in a pack of 16 and I will probably use the other 6 strips as a french mani.

This last design is one of my FAVES.  I got this set for my birthday from one of my friends and I love it!  I have always wanted to do newspaper nails and these are wonderful.  The set came with two nail polishes, a dark gray and light creme/eggshell color.  The kit also came with 3 water decal designs.  One is the newspaper look (on my nails), one is a paper stationary design and the other is a map design.  

Paper edgers and nail stickers, oh my!

Hi all!  Ok, so I have been in experimentation mode with my nail stickers.  I have been eyeing these at Kmart lately because I love how you can use the strip two different ways:


I can'tjustify paying $6.99 for these, simply because there are so many cheaper options available out there.  Considering that I have a plethora of nail stickers that I am so anxious to use, buying these just because they have the french half moon on the bottom is not practical.

So I got to thinking, why don't I just use a pair of scissors and cut a set of my nail stickers and my make own?  Well, it sounded like a good idea until I really thought about my unsteady hands and the half moon would probably end up looking like a lop-sided v-shape or something.  I thought about using a pair of toenail clippers, nail clippers, razor blade, etc. Then I thought, hmmm, why not try some crafting scissors/paper edgers?

The paper edgers I am speaking of look like this:


This is thecloud pattern, which is the closest to the traditional french tip half moon.  I have 5 pairs of these scissors that are probably 7 or 8 years old.  Hey, they still cut so who cares how old they are, right?  I have the colonial, alligator, clouds, seagull and majestic patterns. 

So then I thought, I don't want to mess up my Sally Hansen nail strips so let me roll with my cheapie Dollar Tree Donna Michelle Nail Stickers.  This next pic is not the pattern I used because I didn't start blogging about this until I finished my nails (because honestly, I didn't think this was gonna work). But I was able to show a quick cut of one of the strips for you guys.  This is the Donna Michelle packaging:








This is how I cut the strips to make the half moon shape:

And this is the end result!

I absolutely love them! Yes, they are a little narrow but for $1, what do you expect?  I can't wait to do the other flower pattern above because I am addicted!  I know cutting them wastes a lot of the strip but I can justify it a little better because they were only a buck.  I think with these stickers, you can also use them a 2nd time w/out them drying out, unlike the SH, because those are real nail polish and once you open the air tight package, you have to use them immediately.

Hope you enjoyed!


**Photos courtesy of Kissusa.com, google images and my own

Okay, so I'm back...with Hello Kitty and more nail stuff!

Okay, I think my jones for nail stuff is slowing down, but I am finding so much cute stuff it's ridiculous!  So, my 2 year old sees "Hello Kitty" and yells "Kitty cat!" so immediately I am thinking she loves hello kitty so I have to find everything I can for her.  I am happy to say that everything I have found so far has either been on clearance or a great price so I am able to justify buying it. Hello Kitty really doesn't go out of style so I am hoping she will use this stuff for years to come.  So on to my finds...

This is the Hello Kitty haul I found collectively at Target and Claire's...
What you see here(clockwise from left) is a Hello Kitty purse,  Easter beanie baby, sandwich holder, water bottle, set of pencils and pencil toppers and pencil case.  I found the sandwich holder and water bottle at Target for $1 each and I don't know if they were seasonal but they were in the $1 section and $1 was the regular price.

The other items I found at Claire's this past weekend and can I just say that "I walked in at the right time!" The Hello Kitty purse was $4.99 (down from $22, the last one), the Easter beanie baby was $1 (down from $14, also the last one) and the pencil case (which has Hello Kitty mechanical pencils in it, by the way) and pencils were $1 each (there were two left of each)!  Claire's is running a clearance sale right now where anything on clearance(Easter or otherwise) is $1 for ANYTHING that was originally priced $10 and below and anything originally priced above $10 is an extra 50% off!!  Hope you guys find some deals!

**Update** The items you see in the next pic are a collective of 2013 Easter clearance finds I spotted at Walgreens, CVS and Target. 

The bowl and container with top were $1 at Target (regular price in the dollar section).  The little compact in the top right hand corner was given to my baby by her MeeMee (grandma) and it came with some lip glosses that have disappeared lol.  The little Christmas tin I found at Walgreens and it had no sku and was hidden behind a lot of stuff so the clerk rang it up for .10 cents!  The two little furry things are pencil toppers and they were .74 cents each ($ 2.99 regular price).  The bracelet was .30cents at Target (regular price $1). The big tin I found at CVS on their Easter clearance isle and it was $1.99 (regular $ 7.99).  It was the last one so it wouldn't have lasted all the way to 90% off lol.






Okay, I know the pic above is a little dark but my flash was tripping.  Anywho, these are a collection of nail stickers/decals I found at Dollar Tree and Claire's, all for $1 each! Clockwise from left are some flower nail stickers, a set of nail stickers w/a file in a cute little zipper case w/ice cream, glitter and beach designs, more flower stickers, the "Bling" Nail stickers from Claire's (and I LOVE THESE, see pics below), a set of nail tatoos & gems, and some more "Bling" nail stickers.


The last ones here (below) are a set of color changing nail strips I found a dollar tree. These didn't last five minutes as you will see in the pics below (at $1, it's hit or miss).  The stickers were cute but they are truly stickers.  They stick, but tear very easily (see 2nd pic below), so if your placement is wrong, be careful when you try to move it!  The color change did work, though (see below, first pic natural lighting, second pic out in the sun)... Hope you enjoyed!

 
These last two pics you see are of my natural nails.  The first pic (a little blurry, sorry) is a pic of my natural nails with the Sally Hansen 14 day nail shield on them.  They are a little like a nail wrap but in strip from.  I will try to review it later.  Well, I wanted a change after wearing the shields for a few days(I put them on Thursday of last week, by Sunday, I was ready for something else but didn't want to remove the shields w/nail polish remover).  So when I found the "bling nail" stickers at Claire's on Sunday, I couldn't wait to try them!  I am so glad I did!  My nails were longer than the sticker, but being that the stickers are clear, it camouflaged perfectly!  I hope you guys enjoy the pics!

Nail art!

Hi all!  Yeah, I know, long time no see. Anywhoo, let me jump right in lol (the 2 year old is asleep).  I have a new obsession.  I started a post on this in August of 2012 but couldn't finish.  I am going to throw some pics out here and you can tell me what you think.  After all of the shellac, stencils, foils, different colors of polish, different types of polishes (crackle, magnetic, etc) I think I am hooked on....drumroll...Sally Hansen Salon Effects polish strips!!!!  Yes, they are by far the best option for me these days.  They are made of real nail polish so the removal is a breeze!  You just use polish remover.

The stickers like Kiss and some ebay ones are great (beautiful designs and cheap!), but they leave that film that's kind of hard to get off.  The gel nail removal is too time consuming (soaking the fingertips in acetone, covering w/foil, etc).  The Essie, Revlon, L'Oreal, Jamberry, etc nail strips are too expensive (so are Sally Hansen but hear me out). The foils are great but don't last long.  Freehand nail art (ain't nobody got time fo dat!) lol.  I could go on and on, but I won't. This is a rushed post so you'll see pictures mixed in with frugal comments, etc.  Here are a few things I have picked up over the past 6 months so enjoy! (Disclaimer:  I am NOT a pro by any means, this is a fun hobby for me, keep negative comments to yourself please)

Now, the reason Sally Hansen gets my vote is because of, you guessed it, COUPONS!!!  There are always Sally Hansen coupons available and some print out at Walgreens, CVS and Kmart.  I see plenty on displays at Kmart (I don't shop at Walmart) and I have gotten some FANTASTIC deals on Sally Hansen strips lately.  To give you an idea, I have paid an average of less than $2 per box of Sally Hansen strips.  Now, the extreme coupon-ers out there are getting them for way cheaper but I don't stack coupons and all of that, I just use one coupon and try to catch the item at a good clearance price.  Everything you see below is a COLLECTIVE haul, over the course of 6 months.

My nail art (or lack thereof lol):

This design is a simple pink polish bought off ebay with plain ol'white polka dots (freehand w/a dotting tool, also bought on ebay)

This is a dark green I found a Dollar Tree, $1!

This crackle by Sally Hansen, I am not a fan of.  The purple one just doesn't crack over ANYTHING I have. I gave it away.

I really like this Crackle gold by Sally Hansen, it works well.

Another $1 bargain I found a Dollar Tree. It's a really pretty orange.

Another $1 find ad Dollar Tree. It's a nice dark wine/maroon color. :)

I LOVE blues so I had to have this one, another $1 find at Dollar Tree.

These were .99cents each at Kmart.  Lovely!

Here are my faves...Sally Hansen Salon Effects.  As you can see, these were less than $3 and if you had the $2 off coupons (any Sally Hansen nail polish or strip), they were even cheaper!

I have already used both of these, as you'll see below.  I bought them last season after Spring.  They were "Mad for Plaid" and "all a flutter", I think those are the names. lol.

Yes, my index finger is crooked (childhood accident w/a pocket knife, no stitches! lol).  This is a leopard print made by the Kiss brand.  They lasted a really long time on my hands.  They were also a clearance find, they cost $1.69!  With Kiss, the advantage is that they don't dry out and you get 28 strips in one box, enough for two manicures! The disadvantage is, the older the sticker gets, the more it adheres to your natural nail bed which can ruin the top layer of your nail (still not as bad as acrylic though).  I wouldn't recommend leaving these on for more than 5 days.

This was my experiment with the "caviar manicure".  No, I didn't buy the real stuff, I just went to Dollar Tree and found the beads in the nail area, put a color close to the beads as a base coat and sprinkled away.  They were cool looking, but not functional at all.  The beads were coming off everywhere, in my hair, etc.

My first experiment w/my foils.  The base coat is blue and the foil is an ocean color.  I really like them, they just don't last long at all.

All a Flutter (Sally Hansen) Bad lighting...

Mad for plaid (Sally Hansen)...These had been on for about a week before I took the picture, sorry!

Sally Hansen Magnetic nail polish ($1.34 on clearance at Target whoo hoo) Electric Emerald is the name.  I love this!!!

L'Oreal Project Runway Queen of Hearts or something like that. Lovely design, bad sticker! Way too thick, didn't smooth well.  Got them in collective ebay haul.

Not my favorite design of Sally Hansen, Fly with me, they lasted a really long time though.

Ok, due to my frugality, I had to reuse this awesome box! It's an Otis Spunkmeyer cookie box that held the frozen cookies that you buy from the kids at school fundraisers?  See below!!

BAM!  All of my Sally Hansen finds fit in it!  I was so excited!  Everything in this box cost between .49 cents and $2.89!  My average cost...less than $2 bucks each!

I had to share these recent finds...These four items I paid a whopping $3 for all four!  The Walgreens rep saw that some were $2.49 and some were $5.  She had to get them to ring up for $2.49 because all of them were ringing up regular price $9.99!  She then couldn't get one to scan so she gave it to me for free!  She then pulled out her coupons from behind the jewelry counter and I got a $1.50 off each one!  Yeah, she was the bomb.com.  To top it off, a catalina coupon printed out for $2 off another one.  I used it today at a different Walgreens (found another pedicure one on clearance for $2.49, used the coupon and got it for .49 cents!)

Another recent find, found this one at Rite Aid and used a $2 off coupon.  Got it for $2.89.  I just don't know if I will be able to wait until Christmas to wear it! (it's a 2011 or 2012 Holiday clearance collection one)

Okay, I have seen some not-so-good reviews on this new product by Sally Hansen, but I just couldn't pass up the deal.  I already own the Sensationnail kit and I love it, but it is gel POLISH, not strips.  This kit will run you anywhere from $27.97 (Walmart, where I don't shop, saw it online) to $31.99 at Walgreens.  Well yesterday, I bought it at Kmart for $12.49.  That's right, $12.49.  It's on sale this week for $10 off ($27.49 down to $17.49) and if you go to coupons.com, you can print a $5 off coupon for the starter kit.  I may end up giving it away as a gift.

Anoter $1 dollar tree find, it's a dark metal/grayish color.

These are my natural nails with a free-hand french manicure.  I can't wait to take off this polish and put on some new strips!

Well, that's it's guys.  That's what I have been up to lately.  Hope you enjoyed!

 ***********UPDATE APRIL 19, 2013**************

Okay, so today was 15% off day(Family and Friends day) at Walgreens, right?  You guys KNOW I love a bargain so I have to show you my finds!!!!!  I am so excited!

As you can see, I RACKED UP on some nail polish.  These were all in the clearance section and boy, did I hit the motherload!  Okay, what you see above, I paid a total of $ 9.34 + tax!!!!

Yeah, I know you are like "Huh?"  Yes, that's what I paid for all you see above.  Let me tell you how I did it...

Until today, I didn't own a bottle of Essie nail polish.  I have Revlon, Sally Hansen, Wet N Wild, some other cheapies.  Essie is just too expensive for me. From left the right, they are "in the cab-ana" (a pretty powder-y blue), "fair game" (a grayish silver), "size matters" (a dark mauve), "beyond cozy" (a glittery gold) and "under where? " (a nice purple-ish pink).  Also, I got the dark green in the top left hand corner.  It is Sinful Colors in "Kissy".  My fave is the 2nd one from the left on the bottom row.  It's a Sally Hansen salon effects nail strip in Hisss-terical (a dark green snakeskin print).  The other three you see on the bottom row are the Sally Hansen insta-gel strips (that you use w/the UV/led light, which I will probably give away to someone.

Ok, so now for the prices.

The Essie polishes retail about about $ 8 from what I have seen...these were $2 each!

The Sinful Colors is a lower-end polish and they retail for about $ 1.99...this one was $ .50!

The Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips retail for about $ 9.99...this one was $3!

The Sally Hansen Salon Insta-gel strips retail for a whopping $13.49 to $14.99!  These were $3.87!

Okay, so I know you are now asking, at the prices above, how the heck did you only pay $ 9.34?  Well  here's the breakdown:

Essie polishes X 5                                                = $ 10.00
Sinful Colors X 1                                                 =  $    .50
Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips X 1   =  $   3.00
Sally Hansen Salon Insta-gel strips X 3                =  $ 11.61
Total                                                                        $ 25.11
Less Coupons                                                     -   $ 2.00 ($2 off any Sally Hansen polish or strip)
                                                                           -   $ 10.00 ( 2 X $5 dollar off insta-gel strips)
                                                                           -   15% off your entire order 4-19-13
Paid out of pocket                                                  $9.34 + tax


Well that's it guys!  Happy bargain hunting!!! :) :)