Bargain Beauty Find: Nose Strips

This find doesn't get rated as a must have, because not everyone suffers from this problem. This find is for those of you who suffer from blackheads: Epielle blackhead remover strips!

These are my go to nose strips when my pores are looking bad. I originally used Biore but for almost a dollar a strip and questionable results I decided to try a cheaper option. For me Epielle has worked just as well as Biore if not better and the strips are 1/3 the price!

If you haven't used strips before then here is what to do and what to expect.
To use them simply wet your nose then apply the strip, I start at the bridge then work down the sides to avoid bubbles. When the strip is TOTALLY dry (read hard) then you quickly rip it off, I find it most effective to pull from both sides towards the middle!
You should expect there to be some "junk" left on your nose. I always wash my face/nose after using to clean up any leftover residue. You should see blackheads on the pulled off strip. I have NEVER had my nose bleed or skin pulled off from this though!

Despite these being nose strips they can be cut and applied to other areas if you have blackheads elsewhere.

For the price these can't be beat, and are a great way to get a deep clean of your pores and clean out any gunk trapped in them! I'm planning to use these with the Pixor brush for optimal results!

This is NOT a sponsored post, above are MY opinions and recommendations these are not bought and paid for!

Bargain Beauty MUST have: For men and women PIXOR

06/17/2015

This is my 3rd bargain beauty must have post, and I'm on a roll. Honestly I just want to blog about the bargain beauty products on my mind so I can share them and NOT forget to since I think these are products any woman should have and some are for both men and women!

This product is called Pixnor and is a massaging facial cleansing machine with multiple heads similar to Clairisonic. The pictures below show the expensive $149 clairisonic, and then the Pixnor that costs just $12.99 on amazon.

As you can see from the image above for just $13 the Pixnor includes 7 different heads depending on your needs/goal. Here is an explanation of what each one is for from Pixnor:

7 Different rotating heads provide spa quality deep cleaning and gentle exfoliation of dead skin cells to reveal a radiant, youthful skin 

1.Exfoliating Head:Use with your facial cleanser to deep clean and gently exfoliate 
2.Latex soft sponge:Massages under eyes and cheeks to improve circulation and skin elasticity 
3.Make-up sponge:Massages and cleans your skin 
4.Rolling massager:Stimulates blood circulation to stimulate collagen production and reduce fine lines (for anti-aging) 
5.Short soft brush:Gently brushes away residue from exfoliation 
6.Long ultra-fine brush:To better clear up and exfoliate skin 
7.Pumice:Gently removes rough callused skin on feet and elbows

I bought this due to the reviews on amazon. This product has almost 900 reviews and over 800 of them are positive. The product also gets 4.5 stars from the 887 who provided feedback. I chose to compare this product to the much more expensive clairisonic because one reviewer has both and said this one is better!

The Pixnor has 2 speeds and is more than just for your face. It can be used for rough body areas like elbows or even your feet when you switch to the exfoliating brush. I have only used two of the brushes so far but I'm really happy with it, massaging the skin is great for circulation and this is great to exfoliate pores!

Since I have listed the good I also feel compelled to list my complaints:

1. Runs on Batteries- not a huge deal, as you can find these at the dollar store, but I'd prefer it be able to be plugged in

2. You CAN'T buy replaceable heads- so if you need a new head you need a whole new system.. on the plus side the old one can still be used for other purposes with the remaining heads or given to someone who uses other heads than you do

Bottom Line: Acne is not cute on ANYBODY, and it is something both men and women complain about. I haven't had this product for a super long time but I'm already in love with it and the reviews on amazon speak for themselves, this works guys!

Bargain Beauty Must Have: Face Wipes

06/17/2015

My second Bargain Beauty must have is something that is perfect for men and women, because let's face it: Acne is not cute on anybody! As you can see from the picture above what I'm talking about today is Epielle face wipes. 

I am a huge fan of this brand for many reasons, first and formost due to the price. You can get a 30 count pack of these for just $1!For a similar product and size you can expect to pay at least $5 or more depending on the brand. 

This brand comes with 7 options for your wipe: Green Tea, Aloe Vera, Citrus, Cucumber, Collagen & Vitamin E, Argan Oil,  or plain. I personally have tried 4/7 of their options: Cucumber, Argan Oil, and Aloe Vera, and out of the four I have tried I really liked all of them except the Argan Oil. I'm a big fan of them having the 7 options because it allows people to chose the best one for their skin type and scent preference, and most of the scents I think most men won't mind!

Face wipes are something I think every adult and teenager can use. Let's be honest, we've all had nights where we were so tired we wanted to just go to bed and not wash our face. For women who wear makeup this is a big no no but one I bet we have all committed. Having these there makes it easy to quickly wash our faces, without having to use a wash cloth or splash water in our faces!

So pictured to the left is me with the ones I currently have in my house. My husband doesn't use them for his face unless he has been sweating/is dirty, but overall isn't opposed to using them!

Bargain Beauty Must Have: Celestial Body Wax Strips

06/17/2015

This product is actually a dollar store find! Anytime I'm in the dollar tree I look over the makeup section because as many of you know many name brand makeup brands will end up in the dollar tree either because they were discontinued or various other reasons.

I'm not the kind of girl who likes to let my eyebrows go crazy. When I worked I liked to go to a place close to my work to get them threaded... but now I stay at home so them getting threaded or waxed is rare, so I wanted something that was an easy way to clean up my eyebrows that was fast and produced great results... I found this! One of the best parts is it didn't even hurt!

This isn't the best eyebrow picture, because I always open one eye more than the other when I smile (at least for pictures), I don't know why. The picture on the left is of me though and should give you a general ideal of the fact that I like my eyebrows neat and shaped, see the arches?

The Celestial Body Wax strips did give me minor irritation on one side, causing bumps the first time I used it. I don't think that makes it a bad product at all though because I've also gotten irritation bumps from both threading and waxing at salons.

I think this product is a beauty must have because it works so fast, if you don't have the time or money to go to a salon this is perfect to clean up your brows, or mustache or whatever you ladies have going on... no judgement!

The package says your getting 6 wax strips but the strips are stuck together so there are 3 peel apart plastics that equal six plastic slides with wax on them. I use them 2 at a time as I don't feel you can just save the other side of the peel apart.

If you can find these at the dollar store 3/$1 is not bad! This can completely replace paying to have eyebrows done, after you have had them shaped! In my area having your eyebrows done is $8 and up. Since you probably need them done every two weeks that is $16 a month, not horrible but with these you could save $15 and only go to the salon when you need them shaped!

If you can find these BUY them. Even if you don't intend to use them it is nice to have if you don't have time to go to a salon, you don't want nasty bushy eyebrows, a unibrow or a mustache!

How To Use:
1. Open Strips
2. Cut into shapes you need I like to use smaller pieces in order to shape properly and make sure I don't take too much off, that would be BAD
3. Put the wax strip in the area you want to remove hair and rub the strip WITH the hair for several seconds this heats up the wax and makes it active
4. Rip the wax strip against the hair quickly so for clarification you are ripping the opposite way you were rubbing to apply the wax, you also need to do it fast or the hair can come out of the wax and it isn't as effective!
5. Clean your face I personally use face wipes, this step just should remove any residue
6. Put Vitamin E on a cotton ball and apply to any irritated areas you could also use Aloe Vera!

I did not start this blog to be a beauty blog. I will happily admit that I am a minimalist. I'm super lucky that my hair usually looks great when I roll out of bed and I wear it down a LOT so I don't have to mess with it. I normally wear the same makeup and do a easy smokey eye and spend about 5-10 minutes on makeup, when I wear it. I think most if not all of us like looking good though so I will be doing Bargain Beauty blog posts on here to let ya'll know of beauty products I love at prices we can all love, as well as reviewing the more expensive organic, chemical free, good for you more expensive beauty products!

Kroger Haul

06/14/2015

I just wanted to share with ya'll my awesome Kroger Haul.
I got:                                                    I paid  
Burts Bees Lotions (2)                          .99/ea
Burts Bees pore scrub                           .99
Burts Bees Facial Cleanser                   .99
Lily Aloe Vera                                      .99
Yes to Shampoo and Conditioner (3)   .99/ea
Kiss my face sunscreen                        .99
Yes to cucumbers soothing cream       1.99
Neutrogena foaming pads                    1.89

So for under $15 I got 10 eco-friendly and good for me products! The neutrogena is product #11 =)

Even though it is rarely worth it ALWAYS check out your Krogers' discount isle. Sometimes we get lucky! I originally estimated the value of these products to be at $80 or more and I was close. When I was using one of these today I noticed on the discount tag in small print it says how much the product originally was, according to that these prices would have been $76!

So I'm thrilled that I got lucky and found these products, and even more happy to be doing reviews on these in the future!

Building a Cloth Diaper Stash on a Budget

06/12/2015

As many of you know I'm pregnant with our first child. I'm hoping to get all the basics that we will need for our baby for under $1,000, including our cloth diaper stash. I have already spent $125/$1,000 and I still have many things to buy and $875 left.

For my cloth diaper stash I'm planning to spend no more than $300. I'll be buying some newborn diapers but the majority of my stash will be one sized diapers, that may not fit at birth but should fit until the baby is potty trained.

The most economical diapers are flats and prefolds with covers. They are cheapest because you can use just one cover for multiple diaper changes, and the flats can be from around $1 each to $3... the more expensive being organic. The covers I am looking at these are Thirsties, Kawaii, and Rumparoos and Alva Babies. The covers range in price from around $6-$16 depending on design and brand.

Pocket diapers are another option I'm looking at. There are two pocket diapers I'm looking at for my budget Alva's, and Eco's. These are both "china cheapies" which some people have an aversion to (despite shopping at walmart). These do have mixed reviews but the ones I have read have been overwhelmingly positive, and at $6 a pop I can buy 4 of these for the cost of one of the preferred brands. Pockets do require inserts, which can be $2 to $8/each.

I plan on having a stash that includes 20-30 diapers so as to not have to do laundry every single day.

If I went exclusively with flats and covers I could do my whole stash for $200 or less.
If I go exclusively with pockets and inserts my total looks like it will be $300 or less.

Both of those figures assume that I purchase my whole stash myself, meaning none are gifted. These figures are also retail so don't count any savings I might get buying used or by buying in a bundle, on sale, or through a co-op!

Now for the cloth cuteness:

06/16/2015

I can not wait to buy my cloth stash so I have gone and pretty much picked out almost exactly everything I plan to buy and my total so far is right around $250. I'm still not positive if it will be more or less, as I'm still waiting for gender and I am not planning to buy my whole stash before the baby shower... that way we might get some gifted. I'm also not sure if I will use sposies at first or buy newborn cloth.

Baby on a $1,000 Budget!

06/10/2015

I have discussed budgeting for baby before, but this post will be explaining what that $1,000 is meant to pay for and then accounting to you all what I have bought, spent, and hopefully bringing home baby on $1,000 or less.

My goal is to have the nursery set up and be completely baby ready for just $1,000. According to an older article (2011) from justmommies.com this cost should be between $1,685 to $4,625 and I came up with a figure around $5,000 using a baby cost calculator and this is just to set up the home and have clothes for the first 3 months!!

Here is a list of my must haves:
3 Hoodie Towels 
3 Sleep Sacks
20-30 Cloth Diapers
40-60 Diaper Inserts
Wipes
Cornstarch
Baby Wash, Sunscreen, and Lotion
Toys
Books
Crib
Crib Mattress
9 Cube Organizer
4 Cubes
14 Outfits size 0-3
7 nighttime gowns size 0-3
Burp Cloths
hat
socks
Baby Blanket
Rocking Chair
Carseat
Stroller
High Chair
Pack n' Play
changing pad
3 changing pad covers
waterproof mattress protector
4+ fitted sheets
Diaper Genie
Diaper Bag with portable changing pad
Baby Bath
Breast Pump
Breastmilk storage
Breastfeeding Pillow
Shopping Cart Cover
Rug
Curtains
Infant hangers
Decorations
Mobile
Washrags
Carrier
Carseat Head Support

The items italicized on the list are things I have already bought cheap or things that have been promised/gifted to us. I haven't had my baby shower yet either! The most expensive things I have yet to buy will be the cloth diapers which will be a couple hundred!


Anything important I'm forgetting?

Yard Sale Finds: BABY

06/09/2015

Being pregnant now yard sales are my jam! I'm trying to get all the baby essentials for under $1,000 which means buying smart. When we are dealing with a baby buying smart also means buying SOME things used! There are some things that should NOT be bought used my personal list looks like this:
Baby Items to NOT buy Used:
1. Older cribs (safety standards have changed a lot in years)
- NEVER BUY DROP-SIDE
2. Car Seats (even a minor fender bender can compromise the seat)
3. Bath toys (can contain mold)
4. Painted toys (can be lead paint, so if you want it repaint with a safe paint)
5. Anything that is not able to be washed/cleaned
6. Older bottles, plastic wear etc (may not be BPA free)
7. Breast Pump/ Equipment (AIDS Risk, I wouldn't chance it)

So far I have bought all of my baby stuff either on clearance or from a yard sale/online yard sale. Here are some of my yard sale baby finds:
Maternity Clothes $1/each  (dresses and shirts)
Hoodie Towels .25-.50
Receiving blankets .50
Bath Sets NEW $3/each
Sleep Sack NEW $1
Footie outfits .50
Bibs .50
Tommee Tippee Bottles NEW $12
Bouncer NEW $10
Rug $8
Crib $60
Antique Rocker $30

Total so far I think I have spent about $100. I'm not including the cost of maternity clothes in the baby budget, nor is the cost of the antique rocker being included since it is being gifted. My memaw offered to buy me one and I fell in love with this one and wanted it (I also wanted it reupholstered), she said she will reimburse the cost and pay for it do be reupholstered in the fabric of my choice!

I'm excited for more yard sale finds in the future! Babies grow so fast! You all can be excited for more posts!