Thursday, March 31, 2011

Free: Full size beauty products

Right now, Oprah magazine is accepting people to test out beauty products.  To apply, simply fill out this form and good luck!  If you are accepted, you will receive an email.  I'm guessing this is going to be high end/department store products.

Review: Forever21 in general

For the last 2 years, Forever21 has been the #1 most shopped at store for teenage girls.  Although the prices and fashion fit everyone's book, the quality does not.  I do admit that I have spent hundreds there but it doesn't mean that I love the store.  I absolutely have that place but I'm a slave to it.

Obviously, there are many cute finds but there are also many horrendous finds.  Some of the stuff I have seen are hideous and a lot of it can be hard to pull off.

The cut of their clothing sometimes is really funky.  Sometimes things are too short, too long, too big, and too tight.  There is never a definite size.  If you have a large bust for you size, you most likely will find that their clothes will make you look like you have 2 sets.  However, if you go up a size, the shirt would be too baggy and doesn't hug your waist properly, making you look 5 pounds larger.  I have just learned to get a size bigger when its not stretchy and just cinch the waist in with a belt.

The pants/jeans they sell also run short which is perfect for shorter girls like me. However, it doesn't work out for everyone.  Also, I don't suggest buying the $9.50 jeans because they are scratchy and they are mostly polyester so they're not nearly as warm as regular jeans.  If you do have to purchase them, make sure you smell it first, if it smells like factory, don't get it if you don't like the smell; It does not come out no matter how many times you wash it.  I've had one pair for about 1.5 years and I wore them a lot but the smell still remains!

Since the prices are pretty low, the buttons do come off and the stitching is not perfect.  I have had 3 buttons come off of 2 shirts in total but it is good that they always come with backup buttons.  One thing I have noticed that the store does is that they lure you in with their low prices and have 2 of the almost exact same things for $20 in difference.  I have just learned to not buy any shirts there for over $25 because there will always be something of the same for half the price.  Over the years, they have jacked up the price for clothes and have had less for bargains.

I don't suggest buying shoes there for anything over $25 because it is a rip off.  Forever21 and Charlotte Russe actually purchases their shoes for companies like Bamboo for dirt cheap and then puts their logos in them and jack up the price $15.  If I see a shoe I want from those stores, I'll just check Makemechic because they will have it for so much cheaper.  Also, the soles of the shoes will not have good tract usually, so just buy shoe pads.

My favorite thing about Forever21 is their jewelery section.  It is dirt cheap and the metal does not turn your skin green as easily as Charlotte Russe's do.  They have just about every single style on earth for bargains. If you haven't checked out their jewelery section, please do so!  They have great items for $1.50.

My least favorite thing about Forever21 is absolutely their return policy.  You have 21 days to return something and when you do, you only get store credit.  If you don't have the receipt, they won't take it.  If you don't have the receipt, but you have the receipt number, they still won't take it.  You can not return jewelry unless it is defective and you have to have the tags attached.  You also can not return sale items.  It is absolutely ridiculous.

Overall, I hate Forever21.  It eats up my money and I always have to spend hours in order to find something good.  If I do but don't have the money, they only hold until 9 PM of that day.  If you try to call them to hold something, their sales associates will never find whatever you're looking for.  If you don't pick up something you want the day of, I can tell you that 80% of the time, it will be gone in 2 weeks.

As a shopaholic, I am proud to say I have not been in Forever21 for about 2 months

Free: Degree deodorant RIGHT NOW

Edit: AVALIABLE RIGHT NOW!

Since we might get a snow day tomorrow, why not try to get this freebie?  Degree is giving away 12,000 samples tomorrow at 10 AM EST.  When you fill out the form, you will also be entered to win a $1,000 Zappos gift card.  Yes, that means you can buy like 10 pairs of leather boots.  Don't forget and set up an alarm on your phone!  Also, if we don't have a snow day, you lucky people with 3G can access it at school.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Free: Bottle of Suave hair product

Hurry up and get a bottle of Suave hair product for free!  They're giving out 200,000 to the first people that fill out the form, but since this have been going on for a few days, they are running low.  To get a free bottle, simply like Suave on facebook and go here and click enter and fill out the form.

Steal: Designer clothes, shoes, sunglasses, and makeup

Some of you may know about private sale sites like Hautelook (most popular), Ruelala, GiltBeyond the Rack, Modnique, Bloom Circle and etc.  These sites have flash sales for brand name clothing, watches, jewelry, sunglasses, you name it.  I seriously feel for people who shell out full price for designer goods because there is always a flash sale on a site for the item.  I've seen Hautelook have Rock and Republic jeans from $300 down to $88, 30-85% of countless brands like Juicy Couture, Gucci, BCBG, Mark Jacobs, and so much more.  There are always department/high end makeup for only $5, yes $25 makeup for $5.  The sites that I have listed above sell only 100% authentic items, I promise you.

Flash sale sites also have very good referral systems.  For most sites, for every friend you refer that buys something, you get $10 worth of credit added to your account.  The more friends you refer, the more free things you can get.

Oh and you know what's a good idea?  GETTING YOUR PROM DRESS FROM FLASH SALE SITES!  Think about it, you could be wearing an $800 dollar dress for only $200.  Just think about it.  The only downside is that the shipping may take a while, always check the status of your order.

Also, to know what the sites are going to have on a sale, check your email.  The flash sales generally start at 12 PM EST.  Some brands only go on sale for a day, some for a week.  Keep in mind that you have to put whatever you want in your cart right then and there if it has a crazy sale.  People count down the clock for these sales.  Good luck!

Note: I do not recommend purchasing from Nomorerack because it is a horrible idea, but using their referral system for free products is great!  Beyond the Rack also as a bit of bad rep when it comes to shipping.

Free: Biore cleanser sample

Biore is giving out .24 fl oz samples of their ice cleanser if you vote on their daily product show down.  There is a new one everyday but once you have requested a sample, you will not be eligible for another one the day after.  To score your free sample, simply like Biore on facebook and then click on the Cleanser Face-off on the sidebar and vote on a cleanser.  You will then be redirected to the form.  Happy free stuff hunting!

I think I'm also just going to be posting free high lights everyday so you wouldn't have to sort through other freebie junk on other sites.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Steal: $7 for a $15 eBay voucher

Today through the 31st only, Groupon has $15 eBay vouchers for only $7 and that right there is a steal.  Rarely does eBay have coupons and they are usually only 10% off.  Make sure you say that you are from Indianapolis or else the deal won't show up.  I shop at eBay for British and Asian cosmetics as well as random things here and there.  You would be surprised how many steals and out of the ordinary objects you can find on eBay.  They have really funky jewelry and I found these crazy wrap leggings.  eBay is also the place to check for discontinued cosmetics and perfumes because people like me like to buy backups for no reason.

My daily routine for getting free stuff

Yes, I am like the queen of free stuff and winning and to be honest, I spend like 10 minutes a day doing so.  It really doesn't take much.  All I do is subscribe to major freebie sites like Mojosavings but the down part is that its for moms so it has a lot of grocery stuff but its okay, its all the free stuff that matters.

The email subscriptions come around 6pm and usually by then, most of the free samples are go so I just check when I get home every day.  The emails pretty much gives you everything you need to get free stuff.  The site gets like 20,000 visitors or more a day so they get a lot of emails telling them what's up.

So after I check my email, I go on Swagbucks and vote on the daily poll and check my surveys (you don't need to take any, just visiting the page will give you 1 swagbuck).  A vote and a survey visit gives you 2 swagbucks and if you search on their search engine 2-3 times, preferably 2+ apart, you will get 5-12 swagbucks.  If you haven't visited swagbucks in for say, 2 months, if you search on their search engine, you will receive 50 swagbucks.  Mega swagbuck day is Friday and you get double points.  You might think 10 swagbucks a day is nothing when you need 450 swagbucks for a $5 Amazon giftcard.  However, the points add up very quickly and you also have sites like Swag Codes that give you swag codes so you can score bonus bucks just for entering in a code (codes usually expire at 3-4 PM EST)!  It usually takes me a month to get 450 swagbucks and I don't usually complete offers nor do surveys.  If you prefer to save up points, you can usually score Apple products.

Then I go on magazine websites like Glamour and Lucky to enter in their giveaways.  You might think that magazine giveaways are very difficult to win and yes they are but once in a while you do win one and they are very rewarding.  I have won a $200 jewelry gift card and $250 worth of hair/makeup products before.

And that is all I do!  The main thing is that you just have to be in the know.  If you don't know about a giveaway, how are you going to win it?

Free: $50 gift card to Walgreens

Maybelline is currently having this giveaway for $50 Walgreens gift cards if you play the game and get 3 to match, you will receive a gift card. There will be 100 gift card winners and a grand prize of a trip to NYC fashion week.  You can play 3x a day, good luck!

Free: Sephora, MAC, YSL, Lancome, Stila, OPI

No more rack does it again with the referral rewards!  This time, it is makeup, not bags but oh my goodness, what a great deal.  All you have to do is refer 8 people to get a MAC lip gloss which go for $14.50 in stores!  It is absolutely insane so start referring friends now!  All they have to do is register and that is it.  They do not have to buy anything and the email subscriptions can be turned off in 2 seconds.  Keep in mind that No more rack does check for fraudulent accounts.  Don't have your friends sign up twice on one computer because it would show up as fraud.   For each friend that you refer, they will also get $10 of credit in their account to buy whatever they want, but I do NOT recommend any of you buying anything from there because they are horrible at shipping things.  This offer expires midnight, April 1st and yes, it is legit, I have received free earrings from them. Happy free stuff!






Monday, March 28, 2011

I want: Express Satchel and H&M Dress

I haven't gone to the mall and bought clothes in over a month which is pretty record breaking for me.  I haven't stepped foot in Forever21 because it is such a bad environment for shopaholics so I've just been sticking with cleaning. Well it is the end of March and my $25 off $50 Express coupon is expiring in 2 days (you can find it in Glamour magazine I believe) and I've been eying this bag.
My backpack is ripping apart in the seams because my folders are too big for it and plus, it was never high quality to begin with.  This satchel is $59.90 and I can get it for $35.90, it sounds pretty good but I actually could have gotten it cheaper when Express had their 30% off bags 2 weeks ago.  :(  I hate it when I miss out on deals and have to spend more.  Oh well, this would actually only be $5 more than my backpack so it's not that bad.  Let's just hope they have it in the store because my coupon only works in stores and I would pass on it if I had to shell out $60.

Another thing that I've been wanting is this dress from H&M
This dress was printed in Seventeen magazine and I knew that I just had to have it.  It is lace (absolute obsession of mine) and it is short.  I would love to wear this to prom but who knows if I'm even going to be allowed.  This is only $60 and it better be in the store when I go this week. And none of you are going to pick it up because I'll be reserving every single size. Just kidding, but yeah, no stealing dresses.

Just ordered: Dolce Vita for Target

I just ordered these shoes 2 days ago,

These are the Dolce Vita for Target Rope Wedged Sandals in Brown and Nude.  As some of you may know, Dolce Vita shoes usually run around $100-$300 and they have a collaboration at Target right now!  These shoes are currently $29.99 at Target.  They only have this style in Brown in stores, the other colors are online only.  Target had a promotion for BOGO 50% shoes (expired 2 days ago) so of course I had to take advantage of it.  My plum district free $20 gift card to Target also came so I got these shoes for $3.18 which was how much the tax was.  Here is the math:

2x$29.99=$59.98 
$59.98-$15= $44.98 after BOGO 50%
$44.98-$5=$39.98 after $5 off $50 purchase coupon that is found on almost all coupon sites
$39.98x1.08=$43.18 With tax
I had 2 $20 target gift cards because I also used my boyfriend's address.  Final Cost: $3.18 for $59.98 worth of shoes!

I actually tried these on in the store about 2 weeks ago, they looked awesome!  What a steal as well!  Oh, and if you can, check out the sale section in your local Target, I found these for 50% off and they are still $30 on the site!  But since I'm not a fan of cork, I didn't pick these up.  
I also tried on these in 5.5 and they were too tight and made my feet look really red so if you were considering getting these, don't follow the .5 size smaller in open toe shoes because these run small.  

So yeah, thats my little Target wedged heels post, HAPPY SHOE SHOPPING!

Welcome!

Hey there!
My name is Connie and I consider myself a pretty thrifty shopper.  I'm 16 turning 17, and I walk in heels more than 200 days a year.  This blog will be where I'll be posting my finds, fashion and beauty tips here and there.  If you have any questions, please email me at connito.burrito [at] gmail.com <---I know the name is weird, I made it when i was in 7th grade.