Cheap Thrills: LBD

Last Cheap Thrill of 2011, so let's go out on a party note with a Little Black Dress (LBD) edition. We're posting  this a couple of days early, since some of these sales are going on now and quantities may be limited. This is the time when many of us are getting invitations to holiday parties, and the first question that runs through my mind is, "What am I going to wear?" That's when I turn to my trusty, and ever-growing, LBD collection. Dress it up with some bling and heels, dress it down with a cardigan and flats - you can't go wrong with the LBD.

Like us ladies, LBDs come in all shapes and sizes. I found a variety of dresses for my Cheap Thrillers, keeping the price at $100 and under. I try to keep most Cheap Thrills to $50 (ish) and under, but bumped it up to $100 because these aren't just one-time party dresses. The LBD  is an item you can keep in your wardrobe beyond the party season and can re-wear on other occasions. Like your bff chola, the LBD will have your back when you need her.

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 13

Daily:

Nope.

Single:

Be an Astronaut for a day Ends 12/29

Trip to Hawaii Ends 12/29

$100 45 winners, ends 12/31

$500 of tea I have to pee just thinking about it. Ends 12/31

Free Pizza They're giving away a ton of them (I already won one). Ends 12/31

$6400 toilet. Yes. Ends 12/31

Taxidermy workshop No transportation, ends 12/31

Birchbox: December

Ho-Ho-Ho, the December Birchboxes are here!

It looks like the Grinch may have made off with Charlotte's box this month, but mine made it safe and sound. Okay, Charlotte, look away from your monitor and skip the following sentence. This was one of my favorite Birchboxes ever! One product in particular sent me over the moon, but we'll get into that in just a bit.

Crafty Crackers

Running out of time and money, but still have some more gifts to buy?

Let's get craftin'!

Here's a list of DIY present ideas for us to try:

A Bow Ring

"Floating Book" Shelf

Sugar Scrub

Bath Bomb

Custom Glass Jars (or cups)

Fake Book iPhone Case

For your word nerd friends

Cute Mirror

Jars on Stands

Cuter than it sounds.

Mittens From Sweaters

Solid Perfume

Chocolate Spoons

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Mmm

Get Nailed: This Little Light of Mine

There are many things I love about Christmas, but my absolute favorite thing is the lights! I love them so much that I went a little overboard and painted them on my nails! I was originally inspired by TheBeautyDepartment's fun and unique tutorial where Lauren uses actual string for her string of lights. I am not that ambitious, nor do I have string on hand, so I improvised.

1. Prep your nails with a good base coat. I got a new one when I took advantage of Milani's Cyber Monday sale (I went a little too far buying bought 26 polishes), and I love it so far. It really gives you a smooth canvas to work with!

2. Apply your base color. I went for a fun, holiday gold O.P.I., which happens to be a super rare polish that I found laying around Heather's desk.

3. Next, I took my new Nail Art Polish in Black (also by Milani of course), and made loops to resemble a string of Christmas lights (minus the lights).

4. I used three more of new Milani glitter polishes to dot on lights. You can use any color you want, just have fun with it!

5. Follow with a good top coat, and voila, you've got some fun(ky) Christmas nails!

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 12

Daily:

Coffee Maker 150 given away A DAY. Ends 12/31

Box of Chocolate 15 winners a day, ends 12/31

Hello Kitty sunglasses 5 winners, ends 1/6

Money that's what I want. Lots of prizes, get a free code. Ends 12/31

Electronic Shtuff Ends 12/31, $1 million in prizes. I've won great stuff from them before!

Gift card 92 winners (Coach, Sephora, etc). Ends

Welcome to Tamale Town

Whore(der)s and friends gathered together this past weekend to make Tamales! Tamales, say it with me, Tuh-mall-eez (well, actually it's more like ta-mahl-ess -vanessa). To most people, tamales are these amazing masa-rittos filled with your choice of delicioso meat. To Heather and I (crazy Caucasians), they are a blank slate for our culinary craziness! While Vanessa's awesome mom Maria made Puerco y Chilé Tamales (please say that with the correct amount of Mexican), Vanessa made Bacon & Cheese and Limón Sweet Masa Tamales.

On the other side of the tamale spectrum, are Heather and I. While I made Berries & Cream Tamales (an idea I stole from Heather), Sugar & Brown Sugar Tamales, and Hash Brown-Cheese-Bacon-Casserole Tamales; Heather made Egg-Cheese-Green Peppers-Zucchini Tamales, and Peanut Butter-Jelly Tamales. Yes, Peanut Butter & Jelly.... To make things more fun, the sweet masa was a pink flamingo hot pink. So not only did we have deliciously disturbing fillings, the outside looked offensive as well. My Hispanic Grandmother would have slapped me with my own tamale if she knew what type of blasphemy was occurring over in the Tamale Town Kitchen. Who knew tamales could be so exciting?

Cheap Thrills: Bottoms Up!

 

Let's crack the bubbly and pour ourselves a glass of Christmas cheer! I'm so excited for holiday drinks, we're doing Cheap Thrills a day early this week. Many of us will be giving and receiving some adult goodies, nothing that will make us blush - I'm talking adult beverages and all the goodies that go along with them. We've worked hard all year, and it's time to let our hair down and raise our glasses, so let's see what I've dug up to serve as inspiration. 

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 11

Sorry, my list is a little short and not as exciting this week. IHATEBUSYWEEKS. I will make it up to you, my pretties.

Daily:

Auntie Anne's Pretzels and a bunch of other prizes, ends 12/21

Fandango tickets Lots to win. Ends 12/31

Cheap Thrills: Members Only

I'm still recovering from the last action packed edition of Cheap Thrills, so this week I'm gonna take it a little easier and we're going to explore membership gift ideas. There are tons of options, so don't be limited by what I list here! When it comes to things like museums, zoos, wineries, etc., check your area for local deals. Yelp and Four Square are good starting points, since they'll give you reviews and tip you off to any deals and specials going on. Flip up those jacket collars, and let's get to it!

And the Winners Are...

First Place goes to:
True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 8 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations Maddy, you have won TWO free Vapur Anti-Bottles!

Second Place goes to :
True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 14 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations Normita77, you have won ONE free Vapur Anti-Bottle!


Please check your e-mail for the announcement and confirmation!

**Yes, there were "29" comments, but one was removed by the author leaving me with 28! Random numbers were generated on November 9, 2011 with random number generator www.random.org.**


Picture thanks to SammyDVintage

DIY Beauty: Pumpkin Foot Scrub

During the summer, when flip-flops and bare feet abound, I keep a careful watch on the state of my feet. Pedicures, polish and copious amounts of pampering keep them pretty and camera ready. Then come fall and winter and my poor, neglected feet start to resemble hooves.

Since I'm saving all my extra cash for Christmas presents and an iPad (*ahem* hope you're reading this, Santa), I decided to skip the nail salon and research some DIY treatments instead. I found a pumpkin foot scrub that sounded interesting and was made from ingredients I already had at home.

Get Nailed: Out Damn Spot!

So usually I write about how i did me some awesome nails, but this week, I'm writing how to undo these damn nails I did last week! Imagine my surprise went I went to remove my O.P.I. nail polish, and it didn't come off! What is this world coming to when you can't even count on O.P.I nail polish ?? ?Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but I looked like I fingered the Hulk. Yeah, I said that, now deal with it.

I don't know if any of you have ever suffered the embarrassment of the dreaded "Nail Stain". It usually occurs when you don't use a base polish, use a really cheap polish, or a heavily pigmented polish. I never knew how to completely remove the polish stain, so I usually just painted over it, but this time I ventured  to my magic machine (the computer), and researched (aka Googled) the hell out of it.

I found the simplest way to remove the stain is this:

1) Remove as much as you possibly can with Nail Polish Remover.

2) Get  a cheap manicure kit, and go to town! No seriously, buff and smooth your nails with buffer stick (I may have made that name up) push back your cuticles and cut them with the cuticle pusher/cutter, which is super easy (even thought it looks scary). Next clip and/or file your nails as necessary. Lastly use the "Shine aka Side 2" of the "buffer stick" to polish your nails, and voila, the stains are gone! At most, this took me 10 minutes for both hands.

                                

    IT STARTED LIKE THIS

(DON'T JUDGE ME, I WASN'T DONE CLEANING THEM UP YET)

Fit for a Drag Queen - An Etsy Treasury of Holiday Party Wear

There's lots of fancy parties this time of the year... and when I think of fancy I think sparkles. Here's a new Etsy Treasury list of fun, glittery party wear, all for $25 or less!

A Drag Queen's Delight

photo: the legendary Divine

Snugglekins - An Etsy Treasury of Comfort

With the cold weather and early nightfall all I want to do is lay in bed and lounge around, don't you? Slippers, robe, snuggly blanket, and a nice hot cup of tea, yes please.

Here's a new Etsy Treasury list of just that, all for under $35: Snugglekins

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 10

Daily:

Zappos lots of instant win prizes, ends 12/31

Single:
$250 gift card 60 winners, ends 12/24
Trip to NYC and makeover by Sally Hansen, ends 12/11
Free Shoe Dazzle for 6 months ends 12/9
$25,000 ends 12/26, a bunch of other prizes as well!
$1000 Spanx shopping spree so you can suck it in full time, ends 12/31
TV 17 winners, ends 1/30/12
A mixer 40 winners, ends 1/30/12
Smashbox makeup 30 winners, ends 1/30/12
Louis Vuitton bag ends 12/21
A trip to Hawaii Wizard style. Ends 12/10

Get Nailed: That's a Wrap

Yay, December is finally here, and all I can think about is presents...err the presence of Christ. The Wisemen brought presents to Jesus (is it weird that I pronounce it Jesús in my head?) so maybe Christmas really is all about presents? Well whatever your take on presents and Christmas (or Hanukkah for that matter) is, I decided to paint my nails like a present in anticipation of the holidays.

What you will need:

Clear base coat

Solid Polish

Clear top coat

Nail Pen or Nail polish with an art brush
A gem or glitter polish

Cheap Thrills: Santa Stumper

Christmas decorations have been up for weeks and I started making my holiday playlist on Spotify... it's official - the Christmas season is upon us. Lots of us will find ourselves scratching our heads over what to get certain people on our gift lists. Office gift exchanges, family parties, dinner parties with friends - occasions where you need something between a stocking stuffer and a gifty-gift. And then there are the people that fall into a miscellaneous category (baby/pet sitters, regular delivery people, hair stylists, etc.), while you could lump those all together into the "gift card" category, wouldn't it be more fun to let me hunt around for other ideas that might inspire you to think outside the gift card box?

This week I'm bringing you Cheap Thrills that might help you deal with those hard-to-shop-for holiday gifts, without resorting to a ho-hum box of chocolate or a tired old coffee mug. There's a big list ahead, hold on to your candy canes!

Diaper Dash at Target

 

Because I always want to avoid the situation above, I am always stocked up on diapers. I am constantly on the lookout for a good diaper deal (for my toddler, not me of course). There happens to be an amazeballs deal going on at Target right now for Huggies. Rarely do I get so excited about a deal that I rush home to blog about it. Okay, that's not true, but still, this is a REALLY GOOD deal! I know my fellow Whore(der)s may roll their eyes once they figure out that I'm blogging about diapers, YES, DIAPERS, but I'm so excited and I just can't hide it (much like Jesse Spano).

Huggies boxes typically retail for $19.79 each. Target has a deal going right now if you buy 3 boxes, you get a $10 Gift Card. On top of this gift card deal, there is a printable $10 Gift Card coupon when you make a $50 purchase, PLUS a $5 Gift Card when you spend $25 on Kimberly Clark products found in the 10/30 SS insert. I used all of these offers in addition to my THREE $2/1 manufacturer coupons and THREE $2/1 printable Target coupons.

 

After Gift Cards (& tax), I only spent a grand total of $24.43! Its like Buy One Get TWO FREE!!!!! Also, an $8 off $80 purchase coupon should print out at checkout. Because you can print the Facebook coupon TWICE, you will have one left to use in conjunction with the $8 off $80 on a future purchase!

Picture thanks to AbodianoFul

Inside the Box: November

Hey guys, sorry I (Charlotte) flaked last month, but luckily you have Vanessa to write awesome reviews in my absence. It's almost like she doesn't need me...almost. Anyhow, by now, you should all be well acquainted with Birchbox, so let's dive right in!

Charlotte's November Birchbox

What The Pluck?

For many of us ladies, and a growing number of gentlemen, eyebrow grooming and maintenance is serious business. I've been waxing mine since my early 20s, and have always gone to a salon because I wouldn't know what I'm doing and would probably accidentally wax off my entire brow. Plus, I've got what's been described as "strong brows" (which is a nice way of saying big 'ol brows), so I think it's best to leave that kind of heavy lifting to a professional. 

I've been to a variety of places, from a bargain mall shop to a super fancy spa. Brow services have set me back anywhere from $10-12 on the low end, to $30+ on the high end. My experiences have taught me that you usually get what you pay for. $10 got me shoddy work, which I had to go home and attempt to clean up afterward. The more expensive spa brow work delivered great brows and extas like paraffin wax treatments on my hands. Very nice, but not always budget friendly. I found my groove in the $20 - $25 range, that offered both quality work and elevated service (no leftover wax on my face, free samples of products, etc.) that still felt like I was being pampered. But the cost still added up, and no matter how much I spent I still ended up with pink irritated skin that broke out after a day or two. So I started to wonder, was there a solution that would keep my brows tamed, money in my pocket and skin clear?

And the winner is....

(insert drumroll here)

Kathy Pease! Yay Kathy! You get two bottles of Suave Dry Shampoo!



#34
Random numbers generated Nov 28 2011 at 8:34:37 by www.psychicscience.org Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 9

Daily:

Trip to NYC one winner and 90 instant prizes (Macy's gift cards), ends 1/2

Be a real Trekkie ends 12/4, two winners

40 Blu-Ray players and 6 TVs ends 12/31

24 round trip flights and assorted other prizes, ends 1/6. If you check the official rules there's a few ways to enter without a purchase

Not So Common Black Friday Deals

I have rounded up just a few online deals for all you Whore(der)s who dare not brave the cray cray Black Friday Shoppers...

6 PM- They are having amazing deals on name brand items, PLUS every hour, on the hour, they are offering one item (different each hour) for the low price of $24 PLUS free shipping.

80's Purple- BLACKOUT Holiday Sale going on now thru Monday, November 28.

Amika- Use code "CYBERHOLIDAY" for 40% off your purchase good thru Sunday, November 27

Anthropologie- Additional 25% off clearance today thru Sunday, November 27

Vapur Giveaway!

Vapur (insert theatrical pause here). No, I'm not talking about this or this, I'm talking about this. Vapur claims to be the "Anti Water Bottle". I thought to myself, "the Anti-Water Bottle? Really? Why the hell is someone trying so hard to rebel against being a water bottle? I'm going to rebel against them rebelling" Then I found out my best friend's boyfriend works for their company...Oops. Fast Forward a few months when  I went to a Dodger game with above mentioned friends, and he brought me a few bottles for gifts; one for my niece, my husband, and myself and it was love at first sip.

For the Borracho In your Life

                                                          

Here you go,

Priced high to low

For all you drunks

And your Borracho 

Crockpottery

So... a few posts ago I mentioned that I won a slow cooker, well, I got it. AND I LOVE IT. It doesn't make my life any easier... I'm not gonna lie. It takes about the same work as a normal meal, but slow cooking your food can bring out a whole different taste. It allows the flavors to mingle and the textures to crumble (in a crumbly moist way, not a crumbly no-no way).

I plan on making a bunch of recipes in this bad boy, but for starters I went with chili. And again, I challenged myself to only use what I had in the kitchen ready to go.

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 8

Other:
Best Buy Money ends 12/26, enter once a week. Over 500 winners, use free code INHEREITSALWAYSFRIDAY

Daily:
Philosophy 5 winners a day, ends 12/23
TigerDirect.com 17 really good prizes, over 27000 prizes of a 6 month internet security software, ends 12/31
Kitchen stuff 1-5 prizes a day, ends 12/15
Tacky pink boombox ends 11/24

Cheap Thrills: She Blinded Me With Science

SCIENCE! We love it, right? Well, I know I love yelling out the word when I'm trying to justify doing something slightly ridiculous. But science is our friend, even when it comes to shopping. For this week's installment of Cheap Thrills, I decided to focus on goodies with high tech materials or construction. So everyone, please, get your lab coats on and make sure your goggles are strapped on tight....

Stud Muffin

So what's this "Stud Embellishment" trend all about? You can see it on celebs, goths, emo kids, and hipsters alike. Studs, like any embellishment, add that extra "Oomph", or "Pizazz" to your outfit *insert Jazz hands here*. Studs have been around forever and they are trendy as a MoFo right now. Here are some Cheap and Chic options if you don't want to go the route of bad 80's.

Available at theOutnet on sale for $129.50

Get Nailed: *Special Edition* Movember

This week, I did a fun and easy pattern for my nails. I used Essie Mod Squad polish for the base, which I got for $2.99 on clearance at Ulta and have been dying to try! I used my Milani Black Magic polish (and a toothpick) to create the black polka dots and my Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Black to draw mustaches on my middle fingers. Mix it up any way you want, and make it you're own! 

Head Cold

Dear Whoreders,

I have made another Etsy Treasury list for you... this time head and neck coverings for cold weather, all under $30! A bargain, I say!

Magical Hair Powder

Hi. My name is Heather and I have flat hair.
(insert sobbing here)

I have typical white girl straight hair. I can't complain - my hair treats me pretty well even though I'm mean to it all the time. No, I take that back, I AM going to complain. HOWDAREYOU, hair! You're so flat and boring! YOU'RE RUINING MY LIFE.

My hair is needy, too... it INSISTS on being washed every day.

Things have changed around here, as I have found an answer to the battle of this deflated fluff of fringe. I have briefly mentioned Suave Dry Shampoo before, but it really is a great product. So great that I decided to contact Suave to see if they would let me do a proper review and sure enough they were awesome enough to let me!

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 7

Daily:
Shoes 500 pairs, ends 12/9
Bedding 132 prizes, ends 12/12
Hair stuffs ends 11/28, 570 instant prizes
Trip to Kenya and 1,000 tea cups given away, ends 3/31/12, use code LC873HRS

Cheap Thrills: Bag Ladies

I was born a bag lady, my parents tell me my favorite game as a wee Vanessa was to have my dad dangle me upside down while I screamed, "LET ME GET MY PURSE!" in Spanish. Yes, I suffered a head injury as a child, but I'm pretty sure my obsession with bags, purses, totes, satchels, etc., would have come out eventually anyway. So as we prepare to greet Santa and his bulging sack of goodies, let's find ourselves some lovely bags of our own, shall we?

Get Nailed: By Dr. Seuss

My daughter and I have been reading Dr. Seuss beginner books lately and I came across a set I really like but hadn't read before; Put me In the Zoo, and it's sequel I Want to be Somebody New!. These are really fun books (that happen to be on sale) by Robert Lopshire and they teach you all about colors and other fun things. She seemed to really like the main character who is a yellow and red spotted leopard. Since we were already having mommy and me time by reading together, I figured we could paint our nails (and our faces lol)drawing inspiration from this kids book.

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 6

Ooo, gurl, I got some good ones for you today!

Daily:
Assorted prizes 46 winners, ends 12/30
Computers Ends 12/24
A laptop a day!  Ends 12/31

Cheap Thrills: Coif It Up

In this edition of Cheap Thrills we'll be exploring our inner hair inspirations, be it Rapunzel, Mia Farrow (circa Rosemary's Baby) or Curly Sue. The bevy of hair accessories available to us is staggering, but let's try to narrow it down to a selection that is worthy of our lovely locks that won't break the bank. Toss your hair back and dive in!

Inside the Box: October

Charlotte explained Birchbox in a previous post, but for those of you who didn't read it or need a reminder, it is a service you subscribe to (for $10/month) that provides you with deluxe beauty samples. They don't send the same old box out to everyone, you fill out a beauty profile to help determine which samples you'll receive. You get about 4 samples plus a bonus item, and the bonuses can be non-beauty related. In the past few months I've gotten: a handmade note card, a friendship bracelet, and a fancy elastic hair tie. Once you get your goodies, you can try them out and buy the full size versions from Birchbox - they've got deals for discounts or free shipping on some products. You can also earn points to cash in for rewards later. Woo! Discounts and rewards, those are two of our favorite words!Oh, and everything comes wrapped in this gorgeous burgundy colored tissue paper. Since I'm a huge sucker for packaging, I think it's a fabulous touch!

Charlotte and I (Vanessa) are both subscribed to Birchbox, and we decided to review our boxes each month and share it with you. Let's get started...  

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 5

Other:
Zombie bike  Unlimited entries, ends 11/26?
Fancy lingerie  Blog entries, ends 11/2

Daily:

A LASER COMB. Ends 1/2/12
40,000 prizes. Yes. It's true. Ends 2/1/12 (enter the weird last name giveaway while you're at it)

Everyday is Halloween

No, really. Everyday IS Halloween for me. I lose count when I try to put a number to the amount of skulls decorating my apartment. An antique silver "At Rest" plaque hangs above my bed. I have lots of Victorian photographs of strangers which amateurs tell me are "creepy". I own atleast 3 dresses that could be worn in a high school production of Chicago. I have collected so many corsets that more than one person I work with came to me to borrow one when they were putting their Halloween costumes together this year. And I'll admit, I have one or two pieces of (very tasteful) bat jewelry.

Lewd, Tattooed, and Interviewed...

Hey guys, we recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by our friend Kelly from Beauty Obsessed ! It is our first interview and we had a lot of fun with the questions. Head on over to her blog, and read what she has to say! And if you are here visiting from Beauty Obsessed, Welcome! Kick your shoes off (unless you have a serious case of cheese feet), and stay a while! 

 

INTERVIEWING THE LADIES FROM WHOREDERS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Interview with Charlotte, Heather, Vanessa and Rita from Whoreders

http://whoreders.blogspot.com

Four ladies on the cutting edge of cutting corners

1. Mini Bio?

 Heather: Don't let the baby face trick you, she's a mean, sweepin', frugal machine.

Charlotte: A crazy couponing mom you would not want to approach at the playground.

Vanessa: Pinata princess and her little dog too(!), trying to remain fierce, yet, fiscally responsible. 

Rita: My name is Rita. Collecting glorious old things and creating on a dime is what I do. Sometimes it's really good and sometimes it's really bad. But it's all about the fun on the journey, right?

Get Nailed: By the Dead

Get nailed by the dead? Whoreders say what??? No I'm not talking about necrophilia you pervs, I'm talking about Obituary Newspaper nails, duh! So now you're probably even more confused which perhaps means that you are eagerly reading to find an answer to what all this cray cray-ness is about.

Well, I'll tell you, it's about this awesomeness!
                                             
                                                  BAM!!!!

Matzo Ball Soup: How do I love thee?

It's the week before Halloween in New York City. In a perfect world, I'd be walking down Broadway after a long day at work, wearing a cute, fitted trench coat and sipping a pumpkin latte and maybe even kicking up some yellow and orange leaves under foot. The soundtrack on my iPod would be something dreamy like Fleet Foxes, Cocteau Twins, or classic Feist. Tonight was not that kind of autumnal evening. It was bone chilling, ice cold rain and wind. I could get some specifics from weather.com but let's just say it was a watery hell. Anyone remember "frog in a blender" from the early days of the internet? It's better if you don't but if by chance you do, you'll know how pretty much all of commuting Manhattan felt during rush hour tonight. During my short walk to the subway, my favorite leopard print umbrella spastically inverted itself not once but twice before breaking and ending up in a pile of other defeated, dead umbrellas (RIP). My cold, clammy hands turned an unhealthy shade of pink and my iPhone was getting an unwanted shower even though it was deep in my coat pocket. I'm pretty sure I even saw a little girl in tiny rain boots almost blow away before her father could save her. I couldn't get home and get dry fast enough. Once at my apartment and after peeling off my wet, chaffing jeans (the worst!) there was only one thing I could imagine warming my rain soaked, weathered, and slightly bittered soul: a  bowl of matzo ball soup. 

Angry Baby Lasered Cheeks

A long time ago in a far away land I barely remember... I was tanorexic. I know, it's hard to believe, but I loved it. I went tanning often and turned a lovely crispy brown, hiding all flaws and looking glow-y. I eventually stopped going, I don't remember why. I reverted back to my natural state - pale, sparkly white.
Years later I went camping, spent a little time in the sun, and came back home with BROWN SPOTS ON MY FACE. It was so bad a co-worker tried to smudge one off my forehead, thinking it was dirt. HOWDAREYOU.
I now religiously wear SPF products on my face and have tried a few bleaching creams. The poop stains are a little lighter, but still stare at me in the mirror every day. I cry.

The Bee's Knees

I've always been lucky with my skin, never having major issues like acne or scaliness. I've treated it well from a very young age, thanks to countless lectures from my mom (annoying, but she was right), and was rewarded with good skin. As I made my way into my 30s, I noticed it was changing and required more maintenance than before. My regular products weren't giving me the same results, I noticed dry spots even my most trusted moisturizer couldn't remedy.

And so began my search for a moisturizer suitable for my 30-something skin. I've been using Philosophy Hope In A Jar, I like it well enough but there was room for improvement. Enter Burt's Bees new sensitive line... I received the facial cleanser ($10) and daily moisturizer ($15) from BzzAgent, and it's the latter that has blown me away. It felt a bit heavy at first, and I lost a little hope. But once I let it absorb into my skin, I was pleasantly surprised. No greasy film, no wet feeling! Just smooth, perfectly moisturized skin. My biggest complaint about Philosophy is that it stung my eyes. Not that I'm in the habit of regularly smearing moisturizer into my eyes, but if it got anywhere near my eyes, they'd start to sting and tear up. After regular use of Burt's Bees, and the occasional contact with my eyes, I am pain and tear free!

I've been using both products for almost a month, and am loving them! My biggest praise is for the moisturizer, but the cleanser has been holding its own too. It's soap free, which I really like, and although it does feel a bit strange at first (it doesn't lather up the way normal washes do) I quickly noticed that my skin didn't feel tight or irritated after washing. There is also zero redness, something that always happens around my nose with other cleansers. Could it be that as I age like fine wine, and whine about aging, my skin has become more sensitive? Instead of looking for new anti-aging products, I should have been looking for something simpler and less harsh. So, is this it? Have my skin prayers been answered? Perhaps... it seems at least that my winter skin woes will be soothed by Burt's Bees Sensitive Daily.

P.S.
My fellow Whoreder Charlotte found you some extra Burt's Bees savings! Just become a fan of Burt's Bees Facebook page by clicking the "Like" button for a $2 coupon. Thanks, Charlotte!

Oh Baby, It's Cold Outside

Some of you will read this blurb and not understand, but some of you will nod your head in empathetic agreement and sigh in relief that you are not alone with your crazy old dad. I have one of those dads who always reminds me that he had to walk one billion miles in the snow every day to get to school. He also claims he did this all in nothing but shorts, a t-shirt, and a sweater that his entire neighborhood took turns sharing. Someone, somewhere is exaggerating this story. It may be me, or it may be him. Either way, he instilled in me the importance of winter accessories. If I ever have to walk one trillion miles in a blizzard, at least i know I will look cute (on a budget) while doing it. Below are a few of my winter must haves!

Swanky Sweepin' Volume 4

Daily:
Vespas (and other fun prizes) One winner a day, ends 11-23
Disneyland and other prizes  25 Disneyland vacations, 1000 Target gift cards, and a crapload of coloring books to be won. Ends 12/31
Xbox  30 winners, ends 11/15
Cooking stuffs  420 prizes, ends 11/29

Cheap Thrills: Painted Ladies

The countdown to Halloween is on, have you decided on a costume yet? If so, I may have dug up some goodies that will help you put the finishing touches on your disguise. If not, maybe this post will give you a little inspiration and guide you to towards the perfect Halloween getup. Grab your trick or treat bags, kids, and let's get shopping!

Scary Savings

Here's a few more Halloween deals I found for you kids!

Free brain mold, just pay $2.95 shipping

Light up tombstone kit $9, free shipping to store (Walmart)