Angie – Page 947 – Luv Saving Money

BeautyExpressmall.com deal

I had recently taken advantage of deal for Beautyexpressmall.com from DealPulp. Now Gaggle of Chicks has a deal from them too. Pay $15 for a $30 worth of products from BeautyExpressmall.com.

BeautyExpressmall.com offers this years crackle nail polish trend, facial masks, Ion sport watches, falsie eyelashes, nail care items, and nail polish pens. I love the pens I just got. 4 different colors in a nice case for $15.

What I like about these pens is that if you take the cap off one way it’s a typical nail polish application brush. If you take it off another way it’s a fine point pen that the polish comes out of to create designs on your nails. I chose the regular solid colors. They also have glitter polish pens and ones that come with rhinestones to affix to your nails. Each color has the brush/pen combo.

You can go HERE to take advantage of this deal. It’s free to sign up for Gaggle of Chicks.

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The Vinyl Zone Review and Giveaway–CLOSED

I’ve seen the cute vinyl decals around. All different sizes, shapes, themes, even quotes. I always wondered if they would work in my house. How hard are they to apply? Will they stay in place? So many questions.

I found out about a company called The Vinyl Zone. I looked over there website and was impressed with the selection of products they had to offer. Then I looked at the prices. They were less the most of the other vinyl decal sites I’ve looked at. When they asked me to review one of their products I decided this was my chance to give it a try.

I chose the Monogram Wall Vinyl Decal Sticker with the letter B in the family section. Another plus in The Vinyl Zone’s column is that many of the decals can be ordered in a number of different sizes and vinyl colors. I requested mine with white vinyl.

Now one issue that I ran into was that every wall in every room of my downstairs is paneling. This would not have worked well on paneling. Especially with the small dots in the detail. I wanted this downstairs so I put it on the smooth wood door we have in our foyer. As a first timer putting up a vinyl decal I did have a little bit of trouble. I made sure to follow the directions to the “T” but one of the curls on the decal got a bit mangled. I managed to fix so it was presentable. My husband’s grandmother came to visit and she commented on the decal. I told her that I had a little trouble putting it up but she wasn’t able to tell where I messed it up. Once I pointed it out she said “oh ok I do see it a little bit but it doesn’t look bad”. I just thought I’d mention that. If you are a first timer with the decals make sure you follow the directions and work slow. I think I was eager to get it up and moved a little too fast when applying.

I made sure to mention about the trouble I had and how one of the curls got a bit mangled and sent them a pic. They bent over backwards to make sure that their products would work for me. That is another check in the positive column for The Vinyl Zone. They have excellent customers service and prompt shipping. This particular decal has been up for about a month already. I was concerned being that this is a door that is used frequently, there would be peeling or rolling of the decal. There is no sign of this. These decals are durable which is what I need with a bunch of boys in the house.

You can follow The Vinyl Zone on twitter @thevinylzone and like them on Facebook.

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New FDA labeling for sunscreens explained by AVEENO

As most of us know, sunscreen is so important not only for our skins health but to prevent premature aging and keeping our skin looking gorgeous.

AVEENO recently sent this article over explaining the new labeling changes you will be seeing over the next 12 months or so. These changes are being made by new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. The new FDA sunscreen guidelines will effect sunscreens, moisturizes and make up labeled as having sun protection factors (SPF).

The new FDA created a standard testing for both UVA and UVB rays. If a product passes this test it will be labeled “Broad Spectrum” protection. Both UVA and UVB rays are factors in premature aging, skin cancer, sunburns, and more. As it stand right now, most SPF numbers are referenceing UVB rays. UVB rays can effect the outer layer of skin damaging cells and causing skin cancer. UVA rays however also factor into those negative effects on the skin.

With the changes, products that are labeled as Broad Spectrum with an SPF of 15 or greater will be allowed to state that the can reduce the risk of skin cancer and early aging when applied properly along with other skin care measures. Products with SPF 2-14 can also be labeled Broad Spectrum but only if they pass the test. These products however can only state that they help prevent sunburn but must including a warning that it has not been proven to reduce the risk of skin cancer.

Here are some helpful facts:

–all sunscreen only works properly when applied correctly. At least 1 oz, (about the size of a shot glass) is recommended when applying.

–sunscreen should be applied every 2 hours.

Also with the FDA guidelines products will no longer have the terms “waterproof”, “sweat proof”, and “sunblock”. A package will be allowed to state if it’s water resistant but then must have labeled the recommended time that it should be reapplied (40-80 minutes). All sunscreens will also include a drug fact box that will list things like active ingredients and claims of use.

Thanks to AVEENO for passing on this important information and allowing me to share it with my readers.

Note: AVEENO Active Naturals hydrsport spray is already labeled as Broad Spectrum protecting against both UVA and UVB rays.

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Check out my beauty column and you can win my beauty giveaway ends 8/20—CLOSED

In addition to saving money, another love of mine is beauty products. If I can save money on beauty products I’ll actually use, then I’m happy. I have my own online beauty column as the Johnstown, PA beauty examiner. I try to keep the theme of my column as beauty on a budget. Writing about beauty sales, double duty products, and more. My column is still fairly new so I wanted to introduce it to you all. I thought, what a better way to do that then to giveaway some of my favorite beauty products and beauty brands. Some of the items you’ve already seen in my posts. Don’t worry though, all items are brand new and sealed. Some are from some of my great sponsors while others are some I scooped up during some amazing sales.

I’m going to list some of the giveaway items I have for you. I say some because I still have more items arriving any day now to add to the list but I just couldn’t wait to post this any longer.

Beauty Prize includes:

Smashbox Goldmine face and body pallete — This is a great little box with 2 tiers. top tier is lip gloss and highlighter while the bottom tier is a shimmery face and body powder. Great for the sun kissed look

Montagne Jeunesse anti stress Mud Pac face mask

Revlon Chocolate Velvet lipstick — this is a darker brownish-red lipstick great for evenings and fall season.

California Sun Glow bronzer by Steiner — the bronzer itself comes in a cute little clay pot you can find it on timetospa.com for $35 a pot.

A small compact mirror from Fragrancenet.com

A pumice stone — so handy for summer feet and open sling backs

AVON 24k gold ultra color rich lipstick — this lipstick is a must in my collection. Getting increasingly harder to find right now. I LOVE this lipstick because it’s a great light and shimmery lipstick any time but I also love to use this to lighten up darker lipsticks and add shimmer to other lipsticks to almost double my lip palette.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Transforming Potion — again another fave. I scooped these up during their recent sale. One for me and one for my winner. This product will turn any of your eyeshadows into an eyeliner. Have an infinite eyeliner collection limited only by your eyeshadow colors.

Bvlgari .05 fl oz perfume Extreme. To me it has a light green tea like scent to it. lovely

.25 fl oz botle of Victoria Secrets Dream Angels Heavenly perfume — I love to have a variety of perfumes on hand for my mood and the occasion but this perfume is a constant in my collection.

$15 gift certificate to Beautyexpressmall.com where you can pick up this year’s crackle nail polish trend. Don’t like the crackle? That’s ok they have solid color nail polish pens, glitter nail polish pens, and face masks you can get with your voucher instead. (this item will be emailed to the winner)

1 Concrete Minerals eyeshadow of winners choice — I’m a huge fan of Concrete Minerals. I was going to pick out one of my faves to giveaway but I thought it would be more fun to let the winner pick the one they’d like to try. There are so many colors to choose from. Just when I think I found my fave from them I try another color I like. This is not sponsored by the company but by me. I love their products and want the winner to be able to try it for themselves.

1 Sally Hansen Nail Prisms nail polish of my choice — I love this line of nail polishes. Unfortunately they’re getting harder to find but I tracked some down. A friend saw mine and just had to have it. Looked in several different stores and couldn’t find it. I’ll save you the leg work though. I have one in the giveaway for you.

1 AVEENO Active Naturals hydrosport sunblock spray SPF 85 — designed to be applied even to wet skin. This is the sunscreen I use. It’s convenient, sweat proof, waterproof, and dermatologist recommended. what more can you ask from a sunscreen?

1 Hedy’s ma.nish.ma chopstick glitter eye liner in the color Silver Lining. I have the black one and I love the light sprinkle of glitter it puts on. Great for nights out, holidays, or anytime you want to add a little extra sparkle to your eyes.

1 Concrete Minerals eye shadow in the color Ruse. Ok don’t worry, the winner will still get to pick the color they want as promised. I own the color Ruse and I love it. It’s so versatile. It’s a goldish color that is great alone or as a highlighter. I just received my most recent Concrete Minerals order and they threw in a 1/2 size container of the Ruse. Since I already own it I figured I’d give this one to the lucky winner.

Urban Decay loose Pigment in the color Asphyxia. Urban decay loose pigments are very vibrant and long lasting. I love this particular color because it’s sort of an irridescent pink/purple. It’s a very unique look and goes with a number of colors.

A few items aren’t pictured like the Concrete Minerals eye shadow since the winner will choose whichever one they want, and the $15 Beautyexpressmall.com gift voucher as it is an e-certificate.

New items may be added if i find some good deals before the giveaway is over. I am holding this giveaway to introduce my readers to my beauty column. Most prizes will come from me directly.

***UPDATE*** totally sorry all. I realized I didn’t leave a link to my column in the mandatory entry section. I fixed it. Thanks for those that made the effort to look up the link.

My progess with Zaggora Hot Pants: week 1 measurements

I actually wanted to get this posted yesterday night but I had no one around to man the camera. My hubby was able to do it today so here it goes. It’s been 1 wk and 1 day of my 2 wk trial with my Hot Pants.

Zaggora Hot Pants are supposed to help reduce cellulite and, with only 3 – 30 minutes workouts a week over two weeks they are supposed to help you lose 2 jean sizes. You can look back at my post I did the day I received my Hot Pants (Click HERE to see that post) it has my initial measurement proof pictures. I made sure I took the pic with the same tap measure, the same thigh, everything. Here are my week 1 (and a day) results:

You can see in the pic that I lost a little over an inch in my belly already. Compare to initial post, where I was at 34 and 1/4″. I’m not not quite even to the 33″ mark.

Then there’s my bum. I’m at 33 and 1/2″ so I lost a half inch around my bum (initial measurement was 40″)

This one is a bit harder to see but I am at just a little less than 23″ around my right thigh. Initial measurement was 24″.

Wanna know the crazy part though? I actually gained a pound. That absolutely drives me nuts. It’s been suggested it’s muscle. I hope that’s so. I already noticed a difference in the way my work scrubs fit. They are definitely roomier in the thighs.

I really haven’t put in any hard core workouts. I took a walk with my kids (as they rode their bikes and I pushed my toddler in the stroller). We purposely took on some steep hills just to make it more challenging. I timed it to make sure we were out for at least 30 minutes. That was day 1.

Day 2 I took a walk with the kids again and I did 50 crunches. I has also wore them to work under my scrubs

Day 3 I took a break from wearing them and really was just a lazy slug. Though I did take the time to try hand washing them and hang them to dry.

Day 4 I wore them miniature golfing with the fam. I also indulged in some frozen custard.

Day 5 I did 15 minutes of power walking on the treadmill and 100 crunches and some butt squeezes.

Day 6 I took a break from wearing them again and again a lazy slug

Day 7 I wore them under my scrubs to work again and made sure to take the stairs instead of the elevators when possible (hey I’ll do 2 or 3 flights but 8 uh not ready for that)

Day 8 (today) I only put them on for the measurements.

So really it was no grueling time in the gym and I still lost some inches. I even tried on my bikini to check the work in progress. Still have a little to trim away at the belly but so far, I’m happy.

Don’t forget, if you want to get your own Hot Pants use code: ANGIEBEE to save yourself 10%!