a few months ago, i went out to try the new sephora mineral compact pressed powder. since i was on the look out for a pressed powder as they are not messy like loose powder and it’s easier for me to carry them around. i also singled out this particular sephora powder because it contain no parabens or bismuth. i matched the shade d30 and i’ve been very very happy with this powder. i use it to set over my tinted moisturizer and a very light coverage is all i go for so this is perfect. i assume you can build on the coverage too if needed.

while i was there, i was sort of glancing over at their tinted moisturizer and i told the rep that i like more natural stuff. she pointed me to cargo and tarte’s products. since my family was waiting, i didn’t spend extra time to test out the products. i’ve been sort of thinking about a new tinted moisturizer. i’m using jemma kidd’s and i like it but, i of course, wanted a more natural alternative. i wasn’t looking until tarte was pointed out to me but now i want to see if there’s a shade match as i’ll like to eventually it.

we went to the mall today to exchange a gymboree shoe that i bought for faith for a dress for jaelynn. i bought the shoe in a size smaller than i should have and since a replacement size is already on the way, i let jaelynn picked out a dress instead. so, i stopped by the sephora inside jcpenney’s and took a closer look at all the shades available from tarte. i tested tarte smooth operator agent 06 with yellow undertones and james said he couldn’t tell a difference. i looked some more and saw a shade in agent 10 that has a bit more yellow undertones and tried that too. again it blended in. the texture is not as thick as jemma kidd’s. the added spf 20 is a plus.

the rep saw me looking at the two shades side by side and offered to do a shade test. i said sure why not? she tried 3 shades on my lower cheek and said agent 10 was a great match. i told her i’ll take it and she went to get me the product. a few minutes later she came back and apologize because that shade was out. she filled out a sample jar for me to take home and said they should have some on the next shipment. i thanked her.

i’m going to order a tube online when tarte or sephora have a sale because i don’t need it right away and i can save some money. i’ll also have time to use up the jemma kidd’s and the sample she gave me.

i’m going to start paying more attention to tarte and cargo’s.

goodbye summer, hello autumn! for the last week it seems the mornings are way more chilly. ah, a sign of the colder months ahead. with that thought, i put my giftcards to good use at the stores below.

i cashed out my remaining points from spg and got a $25 gap card. i received in the mail, a 30% off coupon so i went shopping. purchase: warm jacket $68 – $20.4 (30% off) – $25 giftcard = $21 and some changes including taxes.

gap kids warmest jacket with belt

i received a $30 gymboree gift card and 20% off coupon and here’s what i got: a sweater and a short sleeve cardigan. total was $54.48 – $10.90 (20%) – $30 giftcard = $17.17 including taxes. i used the remaining of my visa giftcard for the balance.

gymboree striped sweater and short sleeve cardigan

this morning i purchased the BIG BUNDLE below for $14.99 – what a great price huh? we’d already used the $10 giftcard from papa john’s and got an extra large pizza with 3 meat toppings for $3.04 out of pocket. mmmm…

there was also a $10 giftcard from shoebuy.com. i went through bing.com to get 15% cashback. i bought: skecher’s cuddlebug boot for $31.45 – $3.15 member discount – $10 giftcard = $18.30 out of pocket. i just got an email from bing that my cashback amount is $4.24 so that took my total down to $14.06. not bad eh?

skecher’s cuddlebugs heart sparkle boot

step2 train table

it’s not even halloween or thanksgiving yet but i jumped ahead and started shopping for christmas. i’m putting myself on a strict budget. when target was having a clearance sale on toys, i bought a few for christmas without spending alot. a few days ago, i won a huge lot of legos from ebay for $65 and some changes including shipping (the seller was wonderful and refunded me $5.48 back in shipping!). i also bought a step 2 train table from walmart for $47. jaelynn and faith love trains and recently got a chance to play with some legos and they love them.  we are trying to encourage more imaginative play and less tv so we are counting on these to provide exactly that.

we were at a consignment boutique the other day and they have a play kitchen on the floor. jaelynn played with that the whole time. everytime i asked if she was ready to leave, she’ll pushed me the other way and told me to go look at the pretty clothes…LOL i asked the shop owner how much the kicthen is since i didn’t see a price. she said she wasn’t ready to sell it because her granddaughter likes it too. when i finally got jaelynn out of the store, she was fuming mad at me. i had to explained a couple of times that the shop owner didn’t want to sell it. what a day!

my target make up purchase

i’m not much of a make up person and when i do wear it, i don’t wear much. i like to look as natural as possible. most of my eye shadows are either browns, violets or neutrals. i think i only have 1 green and 1 blue. i also don’t wear foundation as it is too heavy. tinted moisturizers, mineral powders, or the like is okay. the thing is, i don’t want to feel like i’m wearing anything at all.

i wandered into target today to buy some formula for alex and checked out their health and beauty clearance isle. there were a bunch of cosmetics from jk, pixi, and np.

i’v never heard of any of these brands or see them before but i found some things to buy. i haven’t try them yet but they were cheaper than the drugstore brands at $5 – $7 a piece on clearance.

i bought:

jk pro finish moisture tint spf 20 in 02 medium $7

jk on set matifying powder in medium $5.25

jk lip ID color adapt gloss $5

pixi fat face (retractable) brush $5

to live a bit greener. at least, that is what i’m noticing. maybe it’s just me? i can’t use any drugstore shampoo brands or my scalp will itch like crazy. i’m running out of the sonoma soap shampoo and conditioner that i bought last time. we’re also running out of bar soap.

i’m not sure where i can locate more of the sonoma soap brand so i bought goat’s milk tearless shampoo and body wash for baby. i figure the whole family can use these, including me and the new baby!

shampoo and body wash

we have used canus goat’s milk products before, like their bar soaps and LOVE IT!! it smells great, lasts a long time and doesn’t get all soft and gooey like regular soaps.

moisturizing body soap bars

instead of ordering the bar soaps again, we’re giving the body wash a try.

body wash

before i said we were going to buy these for the place but changed our minds. that means we have some leftover money on the jcpenney giftcard. so today, james bought this:

coin sorting machine

sometimes, i just find that i can’t always be frugal on the personal care stuff. faith have ezcema and she would always break out on her arms and legs. after we made the switch to more natural products (like no dyes and fragrances  and skipping fabric softener and bleach altogether), she has been fine since and have no break outs. maybe because of the switch jaelynn never had that problem.

it’s not always cheap but it’s worth it.

i saw this on slickdeals and jumped in because i NEED a reusable lunchbag; so does james and faith. aren’t these so cute? i got them for about $5.86 each with shipping. see them here at pbk.

i got the pink polka dots, lavender polka dots, and blue roll-top bags

from pbk’s website:

Our stylish expandable lunch bag is packed with top quality features, phthalate- and BPA-free insulation, and an easy-to-clean outer surface. Made of durable, water-resistant 600-denier polyester, it’s shaped like a paper lunch bag. Sized perfectly to fit our food storage containers and juice boxes. 12.5 x 6.5 x 13″ h. Available colors listed below.

now i need to find some reusable sandwich bags. gosh, i hate those ziplocs or whatever-you-call them plastic sandwich bags with a passion! these don’t look so bad hmm…?

i made some purchases using most of our giftcards from our thank you points. (lots of photos :D)

i got wash clothes, hand towels, and bath mats in “natural” and “green tea” for both bathrooms from west elm. vegetable dyed shower curtain from overstock.

tomorrow i’m ordering these sets of rugs from jcpenney. they come with a 5′ x 8′ area rug, 24″ x 40″, and 22″ x 60″.

we bought this memory foam mattress from overstock. it’s going to be our first memory foam. keeping fingers crossed. also bought a mattress protector.

this is on our shopping list from jcpenney. looks great huh? it’s on backorder so we probably won’t place an order until the weekend.

my new bedding from west elm!! i love it, don’t you? it’s a duvet and 2 shams – i got it in “sea spray”.

in white.

after using all gift cards, we would end up spending about $100 out of pocket. i’m also getting another $100 giftcard from thank you and this time, it is most likely for bed bath and beyond. i need a new pull-out trash and laundry sorter.