Review: Centrum Flavor Burst Multivitamin Adult Chews
Tonight I tested out Centrum’s new Flavor Burst Multivitamin chews. I’m notorious for not taking my vitamins… in fact, since I’m still nursing, I’m supposed to be taking my vitamins daily, but alas, I’m not. Anyways, like with what seems all products, these do say to consult with a physician before taking if you’re breastfeeding, pregnant, or taking other medications, so do with that what you will!
I had never had chewable multivitamins before, and I must say, it was just like eating a Skittle — only not as good — and with a not so great aftertaste - kind of an artificial sugar taste. Would I go out and buy these? Maybe… though I would also want to buy a bag of real Skittles to eat afterwards!
If Skittle-ish vitamins sound like the right thing for you, here’s a $2 off coupon to make it easier to swallow chew.
Full disclosure: I received this free sample in exchange for my honest review from Smiley360.
Review: Campbell’s Go Soup
Tonight we tried this:
Campbell’s Go Soup - It was pretty yummy and easy to make - just zap in the microwave for 2 minutes, let stand for another 2, then pour and serve. It is supposed to serve two, though the servings are quite small. If you eat the whole thing though, you are getting 70% of your daily sodium requirement, so this soup (as with most canned soups) is definitely an emergency food only!
And here’s a pic of me with the madlib sign and mustache tattoos I received:
And the baby, who insisted on 2. Greedy girl ;-)
Full disclosure: I received this free sample in exchange for my honest review from Smiley360.
Review: Colgate Optic White
Thanks to Influenster, I received 3 Colgate Optic White products recently: mouthwash, toothbrush, and toothpaste. As part of my review, I tried all 3, but had to give up on the mouthwash pretty quickly as it tasted really bad. The toothpaste and brush however, I really liked. The paste tasted great and possibly whitened my teeth a little. The brush was my favorite and made my mouth feel really clean. I would definitely buy the toothpaste and toothbrush again (there are always coupons available for the toothpaste, making it free/cheap!).
Disclosure: I received this product complimentary from Influenster for the purpose of reviewing.
Review: Vaseline Spray n Go
Influenster recently sent me some Vaseline Spray and Go moisturizer (here’s a video of using it in action). I love the smell of it, but using it is a pain in the butt! My hands ended up so greasy from rubbing it in, that I couldn’t put more on without my hands slipping down the bottle. It looks so easy in the video, but it just wasn’t meant to be!
(Disclosure note: I received Vaseline® Spray & Go Moisturizer complimentary from Influenster and am entering the Brand Challenge for a chance to win a prize)
Review: Sugar ‘n Spice VoxBox
I recently joined Influenster - one of my new favorite ways of trying new things for *free* (…well, in exchange for my reviews!). I have been super behind in meeting each “brand challenge” - I went in with such good intentions! Anyways, I have to say, I was so excited when this super huge box arrived on my doorstep! And the toothbrush came at just the right time too!
So my thoughts so far:
Optic White toothbrush: love it! It cleans my teeth so well! (This may be slightly biased since my other toothbrush was well overdue for replacement, but after more than a month of using it, it still seems to do a great job).
Optic White toothpaste: it seems to work fine - hard to say exactly as I had already been using it when it arrived! The packaging is small though, so we go through it really quickly.
Optic White mouthwash: If I were desperate for white teeth then maybe I would stick with this, but the flavor is not great, that’s for sure!
Belvita: I’m not much of a breakfast bar person, so this was more like “afternoon snack” for me. It is yummy though - tastes like Dutch speculaas.
Dickinson’s Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes: They don’t smell great and are super moist — a little too moist in my opinion. But they clean really well and have left my face feeling really smooth and soft - surprisingly, since witch hazel is usually so drying.
Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer: This smells *great!* but I don’t really get the point of a spray bottle for moisturizer. The lid has a good locking mechanism which would be great if throwing into a gym or beach bag.
Splenda Nectresse: I admit, I am a bit nervous to try this as I am a big fan of real sugar! And I rarely bake, and have my tea and coffee completely straight!
Well there you have it! I got word that a new box of goodies is on its way to me - looking forward to seeing what it is!
CVS Cosmetics Haul
I’ve been running low on foundation, but my favorite is Benefit which is cray-cray expensive. So, I did a bit of youtube research on drugstore foundations this past weekend and decided to give L’oreal a whirl. I also read great things about the clear mascara and the duo eye shadow by Maybelline, so I decided to give that a shot too. And the rest of the stuff I was paid to buy :). I did mess up (again) on one thing - the cashier didn’t ring the eye shadow through in the first transaction (and wasn’t able to ring it up after the coupons had gone through, bummer), so I had to put it in the second one. As a result, I didn’t get 20% off it, nor was I able to use the $3 it produced on my second transaction. Oh well… I still got a good deal, especially as the free item coupons all rang through at their full value. Yay! Love it when that happens!! All up I spent $25 with $6 to spend next time, and another $10 coming in 2 days from the Beauty Club.
TRANSACTION 1:
Almay - Spend $10, get $4 ECB
Eraser Sticks - $6.39
Eye makeup remover - $5.99
CVS Magic Coupon Machine coupon - $3
Printable Coupon (rang up as CVS coupon) - $5
20% off coupon - $0.88
TOTAL: $3.50, got $4 ECB (moneymaker)
Maybelline - Spend $10, get $3 ECB (this is what it would have been if I didn’t mess it up)
Great Lash clear mascara - $6.49 ($1 MFQ)
Eye Shadow - $8.49 ($1 MFQ)
20% off coupon - $3
TOTAL: $9.98, got $3 ECB
Simple - Spend $15, get $5 ECB
Exfoliating wipes - $6.89 ($6.99 MFQ - free wipes when you buy cleanser/moisturizer)
Cleanser - $8.49 ($2 MFQ avail on their facebook page)
20% off coupon - $3.08
TOTAL: $3.32, got $5 ECB (moneymaker)
Sally Hansen - Spend $10, get $5 ECB
Nail Effects strips - $9.99 ($3 MFQ)
20% off coupon - $2
TOTAL: $4, got $5 ECB (moneymaker)
I also received a CVS coupon last week for $8 off when you spend $40 (before coupons). So grand total for all of this was $12.80 + tax + receive $17 in ECB’s. (My grand total was actually $9.26 with $14 in ECB’s because of the Maybelline snaffu).
TRANSACTION 2:
Suave - Spend $10, get $3
Moroccan Shampoo & Conditioner x 3 @ $3 ea (MFQ: 1 x free ($3.50), 1 x BOGO ($5))
Deodorant - $1
TOTAL: $1.50, got $3 ECB (moneymaker)
L’Oreal - BOGO50%
Tru Match foundation x 2 - 16.48 (MFQ: $4)
Magic Primer - $6.89 (MFQ: $2)
TruMineral foundation - $16.49 (MFQ: $2)
TOTAL: $31.86
Pay with EBC’s from previous transaction = $16.36 + tax, Receive $3 in ECB’s (I paid with other ECB’s here too, and also paid for the Maybelline eye shadow, so my total was $15.31).
Grand total: $29.16 with $3 EBC and $10 Beauty Club reward for next time.
Sea Change
I found out last week that I would be getting laid off from my current job. There are mixed emotions, but I’m remaining surprisingly calm about the whole thing. There’s a possibility that I’ll get transferred to another department, but if not, I’ll be a full time stay-at-home mom. Not a bad outcome… maybe I will *finally* get time to work on all my hobbies. And maybe I’ll get an Etsy shop up and running… We shall see.
On a totally separate note, it’s starting to drive me crazy the number of people who ask me how long I’m going to keep breastfeeding my baby for. It’s funny. Initially I had always said 1 year, but in the reality of those first few weeks, I didn’t even believe that myself. Now we are nearly at 15 months, and I’m thinking that maybe we’ll get to the WHO recommended 2 years afterall! She seems to be weaning herself during the day, so again, we shall see.
Yesterday, Target released a new uber special coupon - “get $10 gift card when you spend $50 on anything at Target”. Immediately I set to work figuring out how I could make the most of this beautiful thing. Over the last few months I’ve received various “free item” manufacturer coupons, and had been waiting for the perfect moment to use them. This was definitely it!
Here is the summary:
Total before coupons: ~$52
Total paid: $20.96
Gift cards received: $15
Total after gift cards: $5.96!
The trick is to hand over the $10/$50 coupon *first*, then hand over the rest. Here are the details:
Pampers wipes - $1.99 (Target mobile coupon: $1.00, MFQ: $0.50), Paid: $0.49
Ghiradelli chocolate squares - $5.09 (MFQ: Free up to $5), Paid: 0 :)
Planters Nutrition - $3.29 (MFQ: Free up to $3.99), Earned: $0.70
Pataks Tikka Masala - $3.59 (MFQ: Free up to $5.00), Earned: $1.41
Archer Farms Coffee beans - $5.99 (Target mobile coupon: $1.00), Paid: $4.99
Right Guard Deodorant - $3.39 (Target coupon: $1.50, MFQ: $3.00/2), Paid $0.39 ea
Picture frame - $9.99 (Target coupon: $2), Paid $7.99
Glade candles - $2.50 (Target coupon: $1/2, MFQ $1.50/2), Paid $0.75 ea
Glade room spray - $2.50 (MFQ $0.55), Paid: $1.95, Received $5 gift card for buying 5 Glade items, effectively making the Glade products free.
My total before taxes came to $49.42 or something, so I added the York bars to bring it up to $50.
Menu
When it comes to food, I’m learning that my child is rather picky. Of course, I’m blaming her father!
Likes:
rice, bread, peanut butter, vegemite, oatmeal, grapes, pineapple, oranges, peas, corn, yogurt (sometimes), tofu, small bits of pasta, puffs, anything on the floor.
Hates:
strawberries, blackberries (she used to love these), avocado (again, used to love), meat, raisins, squash, tortellini, spaghetti/rice noodles, stew, too much selection on dinner plate.
:-/
Haul
Yes, I am that crazy person who wanders down the supermarket aisles clutching her coupon wallet :-). But, it’s fun, and it pays off! Today’s CVS haul worked out to be around $7 for $117 worth of stuff. Partly by planning, partly by luck. All I really needed was night creme and nasal spray for the baby, but it was cheaper to buy everything else with it, LOL.
The key to shopping at CVS is to break up your transactions so that you can use the store cash you receive on your first purchase to pay for your second purchase. On Thursday’s CVS usually sends out an email to all of its members with an exclusive coupon. You can then send this to your CVS card or print it out. This week, my coupon was “Spend $30, get $5 off”. The best part, is that the $30 is before coupons and store currency (ECB’s). I also had $3 ECB from last week. So, here’s what I did:
Transaction 1:
1 x Nexxus Shampoo - $10.49
1 x Nexxus Conditioner - $10.49 (the price on the shelf was actually higher)
Used $3 ECB, 2 x $3 off Manufacturer coupons
Total: $12.88* ($21.88 worth of product)
*I partially paid for this with a CVS money card that I had received, which actually had a bunch of free money on it that I got from another shopping trip where the clerk messed up my order and after about 30 minutes of confusion, ended up loading up a money card with extra cash. I realized this after I got home, and decided they wouldn’t understand what happened if I went in there and tried to explain… So, including the money card cash, my total was $4.37.
Received: 2 x $10 ECB**, $1 ECB (bag credit), + $5 Saving Star cash
**Seriously, there is always drama when I’m at CVS. The girl messed up the order the first time round, so the manager eventually fixed it, and then re-did the sale. When he said, “don’t tell anyone” to me, I initially didn’t realize that he was probably referring to the fact that when they re-did the sale, the system spat out an additional $10 ECB coupon (the deal was spend $20 on Nexxus, get $10 ECB). And they let me keep it!
Transaction 2:
1 x Tide detergent $5.94
2 x Dawn detergent .96 ea
1 x Olay Regenerist Night time Elixer $22.99
Used: $1 Tide MFQ, .50 Dawn MFQ, $5 Olay MFQ, $20 ECB from previous sale, $5 ECB for spending $30 (pre-loaded onto card)
Total: $0.64 ($44.61 worth of product)
Received: $10 ECB for spending $30 on P&G products
Transaction 3:
1 x Dove mens deodorant $3.50
1 x Dove women’s deodorant $3.50
1 x Degree mens deodorant $3.75*
1 x Dove Men’s body wash $5
1 x Physicians Formula Mascara $10.49
Used: 2 x $1 Dove deodorant MFQ, $1 Degree MFQ, $2 Dove bodywash MFQ, $1 Physicians Formula MFQ, $1 ECB from bag credit, $10 ECB from previous sale.
Total: $10.54 ($31.81 worth of product)
Received: $7 ECB for spending $10 on PF products. *I was expecting $5 ECB for Dove/Degree products, and when I got home realized I had got the wrong deodorant, so later in the day I went back and switched it for the women’s degree deodorant for $3.50 less $1 MFQ. The package came with a bonus Clinical Strength pack too. THEN I got the $5 ECB for spending $15 on Dove/Degree.
Transaction 4:
2 x Lipton Green Tea 12 packs 2 for $10
1 x Little Remedies nasal spray $4.19
Used: Lipton $1 MFQ, $7 ECB from previous sale. Unfortunately my Little Remedies coupon had expired.
Total: $6.65 ($19.23 worth of product) — my total would have been $1.65 had I not messed up the Degree purchase.
Total: $30.71 (because of the money cards, my OOP was $22.20)
ECB to use next time: $5
Saving Star credit: $10
My Grand Total: $7.20
(Product Value: $117.53!!!)
