Sammi the Beauty Buff: Mail Time! May 2014

Hi, friends (and mothers)! Happy Mother's Day to all! Be sure to tell your mom you love her today, if you haven't already. :) If you already have, you should probably go tell her again.

Now that school is out, I'm trying to change the posting schedule so I can blog more than once a week. However, since I still have the flu, that's been a little tricky. In due time, I'll hopefully be on a semi-weekly (2x a week) schedule! Two times the fun for everyone!

Today is going to be another Mail Time! post. If you aren't familiar with these, please click here to see previous posts. Basically, it's like I'm showing you a haul, only for things I've gotten in my mailbox. The mail piles up at my house while I'm at school, and it's always fun to go through the box of goodies I've accumulated when I get home.

Here's what I gathered up this time:

SUAVE Moroccan Infusion Coupon

I believe Suave had a promotion up on their Facebook page a few weeks back about these. This is a manufacturer's coupon for a free Body Lotion or Dry Body Oil Spray from their Moroccan Infusions line for up to a $6.99 value. So cool! I got my full-sized bottle of body lotion for free and only had to pay $0.39 for tax! I would have preferred to get the Dry Body Oil Spray, but Walmart only had the lotion, so I took what I could get. It was basically free, so I'm super excited. I already have not one, but two big bottles of lotion open right now, so this will stay closed and go in the stash until needed. From what I hear, it might be too heavy for summer, anyway.

AQUAPHOR Lip Repair (9ml sample)

I actually own a full-size of this already (as seen in my March Fave Five), but who can say no to a freebie? Nivea, who also owns Aquaphor and Eucerin, often gives out free samples on their Facebook page. Click here to request a free sample.

REVLON Photoready Bronzer in Bronzed & Chic ($6.59)

This bronzer has been recently discontinued, but since I heard so much about it, I wasn't ready to let it disappear without trying it. I ordered from Amazon using the link above, and with the help of Bing Rewards, I didn't have to spend actual money on it. I just got it in the mail, and it is definitely the legitimate Revlon bronzer (I know sometimes buying cosmetics online can be kind of sketchy). This was released with their Summer Escapism collection for 2013, and now that it's discontinued, perhaps Revlon is going to come out with a new bronzer soon. This one is nice, because it has four shades, and they're all matte. Part of me wants to just use my NYC Sunny Bronzer until I at least hit pan on it before opening this up, but I don't think I have enough self-control for that.

Birchbox Order

I placed an order with Birchbox recently, using my Birchbox points (see my box reviews here). I'm kind of bummed, because 1) My "Mystery Two Pack" arrived as a Mystery One Pack (it technically came free with my order since I spent over $35, but that's still not cool) and 2) My Stila Convertible Color arrived open. The box was open, and the blush compact itself was open. There was also this weird bubbling going on, but that might be because of the heat (though it hasn't been too terribly hot in NY lately). Maybe I'm being snobby about this, but just on principle, it kind of irks me.

I sent Birchbox an email about the blush and the Mystery One Pack, and they sent out replacements pretty quickly. When it arrived, the box to my blush was open, but at least the compact itself was okay. And I got two samples instead of one! I know everyone makes mistakes, but Birchbox has still been making quite a lot of mistakes lately. Hopefully when their warehouse move is over they'll get back on their feet, since I know a whole slew of people have been having problems with them.

CHINA GLAZE Skyscraper ($3.25 for .5 oz)

I bought this from the link above, because Amazon always has great deals on China Glaze polishes. I also used a $5 Amazon gift card that I earned from Bing Rewards, making it free. Seriously, check out Bing. I don't spend real money on anything anymore.

JAMBERRY Nail Wrap in Flirty Flair

The lovely Ashly over at Reviews / Ramblings & Randomness hosted a Jamberry party not too long ago, and I was invited. The correspondent there, Darcy, gave me a free sample to test out. You may have seen me use these in my Nail of the Day post earlier this month. I may spring for a full pack, since my accent nails lasted a week on me without a problem, and probably would have lasted two if I hadn't taken them off to change up my manicure. They're great--like manicures for lazy people.

SUPERNAIL Nail Polish Thinner ($5.02 for 1 oz)

I ordered this from Amazon using the link above, thanks for a $5 gift card from Bing Rewards. I bought this because the last time I used my Revlon Colorstay in Buttercup, I noticed that it was uncharacteristically thick and hard to work with. I remembered the formula being awesome when I bought it, but since that was over a year ago, I figured some of the ingredients had evaporated (as they do in nail polish after it's open for awhile). Hopefully, with a few drops of this, my Revlon Buttercup will be as good as new just in time for summer!

GARNIER Nourishing Cleansing Oil (5ml sample)

I've been looking to try a cleansing oil, but all of the higher-end ones out there are just too expensive for me to bear. This sample could be promising, so it'll be fun testing it out. Unfortunately, the link I got this from has expired, but I found from this site! That's one of the sites I check regularly for new freebies and promotions, so I recommend keeping it on your radar.

JERGENS BB Body Perfecting Skin Cream (1oz sample)

I already got a 1oz sample of the Jergens BB Body from my March Birchbox, but I'm happy to have another! This really isn't a BB cream at all (there isn't even an SPF), but rather a really mild self-tanner. I wouldn't go out of my way to get it, but I'll gladly use up another free bottle. I got this from the Target Samples section of their website, and although this particular one is closed, right now they have a Frizz Ease sample to give out if you're interested.

LOVE 2 LOVE Fragrance Samples