Category — Girls Only

I am going to do something different for once in my life and start with the positive …

Whenever I visit my mother in-law I see her often reapply this one lipgloss she loves.  The tube has no logo on it because she uses it so frequently I think she has rubbed it off. I have been dating Mr. Juicefairy for four years so I know it’s not the same exact tube but my point is that she loves it so much I always see her with the same brand, same color.  One day I asked her what it was and she told me it was some brand she got at Target for $1.97.  So of course I became obsessed and went to Target and found that it is N.Y.C Liquid Lip Shine in color 548 and it is indeed $1.97.  I bought it and now I love it too.  It has this great scent of coconut and has the best consistency — not too greasy, not too sticky.  Did I mention it is also only $1.97!  The only drawback is that it doesn’t last that long but I like the smell so much I don’t mind reapplying a fresh coat a few extra times.  So kudos to my mother-in-law because she has found a great bargain beauty buy!

Now for the negative, which is more familiar to me …

You may remember that I have an unhealthy habit of staring at my pores in my bathroom mirror, specifically the blackheads which are the bane of my existence!  OK.  I am being a little dramatic but I hate them and they never go away!  So I decided to try the Clean & Clear Blackhead Eraser Kit.  It was like $12.00 (and I think I used a coupon) for this horrible contraption that ended up giving me breakouts instead of helping them.

The “eraser” is a vibrating device with a cleansing pad on the top that you wet and use to clean your skin.  The idea is that is buffs away dead skin cells or something.  Well, let you tell me I am sure it does a good job at that because it feels like sandpaper rubbing against your face.  It is also medicated, on top of its scrubbing power, so unless you have a thirteen-year-old’s greasy pubescent face this very uncomfortable to use.  It made my skin feel very dry and sensitive.  So then my face decided to rally against my “erasing” by sprouting pimples across my t-zone.  So save your dollars and put it toward a professional facial.

Ladies, you might want swing by Macy’s on your lunch hour today.  They are giving away free makeup!  As part of a class action settlement 14 department stores, such as Macy’s and Dillard’s are giving away $175 million worth of free cosmetics.  You can get items from Chanel, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal and more.  But you better go soon, because it is first come first served.  Here is a link to what is being given away and where.

Here is a shot that Mr. Juicefairy took of us holding hands post engagement.  Yes, my life has now been divided into pre-engagement and post-engagement.

I have been a good girl and have avoided  posting on my wedding plans and ideas so far, trying hard not to turn this into a wedding blog.  But I figured maybe you would like an update and some money saving tips for planning a wedding, since this is a “budgeting” blog.

I have only been engaged 5 months and I pretty much have most of it planned.  This wouldn’t be strange if I was getting married in 6 months, but I am getting married in October of 2009!  Yep.  I have planned most of my wedding and it is a year away.  I am nuts.  I guess since we had been talking about getting married so long I actually started thinking up ideas way before I got engaged.   So I just started the planning as the words “yes” came out of my mouth.  I have the venue, the bridal party, the photographer, the DJ, caterer, the day of coordinator and a plethora of ideas that I am holding off putting in motion.  But now I am actually a little annoyed because I want to do more but I don’t want to have nothing to do next year.  How boring would that be?  So I am abstaining doing and more wedding planning for at least a few months.  I think in January I will start designing my invites… is that too soon?

I have become a regular at some great wedding blogs, The Knot, Brides.com and not to mention meeting couples for my own wedding photography business has helped me pick up some tips to saving money.  Because while I am lucky to have a nice budget to work with, I am slowly watching it disappear!  Weddings are a racket!  They can get very expensive very quickly, no matter how careful you are.  Here are the big tips that I think all brides should know.  P.S.  If you are a wedding blogger reading this you probably already know these tips so don’t roll your eyes and think “amateur”.  This is for us newbies to the wedding racket

1. Send out postcards for RSVPs with your invitations, instead of RSVP cards in envelopes.  The postage for a postcard is a lot cheaper and it saves  you the money on the extra little envelopes as well.  (Below: An amazing invite I love designed by blogger, Darling Dexter for her wedding with a birds nest theme.  I love how original they are!)
2. Exclude RSVPs overall and leave and email address and phone number on the invite where people can RSVP.  A way to make it special is to create an email account for your wedding like ValerieandStuartsWedding@hotmail.com.
3. Bridal Bargains : Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget by Denise and Alan Fields suggests  that you shop for a wedding dress during November or December if you can.  This is when bridal shops have their cheapest deals because new styles have just arrived for the next year and they are cleaning out inventory.  (Below: Image from Brides.com Something Pink gallery)
   
4. The same book had the great idea to buy your veil online.  Veils are a few hundred dollars in a bridal shop.  Try sites like www.wedding-veil.com and you can find very similar veils for closer to $50.  See the book for more sites.  (Save your  money and don’t buy the book.  Just borrow it from your local library like I did).
5. Invite less people!  This seems like an obvious one, but the more I count up how much it costs to have a wedding per person I realize that the best way to cut your expenses dramatically is to cut the fat on your guest list.
6. Don’t do a champagne toast.  Whether you buy the champagne through your venue or buy it yourselves it is still an extra cost for something that most people don’t even drink.  Unless you love champagne, have your guest toast with the drinks they already have in hand.
7. Be careful buying bubbles, sparklers, bird seed and so forth for the ceremony.  A lot of venues won’t even let you use this stuff so don’t buy it and get caught realizing you can’t use it.  Also, I have been to a lot of weddings where the only people that blow the bubbles are kids.  Unless you are having a grand exit with a receiving line people don’t usually use this stuff.
   
8. Don’t rent a limo for a whole day.  All those hours get expensive.  Think about having a limo just to take you and the bridesmaids to the reception for your grand exit but take a car the rest of the time.  Better yet, if you don’t have a bridal party rent a nice black car instead of a limo.
9. Check the outlets for bridesmaids dressed during prom season.  For example, I saw dresses at the BCBG outlet that were appropriate for a bridesmaid and only $39.  I think any bridesmaid would appreciate the getting a nicer dress for a cheaper price.  Think outside the box and try department stores and outlet clothing stores for possible options.  Once they tack on the word “bridal” the price goes up.
10. I didn’t realize this originally but it is much cheaper to get married in a church.  I am not religious, nor is my fiancé so we automatically looked for venues where we could have the ceremony and most places charged extra for the ceremony.  Usually the charge was at least $1,000 for set up of a ceremony, plus I need to hire an officiant.  At a charge you can usually get your pastor/priest and the ceremony for a much more reasonable donation.

I noticed JuiceFairy put up a post about some nice deals at Ann Taylor Loft the other day and so I thought some online coupons for Ann Taylor and other popular clothing stores would make a very useful post. Especially as we get close to Summer and bathing suit season. Wow, I never thought I would be referencing bathing suit season. But hey, any excuse to pass along some great online coupons!

Please contact me if your favorite online store is not on my list and I will personally do my best to find you a coupon code!

Ann Taylor Loft.com

Save 15% Off your $75+ order -or- 20% Off your $150+ order

Coupon Code: 10601421

Expiration: 6/01/08

See All: Ann Taylor Loft Coupons

American Eagle Outfitters.com

Save 20% Off your Online Purchase

Coupon Code: 46561422

Expiration: 6/03/08

See All: American Eagle Coupons

Petite Sophisticate.com

Save 20% Off your $75+ Online Order

Coupon Code: 776576407

Expiration: 6/30/08

See All: Petite Sophisiticate Coupons

Lane Bryant.com

Save 20% Off your Online Order

Coupon Code: 000203838

Expiration: 6/01/08

See All: Lane Bryant Coupons

Wilsons Leather.com

Save 20% Off your $100+ order + Free Shipping (Discount appears at checkout)

Coupon Code: None Needed

Expiration: 6/08/08

See All: Wilsons Coupons

Shoebuy.com

Save 10% Off your order Plus Free Shipping and No sales tax

Coupon Code: SHOEBUY

Expiration: 6/30/08

See All: Shoebuy.com Coupons

Woman Within.com

Get 30% Off the Highest Priced item in your order

Coupon Code: WW20555

Expiration: 6/30/08

See All: Woman Within Coupons

Fashion Bug.com

Save 15% Off your Online Purchase

Coupon Code: 776214603

Expiration: 6/18/08

See All: Fashion Bug Coupons

So being the overly anxious person that I am, I already have a thousand thoughts on my impending nuptials. Yes, I am paying for the wedding myself and on a tight budget so I will be digging for cost cutters. I will share them but I will try and keep juicefairy.com from becoming bride central.

I thought the best way to start logging my ideas was to go to Barnes and Noble and buy one of those giant wedding planner/scrapbooks. Of course, I wanted the best deal so I took my boyfriend fiance to the wedding section and grabbed every planner on the shelf so I could compare them. I asked him to help me carry them to a nearby table. My poor fiance was standing there with five or six pink and girly books piled up in his arms. Well then a snippy little man nearby saw my boyfriend with the books and staring straight at me said, “Sure do have you hands full there.” At first I laughed and felt bad that my fiance was emasculated by me in this Barnes and Noble, but then my he grumbled in response, “You have no idea”. I stopped feeling sorry for him right about there.

BTW. This is the book I ended up getting. It was only $20 (ten dollars cheaper than the Martha Stewart planner). It doesn’t have as many pictures but it has three times the amount of information which is more useful than pictures. It also is a three ring binder so you can add and remove pages as needed… unlike many of the spiral versions. Out of all of the ones there I give this one the juicefairy mark of approval.