CVS Beauty Day Giveaway: October 2018.

I love those random Saturdays (I never see an announcement about them in advance!) when you walk into your local CVS and the beauty consultant is hovering by a stand full of bags of beauty samples which are being handed out to anyone who wants one irrespective of whether you have bought anything or not. Beauty samples are some of my favourite small treats so of course, I pick one up for myself if I'm ever in store when they are giving them away! 

On a recent Saturday, I was given a bag containing money off coupons and all of the goodies pictured above.

Nature's Bounty Hair Skin and Nail Gummies. 

I must admit to being a little sceptical about supplements but these orange flavoured gummies certainly tasted great.

Cerave Moisturising Lotion. 

I'm looking forward to trying out this basic, gentle moisturising lotion as people seem to love this brand.

Love, Beauty & Planet Argan Oil and Lavender Shampoo and Conditioner.

I've used these before and not only did they smell good they left my hair in great condition. I'm actually using the LB&P Argan Oil and Lavender Body Wash at the moment and really enjoying it.

La Roche Posay Anthelios 60 (SPF60). 

This is a favourite sunscreen of a lot of people but personally, I find it a little uncomfortable to wear. I'm always happy to have samples of sunscreen though as I carry one around in my bag at all times just in case...

Invisibobble Hair Ties. 

You can't go wrong with free hair ties and my hair is currently long enough to tie back so these are a winner in my book. There are three in this pack and I'm pleased that I got to try the 'blond' colour of these so they really should be 'invisible'.

Vichy Mineral 89 Booster. 

I love this Hydrating Booster and have already used a couple of bottles of it! It's a basic Hyaluronic Acid serum/booster which I like to use in the morning on top of a Vitamin C serum before my moisturiser and sunscreen. Bonus points to this sample for coming in a cute sachet.

Garnier SkinActive Soothing Facial Mist. 

I love facial sprays and mists so it's no surprise that I have already used this up. This spray has a soft rose fragrance and I like that it doesn't contain any alcohol at all. It's very reasonably priced and a good alternative to the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Rose and Herbs that I frequently buy.

Pantene 3 Minute Miracle Moisture Renewal Deep Conditioner. 

I've used this quick conditioning mask previously and found it to be effective. I always need extra conditioners so I'm happy with this sample. 

Dove Dry Skin Relief Gentle Cleansing Face Wash. 

I will try this out as a face wash but I expect I will end up using it as a body wash if it proves to be at all drying or foamy. 

La Roche Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturiser. I really like this moisturiser, it's very gentle and I like to use it if my skin feels in need of some TLC. It is a great product to use after a peel or any sort of exfoliation as well.

I'm very happy with this little goody bag. It's a nice mix of old favourites along with some new products to try and it's a great little perk especially as it was completely unexpected and was free!

Free Birthday Beauty Goodies 2018.

I have to admit to being rather negligent of C&C of late. I've been exceptionally busy and somewhat stressed due to aforementioned busyness which all added up to not having the time to blog. If I did have any free time I found that I wasn't in the mood to witter on about books and beauty things, either because I had pressing things that I should be doing (laundry, errands etc), or I needed to totally relax and simply sit and watch tv/play candycrush/flip through a magazine etc.

However, during my birthday month (August) I did manage to find a little time for myself and gather up a few beauty related freebies.

Ulta offer members of its Ultamate rewards program a different birthday gift each quarter. No purchase is needed to reclaim your birthday gift from Ulta but you do need to pick it up in a store as they won't add it to an online order. Summer's gift was a mini It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara. I must be one of the few people who hasn't tried the CC Cream from this brand, but I do have an eyeshadow palette from them that I love so I have high hopes for this mascara. I love mini mascaras! Not only are they a great way to try out new mascaras, they are such a handy size to pop in your bag or take on a trip. I'm always excited to get a mini such as this and get them from goody bags and GWP's so frequently that I rarely need to actually buy a full sized mascara!

Sephora offer members of it's Beauty Insider program a choice of birthday gifts. This year the choice was either Glamglow or Bite Beauty. There's something about Glamglow that I find off-putting for some reason - perhaps it's their glittery masks or their cartoon tie-ins? I don't really know - but it was easy for me to choose the gift from Bite which contained a sample of their amazing Agave Lip Balm along with a mini Amuse Bouche Lipstick and a mini Matte Cream Lip Crayon.

Space NK has upped their birthday gift game and now offer members of their NDulge program a little gift bag with three minis of their best selling products. You can add this birthday treat to an online order or collect it in store (I'm not sure if you need to make a purchase or not to reclaim in store, you do need to to do so online). I feel like I lucked out as my bag had a handbag sized Oribe Dry Texturising Spray which is always a great freebie to receive, a generous 10ml sample spray of Diptyque Philosykos EDP which is my favourite summertime scent, and a 15ml jar of Rodial Bee Venom Moisturizer which alone is worth a whopping $60.00!

Kiehl's offer their 'Kiehl's Family' members a #1 Lip Balm free with any purchase during your birthday month. I know that it's better than nothing but I do feel that this offering from Kiehl's, who were once known for their generous samples and promotions, is a little lame. Every year it is a #1 Lip Balm (which I don't even find to be all that great, its basically a petroleum jelly bal with a very small amount of sunscreen), you need to make a purchase to claim what is a low-value item, plus you can't combine it with any other offer. I actually didn't even claim mine this year as I didn't feel the need to buy something I didn't really need just in order to get a lip balm I don't even like all that much!

Anyhow enough of my complaining...

Diptyque is my favourite perfume house so I was thrilled when I found out that if you subscribe to their emails in the U.S. they will send you a birthday email that you can use in any of their standalone stores to claim either a mini candle or a 10ml EDP spray, no purchase necessary. I opted for the perfume spray and chose the fragrance Tempo which I believe is a Limited Edition of theirs. The Sales Assistants are always so nice at Diptyque and they also gave me a couple of their regular perfume samples which was a kind touch.

CVS recently overhauled their Beauty Rewards program and it now offers a free birthday gift to pick up instore, no purchase necessary. This year it was a Poparazzi Nail Polish and I picked out a wearable nude/greige.

In addition to my mini birthday haul pictured above, I also received a coupon code for 15% off orders during my birthday month from Cult Beauty and Caudalie added 30 points to my MyCaudalie Rewards account. 

I'm very happy with my birthday freebie this year, there are some nice treats here and the best thing is that they didn't cost me anything! Let me know if there are any birthday beauty treats I have missed out.

These offers are available in mainland USA. Other countries may have different gifts and conditions. Gifts and conditions may change and are subject to company policies and rules. 

CVS Beauty Day Giveaway: Spring 2018.

Ah, CVS Beauty Day Giveaway! 

From time to time I will go into my local CVS and there will be a table full of free goody bags containing samples, minis, and money off coupons. I love samples, GWP's and free things in general so I always pick up one of these bags if I come across them!
In the past I always used to get an email notification about these Beauty Days, but for the past couple of years they just seem to pop up on random weekends. I think they are seasonal, that is four times a year, but I could be totally wrong about that, perhaps they are more frequent? I'm guessing that Beauty Days and their bag contents vary from store to store, but again who knows? 

Anyway, enough of my musings about CVS and their promo department, here's a look at what was  in the Giveaway Bag that I picked up last weekend...

The bag was rich in haircare samples - which is fine by me! There were shampoo and conditioner sample sachets from Nexxus (Kerafix Damage Healing), Carol's Daughter (Black Vanilla) and 

Love Beauty and Planet (Argan Oil and Lavender) along with a 50 ml mini of Aussie 3 Minute Moist Conditioner and a sachet of Garnier Whole Blends Honey Treasures Repairing Hair Mask.

There were two skincare sachet samples: Garnier Skin Active Soothing 3-in-1 Moisturiser which can be used as a day cream, night cream or mask and Olay Regenerist Whip Cream.

There were also sample sachets of Amlactin Rapid Relief Body Lotion and My Magic Mud Activated Charcoal Tooth Cleaning Powder along with money off coupons for $3.00 off Amlactin and Nexxus products.

I'm a little hesitant to use the My Magic Mud Tooth Powder as it seems a little faddish and I have read that charcoal powders can be too abrasive for use on teeth but I will use everything else in the bag. I'm especially looking forward to trying out the Love Beauty and Planet haircare and the Garnier Skin Active 3-in-1 cream looks interesting.

These bags are such fun and definitely a nice little perk to pick up unexpectedly don't you think?

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