Long time no post?!

Hi and hello! Firstly I'd like to apologise for my major lack of posts. I seem to have gone on a completely unintended and unannounced hiatus ... my bad! A lot of things have happened this year (loss of a family member, major overseas holiday, etc.) so my shopping and as a result, blogging has been really bloody tame. I DID do SOME shopping at B&BW this year, that didn't make it into my blog obviously. 

I have a few thoughts! Firstly, I'd like to say I fell in love with Peach & Honey Almond and I used it pretty much every day that I was in England so now when I smell it, that's what I think about/remember. I'm also quite impressed with A Thousand Wishes and hoarded it stupidly as I do!

Next I'd like to talk a little bit about candles. I know that on the labels, the burn times decreased quite a while ago. When I first began buying B&BW candles, the burn time was advertised as 30-45 hrs, now it's like 25-45 hrs. That's pretty old news as that was a hot topic way back when it first happened. I have to admit I didn't really notice an actual burn time decrease until Coastal Cool. What reminded me of this was partly those candles being selected to come back for the SAS this winter. When they first came out, I bought a few of Endless Weekend and Sunset Beach. And when I burned them, I noticed that I could only burn them a couple times before they were half gone or more! Now what really made me remember that was when I bought some of the candles during the $8 sale a few weeks ago, I bought Fresh Sparkling Snow (which btw I was thrilled to have as a candle!) and I began burning it. After burning it once for like 4 or 5 hours, it was nearly half gone! Yes, you read that right! Where my 'Tis The Season won't burn for shit and I'm about to exchange it as this is the first time I've ever had a problem with a candle not staying lit - I guess I'm lucky that way. 

I suppose it's fair to say I was a little upset over that. I have a pretty big stockpile of candles so I'm not too bothered for the moment. But we'll see how I feel about it when more candles come out that I actually like and they last like two hours! 

Next topic! This year, I did spend some time selling a bit of excess B&BW stuff (things I bought maybe 5 duplicates too many of, things I thought I might have liked and wondered why I bought it later, etc. y'all know how it goes!) via eBay (fair prices, mind. I don't care if I get less back than I paid honestly!) and I had considered selling stuff via my blog but then my hiatus happened so I doubt many people read this right now! We'll see how that works, I might keep using eBay for the time being. If anyone does happen to see this and would like to offer input, please let me know what you think/if that would be something you'd be interested in or if you want to know if I have a particular scent. I have a very large selection of stuff as I've been shopping there two years now and visited more than once a month religiously until earlier this year. I may share the link to the eBay account once I get stuff posted again.

Speaking of SAS, yes I did go! I sent PIC on day one with a list. He came back with maybe half the things on the list (the candle, the three Vanillatinis and Black Chamomile were his buys) and today, I went myself. 

It's a bigger haul than I figured I'd find! I've been hearing that the selection isn't that good this year and really, if you're looking for candles/old gems ... it's not! Black Chamomile is back but it's so ridiculously limited you might be hard pressed to find it, where when I began shopping B&BW (SAS of Winter 2012/New Year 2013) it seemed like it was stock for AGES! I still have a ridiculous amount of the lotions, so I just bought shower gels. I was kind of happy to see the Three Cheers back. I liked Vanillatini way back when someone had let lotion leak all over the contents of one of the boxes at my very first SAS and got it on my hand and tried to figure out what smelled so good. I kept digging through each lotion until I matched the scent but I only bought one and kicked myself for it! Apple Orchard was an unexpected like of mine. I visited B&BW prior to my trip to England and they had the fall preview stuff going, I tested the lotion on me and I was pleasantly surprised. I don't really dig apple scents in body care but it's nice! The Pink Jasmine Kiss was just super cute and reminded me a little of London Tulips so why not. I've been trying to limit myself to travel sizes in scents like that so I don't end up with big bottles of stuff that I'm trying to use up unless I really love a scent.

ONE lonely ass Sunset Beach candle and NOTHING else. All the leftovers are a major pass from me. I really hoped to get my hands on an Endless Weekend candle but no such luck. They DID have a lot of two packs of Sunset Beach wallflowers that I DO plan on going back for after payday if they are still there. If not, well, I guess I won't be too butthurt about it! Oh and they seem to have the HandiBacs for $3 up by the registers! I am too new a shopper to "remember" those but they are apparently an older concept. It's a spray sanitizer with vitamin e and aloe. I had to get one for kicks but if I like it well enough I might go back and buy some more. There's hardly any variety in scent but Coconut Lime Verbena is nice.

In terms of classics/old favourites/hidden gems, yeah the SAS is a bomb. It's basically all the stuff they had this year leftover which I understand is basically what a clearance is which is basically what SAS is but I miss the magic! I feel only "did well" (in other words, threw my money at them and came home with a lot of loot) because I missed a lot of this year's goodness so it was a good chance for me to catch up on what I missed. Peach & Honey Almond I stupidly only bought one, thinking I could get more when I came back from the UK as it seemed quite new. WRONG! It was OFF the floor when I got back. I was so upset. I really loved the scrub in that fragrance.

Last and final thought this post:

PIC went on opening day of the sale and most of the stuff that you'd usually see for $3-4 was all only 50% and only the holiday traditions stuff was actually 75%. Even though they added a $3 select body care deal today, I was hoping to buy a couple lemon vanilla sprays but I wasn't buying them at only 50% off. I mean, I'm not thrilled that Peach & Honey Almond was only 50% but I love it enough to buy it at friggin' B3G2 (aka reg price!) so I made an exception for that but ... real lackluster deals going on! I'd like to add if anyone is planning on buying any of the holiday body care that has access to a store, DO NOT do it online! It's only 50% off there, but it's 75% in store!

Anyway yes, that concludes today's haul post, random thoughts and hello I'm kind of back? I'm sure I'll post again the next time I visit to potentially get those wallflowers I wanted. I'm hoping the artisan scents will go 75% soon before running out at my local stores. That'll get me back in there in a hurry!

PS - I didn't actually notice this until I looked over at Donovan's blog today but there is a blogger that goes by Musings of a Muse ... I want to just say that "musings of a mouse" wasn't meant to infringe upon any names or anything! People call me mousie so I thought it was a cute name for a blog. I might come up with something else sometime soon! 

Tara for now!

Let's talk NEW

Hey guys!

I went to B&BW a couple days ago and hauled away some stuff, getting my last pickin's for the SAS (gotta have enough SoP in case it disappears for a lengthy time, you don't wanna know how many I ended up with really!) and whilst there, claiming the Facebook offer on B&BW Facebook Page for a free travel size Sun, Sky or Air lotion.

Here's what I left with. They didn't have many of the Sweet Shop pocketbacs yet, so I got a couple Destination ones I had been meaning to grab. The little glass bottle in the middle is the Mad About You EDT preview that is presently available for $4, I'll talk about that in a bit. 

Strawberry Parfait: Sickly sweet, artificial strawberry scent with a hint of a whipped cream thing going on. I say sickly like it's a bad thing. It's not awful! I didn't see that this one has glitter in it.

Ice Cream Dream: Generic vanilla scent. That's pretty much all that needs said.

Strawberry Cheesecake: That same sickly sweet Strawberry scent is back, with a hint of cream cheese. Also contains glitter. Feh.

Cherry London: Cherry reused again for a cute little pocketbac. Let's be honest, I'm obsessed with England, London and everything British so I HAD to buy it.

Berry Paris: I think of the blue Kool Aid every time I smell this one. Nice!

Now, for my thoughts on my two freebies.

Sun: By far my favourite of the three, which is funny considering it's the one I least expected. It's got a soft, floral smell in the bottle, and on the skin with a hint of a fruity sweetness that's quite pleasant and not off-putting as I find many florals to be. It keeps a very nice fragrance balance and continues to smell good, though the smell does seem to fade quicker than I'd like. I might evaluate buying this set.

Air: Didn't like it as much I as I thought I might. I love pear to the core but I have bad luck with anything pear scented and not liking it. In the bottle, it's got a crisp, pear mingling with a floral that doesn't really compliment it at all. On my skin, it turns not so pleasant once it's completely dry.

I smelled Sky in store but I hated it. 

Just look at this fracking cute bottle. This is my inner girl coming out. This does not happen often, do not be alarmed. Just throw chocolate at her and she'll go away.

Ahem. It's a very heavy on the floral side scent, but again, the mixture is very nice and continues to be once the perfume has dried and been there for a while. Not something I'd wear all the time but might be a nice once in a while. It's an extremely girly scent in the sense that just the mere fragrance evokes images of pretty pink flowers. I'm curious to smell the lotion and hope I don't hate it as I just don't get along with florals really.

And that wraps it up. Tomorrow starts the candle sale, at the new price of 2/$25, not excessively thrilled but I'll still buy. Just a lot less. Dying for Raspberry Peach Macaron and Cinnamon Sugared Doughnut.

SAS: One last go.

You know how it goes when I say last. 

Anyway, I wasn't feeling great yesterday. Hadn't slept well at all, and the nap I got left me feeling rather icky. I decided to get up and go out as I needed odds and ends from Target anyway and of course, B&BW is right by there so why not?

Behold my loot! I was excited to find a Marshmallow Fireside Wallflower hanging out with the bunch of Winter Fig. The Luxe hand soaps went 75% off which was my motivation for buying it, I absolutely love these soaps far more than the standard ones as they don't leave my hands even slightly dry like even the moisturizing ones kind of do. I got the last two mini mists from Vanilla Rum and one more cream for measure. Sweet On Paris is actually a funny story. When I take PIC with me to B&BW, I have him keep tabs on my current total as he's very excellent and fast with maths. He thought I had $30 worth without SoP but the cashier told me my total was $27 so I picked it up and when we got home, we found out the cashier had not scanned the soap as it was not listed on the receipt.

I'm gonna bring it up next time I go and offer to pay for it as I feel kind of bad about it. 

Happened to you? Stories welcome! Did you keep the item and not say anything else or go back and pay for it?

New Year's Day brings a gem my way!

Okay, that was really bloody awful and cheesy. I would apologise if I weren't so excited about my trip to B&BW today. I asked PIC if we could go over to the other one in this county that we've not visited yet, the one we hit up day one as our third stop last SAS just to see. Last SAS, it's the location where I found Campfire Cookout and once again, while browsing and not really intending to buy unless I could find Snow Day wallflowers or candles, I sure spent again!

Can you say Snowed In?! I'm not really sure why but some stores sell these square label candles that I typically see by the wallflowers labeled tester while others don't. This particular store had a lot of them and I almost got a Cinnamon Tea one until I found a second Snowed In candle. I first heard of this candle some time last year, though I came aboard the B&BW wagon a bit late to get my hands on any so imagine my excitement upon finding these! Seeing them reminded me of Donovan over at Real Talk About B&BW Candles as he has in the past written about this particular scent. One of them has got a different lid though and I sniffed all the gold ones I could to try to find which one it was switched with but I suspect it was probably purchased. Oh well! I have to say I am quite fond of the cold throw on this baby and look forward to burning it. 

Champagne Toast however was the only 3 Wick candle they had leftover from the holidays in the 50% section and initially I had bought one for PIC's dad's girlfriend, now there's a doozy to say, but ended up liking it so much I bought myself one and I was struggling to find stuff to buy so I suppose I'll either keep or gift it. I snapped up the last Snow Day wallflower of course, and the last AT ES sugar scrub.

I didn't really care for the golden sugar scrub I've smelled in Forever Red but I'll give this one a shot.

Anyway that pretty much sums up my unexpected purchase today. I hope everyone is having a fantastic first day of the new year! PIC is due home shortly with a sushi plate from our favourite place. Off to work on those resolutions of mine!

New Year's Eve, and Happy New Year readers!

Hi, hello! 

Upon an awful day at work, I had plans to stop in to check out the $4 FFM and Body Butters, potentially the $2.50 wallflowers too, but getting there and looking in the bins made me have a slight change of heart.

Forever Red Vanilla Rum has been marked 75%! I couldn't find any shower gels but there were loads of the body cream, a few FFMs and 3 EDPs, so at a steal of $8 after coupon, I wasn't saying no to it. I'll admit when I tried it in store, I had previously been wearing Velvet Sugar so my lack of a fondness for it as it were has yet to be truly measured. I am considering picking a couple more body creams up as I know a few people just on a whiff of this that will love it. If there's one thing I can say about it, it's definitely strong, and it definitely smells a lot like rum but it a delicious way.

The wallflowers below are Cider Lane, Sugared Lemons, Rio Glow and Cranberry Pear Bellini. See? I got what I went for. Mostly. Haha. My haul was just enough for the 10$ off but I saw a couple lonely Twisted Peppermint shower gels and with all my other Twisted Peppermint stuff, had to bring one of them home with me. That's pretty much a wrap for me I think. Now had there been a FFM for Sweet on Paris...

While I'm thinking about it, Sweet On Paris fans: Buy it while you can! My local store had only two lotions left, and about eight shower gels.

With that, I am off to dinner for PIC's stepdad's bday which is coincidentally today, and fireworks! 

Happy New Year Blogger, have a safe holiday!

SAS: Gift Card Edition

Hey guys,

I obtained a gift card to B&BW's for Christmas that I ultimately forgot to use when I went out to the SAS the other day, so since today was $9 3 Wicks (and apparently $5 Creamy Body Wash) I figured this would be a good time! 

My biggest reason for going however was to exchange that Warm Milk and Honey AT lotion I got that was partially used and definitely not supposed to be in the bins, but the candles would be a plus. I left empty handed as far as candles went. Their selection was literally Sicilian Orange and Tuscan Herbs. Major fail. I get that the point of the SAS is to rid the overflow and old stock but it's three days in and there's nothing to speak of.

Anyhow, before I repeat my rant from my previous entry, here's what I came out with:

I bought two of the last four Velvet Sugar Shimmer Bombs. I meant to buy one when I went out the first time, thought I did and made up for it by grabbing two because why not? Quite like it! Sweet On Paris is getting low on stock at my local store so I figured another set couldn't hurt, Winter Vanilla Latte Luxe soap was the last one available and I absolutely adore the decanter soaps, then the lip glosses pushed me to $30, last Twisted Peppermint and grabbed a random 50% off one.

PIC agreed that this SAS seems so very underwhelming. I only hope that June's SAS will be better. I'd say I am pretty well stocked until then, though I know me and I know I will go buy stuff still but not on a massive scale. Random gifts to people are fun though!

I has a SAD

Let's talk SAS. As my title denotes, I has a SAD. Semi Annual Disappointment. 

In June, I saw folks posting about how disappointing the sale was and from my perspective, as my first true SAS experience, I actually quite enjoyed it! This winter however has brought my worst fear. I posted on either B&BW main page or B&BW Sistas that I was concerned that the SAS this winter would be leftovers due to the repackage, and sure enough it's appearing that I was correct. 

On one side of the coin, we've got Sweet on Paris which I see highly demanded, and Paris Nights which I haven't seen mentioned at all, and on the other, I see leftovers. Escape to the Tropics and Italian collection which were out earlier this year. And also present at the last SAS if memory serves. We've also got leftovers of Sweet and Sexy, old packaging of current scents, and of course the obligatory holiday leftovers. Leftovers!  And to top that off, it's badly organised. I know stuff gets tossed about when people rummage through the bins and stuff, but I've noticed that there will be bins full of something, say Shimmer Bomb for example at 50% off, but you'll still see the Shimmer Bombs up on the shelves with no indication of whether or not they are marked down. Same for the Winter luxe hand soaps. 

At one store I went to, people were having an associate scan stuff to see the price because one associate would tell them no it isn't part of the sale but then it'd ring up as part of it. I was also told at another store that there was no such thing as a 3 day grace period and not permitted to use my December 24th 10$ off coupon while the other two stores allowed me to use it.

The worst part in my eyes is the fact that there aren't any sprays! Last time, they specified that sprays would be present at select stores, and available online. This time they don't have them at all for the returning fragrances. Disappointing!

I realise I'm being quite negative, but compared to my 5 stores and countless transactions in June, this time I did 3 stores, 4 transactions and I'm basically done. If I go back for anything, it's gonna be soaps and home fragrance. 

The prices are nice especially for people who barely shop there, want quick and cheap gifts, etc. But for the die hard fans, there's not much reason to go unless you need to stock up on a current sig, or want to snag that last bit of a holiday scent.

After bogging this entry down with my negative ranting, I'd like to make this half to the end positive. Night Time Tea and Warm Milk and Honey are back this time around, which is exciting because I wanted to try Warm Milk and Honey, and I've heard so many good things about Night Time Tea! I was also excited to finally get my hands on Sweet on Paris without paying extortionate prices on eBay or Amazon for it. Without further ado, my SAS haul, day 2 (day 1 I was stuck at work! Boo!)

I didn't plan that picture out well enough but no worries, I've got it split up below.

Random $10 off coupon is random.

You might notice the Warm Milk and Honey bottle is open, I'm not sure if I got a tester that someone didn't mark since there were a lot of new people who didn't know what they were doing, but when I got home with it I realised it was a quarter of the way gone so back it's gonna go tonight or tomorrow!

Anyway! Forever Red and Midnight FFM are on sale right now for $8 so if you are like me and only buy the luxe fragrances when they are $8-10, now's your chance, especially since the FFM is the one I see on sale the least frequent. 

Have I got enough Sweet on Paris and Twisted Peppermint? The answer is, I don't think I do! I was happy to get my hands on some travel size ones and for once, I found a spare TP shower gel so to go with the 5 lotions I got last winter, I thought oh why not! The highlights of the current sale as is for me were finding the TP minis, Cinnamon Tea and Snow Day wallflowers, the very last Pink Chiffon Shimmer Bomb at one store, the only Eucalyptus Spearmint Body Butter I could find at any of them, the last Sexy Dahlia Rush TMC (although it had some shower gel oozing off it), and the Amber Blush souffle which while not a rarity, I wasn't about to pay $20 for it!

So to break down what's crackin' in stores, we've got:

• Old style packaging marked down (50% off)
• Shimmer Bombs in the bins @ 50% off
• $4 "your most requested fragrances" (they go $3 for lotions, or shower gels depending on the day, who knows what else is going on)
• 50% seasonal TBS, Aromatherapy, candles (all sizes), wallflower units, Winter Luxe Hand soaps
• $3 Wallflower Fragrance Bulbs (seasonal), Hand soaps
• 25% off gift sets
• $5 FFM (old packaging)
• Shimmer Mists were out in bins too, including Amber Blush, wonder if it's (shimmer) going somewhere rather than eliminating a scent or three.
• $8 "Forever Collection" Fine Fragrance Mists (dunno when this is ending)
• 75% Holiday Traditions Body Care 
• 50% "Special Pricing" on sig collection (some of the new art is in bins too!)
• $6 Wallflower Refills 2 Pack (Italian ones are out now, including Gelato which previously was not out)

 I'm quite sure I've missed a few things but these are what I saw when I went. Online I've see B2G1 Aromatherapy, and of course TBS is always at that price.

I wish there had been rarities, but since there aren't, I won't be spending like I did last time and probably will only go a couple more times. I did initially pick up a Velvet Sugar Shimmer Bomb but when I got home it wasn't on any of my receipts. I don't remember putting it down but I'm guessing I did when I found the AT ES butter!  Anyway, before I picked up SOP, I had been using Velvet Sugar so I plan to review that at some point.

What's in store

Hi, hello! Small update for you lovelies reading me. I went to my local B&BW today. The manager was in and wondered where I'd been. I was really only there to look but everytime that happens, well, I am sure you know where that gets you! 

She mentioned the candle sale slated for tomorrow, the $9 3 Wicks as tomorrow's DOD. I remarked, "Yeah but that requires a coupon doesn't it?" She told me no! They were putting signage up for it tomorrow and you could use another coupon with it. We'll see! Also of note, TBS was only B2G1 at my store in addition to Aromatherapy. There were testers out for Summer Chill but not Summer Twist. I smelled each of them and to my surprise, White Mango Chill wasn't all that bad. Coconut Water smells great too. Citrus Orchid, eh, I'm not sure. I said I was dying to smell Sugar Berry Smash but to my disappointment, the SA checking me out told me "It smells good!" Darn. Monday will be here soon I guess!

Also of note, Malibu Beach Pedicure Foot Cream is still $5, Forever Red lotion is $8, and the shower gel is $6. Wowzer! I have a set of FR that I slowly accumulated through promotions (such as free FFM with $25 online purch and DOD) but I don't wear it enough to warrant stocking up. 

I saw the Owl stuff at my store too. Cuteness! They had a denim-like little bag ($6) with the Owl design on it, nail clippers with the pink Owl and a fox (I think these were $5 or so), the big clumsy PocketBac holder ($12.50) and regular sized holders with a keychain attached ($5). 

Also of note, my fear was put to rest about the Destinations candles. My store has a fresh stock of them all over again, which bodes well for tomorrow's candle sale as I regret having bought only one of Sea to Santorini and Aloha Waikiki. There are still wallflower bulbs too, which surprised me only a little because I didn't see the Destinations wallflower bulbs last time I looked online. 

Anyway, on to the goodies. It's literally a 3 item haul.

My eldest daughter found her way into my bag. She must love B&BW like mummy!

Uh, how do I get out of here?

Upon consultation regarding the coupons in the flyer from the post, and ones given out during the SAS thus far advertising Summer Chill, I was allowed to use them as it is 3 days away from July 8th. I saved my free travel size item for something from the new stuff, but I did make use of my one of many free item up to $12.50 with $10 purchase.

I dug around and found a couple Berry Flirt glosses so since I bought some of the body care, why not. I also meant to get more of this foot cream since I have such an imbalance of the scrub versus the cream. My freebie was the MH TMC here. The SA commented how smart that was of me. When I chatted up the manager, she had told me how it was cool that the limit was $12.50 and implied that future coupons may be the same. I offered my thoughts on it regarding the repackage for lotions and shower gels and thought that might be why. She told me the repackage would be happening in October. 

So, that's what I have today. Nothing overly groundbreaking but Monday is almost here!

SAS Week Three: Review

And now it's raining, awesome! I got my meager little week three stash together to share here. The stashes are getting smaller and smaller and I actually haven't gone back since my last excursion for the TBS stuff!

Is it obvious how bored I was with the sale at this point? I went bin diving and left empty handed several times or turned my attention to Aromatherapy which had been put on B2G1 (and now it's B2G2, dammit.) or True Blue Spa which was B2G2 at this point. 

I was surprised to find any Sparkling Blackberry Woods left at the store I visited (which was my first time back to that location since day one of the sale.) and actually prompted the rather bored looking SAs to go diving into the bins themselves upon my exit as they didn't even know any was left! I picked it clean though, greedy little bugger that I am. Apple Crumble pictured here was a trade for the horrible White Barn Summer. Courtesy of my partner in crime who forgot that I wanted Caramel Apple and indulged himself on Apple Crumble. I suppose I'll let him have his pick for putting up with my shopping. Hehe.

My most exciting find this week was Campfire Cookout. I saw them behind the 75% off bins stacked one on top of the other. I picked one up, smelled it, didn't know what to make of it. Put it down. Wandered back over when I had trouble finding things to buy, picked one back up and carried it around and eventually I snatched the second and last one. 

Not much else to say really, standard stuff. Although I pulled a lot of product this SAS, I couldn't find a lot of the stuff that I hoped to see - and I'm certain that others mirror my feelings on that. I'm going to spoil myself a little for my birthday this month with Coconut Water Chill and Sugar Berry Smash I think, then I'll be refraining until the Fall stuff hits stores. I am dying to smell some of those Fall Candles (Applewood Bonfire, I'm looking at you!).

SAS: Week Two In Review

This comes a little late and won't encompass some of my more recent finds but it does a good job of covering a lot of the second week of SAS.

Significantly smaller than week one, as predicted. 

Stellar finds include: 

Dark Kiss travel size mist

Pizzeria candles (+ 2 more Summertime Soda)

French Baguette mini candle (only one of it's kind at any of my stores!)

Coconut Vanilla shower gel (only one of it's kind that I found at 5 stores!)

The rest was a lot of stuff I wanted, at a great price. Although I was not able to procure any Sweet On Paris lotions or gels, I did settle for a shimmer mist which I may pair off with my spare Pink Chiffon or perhaps ask for some SOP for my upcoming birthday. 

I was excited to find the Dark Kiss travel mists though! They were at the very last store I visited. Having done so much shopping already, I was worried I'd be taking a trip for nothing interesting and it was a long drive too. Luckily, I started rummaging the mists and I found one, then two, then so forth. So I snagged what I could. That same store is also where I found the Pizzeria candles which my partner in crime adored and bought himself, using one Summertime Soda to get his total for a survey and I plopped the second Summertime Soda onto one of my purchases to make the survey. Successful week I think.

Aromatherapy, the deal we've been waiting for!

What's better than Buy 2, Get 1 Free? Buy 2 Get 2 Free! Aromatherapy is now on the sale I was dying for! 

I haven't been back into the stores since about a week ago so I don't know what other markdowns are going on. My local store was pretty well picked over last time I was there so I'll be surprised if there's much left.

At the very least, one could hope that Midnight Pom and Cherry Blossom went 75% off finally. With the SAS winding down to a close, we can now look forward to Fall goodies! So excited.

TBS/Aromatherapy

I thought I'd pop by my local B&BW, see how they were doing and get some long awaited buy/get specials. I went by to inspect the 75% off bins to see if anything interesting had cropped up. Nothing from what I've seen. Still a lot of Sweethearts, a little bit of Italy, some Wild Garden, Dark Kiss and a bunch of Black Amethyst shower gels. Pass. 

Cherry Blossom and Midnight Pom are still in the 50% off bins. Most of the soap is gone as are the candles. They still have the table with a bunch of wallflowers but they've already reassembled the B3G2 stuff with displays for Malibu Heat and Pure Paradise. It barely looks like SAS and you wouldn't be able to tell if it weren't for all the yellow banners! 

I mostly stopped by for the TBS and AT goodies though. So here's my haul. 

The $6 AT lotions were online only so I missed that one so that's what I was there for. I found a new appreciation for Spearmint as a whole so I am going to love this when I don't feel good I think. The total wasn't quite $30 so I picked up this spare Oakmoss Vetiver candle. My partner in crime liked it a lot. I however think it smells like old man cologne. 

For the TBS, it was mostly a stock up thing. I don't think words can describe how much I love the Malibu Smooth body scrub. Honestly. It works amazing on my upper arms and thighs where I get that annoying bumpy KP and it doesn't dry my skin out either. Helps that it smells absolutely amazing. My freebies are the sunscreen mist which I have been dying to try but never found room in my bag for when online shopping and another tub of the 60 second manicure as I am running low and needing to use it more often than I was due to work.

I suspect I may stock up on a couple more things before B2G2 ends.

True Blue Spa

Head on over to B&BW's website if you've been waiting for this one: True Blue Spa has gone B2G2! Oh I was just waiting for this one. Shame Aromatherapy hasn't yet but can't be too choosy!The promo is probably available in store but to avoid disappointment, make sure you call ahead.

The sale continues!

Now's your chance! Yesterday I posted a little tidbit about the Mason Jar soaps and candles being marked down. When I went to the store yesterday, I saw that the entire section was 50% yesterday. The ladies were still moving everything about but I'm thinking it counts pretty much everything for this season. It did include the hand soaps and the jar candles. 

So if you like the current selection of Fresh Picked, get it now before it's gone!

I also would like to note for you wax fans out there that even if your local stores aren't test stores, keep your eyes peeled for 4 oz test candles. I've found Summertime Soda, Eucalyptus Mint & Apple No. 3, Pizzeria and Campfire Cookout in my travels. My guess is the test stuff got dispersed to regular stores to get rid of it all. I can't say whether 3 Wicks in these got the same treatment, but I HAVE seen Lily Pond and Southern Magnolia. I've also seen a 4 oz Oakmoss Vetiver at a couple stores.

This last part is merely speculation on my part, but I'm figuring that Midnight Pomegranate (Or Cherry Blossom) is going to go 75% come Monday. I haven't watched SAS this closely before so I can't say for certain but it looked to me that they are marking down one of the retiring from stores scents at a time and counting the weeks, it makes sense. Sadly, some stores won't have much left by the time the rest of it gets marked down.

Teensy tiny haul.

And I'm done! Though every time I say that, I go into B&BW and ... oh dear.

 

Went to a store I haven't visited since day one, and exchanged White Barn Summer while I was there (the unused one I'd like to note). I figured I could see what their stock looked like in comparison to the others I've been to. The stores in Tampa seem to have a lot of stuff still while the stock is dwindling pretty rapidly at my three closest locations. I found some gems while there though! SBW was hiding with Secret Wonderland, so why not. I also found Campfire Cookout and relieved the store of their last two. Smells like burning charcoal. Mmm. Tis The Season and Paris Amour Triple Silk were to get my total up to use a survey. I haven't seen Tis The Season at any other store in the wallflower packs so why not. 

In other (related) news, it would appear that the Bath & Body Works Facebook Page is hosting another haul show off. Post a picture of your loot and win a $50 gift card. 

Now let's see if I can stay out of the store for a while. Luckily, I've been completely deterred from ordering online. Online orders were only my problem when Twisted Peppermint candles and Aromatherapy Black Chamomile were around. Heh. 

I think I'll start putting gifts together. I've always just done them as the occasion comes up and never for the fun of it so perhaps I'll take some pictures and share them if I remember to! 

$10 0ff $40, $10 3 Wick Candles

Per the new email today, there's a "new" coupon, and a "new" deal. 

 

If anyone shopped B&BW extensively before SAS, you probably have a ton of the flyers already with this coupon on it. 

Also, select 3 Wick Candles are $10. Looking at the website, it looks like it's only the ones they were originally charging $11 for anyway, nothing special. No Lakeside or Destination Collection, no AT ES, nothing of note. 

No newness here! Sadly.

A few finds.

Went to check out my local store to see if any other goodies might be roaming around, but it would seem that my usual store has been quite busy and wiped. That said I did come away with a couple of things still.

Small haul this time.

Most of Venice Dolce Berry left there is lotion, and the TMC pictured above was the last one. I heard that the shower gel works well with Sparkling Blackberry Woods and I DID get some SBW through the sale and wasn't able to get a gel for it. The SBW items pictured above actually were brought back out to the sales floor when I was looking at the Aromatherapy stuff. I saw an SA taking them back out and I went over, asked her if those were up for grabs and she said "yes, someone returned it", so I fished it out of the empty box she put it in. I kicked myself for not getting the last lotion at a different store so I consider that great timing.

I tried Bergamot Coriander and was not fond of it. At all. It just had an unpleasant smell to me and it was very, very strong. So I passed. 

I sprayed the SoP onto one of those papers and wandered around with it. It smelled quite nice so I got one. But I still can't find a lotion or shower gel. Sadness. Guess I'll have to hit eBay for it. Or figure out what works well with it. Maybe Pink Chiffon?

My store's also really low on candles and they're not sure if more's coming in. The Destinations candles seem to be dwindling down as well. There's like, 4 of them left at my store plus the small 4 oz. ones. It looks like it might be going away, quietly at that. I didn't ask though. 

SAS is getting quieter and quieter. I may visit one of my further out locations once more to see how their stock looks but it's looking like this is a wrap for me.

Miscellaneous Specials

Looking at the website and in stores I've noticed that there are a few specials on things that aren't advertised very loudly as being on sale so here's a (small) list for the record, and your benefit!

Online:

Mason Jar Handsoaps: $6

Mason Jar Candles: $9

Ocean Men's Shave Cream: $5.50 (this may be offered in stores as well, haven't looked)

Signature Collection Hair Care: $4

In store:

Malibu Beach Pedicure Foot Cream: $5

Select Travel Size Aromatherapy: 50% off (don't expect to find matching items except in shampoo/conditioner)

Select Lip Gloss/Wands: 50% off

These are all I've found for now, if I see more I'll add them as I find them. 

I noticed again that some prices have gone up whilst looking online, such as the retiring Aromatherapy and returning for SAS ones are $6.50 when they WERE $6 and probably ARE still $6 in stores. 

Still ongoing specials:

B3G2 Signature Collection 

B2G1 Free True Blue Spa

B2G1 Free Aromatherapy (doesn't include clearanced items)

B2G1 Free C.O. Bigelow

25% off select gift sets

A trip to the mall, Tampa style.

Today, I had a meeting at work (wha? a meeting at McDonald's you say?) and afterward, we decided to drive out to Tampa which is a good 20 miles from home. Matt has been promising to show me the International Mall there for a long time and on a whim we finally went! 

First stop was a mall that was pretty close by where I found some gems such as a French Baguette mini candle and a Coconut Vanilla body wash lumped in with Secret Wonderland. Dark Kiss was also present at this location. This had me wondering???

Next stop! We walked around the mall, looked at the Disney store where I saw an absolutely CUTE medium sized plush of Sorcerer Mickey. It was so damn cute. .__. 

We also looked at the Godiva store and I got so hungry looking at all the chocolate there. It was crazy. I was like a kid in a--well you know, where I was!

Lastly, I stopped by to the B&BW here and I saw TWO bins of Dark Kiss. Unsurprised, I started digging at the Secret Wonderland stuff, and found a travel size spray. It read Dark Kiss. Say what?! Let me just say I was EXCITED and a half! I picked up as many as I could to go with the gigantic stash of lotion and shower gel. Now I don't need to worry about trying for B3G3 for the FFM. I like the travel mists better anyway!

I circled the candles once but didn't look close enough. When I went by a second time looking for something to make me eligible for my coupon, I saw Summertime Soda looking at me, and Pizzeria. When I asked the SA closest to me if they had anymore Pizzeria in the back (Matt fell head over heels for it), she said no but she told me new Italian candles would be out after the sale. 

??? 

Preeetty sure Pizzeria was one to not make the cut.

Shopping trip successful? 

I went by closest local store just to see the candles and sure enough, they got a shipment of Dark Kiss in too. I'm betting a lot of stores got it! At $2.75 each, no shipping and able to use surveys, now's your chance to grab it! I didn't buy anything but I did get chatted up by the associates some. Nothing new unfortunately. I did ask one about the information I got in Tampa and she looked at me very strangely.

Last minute

This evening, we had some chicken drumsticks that I roasted, with some veggies and pasta on the side. What do you want to do tonight? Oh, I don't know. Any ideas? I was thinking maybe the mall? Oh yeah, we were gonna go this week. So we went. This other mall is a lot further out than our usual and our not as usual. 

I went to my playground of course, B&BW and I started digging the 75% off bins. Immediately an SA walked up to me and started asking me if she could help me. I kindly replied, "No thanks, I'm just looking." I picked up a SBW lotion and FFM and walked to a different able. SA #1 picked up the TS SBW and tried to get me to buy them. I have plenty but thank you. Another SA wheeled out this cart with boxes and opened some, emptying their contents into the bins for all to grab. I looked up to see a box that read Dark Kiss on the side. All at once I went over to the table and SA #2 just smiled and I asked if she had the shower gels too. She said yes. Oh now I was in heaven! 

I've only just discovered Dark Kiss recently and thought I was doing well to have found my TS lotion and shower gel, meanwhile I looked at stuff that other folks were hauling from their stores and saw full sizes. Why couldn't I get that lucky? I went online, tried to order another full size set and the shower gel was sold out. To my great joy in this store, I grabbed as many as I could with one survey and sauntered away so that the crowd that closed in once they saw could take their pickings.

Savings were 109.00, paid $25.

I know it isn't really so much a rarity as it is a pain in the backside because of shipping and one of the items constantly being sold out. Now I'll just wait for B3G3 since $6 online exclusive will not be happening until  SAS is over and get 6 of the FFM and be done with it.

Stopped by McDonald's on the way home to get a Dulce de Leche shake. Holy mother of sweetness batman. Good but so sickingly sweet! Hmm. Movie time I suppose.