Eating from the Pantry Challenge - Planned for January 2009

My husband and I (A.) recently reviewed the month of December for our bills - which, incidentally, were way lower than usual. It would appear that nothing puts a damper on casual runs to Target, Giant, and other locales like having a newborn at home!

Soon after our monthly bill review, frugality blogger Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom posted her Eating from the Pantry challenge for the month of January. The timing for the concept was impeccable. Crystal notes: "We're attempting to avoid grocery shopping as much as possible and will be blogging what we're feeding our families, creative recipes we're concocting, and how we're pulling this whole thing off."

While I'm not planning on precisely following Crystal's parameters set for herself and the Paine family, I'm already in a scenario where my husband is doing nearly all of the grocery shopping from my written lists and a few assigned coupons - and I'm home, dreaming up ways to use my stockpile. Like Crystal, we're going to focus what minimized grocery shopping we do on procuring lots of fresh produce and dairy, with little-to-no processed foods bought. (Bonus - that also de facto reduces coupon-finding and -clipping for the month.) So, doing the challenge is not a huge leap of faith - it's more like rendering what we're already doing in this life season in official blog format. I have a feeling that this is going to involve a LOT of casseroles, pasta dishes, and fruit smoothies.

I'll be posting ways that we are trying to stretch our pantry and fridge/freezer contents over the coming weeks, and at the end of January do a bit of summing up of what I've learned, money saved, recipes invented, my husband's perspective, etc. Follow my Eating from the Pantry Challenge blog posts by clicking our "Eating from the Pantry" label...and follow other bloggers who are doing the challenge by seeing Crystal's Mr. Linky list at her introductory post here.

Are you going to be trying the Eating from the Pantry Challenge? What strategies are you planning?
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GREAT Freebie - TIGI Lip Gloss Palette, Ships Free, Too!

It was via Money Saving Mom's post earlier today (Thank you!!) that we were alerted to the existence of a GREAT freebie - a FREE TIGI "Girls Just Want It" lip palette, which ships free, too! No credit card required, but you must make an account. (Consider using your junk email.)

It took me for-ev-er to get this deal to load page-to-page. Fortunately I had other things that I could accomplish while occasionally checking in on the status of the freebie's checkout - so you know that a lot of folks are on the site right now claiming this awesome freebie. Go now if you intend to claim one of your own. Might as well pop yourself some popcorn or make up a warm mug of something - get comfortable - while you're at it. :)

Colors in the lip gloss palette vary a nice spectrum from nudes to berries, so even if you don't want it for yourself, consider it a great item for your gifting stash for a future gift-giving occasion. Also, check out our recent tutorial on how to use free cosmetics in creative ways.

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New Uses for Couponed Makeup

Trying new makeup is always a fun adventure. Who doesn't love snagging the latest foundation or mascara free after ExtraCare Bucks? But sometimes, the deal is so hot that when you arrive at the store, your preferred shade(s) aren't available because others got there first. But how can you pass up a freebie staring you in the face? Here are some fun new ideas for what to do with that couponed makeup:


Collect nail polishes or other fun makeup items and give to your favorite teen. If the colors available aren't your style (but still free or close to it), then collect a variety and gift-package them for your favorite teen - a niece, your kids' babysitter, the next door neighbor graduating this coming year. Bonus points if you throw in couponed top/base coat, nail polish remover, cotton balls, or manicure tools!

Think outside the box with application. When you don't let the makeup packaging dictate what goes where, a muted matte pink lipstick could become a great creme formula blush. A too-brown-for-you powdered blush or bronzer could be a neutral eyeshadow. A too-light-for-you mascara could become a great eyebrow tamer/enhancer when applied with a very light hand - or even a coverup for a few stray grey or white hairs on your head. The basic idea is to look at the product's color and daydream about where else it might work on you. You can always wash off and start again - that's the beauty of experimenting.

Could you only find a foundation/concealer a shade darker? Don't worry - it's still good for:

1. "Tan" you. If you get tan during the summers, or use fake tanning, a shade darker foundation is ideal for keeping your look pulled together! You only need to use it sparingly on "trouble" areas (undereye circles, zits, etc.) and blend well, to get a no-giveaway summer face.
   
2. You, photographed. You may cringe to see the "one shade darker"color against your complexion under your bathroom mirror lights, but the reality is that if it's only slightly darker and blended very finely at the jawline, you will look younger, healthier, and more radiant in family portraits. This is especially true of fairer-complexioned women who tend to be washed out by ambient photo studio lighting. You'll also achieve a more awake, younger look by doubling the amount of makeup that you usually wear for daily use - from mascara to blush to lip color.

Could you only find foundation/concealer a shade lighter? Don't worry - it's still good for:

1. "Pale" you. By January, you could be thanking your lucky stars that you have a slightly more palid shade in your makeup arsenal.
   
2. You, sculpted. Dotting a slightly lighter shade under your eyebrow arch, on the top of your cheekbones, and on the inside corner of your eyes (blended well!) can make your face look skinnier, and you expressions look more awake and alert.

Make an emergency kit of makeup. Just because the shades aren't precisely those of your preferred lineup doesn't mean you won't appreciate the emergency kit stowed in your office desk, glove compartment, or suitcase when you realize that your everyday makeup was accidentally forgotten. Think of it as a "desert island" lineup - what items are absolutely necessary to get you through the day - chapstick, mascara, etc. If you travel to one location quite frequently - say a relative's house or vacation house - you could consider leaving an entire complement of couponed makeup and toiletries there so that you don't have to pack one every time. Just remember that there are expiration dates for cosmetics and toiletries.

Donate to your local community/church/high school theater productions. If you've ever been in a play or musical, you know the gallons of makeup that such productions can consume. Even a small production can go through bottles of foundation in a single night for sufficient stage makeup. And since such productions are often low-budget, it's quite likely that your local thespians would welcome any of a wide variety of colors and brands of foundations, concealers, lipsticks, blushes, eyeliners, mascaras, and so on.

Trade with a fellow couponer. If you know a local couponer who hits up different stores, you can offer to be on the lookout for each other's favorite shades and products and trade every so often. Yes, you might give three lipglosses and get back a mascara and a pair of tweezers, but at least you're trading for stuff you'll eventually use, right?

Donate to your local women's shelter/domestic violence shelter. Women who rely on these shelters often do not have big beauty budgets, but your donation of cosmetics (as well as other basics like body washes, soaps, tampons and maxipads, etc.) can be a block in rebuilding their self-esteem as they get back on their feet.

What other creative ways have you found to use cheap or free couponed cosmetics? Post a comment to let everybody know. :)

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Frugal Sewing: Easy Bandana Pants

Last summer, a friend of mine alerted me to the existence of a delightful blog post laying out very detailed pics and instructions for sewing a simple pair of pants consisting of two bandanas - good for toddlers up to small children! They wear like pants, then capris, then shorts, as a child grows, but the design is so simple that they are truly one size fits all, and are great coverups for poolside adventures. The dollar section of Target had bandanas in whimsical prints for $1 each last summer, so with elastic and 2 bandanas, you are talking around $2.50 for a pair of pants. Far less if you recycle fabric by cutting it into bandana sized squares or use bandanas bought on clearance! (Talk to a scout leader who just came back from camp...bet you dollars to doughtnuts he/she has a few spare pair.)

As a child, I actually steam-ironed my fingers in sewing class trying to iron the simple draw-string bag I had sewn. Needless to say, I will probably not be saving our family money making wardrobes full of custom-sewn clothing, but even sewing dopes like me can tackle this bandana pants pattern. I was so proud of the pair I did in classic red bandana print!

PDF pattern here.

Photo tutorial here.

I am sure that this would be a great intermediate pattern, too, for working with older children who already have sewing experience under their belts (iron at your own risk ;-p).

Thanks so much, Stefani of Blue Yonder, for posting this creative (and very frugality-friendly) sewing project!

The Beauty of Product Reviews - MakeupAlley.com

Many drugstores and beauty product retailers offer no-questions-asked color guarantees on cosmetics, to prevent customers from being wary of trying out products. The problem is: these kind of return trips soak up time and energy, and those are often more valuable than money!

Take heart, and head over to MakeupAlley.com. This is an independent site where thousands upon thousands of members submit reviews for their latest cosmetic and toiletries endeavors. It covers almost every product on the market - from Wet'n'Wild all the way up to Dior and other high-end cosmetics. Membership is totally free, and I have never, ever gotten spam of any kind. The cosmetic reviews database is vast and very informative - as members are listed by their age, skin type, skin color, eye color, and hair color. This way you can find reviews written by people with your characteristics who have already tried products that you've been wanting to try.

A big bonus is that I've discovered some low-priced drugstore gems via this site.

One is Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque (review here), which I never would have found or tried on my own. It got 4/5 lippies (equivalent of stars) from more than 2,200 people, and 80% said that they would buy it again. This was enough to prompt me to read some reviews and, curious, try it out for myself.

It's a minty-smelling clay mask that you apply, let dry for 15 minutes or so, then rinse. A great way to do this is to wash your face (to get inital makeup layers off), put on the mask and let it set while you do other tasks like brushing your teeth, then hop in the shower once it's dry. Your face feels very refreshed and deeply cleansed - like you just spent a day at the spa, but for pennies!

Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque goes a loooong way; if you did your whole face once weekly, a tube (which is very large) would probably last you several months. If you have some spare ECBs, you can snag some at CVS, where it's priced at $4 - haven't seen any coupons for it, unfortunately! ;)

Another highly-rated beauty item is an aspirin mask. No joke! 1610 people gave it 4.2/5 lippies, and 86% said they'd repeat the experience. There are variations on this recipe posted in the reviews, but the general idea is: wet some plain old aspirin tablets (don't soak), then crush them a little until a wettish paste-like consistency, and gently rub into your skin and let sit for a few minutes. Most people use water, some people crush the aspirins into their regular face wash like Cetaphil. One reviewer I saw compared the wondrous results to that of a chemical peel. Now I'm wondering how to work a small bottle of aspirin into a CVS ECB deal to try this out.

The price of aspirin being what it is (around a penny per tablet in big bottles), this could be the ultimate in frugal home beauty treatments! Has anybody out there actually tried this? We would love to hear reviews if anybody has/does!

What frugal beauty tricks are up your sleeves? Any home treatment recipes or other tips to share?

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