Sephora - Chic Week 15% off Purchase 3/30 - 4/5

So I mentioned in my other post the other day, that Sephora was releasing a coupon for 15% off on the 30th and I just received an email about it today. Use code CHIC at checkout to receive your discount, you must be a beauty insider to use the coupon. Not a beauty insider? easy to sign up and you will be notified of their future sales, discounts, samples and more. For those who wanted to shop in-stores, Sephora also included a printable coupon for everyone to print out on their website, just click the image about to access it. So if you missed out this time I would suggest to sign up for their Beauty Insider program.

I already looked on the site a few days ago to see what I wanted since I obtained some Sephora gift cards from the Viggle App, read more about it in my post 'How My Ipod Touch Paid for Itself - 4 Apps to Download'. I'm only getting the following two items since as much stuff I want from the Sephora I really only need what I am getting. EDIT: I ended up getting another makeup setting spray from Make Up Forever for $8 and paid $2.38 for my order with $50 of gift cards I accumulated from Viggle.

All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray To Go $12

I really needed something to keep my makeup in place for awhile so this setting spray was really a no brainer. I was about to buy this for $12 but when I found out that this discount was coming I knew I had to wait. Pricey for a small amount but I definitely was not going to pull the trigger on the full size if I didn't end up liking it. If what it says about this product holds true I would probably end up getting the full size (it claims to keep makeup in place for 16 hours).

Benefit - The Pretty Committee ($86 Value) $38

I thought this was a great value and a great way to try out some new products, I also needed a primer for my eyeshadow and what is great is that 3 of the products are full sized! All the products come contained in a plastic reusable pouch, love it! This set contains: High Beam,  Bella Bamba, Stay Don't Stray and Eye Bright.

Bloomingdales - Friends & Family 20% 3/26 - 4/1

Spring is in the air and stores are rolling out the discounts to attract customers to their new merchandise. Bloomingdale's just kicked off their Friends & Family event, where you can get 20% off most of the merchandise, from now until April 1st by using code FRIENDS at checkout. Free shipping on orders over $150 or with a $50 beauty order, certain exclusions apply to the discount, check website for details.

PS. Sephora is offering a 15% discount for all their Beauty Insiders later in this week so go to the site to sign up if you aren't and you won't miss out on the discount!

Urban Outfitters - Free Shipping 3/26 - 3/29

From now until the 29th receive free shipping on any order on the Urban Outfitters website (within the continental US that is) and returns are free as well!

Target - Shoes & Handbags BOGO 50% Online

So I am a big fan of Target and their selection of shoes, and I browse the site from time to time to see if there is anything new or any promotions going on. Since unlike the stores I feel that they have more promotions on shoes, and now they are offering 50% off a second pair of shoes or handbag until 3/31. If you aren't sure about your size or if you might like the item, returns are easy since you get to return them to a store near you, shipping is free if you spend $50 or more but if you have a Target credit card shipping is free. Check out the following shoes I have my eye on, and browse the site to see if any catch your eye!

Piperlime - 20% off until 3/26

If you were in the mood for a new pair of kicks for spring, Piperlime is offering 20% off discount until tomorrow with code SPRINGSAVE, you can also use the code for 25% off at Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic or 30% when you spend $100 through tomorrow. And as always Piperlime offers free shipping and returns!

Stila - Free Shipping Weekend 3/23 - 3/25

Stila cosmetics is offering free shipping on all orders this weekend with code INTHELIGHT, only downside is that all orders are final as these are cosmetic items so now is probably not the best time to buy something you haven't tried before.

Victoria's Secret - 2 Secret Reward Card w/$10 Purchase Online

Happy Friday everyone, hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather, I know I am. Until tomorrow, if you shop at the Victoria's Secret website you will receive 2 secret rewards card with your purchase of $10 or more (excluding shipping). Each secret rewards card is worth either $10, $50, $100 or $500 and best of all they are worth at least $20. So essentially you will receive back at least $20 toward your next purchase! Just enter code SECRET12 at checkout, shipping starts at $5.95, or free with $100 order with code SHIPVS12.

Kohl's Free Shipping & 20% off 3/20 - 3/21

Kohls is currently offering free shipping on any order today and tomorrow, and there is also a 20% off coupon floating around with code: SMS295. If you are new to shopping at Kohl's they are a department store, and they carry lines from Lauren Conrad, Jennifer Lopez, Vera Wang, Elle and of recent the Rock & Republic line. They have a bunch of great deals in the clearance section and if you don't like your purchase you can always return them to the location nearest you (they have no time frame for you to return it). Below are two of my picks from the LC Lauren Conrad collection, if only they still had the dress in my size.

Lauren Conrad Accordion-Pleat Tank $25.20 $20.16 after discount

 Floral Empire Strapless Dress $32.00 $25.60

How my Ipod Touch Paid for Itself - 4 Apps to Download

 

 

EDIT: Updated it in 2013 to reflect new apps I have downloaded, enjoy! (scroll to the bottom to see them)

If you have not already noticed I love to get a bang for my buck and I probably wanted to get an Ipod Touch or Iphone for a while since I heard about all these different apps and what they could do, specifically how they could help me score some savings, not to mention free stuff to boot. For all you Ipod Touch/Iphone owners this article highlights apps that have helped me save money, score freebies and things along those lines and how my Ipod touch basically paid for itself. This is a long one folks, so I suggest you grab a cup of hot chocolate or a small snack!

Now here is the backstory of how I got my Ipod Touch this past Black Friday. I had heard rumors that Amazon was going to have the 8gb for $150 and I was going to risk going to the mall to get a random gift card to H&M at midnight but that is another story. I waited until midnight and lo-and behold the Ipod 8gb was indeed $150, but since it was a Black Friday special I did not know how to use the lightening deal so I after 20 minutes of trying to figure things out how to get on the waitlist since it sold out in less than a minute. However the same day Amazon had it on sale for $178, which is $21 down from the original price of $199 back then. As sad as I was about not getting it for cheaper, I bought it with the Amazon gift cards I had redeemed from Swagbucks (it is a site where you earn points for searches, polls, watching videos etc), which was $100. So I ended up paying $78.


ShopKick

So let me start with the app 'ShopKick', its premise is to have users go into stores such as Best Buy, Target, American Eagle to name a few and have you scan certain products to gain points (ranging from 15-100 points), or you can get points by walking into a certain store (ranging from 35-55 points). The point of the app is to get users into the stores so that they will make a purchase. So far only the following stores participate: Arden B, American Eagle Outfitteres, Best Buy, Crate & Barrel, Macys, Old Navy, Sports Authority, Target, Toys R Us, Wet Seal and West Elm.

Besides the aspect of earning rewards, ShopKick also has a feature where you can make a store your 'fave' and then when you click on the Faves tab you can see all the stores current deals and offers which is pretty handy if you were planning on making a trip to the place. A cool thing is that you can fav stores that are not participating in ShopKick like Hollister and Gap for example and know what deals they are currently offering. The Favs tab also features casual/fast food deals as pictured in the second row and what they consider to be the current top ten deals in the first row.

The negative thing to ShopKick is only a handful or so stores currently have implemented ShopKick so if you dont have these stores near you, it is hard to gain points. If you go to the stores a lot of have a mall readily nearby it is easy to gain points at a steady pace. As in terms of rewards, you can choose gift cards from Macys, Target, and others with gift cards as as low as 500 points (for a $2 gift card), 1250 for $5, 2500 for $10.

Here is a list of ways to earn points:

- Attach your Visa card to ShopKick and receive points for every time you use your Visa card at participating ShopKick stores (sometimes they offer 200 points if you attach your card)

- Look for a 'star' next to a stores name (pictured right), if there is that means there is an instant surprise where you may be able to score some points (1-2 points per store). You can receive these points everyday.

- Collect sets of items (varies with each promotion) and it usually requires you to find 3 pieces (you find them by tapping on the 'instant surprise', when you collect all the pieces you'll earn points ranging from 3-7 points.

- This is related to collecting sets of items, sometimes you will get an extra 50 points for checking into places like Old Navy when you collect all the pieces via instant surprises.

Foursquare

A very popular check-in app, where at first I never thought was useful but then I realized that some places offer discounts, and freebies when you check in. At some of my Simon malls (they own a majority of the malls in America) I got freebies for checking in such as a Celtics drawstring gym bag with a Newbury Comics water bottle. Not bad for just checking into a mall I was already at. My local mall so far is offering a different special every month for checking in, last month was a BOGO coupon to the Chipotle in the mall, which was awesome since I was craving some Mexican food at the time. Other places might offer a free meal or drink for example for checking in (for the free meal it is usually the major of the place that gets it). Retail places like Macy's and American Eagle offer discounts when you check into their stores and show the cashier that you have 'unlocked' the deal. If a place has an orange reward/special sign underneath it then there is something being offered there. So not only is this a social app it also helps you save some money at the same time, a nice 2-1.

Old Navy Snappy App

I have mentioned this App before in my January/February Haul post and it is basically a way for Old Navy to connect to their customers by having them snap up specific images in the store made for the app so customers can see how others styled the clothes. The app also allow users to shop Old Navy on their mobile and whenever you snap a picture of the Old Navy logo (see image below, courtesy of iTunes App store) you get a chance to win coupons or deals such as $5 off $25 purchase, $10 off any purchase or a free Kodak Gallery Photo Book (or something similar). However most of the time you will end up with winning a game, or a fashionspiration (fashion history moment or fabulous phone compliment). A useful app if you love all things Old Navy or just want you chance to win a discount to the store.

Viggle

Lastly I will be featuring the app Viggle which has so far been my favorite since I have earned over $100 in gift cards already within using it for a month. The app Viggle is pretty new itself, since it launched in late January but the basis of the app is to reward users for watching tv. Really it is that simple, all you have to do is check into the show you are watching and you will receive points after it is over or if you are checking into another show. When you launch the app, it will say 'tap here to check in' then just place your device close enough to your television so that it can hear what show you are watching, and then you are asked to confirm if that is the show you are watching. As you can see from the image to the right they are offering a bonus +250 points for checking into Pretty Little Liars so in addition to earning points for checking into the show you also get the 250 points since it is a featured show. So if you check into primetime shows that are featured for the day you are in luck since they offer bonus points for those shows.

What is great about this is, even if you dont watch a lot of tv, you can just casually check in every so often and you would get a decent amount of points (at least 100 if for an hour show). They also have live events where you can score even more points by answering the questions related to the show as it airs. Usually this is for big events like the Superbowl, Oscars and such but they have had it for American Idol before. You can also watch ads (points vary from 15-100 points) and those can add up. Rewards start at 7,500 for $5 gift cards to places like CVS, Lowe's, Burger King, Barnes & Noble and more. What I love is they offer $10 Sephora eGift Card, even though it can only be used online and you can't combine them I don't mind since not many places offer Sephora gift cards as rewards.

So overall I have surpassed the amount that I have paid for my Ipod Touch in a few months, due to using the 4 apps that I have mentioned. The Ipod Touch was definitely a worthwhile purchase in terms of it paying for itself. I hope everyone enjoyed the post and downloaded some of these apps to save some money if not get some cool rewards.

And now for more apps I have mentioned..

Clutch is a new app that organizes your gift cards and instead of carrying around all those plastic cards Clutch allows you to have them all in one place electronically. Not only that the app shows you all the deals/sales that are going on for the gift cards that you own so you know when is the best time to use them along with giving your friends gift cards as well. *Clutch had a new user promo going on where the first 1000 received $15 Banana Republic gift cards, that is how I was able to score $15 to the store

 

Gyft is a new app that organizes your gift cards and instead of carrying around all those plastic cards Gyft allows you to have them all in one place electronically. When you sign up you also receive 2 free gift cards (while supplies last) could vary from Sneak Peeq, Country Outfitters and some others. *Through early promotions I was able to snag $10 to Gap and $10 to Sephora.

Deals of the Day - 3/15 Edition

Hope everyone is having a great week or spring break for some in the states, I for one cannot wait for the week to be over since this week has been a long one for some reason. Since there are more than a few nice deals going on today, thought I would just make one post to summarize them all. Lastly I have a post that I am working on that will hopefully be up by the weekend about how my Ipod Touch paid for itself, some more saving tips for people who own one or Iphones so stay tuned for that!

Aerie - 30% off In-Stores/Online & Free Tote w/$30 Purchase

Seems like spring is in the air with all the warm weather we have been having lately up here in Boston, and to celebrate Aerie is offering 30% off their spring arrivals online (code: 49488601) and in-stores (no code needed). Even though it says online that it is for their spring arrivals, the code works on clearance items. However note that the code excludes undies. For all you mall rats, you get a free tote with any $30 purchase, while supplies last!

Endless - Friends & Family Sale 20% off $100 or more

Their friends & family event is going on now, and today is their last day. Get 20% off your orders of $100 or more with code FRNDSFAM at checkout. Not the greatest deal but if you were planning on getting more than one pair of shoes or something designer now (Rebecca Minkoff anyone?) is the time to buy! Exclusions apply, check website for more details.

Garage - Free Shipping on all orders & 15% off

From now until Monday 3/19 receive 15% off your entire order and also receive free shipping, no code needed.

Old Navy - Spend $20, earn $10 in Super C-A-S-H

Its Super Cash time, which means that from now until 4/1/12 when you make a purchase of $20 or more at any Old Navy store you will receive a voucher for $10 off your next purchase of $20 or more which is valid during 4/9 - 4/17. You can receive up to $30 in Super Cash per transaction which means you can spend up to $60 and receive 3 vouchers for $10 off your next purchase of $20.

Ulta - 21 Days of Beauty & $3.50 off $10 Coupon

If you have an Ulta near you, they currently just launched their 21 Days of Beauty event where they will have in-store demos for select products every day for select brands and have some nice freebies with a certain product purchases. Here are this weeks deals, and they also have a coupon for $3.50 off $10 purchase (for in stores or online purchases) which you can use in combination but note that deals are only for 1 day only. What looks like a really great deal is the Bare Minerals Eyelid Primer for $7.50 after the coupon discount that is only valid on 3/16 which originally costs $18, great way to try out a product or stock up on what you already love. Supplies are limited as each sale is only valid for one day and they limit each person to 2 products. Check out the Ulta site for all 21 Days of Beauty. Note: I will also post the events/deals every week on here in case you forget!

Gap 40% In Stores or 30% Online 3/8 - 3/11

Gap is currently having a 30% off in-stores (no coupon needed) and online right now (code: GAPFRIENDS), however I found a 40% off coupon that you can get which is better than the 30% they are currently offering. The only downside is you need to have Facebook to access the coupon, go to Gap's Facebook page and click on the 'Live In Color' tab where you need to share the coupon with a friend via Facebook or email to obtain the coupon yourself.

Urban Decay - Friends & Family 20% off 3/6 - 3/10

Urban Decay is having their Friends & Family sale from now through this Saturday with 20% off and you can use it on their sale items. Only exclusion from the sale is the Naked 2 palette and they limit you to 5 pieces of the same item/share per order. Downside is that shipping is free on orders of $50 or more. Below are some good deals that I found on the site!

Now this kit, I highly recommend especially at this price since it comes with a full size eyeshadow primer, trial size of their makeup setting spray, finishing powder, lipgloss and body powder. Even though I haven't tried any of these products, their setting spray I have been wanting to try and for this great price I am contemplating on getting on myself.

These eyeliners I own and they are my favorites besides the Korres eyeliners since they go on so smoothly.

Did anyone get anything from Urban Decay, if so what are you recommendations?

Banana Republic - Stackable Codes 40% + 20% 3/7 ONLY

Banana Republic is having a 40% off one full priced item with code BRNOW40 for today only and you can stack it with code BRSAVE for an additional 20%. Even though the 40% is only valid on full priced items, items in the 'special savings' section also work with the discount. So essentially the deal excludes items in the sale section and accessories. You can also use this discount on any of the Mad Men collection that is currently out. Lastly as always you can get free shipping with any $50 order or from combining items from Gap or Old Navy.

Thanks to Really Petite for tweeting out the deal via Fast Food & Fast Fashion

Old Navy - Friends & Family 30% off In Stores 3/3 - 3/4

Old Navy is having their Friends & Family discount this weekend where shoppers can save 30% off their entire purchase, just head over to their Facebook page to print out the coupon! You don't even have to 'like' their page to get their coupon, or you can show it on your mobile device as stated on the coupon to receive the discount, happy shopping!

Victoria's Secret - Free Secret Rewards Card w/$10 Purchase 3/1 - 3/31

For the whole month of March, if you make a purchase of $10 or more in-stores or online at Victoria's Secret you will receive a free secret rewards card. The secret rewards card can be redeemed during the month of April and can be worth at least $10 towards your next purchase. The card can be worth $10, $50, $100 or $500 off. So the month of March is a great time to go out and splurge on something at the store since you are essentially getting back at least $10 worth of more merchandise with the rewards card. However you will not know how much your card is worth until it is April, but when April comes you can always go online to check how much your card is worth when you type it into the payment page!

If you were planning on making a PINK purchase, there is also a flip flop deal going on (offer valid until March 5th!), if you join PINK Nation, you can print out a coupon for a free limited edition pair of flip flops with any PINK purchase and you also receive a secret rewards card if you spend $10 or more!

January/February 2012 Haul

Since started keeping track of what I spend a few months ago, I realized that I actually only bought 3 items of clothing in February along with 4 accessory items so I combined my January haul along to show you guys how I managed to score deals without breaking the bank! Feel free to leave a comment or email me at augustfivetimes@gmail.com if you want more information on an item or how I obtained the savings. But note that if you leave a comment I will only be able to respond if you leave your email.

On a side note I did not realize how hard it was to take pictures of my items, took a few tries and different placements to finally get everything to look decent. I definitely give props to fashion bloggers who take the time and effort to take pictures of their outfits. Speaking of fashion bloggers I also contemplated wearing the items and showcasing them that way but then I realized that this is not a fashion blog. Don't mind the random photoshop in some of these images, I had to get rid of the background of my messy room, otherwise these images have been Instagramed!

H&M Dividend Birds Dress $19.96
I went into H&M with a 20% off coupon hoping to score something nice and I found this awesome bird print dress. It has definitely become one of my favorite dresses just because I love the print so much, originally $24.95 and received the coupon because I signed up for their newsletter. Note: If you are a first time subscriber to their mailing list you can receive a 20% off one item coupon!