Perhaps I should say “all in a dazed work”. Nah. Now that I’m working on the blog without getting any sort of salary, I was hard at work. It was really “all in a day’s work”!
Am I dazed and confused? Or am I lazed and confused. It’s all in a day’s work!
Something was bothering me. I don’t know why certain things trigger my emotions but lately, I’ve been hearing YouTube Beauty Gurus talk about the escalating prices of drugstore beauty items and cosmetics. And since I had to run errands anyway, I thought it would be fun to do some sleuthing.
Hmmm. Let me do some detective work on the cost of drugstore cosmetics and such!
After my coffee, I went through my morning skincare ritual and proceeded to make my way to the guest room where I do my makeup.
Chippy loves to relax on the bed in the room. It’s a daybed and is covered with pillows and a folded comforter sits at one end. Chippy thinks this comforter is his personal bed and he always messes the perfectly folded comforter and rests upon it.
Chippy. Nesting on his favorite comforter and waiting for me to leave the house so he can be naughty!
I’ll get back to that later. There’s a story to this.
I got dressed and, since it was finally a very autumnal day, I could wear clothing other than shorts and a tee. With Chippy being taken out to do his business, I was ready to explore this phenomenon of drugstore pricing.
My detective outfit. I didn’t want to look too obvious so I left the trenchcoat at home. It is finally boots weather! I am wearing a white tee from Old Navy, J. Crew Pixie Pants, denim jacket by G. H. Bass–and it has pockets. Boots from Tory Burch and the scarf was a steal at $5.00 from Shein!
Since I had been searching high and low for Wet n’ Wild’s new Photofocus concealer and have not been able to find it, I decided to try my luck at Rite-Aid. This drugstore always has a wide selection of cosmetics that is nicely displayed and laid out. I hadn’t been there in almost a year though.
Rite-Aid up the road from me in Trooper, PA. It’s huge!!
Here’s what I noticed.
I picked up Micellar water at TJ Maxx the other day at a price of $2.99 for 9.1 ounces. Rite-Aid was selling Garnier Micellar water for eight bucks. Freaking eight dollars for 13 ounces of water.
$8.99!! For Micellar water? I am going back to TJ Maxx to get more of the cheap stuff. Hell, I picked up Bioderma Micellar water in France for less than 5 euros!! This? At a Hms I happened to see and a few that I ended up purchasing.
Here’s more of what I saw. And I made a few purchases!
Seriously. I can’t believe the price of some of this stuff. I know Rite-Aid has some good twofers and other sales but this is ridiculous. For a few dollars more you can go upscale!
The Bio-Oil is overpriced too. That small size should be a lot cheaper!
I hadn’t had a good chew of bubble gum in a while and was going to get this because of the cute packaging. Then I realized it was lip balm. I put it back!
Wet n Wild continues to remain extremely affordable. But what’s with the mermaid theme lately? Want a mermaid? Go watch the movie “Splash”–we’ll discuss!
$12.99 for drugstore foundation? I can now go online and order The Ordinary Serum or Coverage foundation for a lot less
Almost twenty bucks for a Revlon Palette? I purchased two Lorac Palettes last month for $12 each. Something is amiss here!
This is crazy! Whatever happened to cheap goods? Perhaps it’s now time to Shop Miss A!
A few years ago, Jane cosmetics were dirt cheap! $11 for a drugstore lipstick? Ahh…No. Just No! NYX is a lot cheaper and makes a great lippie!
This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Ardell lashes at over four dollars? I have quite a few pairs of Ardell falsies and never paid over $2.99 a pair.
I found the Wet n Wild Photofocus concealer and at $3.99, I was ready to do the happy dance. I even snagged the last Bright Ivory concealer.
Why not? At $6.00 it satisfies my foundation junkie habit!
On the way to the cashier, I spotted this eyeshadow palette from Jesse’s Girl. at $4.99, it was a great deal–especially since I’m a neutral girl when it comes to eyes. This would be a fun way to experiment with color without spending a ton of money.
Concealer and a few other purchases in hand, I was ready to get into my car. Only I made a mistake. I tried to open the wrong car. Has that ever happened to you? You get to “your” car and realize that it isn’t yours? Oops!
This is what I bought from Rite-Aid. The affordable receipt is below. Both eye shadows the Creme Brulee and the Nutty Noisette from Wet n Wild were .99 each. The foundation came in at $6.00 the concealer at $3.99 and the eyeshadows at $4.99. True drugstore prices. Seek and ye shall save some money.
Read the receipt. With my Rite-Aid rewards, I received the concealer for .99. A great deal!
The $4.99 palette from Jesse’s Girl–it’s a good one. Nice and pigmented–it’ll be great for events and the Holidays!
Next stop was Walmart. I was hemming and hawing about even going but the price of the Micellar water at Rite-Aid was itching away at me like a bad mosquito bite. I had to compare!
Walmart. Ever the mecca of all things dirt cheap. Well—not anymore. Their drugstore cosmetics are climbing the price vine.
Here’s what Walmart was offering. And this pisses me off. When was the last time we received a “cost-of-living” raise? You don’t remember? I think it was in the late seventies. Forty years ago. And since the economic downfall of 2007, have salary increases really increased?
Where Rite-Aid charges $8.99 for this, Walmart’s price is $6.96. That’s about two dollars cheaper. But, I still don’t think almost seven dollars is a good price for fancy water!
L’Oreal’s Micellar is no great price at Walmart. Check out the price of Hydra Genius–more fancy water. WTF?
Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup isn’t exactly a healthy price. I remember when Neutrogena had a soap that sold for a dollar! The soap was blue and smelled really good!
It’s good to know I can get my cotton rounds at the best price at Walmart!
I had to get down on all fours to snap this pic because this was at the bottom of the barrel! Salon Perfect falsies are on par with Ardell–and this price is fine. If you want falsies either go to Walmart or..order from Model21–I order my falsies from here and they are dirt cheap!
So why the big jump in low-end cosmetics? It’s killing me. Higher-end and luxury cosmetics and beauty products, although pricier, have pretty much remained stable. So where to draw the line?
For me, I continue to purchase both. That’s why brands like The Ordinary are gaining popularity. High-end ingredients and far less expensive than most drugstore brands.
And while I was at Walmart, I picked up some cotton rounds—which I scouted around until I found the super-cheap ones and I also picked up the Equate brand moisturizer which is an exact dupe for old-school Olay moisturizer. The Equate brand costs $3.97.
I found my affordable drugstore items in the form of Equate’s dupe for old-school Olay Moisturizer and those cotton rounds! The moisturizer cost $3.97 and the rounds $1.50. Oh happy day!
Since I was kindly asked to make a Cointreau pound cake for Bonaparte, I sauntered over to Walmart’s grocery section to pick up butter. At 2.98 for a pound of unsalted, Great Value brand butter. This brand’s butter is the same AA butter as Land-O-Lakes and half the price. It does the same job. It’s butter! A few other groceries and I was on my way.
Did I mention that the only true errand I had on my to-do list was to buy organic chicken at the Farmer’s Market in Wayne? Yeah. Bonaparte gave me money before he left for work and gave me specific instructions to go to the Farmer’s Market early on because the vendor we buy the chicken from usually runs out at about noon.
I left my house at 9:00 AM. It was now 11:00 AM. I spent two hours roaming the aisles of Rite-Aid and Walmart.
Back in the car and on my way to the Farmers Market to get the chicken.
But wait.
Bonaparte told me that the Bed, Bath, and Beyond store in St. David’s, which is next to Wayne, is closing. How could I not check this store out to see what bargains could be shelved before me?
I got to the store and didn’t expect it to be so….so..messy!! Store closure or not, I can’t stand a messy store. It ruins the shopping experience for me. But, you never know what could be found.
Very methodically, I took my time wheeling the cart up and down the aisles—after all, with one good eye, I didn’t want to miss a thing! Nothing jumped out at me because of the state of the store. I’m sorry but if tables are placed in the main aisles with picked through merchandise, it turns my stomach! I like shopping in a more organized atmosphere. Organization and atmosphere were sorely lacking!
As I traveled past the bed linens and area rugs I arrived at the table settings. I spotted four cloth napkins. These would go perfectly with the tablecloth I picked up last week at Home Goods for $4.99. Marked down from $2.99 to a dollar, I grabbed the four that remained and headed to the cosmetics area.
Remember the great deal I got on the HUGE tablecloth for $4.99 at HomeGoods? I just knew I would find inexpensive cloth napkins to match! And I did!
Everything was gone apart from a few NYX items and L’Oréal foundations. I spotted a luminator and threw it in the cart.
My big purchases consisted of the four napkins and a NYX illuminator product.
It was marked down to two dollars. I couldn’t resist!
At this point, it was after noon. And I was supposed to have bought chicken a few hours ago.
Finally, on my way to the Farmers Market, I was reciting Hail Mary’s that Rittenhouse Farms did not run out of chicken breasts and thighs. BTW, Rittenhouse Farms is the cleanest vendor at that filthy market!
This Farmer’s Market. I’ve written about it in the past—maybe about a year or so ago. As much as I love the chicken we get here, I can’t stand this Farmer’s Market. It’s filthy. Like—dirty filthy. And it stinks of old frying oil.
Bonaparte does 99.9 percent of the shopping at the Wayne Farmer’s Market because it’s just too gross for me. And I’m not fussy either but this place skeeves me!
Old frying oil makes me ill—even 34 years after my first pregnancy. I was working down on Wall Street and there was a Falafel place nearby. The stench of the oil from the falafel literally made me sick one day. I puked into a city garbage can. Thank God the garbage can was there or I would have thrown up an innocent passerby. And ever since then, I’ve been ridiculously sensitive to the smell of old frying oil.
To this day, the stench of old frying oil makes me ill!
And people eat at this farmer’s market. It skeeved me to see people eating there.
I got the chicken and hightailed it out of there quickly—besides, I promised Bonaparte I would make a Cointreau pound cake for him.
So happy to be in the car and on my way home–and my makeup hasn’t failed me! I’m wearing The Ordinary’s Serum Foundation today!
Back to Chippy. Bonaparte arrived shortly after I got home. As he went upstairs into our room, he peeked into the room where I put my makeup on in. There is a reason that he did this. He likes to see if I’ve “tidied up” before I leave. (Yes. Life with Bonaparte is akin to him being the dad and me being the bad child). The next thing I knew, I heard a heavy French accent.
Bonaparte: “Cassee.” “Cassee”. “Pliz comb ‘ere”
And I did an eye roll as I walked up the stairs and got to the room.
This would be me!
Bonaparte: (looking at me) “Wha do ou see”?
Me: “Um……nothing?”
Bonaparte: (Pleading) “Ahhhh, Cassee” “Lewk at zuh bed—do’n ou see zuh comfer-tahr eez awl mess up?” “Can you pliz fix eet befowhr ou liv zuh ‘ouze”?
Me: (Like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” when the bell rang) “Chippy did it”!!!!!
Chippy did it!!
Bonaparte gave me a look as though there was something wrong with me for blaming the dog, who clearly cannot clean the mess.
Me: “Ok” “I’ll fix the bed”.
And that’s why I can’t understand how someone as obsessive as tidying a comforter, which, by the way, will be messed up when Chippy goes back on the bed to look out the window, cannot be bothered by the dirty Farmer’s Market in Wayne.
And I fixed the bed! I think it’s time to make a trip to Ikea for more bedding!
The cake turned out marvelous. The crumb and texture were perfect. Although, next time I will “up” the amount of Cointreau.
The cake was crazygood! One is wrapped up and in the freezer–although it won’t be there for long!
The recipe I used was The Barefoot Contessa’s Perfect Pound Cake recipe from her “Foolproof” cookbook. This wasn’t the first time I’ve made her pound cake and it is perfect.
Someone’s in the kitchen with Ina–and it’s me! This cookbook is one of the best! Every recipe IS foolproof!
I made a couple of changes, however. (Click on the link to the recipe above if you want to make it). I didn’t sift three times. Twice was enough for me. In addition, I used ¾ cup of heavy cream and ¼ cup of Cointreau. Next time, I’ll add more Cointreau. Lastly, I did not use a vanilla bean.
I didn’t make the cake in a tube pan. I opted for two loaves instead. This. Is. A. Winner!
The cake has a very subtle taste of the orange liquor but is moist and not overly sweet. It’s a great tea cake.
And that was it for my lazy Friday. I hope you had a wonderful Friday and are enjoying the rest of the weekend!
Lazy Days Were Made For You And Me. Spanky and Our Gang know that!
