Now my apartment is a rental, so there is only so much I can do with it, so be kind.
 Here we have a tension supported rod that hold quite a bit of stuff...not much mine.

On the top shelf is a dollarama mirror so the man can shave in the show.
Next to it is a shick razor with a trimmer on the other side
And finally we have Biore Steam Activated Cleanser...It works best in the shower so it is where I keep it.

The next row has Garnier Shampoo and Conditioners for the man and his razor case and razor.

The third row has Old Spice and Irish Spring body washes...ick Irish Spring, I just hate it. His Spectro Gel and my Olay Pro X Cleansing System...I love this thing but only seem to use it in the shower.

Finally the bottom rack has Topiclean Spa dog shampoo....not a big fan of the Spa line from them. If you are looking for a good smelling dog shampoo their regular line has an amazing papaya one for much less money. There is also a generic bubble bath in lavender that I got as a gift and a small bottle refilled with other dog shampoo from work. Oh and a nail brush.

On the tub is a bottle of  Neutrogena anti-resuidue shampoo...almost 3 years later and it is still going.
2 Poofs, one is mine one is his.

So, well I am pissed off, let us just say that and get it out of the way.
Yep, Bath and Body Works has pissed me off and even may have lost me as a loyal customer all together.

I've like Bath and Body Works for some time now, even shop at the only Canadian outlet frequently and watched to go in a year from an awesome store filled with deals to a crappy and horribly disappointing place to visit. Heck I was a few times last year the mayor on FourSquare of the outlet. I found a favourite discounted scent and stocked up on it, fully aware of that status. I then found a favourite regular store scent and stocked up on it.

Last summer I fell in love with Forever Sunshine, I originally picked it up because I loved the name (my beloved and now deceased cat was named SunSHINE and he was very sick at the time) but then quickly fell in love with the scent.
I wanted the Eau De Toilette  but could not find it in stores, I called every store in the GTA for over a month.

I asked in the stores, where is the EDT? I was told, discontinued (it wasn't), I was told it was seasonal (it wasn't), I was told to check the outlet (I did, weekly, it wasn't there), it just seemed Toronto wasn't getting any for a long long long time. The worst part is I just had to figure that out on my own the employees didn't know a thing. Eventually I got Sparkled Beauty in HALIFAX (Halifax people) to grab me a bottle and waited months to see her to pick it up.

Ok, so since it wasn't the end of the fragrance I loved I was ok with all of this...but wait this week I learned it was the end for Forever Sunshine.

They are getting rid of it in stores and making it a "online exclusive". Which is great if you live in the USA but I live in Canada!!! So that sucks. Why? $20+ to ship here, so yeah...BBW YOU SUCK.

I highly suspect that won't even last long and in 6 months it will vanish from online too.

All these scents are going to be out of stores soon, they will be "online exclusives" which means we are out of luck here in Canada.

So why am I really so upset?

Well Bath and Body Works does this a lot...I mean A LOT! They launch a scent, a full line, then within months it is gone, for good, without warning.

Why launch countless scents then ditch them months later? It is one thing if it is limited edition or seasonal, but they aren't they are "permanent" items.

And that is the thing that really gripes me. If it is permanent that means more than 6 -24 months then gone. I mean this "Signature Collection" was launched in July 2010 and now it is gone less than 2 years later.

Here is a great example...Charmed Life October 2011-December 2011...It was ditched really fast. There are countless others and it disappoints me that they have to have a revolving door of scents.

On to the "Outlet" gripe.

It used to have a year ago when it opened

$ 1 lip glossed reg $7.50
$ 1 travel body wash, lotions and sprays.
75% off large candles reg $22

Now they are

50% off $7.50 = $3.75 for the lip glosses
3 for $10 for the travel items
50% off $22 =$11 for the candles

That is just an example...
I mean the candles can be bought for 2 for 1 most of the year and with the $10 off coupon from a past recipe even cheaper. These aren't deals any more.

The store when it first switched last June was packed with deals and products, then the store for a while was half empty, now it is half outlet half "best of" which includes the Forever SunShine by the way.

So the outlet sucks and isn't worth visiting, so why bother??

The lotions and wash are ok but not amazing, the candles are really nice, I admit that. But the scents are what get you in and if they get ditched all the time what's the point?

I think I am giving up on the brand all together and solely sticking to The Body Shop, their products are better, yes the scents aren't as complex but I can get items I loved for years there and they never get rid of them while still adding to them constantly with fresh new items.

Sorry Bath and Body Works .... you pissed me off.

• Your Canadian outlet is a hybrid outlet lacking deals that you cannot get in a regular store.
• You create countless scents only to ditch them right away and piss off fan loyalty (call them limited editions already not "signature collection")
• And finally you Shipping costs to Canada are outrageous!!!!! Set up a Canadian site already, there is enough of us out there that it makes sense. 

 Leaves: I got 2 plug in refills ($3.63 for them), Leaves candle ($3.13), Scentegg ($1.75) and room spray ($1.75). I got another of the sprays for my sister and I also got her a cinnamon oil, she liked the cinnamon smell in my apartment the other day, they didn't have a spray so I thought leaves was a good substitution.

Meredith from Et Tu And You asked for a gift bag from me. I knew she was joking, but made her on any way.

Here is a video she did where she talks about it (4:30 into it).

August was not a big makeup month for me, in fact I was not into much of anything last month. My main focus was on my cat, Shine, therefor I didn't do much with myself at all cosmetically. None the less, these are my favourites for the month.

1. Bath and Body Works Forever Sunshine. I read a review on Beautyish by PolishFiend's own Alisa and just had to have it. I fell in love with the smell immediately and loved the name (SunSHINE! how could I not). I have the body wash, spray and thick cream. I could not however find the perfume, luckily SparkleBeauty hunted me one down where she lives. I've heard this is discontinued so I will load up when the outlet gets it for sure.

2. Annabelle Smoothie Pencil in Liquorice. I've been waiting for this forever! I love their smoothies and I love black without shimmer (so hard to find). This makes a great smoked out look or base for a smokey eye. Fantastic.

3. Hard Candy Kaleyedescope Eye Shadow in AbFab. I've had this for a while, I love it. The pink and purple look amazing alone or together. It seemed very summery and I've been lazy so it really worked for me.

So I took a little hiatus from blogging because my beloved kitty cat, Shine is ill and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him while I still could.
The good news is his medication is working and from the looks of things we have a few months left with him. Because he is doing so well I've moved back to my apartment and I am visiting him several times a week at my Dad's.



So...last time I blogged I got the girls at the vet clinic (note I work there but for another company, the groomers inside the clinic, so while not my co-workers, they are family to me.), now it is time to thank the 3 vets who have been on his case and been making house calls.

what the girls at the vets gift bags had in them

So what did I do...naturally I went back to the Bath and Body Works Outlet. The girls bags were such a hit and since Shine got sick money has been tight (vet bills, ahhh!), it was a natural choice.

I picked up all three vets:

• Butterfly flower body wash ($3.33, oh my dog is a papillon so butterfly flower is a favourite of mine)
• Burning oil ($0.95)
• Room Spray ($1.75 - I love these!)
• Hand Soap ($3.00 I got the creamy ones)
• Hand Sanitizer ($0.50)

all bagged up.

butterfly flower creamy body wash not shown.

haul minus the butterfly flower creamy wash

Two weeks ago I went to my local Bath and Body Works and noticed a sale sign, only to step inside to learn that the location had become an Outlet. In fact this store has only been switched over to an outlet 2 days before I got there.

Everything there is always 75% off!

This is a crazy amazing deal if I do say so myself. A great place to pick up a gift or two. In fact I managed to make my friend a gigantic birthday gift basket by stumbling upon this gem. I doubt I'll be going to a normal BBW any time soon.

Here is a short list of some of the regular prices items cost in the Outlet store:

Bubble Bath $3.33
Body Wash $3.33
Wallflower Plug in Refills $4
Room Sprays $1.75
Mini Body Wash $1.00
Mini Lotions $1.00
Lip Gloss $1.00
Aromatherapy Roller $3.12
Small Candles $1.00

They had tons of xmas items and travel sized items. Any scent from Halloween, Summer '10, Xmas '10, Fall '10 and aromatherapy items seemed to have plentiful stock, I personally loaded up on Butterfly Flower products.

The store is located at 1900 Eglinton Ave East, near Warden (inside the Smart Centre, right across the parking lot from Sally Beauty and near the Walmart)

Want to see what I picked up? Check out my haul blog post.

UPDATE:
It seems that the deals have gotten a little weaker at the warehouse. In recent visits the deals have become 50-75% and much of the store is empty. This might be due to growing popularity or just due to the holidays and trying to gouge people a little more, I am not sure, but thought I would update you.

UPDATE 2:
I went in the other day. Most items now have set prices. A great example of this is 3 wick candles are $10. This seems like less of a deal than the 2 for 22.50 deal they have often and then using a receipt coupon to save more.

Another example is lip glosses were $1 but are now 50% off making them $3.60. Big increase. Body sprays are $5 and so are medium one wick candles.

I hope this helps you. If you are in that area or miss a seasonal/discounted scent it is great to check out.

I went to Sally's today and finally got myself Curlformers. Since I am totally useless with styling my hair I thought the idiot proofness of this product was perfect for me.
Please note when I used them I quickly learnt Idiot proof when it comes to hair styling equals difficult to me. Once I got the hang of them though it came together well and I have curls!

The Bath and Body Works I went to (Warden and Eglinton) happened to become a outlet location with 75% off all the time.  I had to get a birthday gift for a friend and picked her up many many goodies at a good price. I also got some room sprays, candles and oils.

all the stuff I got

gifts for friend

more gifts for friend

sprays

candles and oils