HomeGoods, How Do I Love Thee?

HomeGoods, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Since being introduced by my mom a few years ago, HomeGoods and I have grown quite close. HomeGoods has become one of my favorite retail destinations – especially since moving into my new house (movin' on up, Jeffersons style). Every room in my new abode has somehow been touched by HomeGoods – from the baskets I bought to organize my arsenal of beauty products to the artwork in my bathroom to the jungle-themed growth chart and bookends I bought for Westley's nursery.

Besides furniture and decorative home accents, Home Goods has some wonderful bath and body products. My favorites are from CST (Commonwealth Soap & Toiletries), a Massachusetts-based company that develops products for HomeGoods and its sisters, Marshalls and TJ Maxx. I've been crushing on this company for years, thanks to their high quality/reasonably priced beauty products. I've blogged about them before, but I recently discovered something new that warrants another mention.

A few weeks ago, my mom threw me a fabulous baby shower. We played some fun games, and one of the prizes was this soap set my mom found at HomeGoods. The soaps smelled so divine, I felt greedy for coveting a set of my own…especially considering the generous gifts my guests had given me. After the party ended and everyone went home, I was chatting with my mom about the soaps, and she admitted she kept a set for herself. Now, I was super jeal.

But I must have good kharma because, last weekend, Mom and I went to a random HomeGoods in New Jersey and found a set of the soaps. AND they were marked down to $3.50!

So if you're in a HomeGoods, TJ Maxx or Marshalls anytime soon, look for a round box of soaps that looks like the one pictured above. Though it's difficult to accurately describe the scent (I've never been great at that), I would say that it has a subtle, floral/powdery, feminine fragrance. Go get you some. You'll thank me later.

Recessionista's Fabuless Pick Of The Week: Cashmere Mist Deodorant/Anti-Perspirant

Since when does a deodorant turn you on to the corresponding perfume? Since now.

A month ago, Amber and I met up in suburban Philly for a Marshalls/TJ Maxx raid. While perusing the beauty selection, Amber turned my attention to a mini tube of Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Deodorant/Anti-perspirant. Its powdery vanilla scent fragrance had me at hello. But, for some reason, I bid it adieu and sat it back on the shelf.

And from the moment I got in my car and drove out of the parking lot, the fragrance haunted my olfactory senses and I cursed my retail restraint.

Then last week, while making a routine pit stop at Sephora, I spotted my little friend (the deodorant, not Amber) in one of those bins near the register. So I scooped her up and took her home.

There are no words to describe how enamored I am with this deodorant. I find myself raising my arms more often than necessary, just to get a whiff of my ambrosial armpits.

Now while $10 may seem a bit absurd for a 1 oz tube of deodorant, let me assure you that this is a sound investment. Not only is it the the best smelling deodorant I've ever tried, it's the perfect size to stash in your purse (or clutch, even) for a mid-day refresh sesh.

And once you buy the deodorant, just try not to buy the perfume. Impossible.

Freeze 24-7 PlumpLips - $9.99 at Marshalls

You could spend $42 for a .28 oz tube of Freeze 24-7 PlumpLips gloss here. Or you could spend $9.99 at your local Marshalls. Yesterday, while shopping the Willow Grove, PA Marshalls with Mama Spoiled Pretty, I spotted a basket full of PlumpLips near register #1.

About a year ago when I reviewed PlumpLips, my sister also fell in love with the lip plumper; but $42 was a little too rich for a college student's budget. So, being the best big sis a girl could ever wish for, I tossed a tube into my mom's cart and told her that Lauren would be forever grateful.

Today, Lauren called me to gush about her new gloss...marveling that A) I remembered how hard she tried to find it, on the cheap, circa 2007...and B) that I even recalled which shade she had been searching for (FirstFrost).

I'm good.