In the midst of the recession, Wal-Mart has been a budget-friendly oasis for beauty buffs looking to save some dough while still getting their makeup fix. Now, they can save on their favorite personal care items without ever stepping foot outdoors, because today, Wal-Mart.com launched health and beauty products online for home delivery.

Image: Wal-Mart

For just 97 cents shipping per item, Wal-Mart’s website now offers thousands of personal care items from brands like Revlon, Neutrogena, L’Oreal, Colgate, Pantene and Gillette. Even better – if you’re not sure which beauty buy is right for you, get a free sample at walmart.com/samples. (available for select products).

Kelly Thompson, Walmart.com’s chief merchant, says adding these products online help provide customers with the best values on health and beauty brands with the convenience of home delivery. “By offering savings on our customers’ favorite health and beauty items online and in our stores, we can better help our customers shop the way they want,” she said.

Check out the deals now at walmart.com/health. Happy shopping!

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Wal-Mart Launches Beauty Products Online

I’ve read horror stories about brown stains from using this toothpaste with the companion mouthwash.  Yikes.  I wonder if the stains just come on naturally or if the fluoride makes the tooth more susceptible to staining from coffee, cola, etc?  I only use about a pea-sized amount and I use a Sonicare brush, perhaps these variables have saved me from the brown spots.  We do have the matching mouthwash but don’t use it often because the toothpaste does such a good job.  All the same,  I hope I can continue to enjoy that daily task.

What’s your favorite flavor/scent of toothpaste?  It’s something perhaps you don’t give much thought to,  but I think anytime I can turn a boring chore into something I actually enjoy, it’s a plus.

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It’s the little things…

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My Favorite Things: The Finale

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Sweet Scented Breath: disposable, portable teeth cleaning!

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All Season Naturals – Pink Petal Butter Blend

Notes:
Green Grass, Almond, Rhubarb, Rose, Tahitian Gardenia, Tuberose, Muguet, Coconut, Neroli, Tonka Bean, Amber, Precious Woods, Musk.

Even though Rhubarb is maybe more like a spring scent, I’m a big fan.  And it’s only $22.50!

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If it ain’t Baroque….

Sales like this are almost bound to be plagued with “technical difficulties”, but shop early and shop often, I say.

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Blowout Sale at Bliss Spa!

Thank GOODNESS I came home today to a package from Aromafloria. Inside was a package of their Sinus Help inhalation beads, a Sinus Help hydrating mist, and a Pomegranate candle. I tore right into the inhalation beads, which come in a package of two cotton or muslin pouches, each filled with wax-like beads chock full of eucalyptus and other essential oils. Anyone who’s ever tried Vicks’ Vapo-Rub knows how eucalyptus and menthol can provide some relief from a stuffy nose. My allergies are a fickle bunch – sometimes I’m stuffy, then my nose is runny, and my nose is always SORE from wiping and blowing. Oy. In any case, these beads are some powerful stuff – I immediately felt like it was easier to breathe, and the menthol made my nose feel ‘cool’.

After that, I tried the hydrating mist.  Especially when I used to take Sudafed (pseudoephedrine), my nose and, well, the rest of me too, just get dried out.   One trick that helps is to try a Neti Pot, but that’s kind of messy and  time consuming.  This hydrating mist is much easier – I found the best way was to hold the bottle about 6-8 inches below my face, and spray upwards, then breathe in the mist.  The sprayer creates a very fine mist, so it’s not uncomfortable.  The aloe vera in particular is very soothing, and again you get some of the breathing benefits from essential oil of eucalyptus.  I hope it’s just as good for the outside of my skin, because I had some serious dry and red nose action going on.  Major flakes!

Finally, I can breathe…which leaves me plenty of time to enjoy this pomegranate candle.  On cold sniff, it’s very strong.  The glass container is decorated with minimalist white stripes (they look like the stalks of a bamboo forest or blades of grass).  It smells similar to other pomegranate scents on the market, with accents of rose and citrus.   I’d definitely try more products in this scent, and the Stress Less products have me intrigued as well.  I was impressed with the very reasonable prices – the sinus beads are $6.00, and the mist is $8.50.  The candle is a bit more expensive at $21, but for a product that’s made in the USA of soy wax, I can respect that.

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A Scented Remedy for Fall Allergies

With such a decent formula, I still find myself loath to reach for this bottle over others in my shower (notably, Rusk Sensories conditioner).  I realized pretty early on that it’s due to the HEAVY, floral/synthetic fragrance.  So, L’Oreal – if you want to sell more of what I feel is an otherwise great product, you can start by revamping the fragrance.  Something lighter,  for starters,  with a more natural fragrance. Regis’ Olive Oil line and the aforementioned Rusk Sensories are a good place to start.  Matrix Biolage line is also one I love for the scent.

How about you?  Have you ever tried a product that works fine, but you just can’t use because of the scent?  I’m sure there are other examples of poor scent choice by many other brands, but this one comes to mind first because I face the dilemma everyday.

And, if you’re a hair-o-holic, visit some of our B5 and Splendicity member blogs like Luscious Locks, Beauty Bento Box (esp. if you have straight or asian hair)!

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A friendly note to L’Oreal’s haircare division

I’m sure something like this would quickly get shut down in the U.S. (damn our zoning!) but it’s good to see a company doing something about its business practices to help the environment.  For the record, I’m a recycling freak and love clearing space in my shower by using up a bottle of shower gel and then tossing the empty in the recycling bin.

from treehugger:

This week, Lush staff went naked to get the message out: packaging is waste. As employee Wendy Reiding of Wimbledon points out, “the main bits were covered.” Staff wore a white apron with the words “Ask me why I’m naked” as they plied the streets drawing stares and in some cases being shooed back inside by the local constabulary.

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics has made waves in innovative marketing before, but this week they set a new standard in drawing headlines without spending a single cent on advertising. OK, points given for a good message, cleverly delivered.

But the campaign does leave questions open: for example, why hand out leaflets in a campaign against waste? And is naked the new marketing trend?

Lush has drawn critique from TreeHugger readers for their choices of “safe synthetic” chemicals in their formulations. Also, Lush offers packaging-free solid soaps as a consumer alternative; they offer traditional liquid products in bottles in their product palette as well. (Hence the need for a campaign against packaging: don’t buy our packaged products?)

Nonetheless, Lush has differentiated themselves from the market trend towards liquid soaps, formulating many products into bars, cakes or balls which can be sold without packaging. Some products are cut from a large cake and sold by weight. They even sell massage oils as bars which need to be warmed by rubbing in the hands to release the lubricating essences they contain. So, leaving debate aside, we hope the naked Lush campaign will spread the word: beauty products without packaging are beautiful.

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Lush – Naked!