Shop the cashmere event at Bloomingdale's...Click the pic for details.


P.S. This Deal du Jour is strictly editorial...just stuff we like and think you'll enjoy, too!

Nordstrom's Half-Yearly Sale has arrived...Click the pic for details.


P.S. This Deal du Jour is strictly editorial...just stuff we like and think you'll enjoy, too!

Ulta Exclusive: The Original bareMinerals Starter Kit by Bare Escentuals, $60 ($165 value)

Reviewed by The Budget Babe's Beauty Expert
When I first started to see infomercials for Bare Escentuals several years back I scoffed at them. The airbrushed owners of the brand claimed it was possible for these little “wonder” jars of powder to cover our flaws, give us an airbrushed make-up free look and to heal our skin from things like rosacea and acne, all while providing plenty of SPF sun protection.



But like so many people, I couldn’t turn away from a Saturday morning infomercial—and so I watched as both average women and movie stars swirled, tapped, and buffed their faces to perfection. By the end I’ll admit my curiosity was peaked, but alas, with such a steep price tag I ignored the temptation to try what seemed like the perfect makeup.

Then several months ago, I walked into my local Ulta and voila, a Bare Escentuals Starter Kit made exclusively for Ulta was staring me in the face. At this point I had been hearing more and more mineral makeup buzz, and was ready to give in. The kit is valued at $165.00, waaaaaaaay too much, but the price tag at Ulta said $60, which includes two shades of bareMinerals SPF 15 foundation, one bareMinerals mineral veil, bareMinerals warmth all-over face color, bareMinerals Glee all-over face color, Handi Buki brush, Maximum coverage Concealer Brush, Flawless Application brush, and a How-to DVD.

Still extremely skeptical it would do all it promised (after all, its just powder, and in the infomercial the ladies demonstrating kept saying less is more, and literally use an amount of powder comparable to an ant abdomen) I picked up the box, and made my purchased, determined to give a real evaluation of this magical makeup...

Dry cleaning is expensive, and let's face it, pretty inconvenient. Two good reasons why we, The Budget Babe, never utilized this service on more than one occasion (took a white dress to be cleaned, and it came back with yellow spots! Another reason why we were turned off to dry cleaning forever.)

Also, roughly a decade ago or so, we started hearing about how bad dry cleaning was for the environment. If you don't know how dry cleaning works, well, it's not dry and there's nothing clean about the process. Just watch the following video on How Dry Cleaning Works:


Phew, we thought. We're not just cheap and lazy for avoiding the dry cleaners. We're actually doing something good for Mother Nature!

As if the toxic chemical bath wasn't enough to dissuade people from getting their clothes dry cleaned, get this: On a recent episode of The Oprah Show, heart surgeon and health expert Dr. Mehmet Oz advised viewers to not only dispose of their dry cleaning bags before entering their home—he also recommended airing out the clothes for at least a day before wearing them again to ensure any remaining toxic residue could dissipate. Gross!

Now that's one angle we hadn't fully considered, but to think that there are toxins left on your clothes after they're dry cleaned is, in our opinion, yet another reason why washing your clothes at home is not only the BUDGET thing to do, it's the BEST thing to do.

Still can't live without dry cleaning? Why not? Got great tips and techniques for at-home cleaning? Share them in the comments!!

The Budget Babe's International Travel Advisor Fifi LaMode soaks up the sights, sounds and soothing sea-air of the ever-evolving city of Varna, Bulgaria. —TBB


by Fifi LaMode
I admit I knew little of Varna before I went there. My primary reason for taking a cruise on the Black Sea was to see the Crimea, so I took little notice of the other stops thrown in to fill out the itinerary. This is one of the joys of travelling—sometimes the places you have the least expectations of turn out to be among the nicest.

Varna is the third largest city in Bulgaria, a Black Sea Port, and a spa town, due to its mineral waters. It is a popular resort among eastern Europeans and more increasingly, among western Euros as well. As in most old countries that are new again (due to the end of the Cold War, EU subsidies, and foreign developers seizing initiatives to make big bucks before prices skyrocket), you see many restored old buildings; these are in a turn-of-the-century Balkan Art Nouveau style. Very pretty. Many parks and trees; one park by the water has old helicopters, tanks, and other weapons of war on display. Can't read Bulgarian but I gleaned they were from WW 2. Interesting, but strange.

The downtown area is a clean pedestrian district with wide avenues, lined with trees and teeming with cafes. People are friendly, they look more Turkish than Slavic (don't tell them that—they were under Ottoman rule once and don't like to be reminded of the fact), and prices are relatively cheap (for Europe). It's a quiet, peaceful, yet lively town. There's a lovely Orthodox cathedral—Orthodox churches all seem to look like somebody's vision of heaven when you walk inside—plenty of paintings of angels and saints in bright, beautiful colors.

Not that much English is spoken but you can get by with a little of everything, English, French, German, anything Slavic. This will change, as many Euros, especially Brits, are buying retirement properties in Bulgaria.