Comments on: Ask DSM Readers: How Do You Save on “Luxury” Toiletries?

By: Alli

Alli — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:19:28 +0000

I know this is a few months late, but I just had to share. I'm sure someone has said this before, but my tip: always keep your eye out for clearance bins. I was just at Fred Meyer. They had a pack of 3 Sonic Care heads on clearance for 50% off. I had a $5 off any multipack coupon so what normally would have cost $30 I got for $10!

By: Ruth Ann

Ruth Ann — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:49:38 +0000

I stock up when I can, trying to combine sales and coupons. Target can be pretty good for that, especially if you can combine Target and manufacture's coupons with a sale. That's what I'm often able to do with Sonicare toothbrush heads, sunscreen (extra sensitive skin means I can only use a few brands and they're not the cheap ones) and face wash. I also request every sample for every personal care product I can find. The little bottles of hair care and little bars of soap aren't a lot, but they're usually the good stuff and they last for a handful of uses. And those are uses I don't have pay for the products. Also, on the topic of toothbrushes, I've found that soaking the toothbrush in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes and then letting it dry does a good job at killing the nasty bugs. I had just replaced my sonicare toothbrush head when I came down with strep throat. Rather than throwing the head away, I soaked it in alcohol for a few minutes after brushing every night for a week. No recurrance of strep and I got the full life out of my toothbrush head.

By: Janette

Janette — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:56:38 +0000

I found the replacement heads for my Oral B at Wags on clearance for 1.89 was so supper excited even bought them without a coupon. We have a motto in this house if we don't have a coupon we will wait till we do! LOL

By: Francie Schmuhl

Francie Schmuhl — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:52:54 +0000

For anyone who shops at Meijer, they are currently running a sale on the Oral-B brush-heads for our "power" toothbrush. If you stack the coupon for Oral-B that just came out with the Meijer SummerBucks, plus the current sale, it only costs about $15.00 for a refill pack of three!

By: Jessica-MomForHim

Jessica-MomForHim — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:08:38 +0000

here is a coupon for $2 off Spinbrush product, including refill heads
http://www.spinbrush.com/SpecialOffers.html

By: Jessica-MomForHim

Jessica-MomForHim — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:55:17 +0000

I've put them on Christmas lists before (or good for stocking stuffers). If each person gets a 2pk refill for Christmas, and you replace every 6 mo as one person mentioned, then you're good for the year!

I've never thought about using ebay or amazon before, so I will look into that for the future.

By: Jaime

Jaime — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:50:20 +0000

I'm a dental hygienist and I've never worked in an office that uses time increments for billing....it is a fee per service basis. But I agree that if your visits are faster and easier, and you are not needing the extra services (i.e. fillings, which can cost quite a bit, even with insurance), then that is a money maker right there!

By: rebeccazw

rebeccazw — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:47:00 +0000

My big splurge is Aveda shampoo and conditioner. It is pretty expensive and I don't know of any way to get it at a discount. They do have a rewards card and I try to time my buying to when they are offering bonus reward points with a purchase. I will occasionally have enough points to get free products, but that's about it. However, it's pretty much my only splurge these days (along with blinc mascara!) so it is worth it to me:)

By: mamacoups

mamacoups — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:31:10 +0000

These replacement heads go on coupon quite frequently at Costco. Sonicare and Oral B

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:47:32 +0000

We use an OralB electric toothbrush and buy the heads at either Costco or Ebates + Drugstore.com. Remember that Costco takes coupons!

By: Jody

Jody — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:55:36 +0000

If you are looking for cheap make-up i would suggest walgreens or rite aid, they almost always have some makeup on clearance and you can save alot of money

By: Jody

Jody — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:53:40 +0000

Well, if u are looking for cheaper toothbrush heads, i would sugest you buy them in bulk, at Sams Club or Costco, they are much cheaper when you buy them there. You may be getting more, but its not like they can go bad or anything, just store them in a closet and as you need them, take them out.

By: Jan

Jan — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:48:53 +0000

These are websites where you can earn points for clicking on emails (mypoints, inbox dollars) or taking surveys (erewards--but you have to be invited to join that one, as I recall). Set up a separate email account, for example with gmail or yahoo, to use for mypoints or inbox dollars, because they send tons of emails and you'll get spam, too. You can check the sites out at mypoints.com and inboxdollars.com. Opinionoutpost.com is another good survey site; you can redeem their points for Amazon codes!

By: Jamie

Jamie — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:38:26 +0000

My "luxury" toiletry is my makeup - Estee Lauder. About once a year, the department store is allowed to sell the products at a discount, so I take advantage of that. Other than that, I buy when they are having a giveaway (you spend $40 and you get a bag of sample cosmetics). This way, I get all my lipsticks for free and usually a trial size of mascara. I make sure I keep a stockpile by only shopping during these special events. Plus, the lady who works the counter is very generous with me and will often throw in some extra stuff. I also charge it to my Visa that gives me cash back (and pay the CC off every month!!!).

By: Juanita

Juanita — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 05:30:35 +0000

I'm a high-maintenance girl, but I tend to get my high-end toiletry items free or pretty cheap. As I mentioned above, a great way to get salon-quality hair items very cheaply is to shop when JCPenney's salon has the $10 off of $40 purchase. When these coupons are available, the JCPenney salon also tends to have their products like 2/$25 or BOGO 1/2 off, so, in combination with the coupon, you get a ton of stuff for your money, and this hair stuff can last all year! Another thing I do at JCPenney's salon is look at their clearance section a month or two after Christmas. They tend to sell their boxed sets of shampoos, conditioners, and hair products through their clearance section, and most of the time these clearance items are eligible for an additional percentage off! Combine all of these savings at JCPenney with their usual coupons, and it's a great way to save on the high-end hair items. Now, for toothpaste, lotion, floss, and razors, I go through CVS--I tend to get these items for free after all the couponing! For the Sonicare heads, which I use, I also tend to clip the coupons when they come out in the newspaper inserts, and I find that Target tends to have great deals on them, so I use the coupons there. Finally, for the high-end colognes, perfumes, and smelly lotions, I also find great deals at TJ Maxx on these items.

By: Juanita

Juanita — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 05:19:47 +0000

I buy these items when JCPenney sends out their $10 off $40 salon purchase. There are always great deals during this sale anyway, so I am able to get tons of these products for $30!

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 04:56:47 +0000

i use an oral b electric toothbrush and the monthly pg insert often has coupons for them. cvs also has coupons at the end of the receipt for a few dollars off any oral care product.

By: SUmmer Highfill

SUmmer Highfill — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:54:08 +0000

Here are my shopping tips! Always stock up when the make-up counters are offering gifts with purchase! It is an easy way to get products for FREE and products you already need or stash product for birthdays, etc. If you happen to use Mary Kay offer to barter with your consultant, maybe she needs some deliveries, some help with an office project, etc and you can score free or reduced priced product. Host a class too and you can earn some FREE product that way. I love Yonka Skincare, but I don't like the prices at my local spa. I have found "professional sized" product on eBay that is new still in packaging for a fraction of the retail sized product sold at my spa. During the holidays (Oct/Nov-Dec) Macy's runs a "thanks for sharing" program. You pay an enrollment fee, but then you get a 10% rebate. If you plan to do your holiday shopping and will spend $250+ you have already earned your enrollment back and then FREE $ after that! This is the only time you will get a kick-back on cosmetics/fragrance. I like to stock up on some Origins products during that rebate period as Origins does special holiday boxed items at a fraction of the regular retail price! Last year they also offered coupons for products during the Dec retail window, these coupons included offers for $ off or FREE product! It was great, I stocked up for what I needed for the whole year and hope they will offer similar incentives again. Sign up at their counter to get all the rewards! Watch for all the freebies/samples coupons that many companies offer and take advantage of them!

By: Brigitte

Brigitte — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:17:13 +0000

Ebay.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:07:16 +0000

I use some dort of Oral-B battery operates toohbrush and occasionally there are coupons for packs of replacement heads.
As far as other items go, my mother owns a hair salon, so I get my salon products for free. And I use oatmeal & witchhazel to wash my face (my skin has never looked or felt better!) I have a stockpile of lotions. I don't buy products that are tested on animals, but I am often able to find ones that aren't animal-tested and are good quality at Big Lots. (Which is where I stocked up on my Tom's of Maine toothpaste.) I am, however, a toilet paper snob--only charmin ultra-strong in my house. And that I usually get when Target has a gift card deal. I do spring for Venus razor blades. That's worth it to me not to save the skin on my legs! (I got a good supply of Method brand shave cream when it was on clearance.) Oh--and Reach gentle gum care floss. I swear by it. Thankfully, I can find coupons for that :)