Honest Co. and Chanel and Dior, Oh My!

I stumbled across a few cosmetic gems this weekend on my impromptu excursion to the Sterling, VA Costco, and of course I have to share them with everyone.

The first item is The Honest Company’s Sweet Orange Vanilla 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash (item #755666). This shampoo and body wash is tear-free, hypoallergenic, vegan, pH balanced, biodegradable and contains natural and organic ingredients.

Costco sells a bundle of two 17oz bottles for $14.99 while theHonestCompany.com and Nordstrom.com both sell a single 8.5oz bottle for $9.95 each. Costco charges $.44 per ounce compared to $1.17 per ounce that the others charge. Purchasing this item at Costco I saved an astounding 62% off the retail price! While I personally don't care for the scent of this product overall (only because I'm just not a ‘vanilla scent’ kind of girl), I do like the soft citrus notes, it lathers well, and it feels good on my skin as a body wash. (I haven’t tried it as a shampoo.)

It’s worth noting that the Honest Co. does offer bundles online where you can pick five items of your choice for $35.95 per month. But you’re still only going to get the 8.5oz bottle of the 2-in-1 shampoo and body wash because the two pack of 17oz bottles is exclusively available through Costco. The Honest Company 2-in-1 Shampoo and Body Wash 17oz combo pack can also be purchased on Costco.com for an additional $5.99 for shipping and handling.

FYI, in case anyone is wondering, my favorite Honest Co. product so far is their Tangerine Dream Bubble Bath. It has the citrus scent that I love without the sweet vanilla scent (which I am not that crazy about) and it creates wonderful bubbles for a lovely bath.

In case you are not familiar with the Honest Company here is a little information them and links to their website.

The Honest Company was founded by actress & mother Jessica Alba and former Healthy Child Healthy World CEO Christopher Gavigan.  The company’s goal is to create natural, chemical–free, non-toxic and biodegradable products that are safe for the entire family. Their product line ranges from bath & body care and household cleansers to organic vitamins, eco friendly diapers and other baby products. Their bath and body care line and some baby products can be found at Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com but their full line can only be found at TheHonestCompany.com.

Anyway, back to the beauty buys I found today at Costco. The next two items I found are designer mascaras by Chanel and Dior. Yes that’s right -- I said designer mascaras. By Chanel and Dior. That I found at Costco.

The Le Volume de Chanel Mascara (item #823483) comes in three colors to choose from: Noir (black), Bleu (blue), and Prune (purple). I chose the blue color. This Limited Edition Chanel Mascara retails for $30 on Chanel.com but I picked it up at Costco for only $22.99. That’s a 23% savings off the retail price! Chanel’s website also lists a fourth color, Khaki Bronze (brown), but I did not see this color available at Costco.

The Diorshow Extase Instant Lash Plumping Mascara (item #859060) was available in only one color, Noir (black) and was priced at $22.99 at Costco. The Diorshow Extase mascara retails for $28.50 on Dior.com, which makes it only a 19% savings over the retail price, but hey that’s still a much better deal than paying full price!

The final beauty item I purchased is a collection of 12 Jenna Hip nail polishes (item #732654) that Costco is selling for only $14.99. That is less than $1.25 per bottle of nail polish, which, as most of you may know, is an absolutely unheard of price for good nail polish. The set also contains a colorful Jenna Hipp travel size emery board nail file. This ‘What’s Hot Now Nail Collection II’ retails for $32 at BeautysMostWanted.com making the Costco selling price 50% LESS the retail price!! I am so excited to try these colors out at my next mani/pedi.

What could possibly make Costco’s low price even better? The fact that Jenna Hipp nail polishes are made with a “Five Free Formula”, which means they do NOT contain any of the following five ingredients: dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde resin, formaldehyde, toluene, or camphor. What exactly does that really mean to you and me? Well, those are all chemicals that have been documented to cause irritations and allergic reactions in humans, and can interfere with hormones and fertility making them especially harmful to pregnant women. Formaldehyde for one is a known human carcinogen and phthalate has been documented to cause reproductive and developmental issues in babies. Nail polishes that are ‘Five Free Formula’ contain NONE of these chemicals, making them much safer to use -- especially for pregnant women :)

This Jenna Hipp 12-piece Nail Polish Collection can also be purchased on Costco.com for an additional $2.99 for shipping and handling.

In case you are not familiar with Jenna Hipp, here is a little information on her and links to her website.

Jenna Hipp is a celebrity nail stylist and she is currently considered one of Hollywood’s most in-demand nail stylists. She is passionate about nail care products that are eco-friendly and free of toxic chemicals. You can see her full collection of polishes and hand creams on her website http://jennahippnails.com/collections/.

BONUS: Jenna Hipp Essential Nail & Hand cream can also be found at Costco! The 3-piece set (item #763474) sells for $19.99 at Costco and can be purchased at Costco.com for an additional $2.99 for shipping and handling. I have not purchased this product myself but it was listed in O Magazine’s December 2013 issue as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things so you know it has to be good.

Also, to find out more information about the chemicals in your nail polish and other cosmetics check out these links:

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cosmetics/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.safecosmeticsact.org/search/Default.aspx
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

As with all Costco products my advice is always “buy it when you see it” because there is no guarantee it will still be there the next time you go to Costco. (This advice is practically risk-free because Costco has such a great return policy, so if you change your mind you can just return it!)

Until next time,

the Costco Connoisseur

#GoingToAllTheCostcos

P.S. - Selections and prices listed above will vary from different Costco locations.

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