DEAL ALERT: Ebates (aka: How a Broke Student Didn't Break the Bank for Holiday Shopping)

Hello, my lovelies! With Black Friday coming around, I figured now would be a great time to talk about Ebates.

Before you roll your eyes, hear me out. That is MY actual check up there. I didn't do anything other than shop like I normally do online. I didn't give them any money or anything else outside of my name and address to mail the check to me.

This actually helped me out a lot the past year of law school, a time when I only had a meager work study check coming in every few weeks, but plenty of gifts to buy for the holidays and as many friends started getting engaged and married. And it kept helping all year round, especially when it came to buying textbooks.

I discovered Ebates last year as a second-year law student with a very limited budget for the holidays. Ebates is a website that gives you cash back for your online shopping purchases year-round. It's free to sign up and once you do and make your first purchase through the site, you get a $10 gift card PLUS the cash back you're already entitled to.

You don't have to visit the website every time you plan on shopping, which is nice because I would always forget. You can actually just download a button that alerts you every time a place you're shopping online qualifies for cash back through Ebates. You click the button and it syncs with your Ebates account! I mean, how convenient is THAT?!?

 Every site offers a different cash back percentage, but here's a key few:

Sephora and Ulta - 8%, Groupon and LivingSocial - 6%, Nordstroms, Kohls and Macy's - 6%, Ebay - 5%, Amazon.com - 3%, Walmart - 2%, and Best Buy - 1%.

(I know that Best Buy doesn't SEEM like a lot, but wait until you need a new washer and dryer or a TV!) Last December alone, I received over $185 in cash back. Yeah. That's my check up there.

Just think about it this way... every time you spend $100 at Sephora.com, Ebates gives you $8. Really, they do.

And how do you get that cash back? Ebates mails you a CHECK. This isn't a Visa gift card or some online gift card. It's real CASH.

To sign up, simply click HERE and you can start using Ebates right away. It's THAT easy.

(Full disclosure: The above link is a referral link that I get credit for and I would greatly appreciate it if you used PrincessPolishBlog@gmail.com for the referral address. However, if you are uncomfortable clicking through the link, you can visit Ebates.com and I will understand.)

Happy shopping, everyone! :)

ANNOUNCING: 31 Days of Giveaways!

Hello, everybody! I'm super excited to bring you this giveaway that I've been teasing on Facebook the past few weeks!

Starting on Monday, November 24th, I'll be kicking off 31 Days of Giveaway that will run through Christmas! Each day will feature a different prize and the giveaway for that prize will be open for exactly 24 hours.

Rather than reveal every specific prize ahead of time, I've created a handy calendar below that lists each day's giveaway by brand or by category. Tune in each day at midnight EST for the big reveal across the main blog and all social media pages (including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!)

Many of these products are limited edition or are discontinued items!

This giveaway is open to everyone 18 years and older AND is open internationally.

Are you as super excited for this giveaway as I am? What products are you hoping are included based on the listing above?

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: Dura-Tags + A Giveaway!

Hello, everybody! Today I have a REALLY cool product to show you called Dura-Tags! I was given the opportunity to design three of my own custom photo tags, which was perfect because I have three Labrador Retrievers!


 But you don't have to own a dog for a Dura-Tag. Any pet will do... a cat, a horse, a bird, a fish... even a pig!

Keep reading to see this awesome product that's perfect for the holidays and a chance to win three free Dura-Tags!

Swatch and Review: Milani Color Statement Skittle Nails

Good evening to you all and a very happy weekend!

Over the course of the past few months, I've been doing a lot of nail art with my new Milani Color Statement polishes. I've used blues and reds and greens and sheers... but there are so many more shades in the collection. So to keep this post relatively short and sweet, while having all the colors in a single post, I decided to skittle swatch the polishes. However, I kept them in color groups for easy viewing.

All polish names are listed from index to pinky finger and have two coats applied.