Hello!! I wasn't sure what to post as my first entry but considering I went shopping at TJ Maxx for the first time yesterday I figured I would tell you about my experience there and the great deals (or not so great deals) I found!
First I would just like to say that this place is definitely more expensive than I thought it would be. First I went to look for a purse and the first one I found was $279.00, that just seems a little outrageous for a second hand department store, even if it is a designer brand. Cheaper, the purses further left were around $79.00 - $150.00, which again is just too much for me to fathom considering I wasn't in a more high end shop. Maybe my TJ Maxx was just outlandishly priced or I'm a total cheapskate but considering all I had was a $75.00 gift card, I don't really think it was too crazy for me to be a bit of a penny pincher around such intimidating prices. So right as I was about to give up my search for the world's least expensive purse, I see something hiding in the corner. Tossed out like yesterday's pizza behind all the garbage prices I could never afford was this little beauty:
The brand is Rimen & Co, which I have actually never heard of but I was immediately impressed by the material and overall aesthetics of the purse. Soft yellow leather, creamy vinyl, oh God please! I started saying a mini prayer to sweet baby Jesus that when I turned over the price tag I wouldn't be contemplating next months entire rent just to imagine owning this purse. Boy did I miss the mark, I couldn't believe it, it was only $35.00. Awesome price for an awesome size and feel. I am extremely impressed with my purchase and will be using this baby for years to come (: P.S. - How could I pass up how the brand's insignia also happened to be my initial!
So onward, I thought I would look in the wallet section and see if I could find something new there as well. Just as suspected, wallets ranged from $50.00 - $250.00. Seriously? The wallet selection was nothing but faux leather and silver coated plastic grommets, just an utter disappointment. But, what's this? Again under everything else, I finally found something with a decent price and a very chic appeal (:
My camera phone pictures definitely do not do this clutch justice. The hot pink is just so vibrant and beautiful, and paired with the beige and black really makes it super girly but super classy, and just a little tiny bit rockabilly. I absolutely love this wallet, and the four rhinestones around the brand plaque add just the right amount of pizzazz without being too tawdry. If you are interested in this wallet, the brand is Jessica Simpson.
Ok so moving on, why not look for a new perfume? They had everything from SJP to Juicy Couture, Britney Spears . . . etc. I didn't have enough for a full set of a designer fragrance but I did find this little beauty in the way way way back of everything for a very good price.
I've never heard of this brand but I was extremely pleasantly surprised at the quality. This body spray could almost pass as a perfume. When I sprayed this Midnight Magnolia there were so many levels of juicy flavor and it lasted FOREVER. And I know forever when it comes to perfume, and this is definitely it. There were other mists from this brand as well but this is the only one that made such a strong statement. If you've ever smelled Dark Kiss from Bath & Body Works that's exactly what the base of this smells like. So if you could imagine that deep blackberry/musk scent plus strawberries and bubblegum that's exactly what this smells like. For $2.99 I couldn't pass it up. Just lovely.
So finally I decided to look at the shampoos. After weeks of using cheap shampoos, I knew that if I could find a great brand for a great price I would swoop it up. Luckily, I did!
First I would just like to say that this place is definitely more expensive than I thought it would be. First I went to look for a purse and the first one I found was $279.00, that just seems a little outrageous for a second hand department store, even if it is a designer brand. Cheaper, the purses further left were around $79.00 - $150.00, which again is just too much for me to fathom considering I wasn't in a more high end shop. Maybe my TJ Maxx was just outlandishly priced or I'm a total cheapskate but considering all I had was a $75.00 gift card, I don't really think it was too crazy for me to be a bit of a penny pincher around such intimidating prices. So right as I was about to give up my search for the world's least expensive purse, I see something hiding in the corner. Tossed out like yesterday's pizza behind all the garbage prices I could never afford was this little beauty:
The brand is Rimen & Co, which I have actually never heard of but I was immediately impressed by the material and overall aesthetics of the purse. Soft yellow leather, creamy vinyl, oh God please! I started saying a mini prayer to sweet baby Jesus that when I turned over the price tag I wouldn't be contemplating next months entire rent just to imagine owning this purse. Boy did I miss the mark, I couldn't believe it, it was only $35.00. Awesome price for an awesome size and feel. I am extremely impressed with my purchase and will be using this baby for years to come (: P.S. - How could I pass up how the brand's insignia also happened to be my initial!
So onward, I thought I would look in the wallet section and see if I could find something new there as well. Just as suspected, wallets ranged from $50.00 - $250.00. Seriously? The wallet selection was nothing but faux leather and silver coated plastic grommets, just an utter disappointment. But, what's this? Again under everything else, I finally found something with a decent price and a very chic appeal (:
My camera phone pictures definitely do not do this clutch justice. The hot pink is just so vibrant and beautiful, and paired with the beige and black really makes it super girly but super classy, and just a little tiny bit rockabilly. I absolutely love this wallet, and the four rhinestones around the brand plaque add just the right amount of pizzazz without being too tawdry. If you are interested in this wallet, the brand is Jessica Simpson.
Ok so moving on, why not look for a new perfume? They had everything from SJP to Juicy Couture, Britney Spears . . . etc. I didn't have enough for a full set of a designer fragrance but I did find this little beauty in the way way way back of everything for a very good price.
I've never heard of this brand but I was extremely pleasantly surprised at the quality. This body spray could almost pass as a perfume. When I sprayed this Midnight Magnolia there were so many levels of juicy flavor and it lasted FOREVER. And I know forever when it comes to perfume, and this is definitely it. There were other mists from this brand as well but this is the only one that made such a strong statement. If you've ever smelled Dark Kiss from Bath & Body Works that's exactly what the base of this smells like. So if you could imagine that deep blackberry/musk scent plus strawberries and bubblegum that's exactly what this smells like. For $2.99 I couldn't pass it up. Just lovely.
So finally I decided to look at the shampoos. After weeks of using cheap shampoos, I knew that if I could find a great brand for a great price I would swoop it up. Luckily, I did!
They had so many different brands! The prices were AMAZING. Brands like Aveeno and Matrix for only 7.99 for an entire liter of shampoo and conditioner. I couldn't believe it. I ended up choosing Naturelle's Aura rosemary mint shampoo (which smells so clean and minty), and Naturelle's Slickline conditioner, (which works and smells like a dream).
Overall I wasn't impressed by my venture to TJ Maxx, the customer service was actually terrible. After thirty minutes of waiting for the bank to approve my TJ Maxx rewards card registration, the cashier told me I was actually applying for a credit card that just happened to say TJ Maxx on it -.- not to mention the ONLY reason I was going through with it was because she promised me that I would get 10% off my purchase instantly. So I agreed to wait and blah blah blah, thirty minutes of this goes by and she finally tells me that I should be receiving my 10% off coupon in the mail. After getting a little upset and asking her why she told me before (three times) that I would recieve my 10% off right now, she called me a liar and said she'd never spoken such words. So now I'm stuck with a credit card that I'll never use, as well as a 10% discount card coming in the mail that I'll also never use because I'll never go back there.
I actually did find some great things for my purchase price and I'm mostly happy about my purchases but keep in mind that I had to literally scrape and scrounge through items to find things in my budget. It was just too much of a hassle for me to enjoy and I can honestly say that I'm not planning another trip to TJ Maxx anytime soon.
