New beauty products to look for at CVS/pharmacy

Disclosure: I am a CVS ambassador blogger selected by CVS to represent their brand. On 10/14/14, I attended a CVS blogger event in Chicago at which I received a gift bag featuring CVS-branded products, some of which I’ve chosen to blog about in this post. All opinions about CVS/pharmacy are my own.

I had the pleasure of taking part in a CVS/pharmacy bloggers’ event today in Chicago, and at the event, we learned that many new additions are in the works for several of CVS’ house-branded product lines.

First, the Essence of Beauty line is being expanded to include many skincare items with natural ingredients. Their Essence of Beauty Shea Indulgence Body Butter has been a staple on my vanity ever since I discovered it about two years ago. I think this line is already of impressive quality, especially for a store brand — so I was excited about sampling some of the new Essence of Beauty items that you’ll be able to find in CVS stores soon.

These natural Essence of Beauty products contain no artificial dyes, parabens, sulfates or petrolatum. I’m sampling:

– Essence of Beauty Lemon Verbena Olive Oil Hand Cream
– Essence Of Beauty Lemon Verbena Sugar Scrub
– Essence of Beauty Lemon Verbena Olive Oil Body Butter

The packaging on these new items is evocative of a high-end beauty chain too — I’ve got a larger photo below. I was impressed!

Second, CVS recently launched their MakeUp Academy (MUA) house brand of high-end cosmetics, brushes and tools. Everything in the MUA line is sold under the $20 price point. I’m sampling:

– MUA High Shine Lipsticks
– MUA Lip Stains

So far, I really like the lip stain. I had tried another lip stain product a few years ago and found it sticky and not a true “stain” — this is perfect for those days when you want to enhance your lip color without wearing lipstick. Even on makeup days, I prefer a more natural look, so I can see this quickly becoming one of my new favorite cosmetics.

Here’s a larger photo of these items so you can check out the packaging… then look for them the next time you head to CVS!

And, just for fun, look who I had the pleasure of having lunch with today at the CVS event! I was in great company with many other Chicago-area bloggers:

From left, Rachel Singer Gordon of Mashup Mom, Maria Tiongco Ramos of A Savings Wow, yours truly, Alli Doubek of Couponing for 4, and our CVS rep Tori. (And, the doorman at Sepia, who kind of photobombed us through the window.)

Disclosure: I am a CVS ambassador blogger selected by CVS to represent their brand. On 10/14/14, I attended a CVS blogger event in Chicago at which I received a gift bag featuring CVS-branded products, some of which I’ve chosen to blog about in this post. All opinions about CVS/pharmacy are my own.
Hashtag: #CVSBloggerLunch