In-store brands? CVS is a must-do.

When it comes to saving money on beauty items, there are certainly ways to do it. My best advice for accomplishing this? Purchase in-store brands when it comes to particular beauty items that you need and use. Cotton balls. Ear swabs. Face creams. Facial scrubs. Lotions. Sunscreens. Makeup removals.

I know it comes down to what you feel comfortable purchasing, but the beauty of in-store products is that they often contain the same or similar ingredients as the brand-named products. Plain and simple. So when it comes to purchasing certain beauty products – for me in particular, my Facial Scrub – I go with the CVS in-store products.

CVS has always been one of my favorite go-to places. Coincidentally, CVS is based in RI. I have lived in 3 different towns in Rhode Island, and in every one of these towns, a CVS has always been less than 3 miles away. Gosh… I remember racing to CVS as a kid to buy all my school essentials – pens, pencils, trapper keepers (remember those!), notebooks and agendas. And then as I approached my first make-up rites-of-passage, I got my very first lipstick there – Revlon’s Pink Foil. I felt so “grown-up” and “cool.”

Now my days are filled with 30-something essentials and mom essentials. What’s also a great bonus about CVS is their ExtraCare Card Program. Talk about saving money! I love it. I literally (sad, but true) get a HIGH off of the coupons that “pop” out of the register after all of my purchases. I know when I hear that distinct “beep” that coupons are coming. This is my favorite –

To learn more about CVS, check out 2 of my favorite money-saving bloggers: Tara of the fabulous Deal Seeking Mom and Alyssa from the wonderful Keeping the Kingdom First. Both of these ladies know how to bring you the best deals and money-saving tips from CVS and beyond. Just check out this post from Tara at Deal Seeking Mom, CVS 101 for Newbies.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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17 Comments

  1. 3.4.09
    Katja said:

    Thanks to Alyssa and Tara I go to CVS all the time now, it is awesome!

  2. 3.4.09
    Donnetta said:

    I just wish I had a CVS in the part of the country where I live. *sigh*

    I will be checking out more of the store brand beauty products for the stores I do have. Thanks!

  3. 3.4.09

    Love it, Audrey! Thanks so much for the link.

    Donnetta, do you have a Rite Aid or a Walgreens near you? You can get big savings at both as well – if you know the best blogs to check out . . . hint, hint. 😛

  4. 3.4.09

    So sad that I have no CVS near my house. I hear the deals there are phenomenal, and I love awesome deals!

    I will have to check out Tara’s website because I DO have both Rite Aid and Walgreen’s.

  5. 3.4.09

    I’m excited b/c they finally built a CVS by me, can’t wait to go check it out!

  6. 3.4.09

    I could not agree more! I love the CVS version of the Aveeno hand cream!

  7. 3.4.09
    Lori said:

    When you go to CVS, bring your “extracare card” to the coupon kiosk and extra coupons will print out- this is prior to shopping. I have gotten $5 off 20 purchase, etc. Great when buying meds, etc. I love CVS, too.

  8. 3.4.09

    Funny you should post this today. I just returned from guess where…..CVS! It’s my favorite store.

  9. 3.4.09
    Stacey said:

    Can someone please send CVS to Canada? PLEASE 🙂

  10. 3.4.09
    Katy said:

    CVS is heaven. They even have shelled pistachios. How great is that?

  11. 3.4.09
    Dad said:

    Audrey…I have to say, I am one of CVS’s best customers. I buy as many in-store brands as I can. I even played golf once with the CEO, Tom Ryan. Tom went to the University of RI and started at CVS as a pharmacist. He now oversees a national chain with over 6,000 stores. Pretty cool huh! And he’s really a regular guy.

  12. 3.5.09
    Donna W. said:

    You know, Audrey. I hadn’t even thought about using CVS branded products. Good to know. About to go post this post on Twitter. Spread the news!

  13. 3.5.09
    Catherine Connor said:

    Just catching up on your Fashion Advice for the week. This one is very doable for me. I love in right outside of Boston and have a CVS right near my house and my office. I never have bought in-store brands. Always paid way too much for stuff, that I’m never really happy with. So I’m going to try this one out. I love your vlogs. You’re so good at them! Why aren’t you on TV?

  14. 3.5.09

    We seem to have a CVS in every town here around Philadelphia. I am a big fan of the CVS branded items – lotions, creams, even feminine hygene prodocts and generic Advil and Tylenol. You can save alot of money that way. I’m also a big fan of their minute clinic – my husband and I got there for things like strep and sinus infections. Saves us alot of time and the hassle of having to get an appointment with our g.p.

  15. 3.5.09
    Erin said:

    I just bought a CVS thermal facial scrub that is a knock off of Oil of Olay. Not only was it just as good, but it was $10 cheaper AND I got $2 bucks back. I love CVS!

  16. 3.5.09

    I love CVS! And, I love store brand products all, well 97% of the time!

    Their Extra Care program is fab and they will take more than one coupon on an item so long as they are from different sources, ie: their store coupon + newspaper clipped coupon + printed coupon = BIG SAVINGS!!

  17. 7.14.09
    Anna said:

    Hi Audrey – you’re right, the CVS store brands are the way to go, especially when it comes to health and beauty. You hit the nail on the head when you said that store brands contain the same ingredients as brand name products. I am a mother of twins and in addition to CVS aspirin, cotton swabs, and other products, I buy the CVS Pharmacy store brand baby formula, which is 35% cheaper than brands like Enfamil and Similac. Great posting and BIG SAVINGS!

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