A secret source for luxury “steals.”

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I am all about living the luxe life for less. I love scouting out fantastic deals when I travel, shop, and dine at unique spots across the country (and abroad!), and I always try to share the details with you, so you can do the same. In the past few months, I’ve noticed some very interesting and attractive deals offered by the site HowAboutWe. This site is a great example of how you can “stack” promos and discounts to save serious cash; the key is to use the large referral credit offered as a new member, then keep rolling your savings with friend referral credits, the free date offered each month, and the amazing deals that frequently pop up on the site.

Recent examples of very good deals include a free care package, a BBQ dinner delivered to your doorstep for $11, free peanut butter for a year, and a $35 epic “progressive” date.

In case you aren’t familiar with HowAboutWe, they are a site that offers an interesting variety of curated, “boutique” dates – always at a nice discount. I discovered HowAboutWe last year, and now I love and use them all the time. The site is quickly becoming one of my go-to spots for great deals, but I think that many people still have no idea what HowAboutWe is or what they do. If you are one of those people, it might be worth a visit to their site to check it out…and in the meantime, here are two examples of how I’ve recently used HowAboutWe for some serious luxury bargains.

Making “bespoke” fragrances in Chicago…for $15!

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a fun weekend in Chicago with my great friend Ginger. Before we left, I had the smart idea to browse through the dates HowAboutWe was currently offering in Chicago; I was thrilled to discover a gem.

To be able to see Chicago dates, I logged into my HowAboutWe account and changed my zip code from San Francisco to Chicago. Then I was able to browse and select a few that looked fun. While HowAboutWe is marketed to couples in a relationship, they certainly don’t mind if you decide to take a friend on a date instead of your partner. They also don’t mind where you decide to enjoy the date – the world is your oyster! Of course in reality you are limited to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle…but my point is that you don’t have to live in a city in order to go on a date there. And of course some dates are super romantic, so it would be a little weird to experience them with anyone but your partner. But for most of the dates, there’s a lot of flexibility involved.

The date was a one-hour fragrance making session for two at a little boutique called the Aroma Workshop, two separate take-home custom bottles, and two travel atomizers filled with the fragrance you created. The retail price of this experience was $150, but HowAboutWe was offering it for $65, and since I had a $50 credit from a friend referral, the cost of this date was $15. I’m excited to say that HowAboutWe is offering Points and Pixie Dust readers $50 off your first date, so you could get a similar deal! (New members in NYC, SF, LA, Chicago and Seattle only, expires August 31, 2014) This is the link if you’d like to use it – thanks, HowAboutWe! (Note that your discount will be applied at checkout).

This experience ended up being one of the best things we did in Chicago. It was fun to walk through the city to find the workshop, which ended up being in the very cute neighborhood of Lincoln Park.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by Sierra and Enlik, the two “scentologists.”  Enlik has degrees in chemistry and biology, plus a background in aromatherapy, while Sierra is an art student. They were the perfect blend. 😉

We sat down at the counter, in front of a long rack filled with small glass bottles. Sierra and Enlik explained that we would be working with four scent families: flavors and fruits, earthy and woody, citrusy fresh, and floral.

It was our job to find 7-10 scents that we loved, then they would create custom blends for us. It took awhile to smell all the scents. Turns out I’m not really a flavor/fruit kind of person – I like more spicy, citrusy scents. While I kind of knew that before I sat down, it was interesting to confirm it over and over again with all of the available scents.

The process was fascinating to watch! The whole thing took a little over an hour.

After some fine-tuning, we each settled on a unique blend. Mine was a mix of florals (China Lily and White Tea), a spicy (Thyme Warp), and a citrus (Yuzu). Ginger chose a combination of citrus (Verbena), and spicy (Thyme Warp and Burn). We got to choose a retro-cool atomizer as well as a travel container.

They also had a selection of very ornate bottles to choose from if you were looking for a special gift.

We walked out with new fragrances as well as a treasured Chicago memory, all for $15.

Total luxury steal.

Getting massages at home.

My steals don’t stop there! I was excited to use my HowAboutWe membership while I was traveling, but I use it all the time while I’m at home.

One of the things I like most about HowAboutWe is that they feature activities that I would never think to do myself. Case in point: in-home couples massages.

According to the site, the date included a one-hour, in-home couples massage provided by Unwind Me. The two massage therapists would bring tables, spa-quality linen and oils, sparkling wine for two, and a bouquet of fresh flowers from BloomThat. How decadent does that sound?

Since Josh also had a $50 friend referral credit, the cost of this date was $102, gratuity included. I really like how generous HowAboutWe is with their new user and friend referral credits. You could get the same deal on this massage because of the deal that HowAboutWe is offering to Points and Pixie Dust readers in NYC, SF, LA, Chicago and Seattle ($50 off your first date). Note that it is for new members only, and expires August 31, 2014. Click here to use the discount – it will be applied at checkout.

We booked the date for a Sunday evening. Unwind Me was so gracious and flexible when it came to finding a time that worked for us. We had to schedule it late enough so that our kids would be in bed, but not so late that we wanted to be asleep ourselves…although I think Josh fell asleep during his massage anyway, because I could hear him snoring (although he claims he was just “very relaxed”). The massage therapists set up their tables side-by-side in our family room, then put on relaxing music and spritzed the air with calming lavender spray.

We were so relaxed after the massages that we were almost reeling…in a good way. The massage therapists quietly packed up and tiptoed out, but not before they left gifts.

What a great evening. Thanks so much, HowAboutWe!

Have you ever tried at-home massages or made a bespoke fragrance – or more importantly, have you tried HowAboutWe?

 

This post was sponsored by HowAboutWe, a service that I am now hooked on, but the opinions expressed are my own. New user links above are not my referral links – they are provided by HowAboutWe as a bonus to Points and Pixie Dust readers. Enjoy!