Tag: Alterna
Megababe Ulta Haul
Get ready for post after post of Ulta Hauls – they keep having great sales on stuff I need!
I was attracted to one of the Wednesday Beauty Breaks a few weeks ago – it was a 4 piece sampler from Megababe with $50 purchase! I’d been dying to try Megababe Rosy Pits Daily Deodorant, but it’s always sold out. I got a deluxe sample of Rosy Pits, as well as Thigh Rescue Anti-Friction Stick, Squeaky Clean Hand Sanitizer, and Space Bar Detoxifying Charcoal Underarm Bar.
Ulta happened to be having some great sales on body products, so I picked up Megababe Chest-o Presto Clarifying Body Acne Mist ($18 – my son has not had overwhelming results with Pacifica Bacne Warrior, so I am trying this one out on myself and so far, it seems to be helping with the breakouts on my chest and back), Ulta Super Soothe Gentle Daily Cleanser ($10 – very cucumber-y scent), and Tweezerman Rose Gold Slant Tweezers ($20.70, down from $23 – my daughter wanted tweezers, so I gave her my old ones) for myself. I got Ulta Sunless Tanner Facing Mousse ($1.29, down from $3.24) for the boy child – I maybe regret buying him the Self Tanner. I got eos Shea Better Shaving Cream ($1.99, down from $3.99) for the girl child. I was able to use the usual $3.50 off $15 coupon.
My order also came with a 27 piece Beauty Sample Bag (free with $35 purchase): Australian Glow Facial Bronzing Mist with Rosewater (although I love rosewater, the boy will be getting this one); wet n wild PrimeFocus Primer Serum (I have one of these on my sink right now); Buxom Wanderlust Primer-Infused Blush Sample Card; Tan-Luxe Super Glow Hyaluronic Self-Tan Serum (again, to the boy); Weleda Skin Food; Crepe Erase Body Smoothing Pre-Treatment (just like the Infomercial!); Yves Saint Laurent Mon Paris; Skyn Iceland Arctic Elixir; Urban Decay Primer Potion; Hempz Pink Pomelo & Himalayan Sea Salt Herbal Body Salt Scrub; Hey Honey Sweet Treat Wild Berry & Honey Yogurt Recovery Mask (the tube is jacked up – pretty sure it is empty); it Cosmetics Confidence in an Eye Cream (I think I have two of these already); Indie Lee Squalane Facial Oil; Curlsmith Hold Me Softly Style Balm (going to the boy); Alterna My Hair My Canvas Cool Hydrations Nourishing Masque; NatureLab.Tokyo Perfect Smooth Shampoo & Conditioner; The Route The Party Peel Golden Illuminizing Peel; John Frieda Frizz Ease Leave-In Conditioner; Nioxin Scalp Relief Cleanser, Conditioner & Soothing Serum; Banila Co Miss Flower & Mr. Honey Propolis Rejuvenating Ampoule; Estee Lauder Beautiful Magnolia (intriguing scent, I have a bottle of the original Beautiful and this one is very similar); NudeStix Lip Glace; Barefoot Scientist High Dive Hydration Cream (I NEED this for my dry ass feet); Lancome Hydra Zen Gel-Creme; Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask; Smashbox Photo Finish Oil & Shine Control Primer; and Ursa Major Golden Hour Recovery Cream. What a great batch of samples!
I’ve got three more orders to review after this, so I’ll post my spend to Diamond Status after the last one.
Ultraviolet Gryffindor
The new Urban Decay Cosmetics Naked Ultraviolet Palette ($49) launched at Ulta on July 5th, several weeks after the launch at Sephora, but I wanted to wait to buy it at Ulta so that I could use points to get it. Patience is a virtue…
I’m glad that I used points to get the Ultraviolet Palette – it’s somewhat underwhelming. The color story is…odd. I never would’ve put peach and purple together, but it is doable. The shadows are not as “buttery” and soft as the first several Naked Palettes – I had a harder time blending them on my bare skin. The brushes included with the palette is very nice though. I’m still experimenting with this palette, but I feel like it will be easily forgotten, kind of like Naked Smoky.
Ohhhhh, Ulta just launched a Harry Potter Collaboration. Several items were already sold out – include all of the lip pencils and the Vault with all of the House Shadow Palettes. I did get the Harry Potter x Ulta Beauty Gryffindor Eye Shadow Palette ($16) for myself. The color story is reminiscent of the rosy chestnut tones that I love. The quality was very good, similar to last summer’s Frida Kahlo collaboration. I knew that my daughter would be Slytherin GREEN with envy, so I picked her up 2 of the Harry Potter Lip Glosses: “Hedwig” (a clear glitter topper) and “9¾” (a peachy topper). Normally $10, they were BOGO Half.
I cannot say no to inflatable Flamingos, to I snagged the Ulta Meet Me Poolside Kit ($10, down from $20). The inflatable Flamingo Drink floatie looks like the perfect size for Barbie. The kit also includes the Meet Me Poolside Eye Shadow Palette, You’re Golden Matte Bronzer, Dive-In Bouncy Blush, Summertime Shine Lip Jelly, all in a cute Cosmetic Bag.
Another reason that I’m glad I waited to order from Ulta is all the gifts with purchase I was able to rack up on my order. I got ANOTHER Palm Tree Tote 4 piece gift like the one I got last month with $25 in Ulta products purchase – I gave it to Lily. I also got a Platinum/Diamond Exclusive Gift with a $30 Makeup purchase…turns out it was the Fall 2019 gift with purchase that I got in November. The Zebra Beauty Bag (free with an $85 purchase) was NOT a dupe though. Inside the rainbow zebra bag: Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio Profundo; Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Smoothing Anti-Frizz Dry Oil Mist; Kenra Prime Conditioner Style Enhancing Shampoo & Conditioner (deluxe sizes!); Kate Somerville ExfoliKate (yes!); Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Eye Cream; Bumble and bumble. Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil; MAC Fix+ Magic Radiance; Sunday Riley CEO Vitamin C Rich Hydration Cream; Becca Ignite Highlighter; Tan Towel Plus (NOPE); PÜR 4-in-1 Correcting Primer; Ahava Deadsea Water Mineral Hand Cream; Mamonde Rose Water Toner (good, I’ve almost used up my last sample); touch in SOL No Poreblem Primer (Ooooh, I’ve been wanting to try this one); Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask; and philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar Peeling Mousse (intrigued). Yeah, this bag is packed with cool new products I’ve never tried before and few ones I really love.
So I managed to use $50 in points and a $3.50 off coupon, ultimately only spending $39.51 for the whole box…$682 to Diamond.
Mostly Purple Haul
The fact that most of the products in this order were purple was entirely coincidental!
The intentional part of the order is the purple hair dye – I’m sampling a few different semi-permanent dyes to see if I can get my hair purple enough to claim the title of MEGA-MOM. I mean, dying my hair school colors would make me the MEGA-MOM of the year, right? I picked up a sample packet of Lime Crime Unicorn Hair in “Pony” for $2.50 (I have reservations about Lime Crime, but since they’ve sold out, I’m less concerned about supporting the questionable creator) and Keracolor Travel Size Color + Clenditioner in “Purple” for $8.99. I’ve only tried the Keracolor, but it did NOTHING to my hair. I only left it in 5 minutes in the shower, so I am going to try it again for 30 minutes before making a final verdict…but I’m not optimistic. I may have to break down and try Manic Panic – but I’m hesitant to stain every single thing I own.
The other purple products I picked up: Zoya Remove + (always needing this) and Nexxus Frizz Defy Active Frizz Control Shampoo and Conditioner. I’ve had a bad case of the frizzies lately, so decided to try these while they were 40% off. What I don’t understand is why the Conditioner is so much more than the Shampoo, $19.99 ($11.99 on sale) for the Conditioner, versus $13.99 ($8.39 on sale) for the Shampoo. Fingers crossed for smooth hair soon.
I also picked up some other 50% off products – my holy grail eyebrow pencil, Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($5, down from $10) and a wet n wild Megalast Liquid Catsuit Metallic Lipstick in “Life’s No Pink-Nic” ($2.49, down from $4.99). The lipstick looks reddish in the tube, but is a dusty rose/copper – neither of which are pink, as the name implies. So confuse.
I got two different sample bag with my order, a hair sample bag and a brow sample bag. Inside the hair sample bag: HASK Cactus Water Shampoo & Conditioner (excited to try this); Alterna Haircare Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture CC Cream; Wella Professional Invigo Volume Boost Crystal Mask; Seed Phytonutrients Scalp & Roots Oat Mask (WEIRD); System Professional Smoothen Shampoo Hair Structure Softener (WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN? This product scares me); Curlsmith Scalp Stimulating Booster; and Macadamia Professional Essential Repair Daily Deep Conditioner. Inside the brow sample bag: Urban Decay Brow Endowed Brow Volumizer in “Brown Betty”; Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in “3.5 Neutral Medium Brown”; Tweezerman Micro Mini Tweezer (OMG, it’s miniscule); Covergirl Clear Brow Setting Gel; Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel; and essence lash & brow gel mascara style & comb. What am I going to do with all this clear brow gel???
No good coupons when I ordered, just the usual $3.50 off $15 coupon. $460 to Diamond status.
August 2019 Sephora Play! – Your Beauty Sidekicks
This month’s Play! box is Superhero themed, full of killer sidekick products.
First off, I gotta point out that my REN Clean Skincare Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream was busted – the tube was slashed somehow! It looks like the plastic cracked? I am lucky that the content congealed and didn’t leak into the box…into the trash it goes.
I am normally excited about Glamglow, but I am not sure how I feel about Glamglow Supertoner Exfoliating Acid Solution Toner. It’s a thick gray liquid – it’s charcoal. Hmmmm…
Also in this month’s box: Laura Mercier Caviar Volume Panoramic Mascara; Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Cream Gloss in “Hot Toddy”; Clinique Moisture Surge 72-hour Auto-Replenishing Hydrator; and Alterna Haircare CAVIAR Ant-Aging Smoothing Anti-Frizz Blowout Butter (TWO caviar products – suspicious?).
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
Deja Ulta Haul
I am getting serious deja vu from this Ulta Haul – oh yeah, I did a haul like this almost exactly a year ago.
I decided to use my 20% code to stock up on L’Oreal Colorista Semi-Permanent Hair Color for the kids ($10.99 each) in “Red”, “Maroon”, and “Burgundy”. I also picked up a L’Oreal Colorista Highlights Kit (also $10.99). Will I ruin my hair? Maybe…but maybe it will look amazing? The color isn’t important – I just need to process it to pick up the pink dye I’ll add to it later…
In addition to the hair dye, I grabbed one of the cute little I Heart Revolution Donut Palette ($7) – of course, I got the “Chocolate Dipped”. I also grabbed some sale NYX lippies – Liquid Suede Metallic Creme Lipstick in “Acme” ($2.09, down from $2.99) and Lip Lingerie Glitter in “Eurotrash” ($5.25, down from $7.50). I am a bit disappointed in the Lip Lingerie Glitter – it is more like a glossy paste than a long lasting liquid lipstick – but I am IN LOVE with the Liquid Suede in “Acme” – it is perfect!
I also continued my experimentation with hair dissolving chemicals by picking up Nair Glides Away Sensitive Formula Hair Remover with Coconut Oil for Bikini, Arms & Underarms ($8.99). I haven’t tried it yet, but hopeful.
I got a HUGE Beauty Break with my $65 order – a 14 piece Fresh by Day Summer Sampler. Inside the sampler: NEST Grapefruit & Verbena Fragranced Body Wipes (weird); Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Polish (oh, it’s for your legs); Vichy Purete Thermale One Step Cleanser for Sensitive Skin (a positively huge 3.3 oz tube); Bed Head by TIGI Queen Beach Salt Infused Texture Spray (another full size product); Clean Rain; eyeko Yoga Waterproof Mascara (nope); Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture CC Cream; MAC Prep + Prime Fix+ Setting Spray; PUR Lit Mist; Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter; Bare Republic Mineral Sunscreen Lotion with Diamond Dust (a shimmery suntan lotion – crazy); Poo-Pourri “Lavender Vanilla”; Mamonde Petal Spa Oil to Foam (I LOVE the way this smells); and CoTZ Face Moisture Mineral Sunscreen. A great set of summer samples!
I got a second 20% off code after this order, but it expired yesterday. Oh well…$522 to Diamond status.
Sephora Play! May 2019 – Beauty BFFs
I am INTRIGUED by the name of May’s fragrance sample – Viktor & Rolf Salty Flower. I know, I know – I need to grow up. I usually like citrus scents, but I haven’t decided how I feel about this one. It’s got a hint of orange, but it’s buried underneath a powdery, old lady smell. I’ll have to wear it a few times to really decide.
Also included in this month’s “Beauty BFFs” box: Benefit Cosmetics BADgal BANG! Mascara (a decent mascara); Smashbox Always On Matte Liquid Lipstick in “Stepping Out” (reminds me of NYX Soft Matte Metallic in “Cannes”); Sol de Janeiro Copa Cabana Cream (smells so good that I want to drink it); It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Eye Cream (bahhhh); and Alterna Haircare Caviar Anti-Aging Restructuring Bond Repair Leave-in Heat Protectant Spray.
A good box, with a wide variety of useful products.
Sephora Play is one of the better subscription boxes with consistently high-end products. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
First Ulta Haul of 2019
I follow enough drag queens on Instagram to know that Sugarpill is one of THE makeup brands to use – besides Jeffree Star and Anastasia Beverly Hills, of course. Ulta just started carrying their lipsticks, so I loaded a bunch in my cart and waited to see what else I needed. Originally, I had Sugarpill “Trinket” in my cart, but it sold out. I also had some other ones, but I decided to try just one and scope out the quality before buying more. I settled on “Pillow Fight” ($18), a dusty mauve with gold sparkle. It smells like a dreamsicle! The formula wasn’t super drying, but more drying than I’m used to. It lasts about as long as my other liquid lips…I’ve got a new brand to stan!
I also needed to stock up on face washes. Pacifica was BOGO 40% off, so I got Crystal Beam Foaming Crystal Face Scrub ($16) and Coconut Milk Cream to Foam Face Wash ($6, down from $10). I am VERY disappointed in the Crystal Beam – it is NOT a scrub. There is NO grit to the exfoliant – a total waste. Boo.
I also got two of my favorite eye brow pencil at BOGO 50% off – Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” (one at $10 and one at $5). Until I can afford microblading, I’ll keep buying these.
I got a 19 piece Beauty Bag with my $25 purchase. Inside the bag: Juice Beauty Phyto Pigments (and there’s actually a picture of the GOOPtress on the sample – ugh); L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion (nope); Benefit They’re Real Mascara (HUGE Deluxe Sample); Alterna Haircare Caviar Anti-aging Shampoo & Conditioner; Maybelline Great Lash Mascara; Ahava Mineral Mud Clearing Facial Treatment (yes!); Organic to Green Coco Oil; Caroline Herrera Good Girl; Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask (yasss); Mario Badescu Herbal Hydrating Serum; Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream; Living proof. T.B.D. multi-tasking styler; Clarins Extra-firming Nuit Night Cream; Chloe Chloe; Sexy Hair Love Oil; Boots No7 Early Defence Glow Activating Serum; Trilogy Rosehip Cream Cleanser; Philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser; Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy; and PUR Get a Grip Endurance Eyeshadow Primer. Oh, and a $5 off Ulta Beauty Collection Coupon. This is the best sample bag in a bit!
Ulta is STILL not including samples with their orders. Jerks. I used a $3.50 off coupon on this order.
$399 to Platinum for 2020.
Saint AND Sinner
When Kat Von D’s new Saint & Sinner Eyeshadow Palette ($62) dropped last Wednesday, I debated for about 30 seconds before I went ahead and ordered it. I wasn’t about to risk it selling out like I did with the Mi Vida Loca Palette…that I bought for my ex-BFF, but she did not buy for me.
ANYWAY, this palette has been a long time coming and it’s absolutely GORGEOUS. It has 24 new colors, modeled after stained glass windows. The Saint side has more muted, natural colors…while the Sinner side has bolder, darker colors. I’ve already worn it a couple of times and have been able to pull from both sides. So far, my favorite is “Rapture”, a transforming pink shimmer from the Sinner side. (I just had to wear it on Saturday, but The Rapture never came – boo.)
So I noticed that there are shades called “Sanctuary” and “Crucifix” on the Saint side…my next task will be to see how they match up with the “Sanctuary” and “Crucifix” Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks. My eyeballs tell me that they match up to the colors, but I have to test them to be sure.
The somewhat random colors remind me of the Urban Decay Vice palettes. I get all excited about them when I get them, but they’re all stuck in a drawer, barely used. I’m feeling like the colors here are more usable together and I won’t set it aside, but only time will tell.
For my regular three samples, I got Caudalie VineActiv Glow Activating Anti-Wrinkle Serum, Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer and black Up Perfecting Mattifying Primer. I’m going all out on skincare these days.
In my quest to never have to buy shampoo again, I used a promo code to get a sample bag of hair samples: Alterna Caviar CC Cream 10-in-1 Leave-In Hair Perfector; Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Smoothing Hydra-Gelee Nourishing Hair Perfector (why does Alterna have such long product names?); amika Nourishing Mask; Klorane Nourishing Leave-in Cream with Mango Butter; IGK Hydrating Hair Balm; DevaCurl Melt Into Moisture Matcha Butter Conditioning Mask (will be setting aside for a curly-headed friend); rahua Omega 9 Hair Mask; Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask; Verb Ghost Shampoo & Conditioner (I have a mental block against this Austin-based brand, but maybe I’ll try it); OUAI Repair Shampoo & Conditioner; and Living Proof. Perfect Hair Day Shampoo & Conditioner (if I ever win the lottery, maybe I can afford to exclusively use this brand…until then – samples it is).
Oh, and I just saw today that Kat Von D has a DIVINE palette coming out. I told the husband and he is LEGIT scared…he should be.
And only $221 until ROUGE. I can do it!
Sephora Play! August 2017 – The Innovators
So at first, I thought this box was called “Makeup Geek” because of the bag – but it’s really “The Innovators”, so let’s see what innovative products Sephora wants me to try this month…
First off, we’ve got the world’s tiniest beautyblender – beautyblender micro.mini. What is this, a beautyblender for ants?!?!?! Also in this month’s box: Clinique HIM Dual-Ended High Impact Mascara & Primer Duo; Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick in “Shell” (hyped to try this – maybe I could take a few hours and apply it with that beautyblender?); Burberry “My Burberry Black” (spicy jasmine and rose – not bad); Alterna Haircare CAVIAR Anti-Aging Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist; and Korres Golden Krocus Ageless Saffron Elixir Serum (knowing how expensive saffron is, I am interested to see how this works).
Yet another great box – I feel like it’s worth much more than $10!
If you haven’t signed up yet, you are insane. This is by far the best subscription box I get every month. Sephora Play is only $10/month. You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
VIB Rouge Fall 2017 Preview
I’ve been invited to several exclusive Rouge events over the last two years that I’ve had Rouge status, but this past Saturday was the first time I ever actually went. I actually got up super early, got dressed and drove my ass to Sephora at 9am in the morning.
The Fall Preview Event showcases a few of the new products launching in the fall and makes them available to purchase in very limited quantities. I say very limited, because by the time I arrived, 25 minutes into the event, they had already sold out of the Too Faced Glitter Bomb Palette. I might have been tempted to buy it, especially after swatching it and covering myself with rainbow glitter…but then I think about the owner…and no.
I had snagged a new Clinique Bubble Mask…but then I got a mini-facial with Fresh products. I put that sucker back and purchased Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream ($40) and Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner ($44). I just have a soft spot for rose scents. I also picked up a Deep Pore Replacement Head for my Clarisonic ($27).
Oh, and the freebies! The Fresh Rep gave me a Deluxe sample of Fresh Sugar Face Polish and Sugar Lip Treatment Collection. When I checked out, I qualified for a HUGE flower printed pouch and a little gift baggie of samples. Inside the little baggie were 2 of each sample: Lancer The Method: Polish, Cleanse, Nourish; Alterna Haircaire Bamboo Smooth Anti-Frizz PM Overnight Smoothing Treatment and AM Daytime Smoothing Blowout Balm; Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer; and Ole Henriksen Truth Serum. Weird products, but I’ll try them out.
All these purchases requalified my VIB status for 2018 and put me just $561 away from Rouge. I think I can do it…