Tag: Coupons

 
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I got Issues

 

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I forgot to go to the bathroom after my son’s allergist appointment and Ulta had the closest bathroom. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I knew I couldn’t make it to my next stop – in 5 o’clock traffic – so I HAD to stop…and use my $5 off $15 coupon. I picked up Zoya “Faye” and China Glaze “It’s a Trap-eze”. I was going to get 2 Zoyas, but Lily BEGGED for the China Glaze because RAINBOW GLITTER, so I went ahead and got it “for her”. (I still have one more $5 off coupon.) You can’t really tell from the picture, but “Faye” is a chameleon purple/copper shimmer – it’s hot.

After Ulta, I had to get a prescription from Target. I live for the clearance endcaps at Target. It just so happens that the endcap right by the pharmacy had hundreds of 50% off nail polishes. I showed considerable restraint in only getting one today – Sally Hansen Gem Crush “Glitz Gal”.

I had planned to paint my nails tonight, but Zoya polish doesn’t chip – my Disco “Bobbi” nails still look good! I’m thinking slamming my hand in the car door tomorrow, to ensure I need a repaint…

 

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Saturday Shopping

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If I’m out of the house, I’m going to find a way to go shopping.

Before heading to a birthday party, my BFF and I had to drop by Ulta, kids in tow. While she availed herself of her 20% off coupon, I was going to put my $5 off coupon to use by picking up Zoya “Bobbi” and essie luxeffects “A Cut Above”. (Too bad I didn’t check the dates – my coupon isn’t valid until Monday. Luckily, they had a $3.50 off coupon at the check-out.)

After a fun birthday party for a very sweet 5 year old, I demanded that we visit Bath & Body Works, so that I could take advantage of B3G3 and an “up to 40% off” coupon. I picked up Fragrance Mist, Body Cream and Shower Gel in “Oahu Coconut Sunset” for my sister in Alaska. They don’t have B&BW where she lives and I figured she may be missing Hawaii after a cold winter. I also picked up back-up Body Creams for myself – “Mad About You”, “Pure Paradise” and “Carried Away”. My coupon ended up being for 30% off – not a bad deal…

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BOGO

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Julep is evil!

They KNOW that if they send me a BOGO (Buy One, Get One), I’m gonna use it.

I am really loving their monthly Birthstone Collection, so I ordered “Aretha” – Aquamarine for March and “Coretta” – Diamond for April. “Coretta” contains real diamond dust according to the website.

I also spent $2 on a 4 pack of Buffer Blocks. I didn’t expect them to be so tiny.

New Speckled Mystery Boxes were just released…I will resist! I WILL.

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Kroger Haul

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I can’t pass up a good deal…my Kroger had a bunch of polish at 50% off.

I made my husband and kids stand there in the aisle while I dug through my coupons. I had a $1.50 off and a $1.00 off Maybelline coupon, so I got 2 – Color Show Street Art “Wild at Heart” and Color Show “Emerald City”. I’m a bit confused that the “Emerald City” is more blue than green…but whatever. Regularly $3.99 each and $1.99 on clearance – I paid $.99 and $.49 each.

They also had Revlon Perfumerie, Sally Hansen and more at 50% off. I need to go back…

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20% Off Ulta Haul

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Send me a coupon…and I’m gonna use it.

Ulta has always been pretty free with their $3.50 off coupons, but they’re nothing special, since you can’t use them on “Prestige” brands. But the 20% off coupon they sent IS usable on “Prestige”. That’s kind of a big deal.

Since I had just ordered the Too Faced “Boudoir Eyes” Palette for my BFF, I decided I wanted it, too. (We don’t get all salty when we get the same products – we like buying the same makeup, carrying the same purses, wearing the same horsemask.) They were out of the free “Better Than Sex” mascara, but the clerk gave me a sample of Bare Minerals “Lash Domination”.

As I was testing Too Faced BB Cream, the stila makeup artist asked if I had any questions. I didn’t realize she was just stila, so she couldn’t answer any of my questions about the Too Faced stuff. For once, I didn’t have my kids with me, so I figured why not try the stila? (It’s funny how these makeup artists talk shit about other brands. I mentioned that I used to use Bare Minerals and she said it’s basically like rubbing dirt on my face.) I let her try out the stila Stay All Day Foundation on me. Honestly, it wasn’t bad, but too much work for me. I DID like the Set & Correct Baked Powder Trio and bought it. I also picked up 3 of the lip glazes from last month’s Birchbox – Red Velvet, Lychee and Banana Berry – they were 3 for $15!

Finally, I grabbed a Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil in “Soft Brown”. I’ve heard good things about Anastasia Dip Brow, but again – too much work for me. I’ve already tried the pencil and I’m liking it so far…lighter than the normal cheapie pencils I use, but more natural.

My initial total was about $115, but with the 20% off coupon and $11 in Ulta Rewards, it was $79…this post should have been called “How to Make Your Husband Shit a Brick.”

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Ulta Mail

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Sick of looking at my fingernails? Let me tell you about the Ulta mail that was in my mailbox today after I went shopping at Ulta…

I’m not sharing all of the items in my box yet – more gifts – but in addition to the gifts, I picked up my first essie polish – essie luxeffects “Set in Stones”. I also got Sparitual Luminary Top Effect “Opaline”. I saw it in the store over Spring Break and I’ve been thinking about it non-stop, so why not?

My gift with purchase was samples from it Cosmetics by Jamie Kern (never heard of them before) – Vitality Lip Blush Hydrating Lip Gloss Stain in “Naturally Flushed”, Bye Bye Under Eye Full Coverage Anti-Aging Waterproof Concealer and a tiny packet of Medium CC+ Cream – bummed that it will be WAY too dark for me.

My free samples were Biolage Exquisite Oil Shampoo and Conditioner, DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel and Ouidad Climate Control Heat and Humidity Gel. I need to stop getting hair shit samples…

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No More AntiBac

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It was inevitable that Bath & Body Works respond to the recent furor over Antibacterial Soaps. Last month, they swapped out their entire Hand Soap line and replaced them all with a new non-antibacterial formula…that costs $1 more. I’d been holding off purchasing, but when I got the email today about a one day sale ($3 each) and a $10 off coupon, I couldn’t resist…

I didn’t bother getting any of the standard scents – I just picked up scents I haven’t tried yet. I got “Meyer Lemon”, “Lemon Mint Leaf”, “Garden Strawberries” (my current favorite Hand Cream in my purse), “Aloha Orchid”, “Rainforest Sugarcane”, “Honolulu Sun” and “Mango Hibiscus”.

As I was checking out, I mentioned how excited I was about the new scent coming out. The clerk thought I was referring to the one available now – “French Lavender Honey” – but I meant the new International Collection coming in April. Then she said she just got a box of “Moroccan Orchid” in and she grabbed a bottle of Fragrance Mist from the back and let me smell it…It was divine!

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Late Ulta Post

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I was so caught up in my fingernails, I didn’t do my Ulta post last week. As you’re reading this…pretend it’s last Friday…

After visiting Bath & Body Works and Bed, Bath & Beyond, I slunk over to Ulta. I was ready to spend some money! The first thing I hit was the nail polish. I wanted to try Zoya Pixie Dust. No dice. This location didn’t have a Pixie Dust display.

My next stop was back to the front to test high end BB Creams. First I tried Benefit “Big Easy,” which claims to be “Better than BB” right on the tube. It was shit and settled into every pore and crack on my wrist. I moved on to Smashbox BB. It was even grosser. Why do all these high end cosmetics company call their products BB Cream, when they’re plain old foundation? I tried a few more brands, but it was too late – I was devastated…

Then I tried to buy a gift for someone and this location was out of stock of what I was looking for. Fuck.

After aimlessly wandering down every aisle, I finally realized that I couldn’t find a single thing to buy. I think I have a mental block and was unable to buy anything without my bestie there with me. (She had the same thing happen to her at Ulta earlier this week – I wasn’t there and she couldn’t find anything to buy either!) I was sad until I got home and checked the mail…and found my Lucky Mystery Box AND a box of stuff I ordered from Ulta.com last week!

I used a $3.50 off coupon to try Physician’s Formula BB Cream. I freaked out at first when I saw I received “Light/Medium,” until I realized that it’s the lightest color available. I tried it on my face and it is actually a good match, maybe one tick too dark for me. By summertime, it will be perfect. It’s a lighter texture than the L’Oreal and blends more smoothly. It’s not white out of the tube, but it feels more like a BB Cream than the other products I tried that day.

See that cute makeup bag? It was a gift with purchase from Laura Geller. It had Spackle Primer, lip pops Lush Waterproof Lip Gloss in “Sunrise Rose” and Eye Rimz Baked Wet/Dry Eye Accents in “Supernatural Smoke” with a matching brush. Obviously, I needed more primer!

Since I had such bad luck with fragrance sample, I chose mystery samples this time. I got Butter London Scrubbers, Hempz Body Wash and Biolage Shampoo and Conditioner. Interesting…but I probably won’t try them until I travel…

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I Can’t Stop

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I can find a deal anywhere.

Picking up some dinner and ice cream making supplies after work, I couldn’t resist checking to see if there were any clearance polishes. A friend of mine had spied a massive amount of $1.00 – $1.50 polishes on clearance at a different HEB, so I rolled the dice at mine. I found a few $1.00 polishes…2 Maybelline Color Show Holographic polishes – “Mystic Green” and “Blue Blaze.” I also got a little bottle of Rimmel 60 Second in “Blue Eyed Girl” for a future project.

St. Ives Scrubs were also $1 off, so I tried the new varieties – “Pink Lemon and Mandarin Orange” and “Oatmeal Scrub & Mask.” I was also out of Sea Breeze.

And Dr. Delta…because I had a $1.50 off coupon, I bought the friggin’ Eucerin! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!?!?

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Adventures in Gifts with Purchase

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So I bought $24 worth of Ulta eye makeup I didn’t really need in order to get a “gift with purchase” that I didn’t really need. (I did, however, NEED more Zoya polish remover, plus I had a $3.50 off coupon.) That’s what it’s like to be a hoarder.

I bought an Ulta eye crayon in “Devil’s Food”, hoping it would last longer than the eye shadow I’ve been using for my smoky eye. It’s fine so far. Amy found hot pink (the package said “Primrose”, but I think it might be fuchsia) eyeliner and I nearly snatched it from her. As soon as we got back to Amy’s house, I tried the hot pink eyeliner. She said that I look like I have a raging case of pink eye. (No, I did not take a picture.) The good news is that now I can dress up like Bob Costas for Halloween. I also got a new eyebrow pencil, but it’s not any better than the Cover Girl pencil I’ve been using, which is $5 cheaper.

Instead of eye makeup, I wanted to try Ulta powder foundation, but they only have like 3 colors. I spent 20 minutes smearing it on my inner arm and nothing matched, so fiddlesticks.

The “gift with purchase” had a little of everything – eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, lipstick, blush, brushes, nail polish…and primer. What’s the deal with primer? Everyone is out with a primer these days…