Tag: Fresh
Rosy Ulta Haul
I was running low on my absolute FAVORITE underarm deodorant – Megababe Rosy Pits Daily Deodorant ($14) – so I ordered one. I literally used the last smidge in the roller the day this box arrived.
We’re all adults here…I hope…so I’m just going to put it out there…after a hysterectomy and menopause, a lady might need a little help in the moisture department. I ordered Unbound Jelly ($18) and it does what it is supposed to do. No weird scents or flavors, it just gets the job done. Ulta is now carrying a wide variety of lubes and toys, so be forewarned. Good thing my teenagers actively ignore anything I write or put on social media!
Eyebrows are the most important element of my look these days, so I stocked up on a few more Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencils ($10 each) – one in “Medium Brown” for casual looks and one in “Dark Brown” for when I want to go full “Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest.” I got a free 9 piece gift with my purchase that includes an eye and face palette; ULTAmate Lashes Mascara in “Jet Black”; Velvet Matte Liquid Lipstick in a mystery shade; Lip Stain in a mystery shade; Poreless Face Primer; Matte Eye Primer; an eye shadow brush and a makeup sponge, all in a metallic pink makeup bag.
Not only did I use a $10 off $40 coupon and got the free Ulta gift with purchase…I also got a free 10 piece body care gift with my $60 purchase…which wasn’t really $60 because of the coupon. The gift included Hempz Citrus Blossom Herbal Body Moisturizer; Daily Concepts Your Facial Mini Scrubber (looks like the Dobie pad in my kitchen); Kniepp Mineral Bath Salt in “Under the Weather” (eucalyptus!); Whim by Ulta Beauty Peppermint Moisturizing Foot Mask; La Roche-Posay Lipikar Wash AP+; L’Occitane Amande Shower Oil; Completely Bare Don’t Grow There Body Moisturizer & Hair Inhibitor (you KNOW I’ll be trying this); Megababe Space Bar Detoxifying Charcoal Underarm Bar; Dionis Goat Milk Shave Butter; and Fresh Milk Body Cleanser. I feel like I would use ALL of those!
Just $329 to Diamond in 2024.
Diamond Freebie Haul
I love the first Monday of every month. Not because it’s a Monday, but because that’s when Ulta has their “Diamond Love List”, which is full of exclusive deals and freebies for Diamond Members!
The best part about the “Diamond Love List” is getting to try new products before the official launch. Fresh Rose & Hyaluronic Acid Lightweight Moisturizer ($46) is a lighter version of the Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream that I love. I’ve been using it under my makeup and I love how light it feels. It’s a bit pricier than Oil of Olay, but those are damn near $30 now! I’m getting uncomfortably close to 50 years old, so it might be time to splurge a little bit…I mean, it’s not La Mer.
My hair needs more than a sample pack of deep conditioner, so I splurged on Joico K-PAK Color Therapy Luster Lock ($38.50). It came with a gift with purchase – a free shower cap and hair wrap set. Who doesn’t need an extra shower cap and hair wrap?
What else did I “add to cart”? Aquaphor Touch-Free Healing Ointment ($9.99) is THE BEST. Smartypits Natural Deodorant Sample Pack – Sensitive Skin ($10, down from $20) – I couldn’t pass up this set of 4 trial size deodorants. So far, I’ve only used “Rose Lavender”, but it hasn’t irritated my skin. I also picked up a few more Flowery Nail Buffers, at 40% off. I also got a pair of Diane Daisy/Clean-Cut Shear 5” ($8.79, down from $10.99) for Logan. I caught him cutting his hair with kitchen scissors!
My order also contained a birthday gift for my sister…not pictured.
…and now for the free stuff! I got an exclusive Clarins 4 piece set with my $35 skincare purchase: Clarins Double Serum Eye; Extra-Firming Neck & Décolleté; Total Cleansing Oil; Extra-Firming Night Cream; and Instant Smooth – that’s five things! I also got a free mystery gift with select hair care purchase: it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream Anti-Aging; Biolage Strength Repairing Spray; Love Wellness Call Me Collagen; Drybar Liquid Glass Shampoo & Conditioner; Verb Ghost Shampoo & Conditioner; Ouidad Water Works Clarifying Shampoo; Living proof. Perfect hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Treatment; and it Cosmetics Bye Bye Lines Serum. Last, but not least, I got a Platinum & Diamond Exclusive 11 piece gift with $35 hair purchase: Biolage All-In-One Multi-benefit Spray; Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother; Living proof. Perfect hair Day Enhancing Treatment; Batiste Dry Shampoo; Bed Head Master Piece Hairspray; ANOTHER Love Wellness Call Me Collagen; Better Not Younger Wake Up Call Volumizing Shampoo (but no conditioner?); Virtue Healing Oil; OUAI Treatment Masque; and Curls Blueberry Bliss Reparative Leave-In Conditioner. My hair is so lucky!
On top of all those freebies, I was able to use a $10 off $50 coupon…just $718 to Diamond in 2024.
Fresh Cyber Monday Haul
I didn’t go TOO crazy on Cyber Monday…well, maybe a little.
I mostly bought gifts, so not sharing them in this post…but I did get a little something for myself…Fresh Beauty was 25% off, so I got Fresh Sugar Strawberry Exfoliating Face Wash ($24.75, down from $33) and Fresh Sugar Balm Gift Set ($13.87, down from $18.50). This qualified me for a free gift from Fresh – a makeup bag with 4 samples: Fresh Rose Hydration Cream (LOVE); Fresh Soy Face Cleanser; Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Eye Concentrate; and Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment. I admit, I kind of enjoy buying Sephora-owned products from Ulta…
Oooh, another gift with my $90 purchase! Inside the (mostly skin stuff) Cyber Monday bag: No7 Menopause Skincare Nourishing Overnight Cream (HOW DID THEY KNOW I’M OLD???); MAC fix+ Magic Radiance; Love Wellness Bye Bye Bloat (again, how did they know my digestive tract is all broken?); Peach & Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum (I love this stuff); Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream; it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream (I love this stuff, too); Better Not Younger Bounce Back Shampoo & Conditioner; Ariana Grande God is a Woman; Tom Ford Noir; Givenchy Gentleman (a good friend of mine wears this – it’s nice); Olay Regenerist Hyaluraonic +Peptide Hydrating Gel; Clinique Moisture Surge 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator; Kate Somerville ExfoliKate; Tula Skincare the cult classic purifying face cleanser & 24-7 moisture hydrating day & night cream; Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion; Giorgio Armani My Way; a Zitsticka; It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product; IGK Pay Day Instant Repair Shampoo & Conditioner + Cash In Instant Repair Serum; Too Faced Lady Bold Lipstick Sample Card; NARS Concealer Sample Card; Keys Soulcare Let Me Glow Illuminating Serum (I also love this stuff); Anastasia Beverly Hills Crystal Lip Glow in “Glass”; Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Cream (even more stuff I love); and Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer.
I got so much stuff that I was able to use a $10 off code AND qualify for Diamond in 2023 – that’s it, I’m in!
Sephora Favorites Hello! Greatest Beauty Hits (and more)
Ooooh! Sephora Sale on Sale! An extra 20% off sale items…so tempting.
I’d been eyeing the newest Sephora Favorites Hello! Greatest Beauty Hits set. $8 on sale is better than $10…but $6.40 is even better. I was most interested in Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa ’62 Eau de Parfum – it was so summery. Also in the set: It Cosmetics Lash Blowout Volumizing Mascara; Tarte SEA Jelly Glaze Anytime Lip Mask in “Strawberry Jelly”; BareMinerals Gen Nude Powder Blush in “Call My Blush”; First Aid Beauty FAB Pharma Arnica Relief & Rescue Mask; and Sephora Collection Ultra Glow Serum: Glow + Strengthen Vitamin C Serum. As usual, the set comes with 15% off vouchers for each product – I might actual used the Cheirosa ’62 one.
While browsing the sale section, I found a few other smokin’ deals. I splurged on a Fresh Rose Hydration Skincare Essentials Set ($55, down from $63 – $44 after discount). I also picked up the tarte SEA Yours & Mine Quench Lip Rescue Duo ($17, down from $19 – $13.60 after discount). I really like the Lip Rescue I got in the Give Me Some Balm Set – all the mask wearing has dried out my lips! The Milk Makeup KUSH Triple Brow Pen ($11, down from $22 – $8.80 after discount) was a bad purchase. The first time I used it, it was GREAT. The color “Dutch” was a perfect match to my brows and each stroke was like a little hair. The second time I used it though, it did not work at all. It’s like all the color went out of the pen after one use! Ugh, if I wasn’t so lazy, I’d take it back.
For my samples, I got Kiehl’s Calendula Water Cream and amika Flash Instant Shine Mask.
I made this purchase in 2020, but it wasn’t enough to put me into VIB status – I still needed like $65, but I didn’t want to buy something dumb. I feel like such a peasant.
Sephora Favorites POP – Beauty Cred
Well how about that…just a few weeks after Sephora releases a Hello! box, they release a POP box. I feel like they are playing around with price points and configurations to see what performs the best. I am not helpful at all – I’ll buy anything.
The “Beauty Cred” box contains “the next big thing in beauty”…hmm, okay. By far, the best sample in the box is the creamier than creamy Natasha Denona Eyeshadow in “Moonstone”. No wonder she charges $129 for a palette – this is some of the highest quality eyeshadow I’ve ever used. It pairs well with the Fenty Beauty Full Frontal Volume, Lift & Curl Mascara. The brush is super fluffy, but somehow doesn;t leave my lashes clumpy.
Also in this box: Lord Jones High CBD Formula Body Lotion in “Fragrance Free”; Fresh Rose Petal-Soft Deep Hydration Lip Balm (yasssssss, more lip balm); Amika Flash Instant Shine Hair Mask; and Maison Margiela REPLICA Beach Walk fragrance (I swear, I’ve gotten this sample 50 times from Sephora – get over this scent, it’s boring).
The set was a slighty higher price point, at $15, which is still pretty cheap. Oh, and it also came with a bunch of beauty-themed stickers.
I was over the moon to try the other samples I picked for my box. I love the scent of Brazilian Bum Bum Cream and now they have shampoo/conditioner. I IMMEDIATELY used the samples of Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Joia Strengthening Shampoo & Conditioner – it smells AMAZING! Ugh, they are $25 each. I also got a sample of Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant, which I have not tried yet.
$148 to VIB in 2021.
Sephora Favorites Hello! Holy-Grail Greats
As soon as I start complaining about missing subscription boxes, Sephora releases another Hello! set. Even if it’s not all that great a set, I went ahead and ordered it – just to get some mail.
I didn’t think I’d like the Farmacy Daily Greens Oil-Free Gel Moisturizer with Moringa and Papaya, but it feels really nice on my skin. It’s similar to belif Aqua Bomb in silkiness.
I wore Valentino Donna Born in Roma today and I was surprised at how much I liked it – I don’t usually like woody oriental scents. I didn’t get an Italian vibe from this scent, it was very Far Eastern.
Also in the Holy-Grail Greats set: Tarte Lights, Camera, Action 4-in-1 Mascara (meh); Moroccanoil Treatment Light (meh); Smashbox Photo Finish Vitamin Glow (interested to try it); and Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 (meh).
The set was $10 and I used FREESHIP to get free shipping. The set also came with coupons for 15% off a full size purchase of each of the included products.
I’ve been saving up Beauty Insider points for several years and decided to use 500 points to get the Fresh Rose Hydration Heaven Set, which includes one of my favorite moisturizers – Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream, as well as Soy Face Cleanser, Rose Face Mask, and Sugar Rosé Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 (my favorite balm).
I received two fragrance samples with my order. Leila Lou by Rosie Jane is a heavy jasmine scent – it didn’t smell bad, but it was too much jasmine for me. I’ll be giving this one away. Viktor & Rolf Magic Salty Flower is more my speed. There’s a touch of jasmine in this scent, but there are more blossomy and salty accords. I’ll be keeping this one.
$163 to VIB status in 2021.
Give Me Some Balm
Oh hey, so here’s my order from Sephora’s Spring VIB Sale. It took over two weeks to get here, which is understandable…but work has been literally INSANE the past week, so I haven’t been posting…
Sephora hasn’t been wowing me lately, but I did find a few things that sparked my interest. I’d been eyeing the new Sephora Favorites “Give Me Some Balm” Kit ($29), because almost every day, I’ve been wearing nothing but lip balm. The star of the set is the FULL SIZE Pat McGrath Labs Lip Fetish Balm in “Clear” – hands down, this is the prettiest tube I own! I’m also pumped about the Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment in “Clear” – it’s minty. Even though I hate applying lip balm with my finger, the peachy scent of the Too Faced Cosmetics Peach Mega Moisture Lip Balm has me keeping it by my bedside. Also included in the kit – FULL SIZE tarte SEA Quench Lip Rescue in “rose” and Jouer Cosmetics Essential Lip Enhancer Conditioning Lip Treatment. All my fellow work-from-homers must have picked up this kit, too – it’s no longer available!
I also snagged another Cocofloss in “Fresh Coconut” ($9) – I LOOOOOVE this dental floss.
Do I really need red eyeliner? No, but it was on clearance for $10, so I picked up a Kat Von D, um, I mean KVD Vegan Beauty Ink Well Long Wear Eye Liner in “Outlaw”. I haven’t tried it yet, maybe I’ll leave the house by Halloween?
For samples, I got Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and a sample card of Shiseido VisionAiry Gel Lipstick (meh). I never would’ve picked the lipstick, but I did pick the perfume. Why does it smell like a Mens’ scent?
On a side note, Sephora Play! is no more! April was to be the final box, but changing my expiration date didn’t take in my account and I missed out on the very last box. (It probably would’ve been a bunch of leftover samples, anyway). Thanks for nothing, COVID-19.
Without Sephora Play!, will I be able to spend $208 more to get VIB status for 2021?
March 2020 Sephora Play! – Wild Beauty
Hmmm…only slightly fewer repeats in March’s Sephora Play! box.
I’ve gotten the Glamglow GLOWSTARTER Mega Illuminating Moisturizer in “Nude Glow” in TWO different Play! boxes: November 2019 and March 2017. I ain’t even mad though, because I love this moisturizer. I use it up as soon as I get it.
I’d gotten a sample of NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment in “Starwoman” a few years ago, but I don’t think I even used it. I’ll use it this time?
I recently gotten a sample of Moschino Toy 2 in an Ulta Sample Bag, but hadn’t tried it yet. I wore it today and was surprised to find that it’s a keeper! The main accord is green apple and somehow, I LOVE it.
Also is this month’s “Wild Beauty” bag: Laura Mercier Caviar Chrome Eyeshadow Stick in “Metallic Taupe”; Fresh Sugar Mint Rush Freshening Lip Treatment (waiting on my bedside table to be applied before bed); and Amika Un.Done Volume and Matte Texture Spray (at least it’s not dry shampoo).
Not a bad box – I’ll use almost everything.
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month, for just $10! You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
February 2020 Sephora Play! – Beauty Soul Mates
Hmmm…I’m getting a severe sense of deja vu with this month’s Sephora Play! box – I feel like I’ve seen all of these products before.
I received the Clinique Almost Lipstick in “Black Honey” just a few months, ago, in November’s box. The Clinique Blackhead Solutions 7 Day Deep Pore Cleanse & Scrub is a new product to me, at least.
I got the Kat Von D Beauty Lock-It Setting Powder in a 500 point bonus, so at least it’s not a repeat. (I noticed that the insert still refers to Kat Von D Beauty, so this was all put together well in advance of the rebranding.)
I received Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Moisturizer, which is slightly different than the Youth Preserve Mask I received in 2018.
I’m not going to complain about philosophy Purity Made Simple Cleanser – I love it…but I did receive it in a Play! box in 2018.
Last, but not least – Verb Ghost Oil. Yup, you guessed it – 2018.
Even though I’ve gotten almost all of these products before, it’s a good little box this month.
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month, for just $10! You can sign up at sephora.com/play.
September 2019 Sephora Play ! – Must-See Beauty
September’s “Must-See Beauty” box is a banger…well, almost.
I was warned ahead of time about the Amika Bushwick Beach No-Salt Wave Spray. My friend Michelle got it in her box and tried it – it turned her into a scarecrow! She said it turned her hair into straw – no thank you! Also, I’ve never heard of Bushwick Beach, but I have heard of Bushwick Bill, RIP.
The rest of the box is good though: Benefit Gimme Brow + Volumizing Eyebrow Gel in 3; Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash in “Black”; First Aid Beauty Hello FAB Pores Be Gone Matte Primer (I cannot WAIT to try this – I am almost finished with the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Hyaluronic Hydrating Primer from my June Ipsy); Fresh Sugar Strawberry Exfoliating Face Wash (I LOVE this face wash – I have the full size; and Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau de Parfum (no – ew).
Sephora Play gives you 5-6 prestige samples a month, for just $10! You can sign up at sephora.com/play.