Tag: Gift with Purchase
20% Off Ulta Haul
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.”
I’m a Giver
It doesn’t matter that her birthday is still almost 3 weeks away…as soon as I got the last part of her gift in the mail, I had to give my BFF her birthday present. Mostly because I was afraid she might visit Ulta herself…
She wanted the Too Faced “Boudoir Eyes” Palette really bad…solely based on the fact that there is a color of eye shadow called “Sugar Walls”. I guess she wants to unleash her inner Sheena Easton. The palette came with a free “Better Than Sex” mascara and eye shadow primer.
She also wanted the Urban Decay Naked Palette. She already had Naked 3 and her daughter has Naked 2, so now her life is complete – she can die happy with fabulous eyes.
Ulta Mail
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…
Late Ulta Post
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…
Superman Dat Ho
Why yes, I DO get all my ideas from Urban Dictionary.
Superman Dat Ho is a base coat of Rimmel 60 Second “Blue Eyed Girl”, topped with a coat of Julep “America” – red, white and silver glitter, with silver stars. I LURVES it!
In related fragrance sample news, I tried the Versace sample that I got from Ulta yesterday. It was SO FOUL that my husband demanded that I take a shower. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to shower again and had to leave the house. As soon as I got back home from Lily’s gymnastics class, I scrubbed up to the elbows with AntiBac, like a fucking surgeon. I can still kind of smell it.
To be fair, it might have been men’s cologne. Whatever it was, it was GROSS.
Free Ulta Goodies
Ulta is so weird. They shipped all my “Gifts with Purchase” in a separate shipment than what I actually paid for. Why would they pay the extra shipping on stuff they’re giving my for free? Whatever…
I got a free StriVectin Age-Fighting Kit – let’s face it, I’m brushing up against the underside of 40. I’m about to have to start buying this stuff for real. There’s eye cream, wrinkle cream and neck tightening cream. Oh my…I wonder what else it will tighten.
I also got samples of Urban Decay Ultra Definition Face and Primer. Everyone is shoving their primers down my throat!
I also got ANOTHER set of fragrance samples. Marc Jacobs “Dot” is alright, but Elizabeth Arden “Untold” smells straight-up Church Lady. Ack. There’s also a Versace sample that I can’t figure out what the name is and another Escada. Speaking of Escada – Lily and I wore the “Especially Escada Delicate Notes” sample today. I wonder if she turned heads as she strutted into the kindergarten classroom? She had to be the best smelling 6 year old there!
Ulta Shipment!
It’s only been a few days since I got mail…my mailbox has been so lonely!
I decided to treat myself and get one of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. I was eyeballing them at Ulta last week and took the plunge. Upon Amy’s suggestion, I went with the Naked 2 Palette. She has Naked 3 and said it was okay, but her daughter has Naked 2 and she likes it better. I am so SINGLE WHITE FEMALE.
I also took Beth’s recommendation and ordered L’Oreal Magic BB Cream. Fingers crossed – I’m trying it tomorrow!
I also had an email offer for a free StriVectin Skincare Kit, but that is coming in a different shipment…odd.
The fun thing about Ulta is that you get Samples with every purchase. I chose the Fragrance Sampler and got Especially Escada, Guess Girl and Calvin Klein Encounter. Encounter is for Men, so the husband gets it. I sniffed it for him and managed to spill it all over my fingers. 3 hours later and a dozen handwashings later and I still smell it. To me, all Calvin Klein scents smell exactly the same. It’s GROSS…and I can’t get it OFF ME.
The Purge
After painting my nails, I decided to clean out my makeup drawers…you know, to make room for more makeup.
For years – nay decades, I’ve been searching for the perfect foundation. I scooped up all the failed attempts – Revlon Colorstay, L’Oreal True Match and whatever other liquid, powder and concealer and chunked it.
All the old eyeshadow, blush and lipstick, I put in a box for Lily to play with. There were about a dozen Clinique, Lancome and whatever “Gift with Purchase” lipsticks that my mother had given me. Since she died nearly 9 years ago, I figure that I had held onto them long enough.
I found enough old razors to shave a Sasquatch – gone. I found 3 boxes of Sally Hansen mustache bleach – ha! Gone. A squeeze bottle from when I used to dye my own hair…lord knows I won’t be doing that again. I found an unused pregnancy test…I kept it, but not sure why.
As good as buying stuff feels, throwing stuff away feels even better! I’m not quite back to square one makeup wise, I kept all of the Urban Decay eye stuff, no matter how old. I’m not quite THAT strong.
I also learned something very important today. Don’t ever tag a pic #Purge on Instagram. Apparently, that’s what anorexics, bulimics and cutters use to tag their posts. I clicked on the tag and was treated to pics of bleeding forearms. WTF teenagers? What happened to getting wasted on Mad Dog and Strawberry Hill and giving yourself tattoos with India Ink?
Everybody Wins
Another day, another surprise in my mailbox.’
I tried to resist, but I only made it about 3 days until I decided that I had to buy $25 of Julep goodies to get their Oscar “Gift with Purchase.” The set was called “Everybody Wins” and comes with a gold sequined clutch (lined with leopard!) and 2 polishes. There were actually 2 sets – both come with “Oscar”gold glitter, but “Holly Would” comes with a holly green frost and “Rita Royale” comes with royal blackcurrant shimmer. (Whatever, it’s fucking fuchshia.)
To get these goodies, I purchased “Party’s Over”, a special glitter polish removal system. Basically little caps that hold a remover pad of the finger. I also got “Glenda” – a- silver crackle topcoat. I know crackle is so 2012, but I wanted it…
My total – $25.39. Like a boss.
Adventures in Gifts with Purchase
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…