Tag: it Cosmetics
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.
21 Days of Beauty x 2
I never think I am going to see something I want during Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty Sale…and then I always do. This time, I ordered two different times!
The first order – I forget which day of the sale it was – had two products I wanted for 50% off: Zitsticka Goo Getter Surface Zit Hydrocolloid Patches ($8, down from $16) for Lily and it Brushes for Ulta Brush Bath Purifying Solid Brush Cleanser ($11.50, down from $23). I haven’t used the brush cleaner (maybe this weekend), but Lily has been using the zitstickas and loves them. I saw her putting on on her tush the other day…I also added Megababe The Geo Deo ($14) to my order, because I wanted to try it out. I don’t like it as much as Rosy Pits, but it is a nice basic “clean” smelling deodorant.
The second order…how could I pass up half price Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil for half-price? They were $5, down from $10, so I bought two, “Medium Brown” and “Dark Brown.” Then I just threw some stuff into my cart…a tgin Honey Miracle Hair Mask Packet ($2.99), because I want to use it with the tgin shampoo and conditioner I just got off Amazon…Sally Hansen Insta-Dri x PEEPS Nail Polish Duo Pack ($11.99), which also came with a free Tumbler full of PEEPS lip gloss…Cetaphil products were BOGO 40% off, so I got Extra Gentle Daily Scrub Exfoliating Face Wash and Gentle Skin Cleanser Face Wash For Sensitive Skin.
$886 to Diamond – I better get a move on!
January 2023 Ipsy Bag – The Year of You
Keep calm and stroke the furry bag…if you know, you know.
This month’s furry bag is absolutely adorable…but there is NO WAY I could keep it in my huge MOM PURSE. Can you imagine what kind of gunk would end up stuck in the fur? Gum…lip balm…boogers…who knows? I’ll have to keep it safe in my bedroom…
I totally spazzed on product choice this month, so I got whatever ipsy thought I should get. Work, School, Kids is a shitshow, so the only product I’ve tried is the Plum Color Affair Nail Polish in “Winter Rose” (coming soon). Also in this month’s furry purple bag: ĀTHR Beauty Desert Rose Lip and Cheek Oil Stain in “Harmony” (lips maybe…cheeks NEVER); It Cosmetics Hello Results Wrinkle-Reducing Serum-in-Cream; Oryza Nebula Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette; and Polaar Ice Pure Gentle Scrub with Arctic Cotton.
I made sure and did my product choice for February’s Glam Bag X, so I don’t get screwed again!
I subscribe to the basic ipsy bag for $13/month and Glam Bag X for an extra $43/quarterly. If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
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!
Lip Bond vs Everlasting Hyperlight
I was bored last week, so I paid FULL PRICE on two new lipsticks. FULL PRICE!
I have been very curious about Urban Decay’s new “Lip Bond” product, so I ordered Urban Decay Cosmetics Vice Lip Bond Glossy Liquid Lipstick in “Once Strangers” ($25). I was expecting a product similar to Colourpop’s Glossy Lip Stain…but I was so wrong. This product is a full-on liquid lipstick. It is full coverage and it stays ON those lips. There was NO transfer onto cups, yet it didn’t dry and crack my lips like the original Vice Liquid Lipstick. It looks glossy, yet is only slightly tacky and NOT sticky. Urban Decay has a winner with this formula! My only issue was that I picked a color bad for me…”Once Strangers” is a dark chocolate brown. I was expecting more of a dark red, but it looks like I rubbed a melted Special Dark bar on my lips. At least I got a free keychain.
KVD Vegan Beauty is FINALLY getting around to re-imagining their products after Kat Von D left the brand. Not only have they reformulated the Everlasting Liquid Lipstick, they’ve renamed them all. I tracked down the counterpart to my beloved “Lolita” – it’s now KVD Beauty Everlasting Hyperlight Vegan Transfer-Proof Liquid Lipstick in “Queen of Poisons” ($22). The color is right and the formula is amazingly light. I’m not planning on replacing all my old lipsticks quite yet…but it IS tempting.
If I had to choose, I would choose the KVD formula, but the UD formula is close behind…
I cruised through the sale page and picked up a Freeman Purifying Cream Mask ($3.49, down from $4.99 – not exactly what I was expecting, I thought it would be a creamy clay mask…but it’s more like a thick moisturizer); a loofah ($2, down from $4), and a WHIM by Ulta Beauty Rosé Shower Flower ($1.75, down from $3.50).
Oh, and I got a nice Beauty Break from it Cosmetics, with Brow Power in “Universal Taupe”, Confidence in a Cleanser, Hello Results Baby-Smooth Glycolic Peel + Caring Oil, and Confidence in Your Beauty Sleep…all in a nice big branded makeup bag.
$186 to Diamond in 2023.
Good Apple, Super Mud
I love Ulta’s “21 Days of Beauty” sales – every day they have amazing deals on a wide range of products.
I jumped on the deal for 50% off KVD Beauty Good Apple Skin-Perfecting Hydrating Foundation Balm in “Light 010” ($20.25 instead of $40.50). It’s basically foundation in a compact. I’ve only had a chance to try it once, since it is still hot as FUCK here in Texas. For my first try, I applied on bare skin – no primer – and used an Urban Decay Foundation Brush. It sure is full coverage! It went on very thick, but I was able to get fairly smooth full coverage. It came off as a thick coat though, as my husband said it looked like “kabuki makeup.” I topped with Kat Von D Lock-it Setting Powder, which gave it a nice matte finish. The next time I use it, I’ll experiment with primers and a beauty blender for lighter coverage.
Another smoking deal was 50% off Glamglow SUPERMUD Charcoal Instant Treatment Mask ($30 instead of $60). I am sucker for facial masks, especially luxurious ones.
Although it wasn’t on sale, I need conditioner, so I got a NatureLab.Tokyo Perfect Smooth Conditioner Refill ($23).
Oh, and there was an AMAZING gift with purchase – a 14 piece sampler with my $60 purchase. There are 4 deluxe perfume sample! Little cute bottles – not tiny sample vials! The fragrances are Moschino Boy Toy, Versace Yellow Diamond, Viktor & Rolf BonBon, and Ralph Lauren Polo Earth. I haven’t tried any of them yet. Also in the gift: Ellis Brooklyn Bee (small vial, not deluxe); First Aid Beauty Bump Eraser Body Scrub; Sacheu Beauty Slick Skin; Florence by Mills Up in the Clouds Facial Moisturizer; it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream; Banila Co Purity Therapy; Maelys B-Tight Lift & Firm Booty Mask (ooooh kay); Sun Bum 3 in 1 Leave In Treatment; Kiehl’s Super Multi-Corrective Eye Zone Treatment; ThisWorks Deep Sleep Pillow Spray; Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum; Kopari Coconut Crush Scrub; Derma e Advanced Peptides & Collagen Serum; MAC Fix+ Spray; Living proof. Full Dry Volume & Texture Spray; Urban Decay Perversion Mascara; Love Wellness bye bye bloat Supplement; Derma e Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner; NatureLab.Tokyo Perfect Repair Shampoo & Conditioner; OUAI Detox Shampoo (no matching conditioner?); Grande Cosmetics Grande Gummies Vegan Collagen Booster (I just ate them – yummy); vor Sunset Rituals Conditioner (heyyyyy, no shampoo); and HASK Tea Tree Oil & Rosemary Hair & Scalp Treatment Mask. That is 27 samples, not 14…score!
Just $244 to Diamond in 2023!
Wild Green Arctic Fox
You know me, I’m a SUCKER for a 50% off sale…
Arctic Fox Hair Color for 50% off – that’s just $9.24! I loaded up…I got 5 shades: “Purple AF”, “Virgin Pink”, “Wrath”, “Aquamarine”, and “Ritual”. I am not sure what Lily and I will be doing with all these colors…you’ll just have to wait and see. I also grabbed a Punky Color Lightning Fast Bleach Kit for her, which came with a free brush and gloves.
I also purchased the Urban Decay Cosmetics Wild Greens Eyeshadow Palette ($22, down from $44). Green eyeshadow is hit or miss with my green eyes, but I figure it’s worth a shot at 50% off. I’ve used it a few times and I am liking the neutral peaches more than the greens.
This purchase was made back at the end of May – during Ulta’s Gorgeous Hair Event. I would’ve posted earlier, but there was a bizarre screw-up on my order…instead of my Wild Greens palette, I received a jar of It Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream. Sure, the face cream is regularly $50, much more than the $22 I spent on the palette…but it’s the principle! I called Ulta Customer Care and they were quick to ship me out a palette AND a return label for the cream. I was kind of hoping they’d tell me to keep it, but I was a good girl and sent it right back…in a Sephora box.
Just $546 to Diamond in 2023!
Hair Vacuum
That’s right…I bought a fucking vacuum for my hair. I FINALLY bought the Dyson Airwrap Complete Styler ($549.99). I’d been watching and waiting for it to come back in stock and I finally snagged it!
Owning a Dyson vacuum, I was skeptical about their foray into hair products…until my stylist used one on my hair. I used to DREAD blowouts – they take SO long and I get so HOT. That’s not even a thing anymore with Dyson. I mean…the dryer is still hot, but not nearly as hot as a regular hair dryer. The Airwrap itself is barely hot at all! It just sucks your hair around the rod and BOOM! Waves for days. Even the drying brushes are better than my trusty Revlon One-Step – the previous gold standard for at-home blowouts.
I’ve only been able to use the tools a few times…my children have used it more than I have! Regular styling tools have been useless on my daughter’s super-fine hair, but the Dyson tools handle it just fine. My son played around and put waves in his hair, making him look like the offspring of Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus Snape. Highly recommend!
All in all, I don’t regret my purchase at all…but maybe that’s because I was able to apply $250 in Ulta points towards my purchase. Don’t get me wrong, $299.99 still hurts, but it’s not quite as bad. I actually had $378 in Ulta points saved up, but Ulta limits redemptions to $250 a pop. Oh well, I guess I get to shop more.
Oh! I also received a free Brow Sampler with my purchase. The sampler included: Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Medium Brown” (just one tic lighter than my usual “Dark Brown”, but let’s give it a shot); Revolution Makeup Soap Styler (I don’t think I have fluffy enough brows to even try this); Anastasia Dip Brow Gel in “Medium Brown” (interesting); It Cosmetics Brow Power in “Medium Brown”; NYX Micro Brow Pencil in “Espresso” (now we’re talking); Too Faced Brow Wig in “Dark Brown” (Brush on hair? I feel like I will mess this up!); and Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in “Medium Brown”. I kind of wish there was more consistency in the shades of this sampler, but I should be able to use about half of the samples!
Just $804 to Diamond in 2023!
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.
High Brow Haul
During this past year of working from home bliss, makeup is minimal during the week…except for my brows. I MUST put on my brows before turning on the camera.
I decided to branch out from my usual Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($10) and also order an Ulta Sculpting Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($10). It’s got a thicker, angled tip and seems maybe a tick darker than the Ultra Slim. It was more difficult to use and the first time I used it, I looked like an angry Brooke Shields. I did get a nice 6 piece gift with purchase though – a spiffy blue bag with Makeup Remover Facial Towelettes, Poreless Face Primer, Clear Brow Gel, Automatic Eye Liner in “Matte Black”, and Jelly Gloss Lip Gel.
I spent $2.49 on this really bizarre lip balm in a pouch – Freeman Feeling Beautiful Lip Dip Tinted Balm in “Raspberry”. I love doe foot applicators, but I feel like there is not enough of this super moisturizing lip balm in the little pouch…
My $60 purchase also qualified for a It Cosmetics Beauty Break, with Confidence in a Cleanser (I wish it wasn’t so expensive!); Superhero Elastic Stretch Mascara, Hello Results Wrinkle Reducing Daily Retinol Serum-in-a-Cream (this is going straight onto my counter); Brow Power Universal Brow Pencil in “Universal Taupe” (I am guessing this will be a bit light for me); Confidence in Your Beauty Sleep (another great cream); and Confidence in a Gel Lotion.
Wondering where the rest of my $60 purchase is? Shhhh…it’s on it’s way across the ocean.
Just $859 til Diamond.