Tag: Lime Crime
National Nail Polish Day 2023
Last June, I wanted the Scünci Pride Claw Clips ($7.99), but I didn’t order them in time and they were sold out. Not this year! One for me and one for daughter. The Great Hair Event was still going on when I placed the order, so I ordered Arctic Fox “Poison” for 50% off ($9.24 instead of $18.49). I intended it for my daughter, and even ordered a Lime Crime Bushy Brow Pencil in “Valentine” ($15)…but it was missing from my order! Then she told me that she has to die her hair back brown for Band…so I guess I’ll use it in my hair? I don’t need the brow pencil, so I just accepted a refund from customer care.
Oh, and I have been liking moisturizing primers lately, so I decided to try Tula Filter Primer Blurring & Moisturizing Primer ($38). I really like it so far – it is very smoothing and as far as I can tell, I am NOT breaking out. It’s a similar texture to Benefit Primers, except it doesn’t roll up into booger particles on your fingers.
Since I ordered this little haul on National Nail Polish Day, I received one of two different samplers with my $50 purchase. Inside the sampler: Flowery Duraboard Nail File 2 pack; Dashing Diva Glow Gel Nail Strips in “Ballet Blooms Mini”; Londontown KUR Perfecting Nail Veil “Shade 4” (‘Nail Veil’ – that’s a new one); Sally Hansen Insta-Dri “Petal Pusher”; Essie “Mrs. Always Right” (it me!); OPI Infinite Shine “Sage Simulation”; and China Glaze “Tropic Like It’s Hot”.
Just $591 to Diamond in 2024.
Overboard Hauls
I have always been obsessed with eye shadow palettes, but there haven’t been many good ones in a long while…until NOW!
This post will be a combination of an order I placed a few weeks ago, but it arrived the same day I got my hairs did and bought a bunch of stuff at Ulta. I placed the online order because the Saturday before THAT, I took Lily to get her hairs did and wanted to use the $10 off $40 coupon mailer, but it didn’t go into effect until Sunday. I also had a coupon in the app, so I got to use both!
I had been eyeing the Thor: Love and Thunder line at Ulta and I was THRILLED to find Ulta Beauty items for BOGO. Not BOGO 40% or 50%, but Buy One, Get One FREE. I got the Thor: Love and Thunder Be Worthy Break Apart Eye Palette ($25) and the Thor: Love and Thunder Valkyrie Eye Palette (FREE, from $20). The two palettes also got me a FREE Tote Bag, which was arrived several days later. Although the packaging is top notch, I am a bit disappointed in the quality of the eye shadows. They are not as pigmented as previous palettes (I am thinking of the the AMAZING Frida Kahlo palette). The shadows are a bit flaky and have a lot of fallout. If I had paid full price for both, I’d be PISSED. I’ll still use them, but I think I’ll have to use a primer.
I splurged on my daughter a little bit and ordered some of the wet n wild Lilo & Stitch products. I was disappointed that the eye shadow was out of stock online, but I got her the Hula Honey Glow Face Palette ($10.49) and Experiment 626 Makeup Brush Set ($16.99). I also snagged a few clearance items – Nailtopia Nail Lacquer in “FOMO” ($1.75, down from $10) and Lime Crime Unicorn Hair Color Removing Wipes ($2.80, down from $4). I also grabbed a Colourpop Sonic Blooms Glossy Lip Stain in “Tutti Frutti” ($8). I went to use it the other day, but it was BROKEN! The lip of the bottle had broken off inside the cap. I’d seen nail polish do this, but never a lip product. Ulta Customer Care was very helpful and immediately sent me a replacement.
Oh, and I got a Truly Beauty Break with my $60 purchase – it came with 4 full size products: CBD Jelly Anti-Blemish Body Cleanser (smells like a watermelon Jolly Rancher!); Nice Melons Whipped Body Butter (it had melted in my mailbox); Berry Cheeky Clearing Butt Polish (both my children tried to steal this from me!); and Berry Cheeky Clearing Butt Serum.
All that came in the mail…and I still bought more stuff in person. I was SO excited that my store had the wet n wild Lilo & Stitch Ohana Palette ($16.99)! I also splurged on two more Colourpop Glossy Lip Stains in “Ice Pop” and “Twice Shy”, as well as one of their new eye shadow palettes – X-tra Celestial “Clearly in Love” ($12). (I wanted that free makeup bag.) The Colourpop eye shadow is so much better in quality than the Ulta! It’s creamy and has incredible color payoff without a primer. Ulta needs to get on it. I also snagged a new bottle of Poo-pourri in “Amalfi Flush” for the family vacation…if you know, you know.
Since I wasn’t able to use all the Ulta points I had saved up on the Dyson Air Wrap a few months ago, I used $250 on my hair and purchase…that makes $500 so far this year!
$366 to Diamond in 2023.
Birthday Splurge
But is it really splurging if it’s on the sale page?
I hadn’t used my $10 off birthday code at Ulta yet, so I filled my cart on the sale page. Actually, let me back up. I was scrolling the Sephora Presidents Day sale and saw that the Jackie Aina and Carli Bybel palettes from Anastasia Beverly Hills were 30% off, so I decided to redirect that purchase over to Ulta – not only because I have a coupon, but also because I feel like I get more value from being top tier at Ulta than being top tier at Sephora. Also, Ulta has BOMB GWPs.
Ulta didn’t have the Jackie Aina palette, but the DID have the Anastasia Beverly Hills Carly Bybel Palette ($31.50, down from $45). That’s fine, because the Jackie Aina palette looks a little cray. (I was hoping that the Alyssa Edwards palette would be back, but nope.) I only know Carli from the Allure Beauty Box she did last year. I was thinking that the palette would end up being pretty basic, but it’s got a nice selection of colors, with lots of shimmer and glitter. I’m enjoying using it, except that the glitter shades have the fallout from hell. It sprays all over my whole damn face. Primer helps a little bit, but it still gets everywhere. I’m gonna have to work on it.
I also decided to go out on a limb and try the Lime Crime Venus XS Vixen Palette ($10, down from $20). I’ve stayed away from Lime Crime for the most part because the owner was a shitbag, but since selling out in 2018, it appears they’ve turned their reputation around. The XS Vixen is a small red-themed palette. The quality is just OK – it doesn’t blend very well at all and the coverage is splotchy. Looks like I can continue to ignore this brand.
One more sale purchase – an Urban Decay Cosmetics Brow Beater Microfine Brow Pencil and Brush in “Dark” ($10, down from $20). I’m guessing that it’s on clearance because they are discontinuing it…which is fine. The quality is fine, similar to Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, but still not as good (for me) as the Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil.
I picked up the new Pacifica Sunshine Highs Toning Shampoo & Conditioner ($10 each) for my son’s bleached locks. I got it in preparation for another round of highlights, so probably next week or so.
There was also a free 28 piece beauty bag with a $70 purchase. You know I cannot get enough of those GWPs. Inside this HUGE red bag: Elizabeth Arden Prevage Anti-Aging Daily Serum; LORAC Pro Plus Fiber Mascara (eek, those fiber mascaras scare me); PUR Fully Charged Mascara; Boots No7 Dark Circle Corrector; Mamonde Petal Spa Oil to Foam (I have 3 sample bottles of this now – thanks, Ulta); Living proof. restore perfecting spray; Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in “Patina” (I really like this shade – I wonder if my old one is dried up?); proactivMD Deep Cleansing Face Wash (I used proactive back when it first came out; it worked for a while, but then ate all my skin off); Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector; Clinique Dramatically Different Hydrating Jelly; First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream; It’s a 10 Miracle Finishing Spray; Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist 24 Pure Retinol Express Smoothing Eye Mask; Patchology Flashpatch Illuminating Eye Gels (so many damn eye patches – I feel like a fucking pirate); TonyMoly Vital Vita 12 Ampoules Mix & Match Serums; Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder and Glow Powder; DevaCurl Supercream (no curls here, go will give away); Viktor & Rolf Bon Bon; Zitsticka (intrigued); Botanics Simply Calm; Ulta Beauty Matte Black Eyeliner; Biolage Airdry Glotion (what?); Pureology Colour Fanatic; Smashbox Photo Finish Oil & Shine Control; Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio; e.l.f. Poreless Primer Putty (oh, this is some GOOD stuff – I like it); Cover FX High Performance Setting Spray and Florence by Mills Clean Magic Face Wash (what does that girl from Stranger Things know about beauty products?) A dang good bag!
$1,088 to Diamond. I better step it up!
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.
Cyber Fundays 2018
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This Xmas, I did my Ulta shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving, during the “Cyber Fundays” event. They had some smoking deals that I couldn’t pass up! There were also some decent Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but mostly on stuff I already had, like half price Modern Renaissance and Naked Heat. Boo!
If you’re thinking that this order looks skimpy…it’s because I pulled out the gifts I ordered for my daughter. She doesn’t come here, but her brother does – and I trust him about as far as I can throw him with one hand.
I was excited to snatch the NYX Lip Snacks Soft Matte Metallic Lip Cream Set ($15, down from $25) for myself. It’s a set of 12 minis of my favorite lip formula from NYX, specially scented like buttercream. I’ve onlhy sampled 2 so far, but they are the BEST. I also got a half-price Urban Decay Razor Sharp Water-Resistant Longwear Liquid Eyeliner in “Demolition” ($11, down from $22) – I think a shiny brown cat eye will look good on me.
The biggest bummer was a broken bottle in the China Glaze The Grinch Grinchworthy Nail Art Duo ($10). It wasn’t the “Grinchworthy” polish itself, but the “For Rhinestones Only” adhesive – the stem of the bottle broke inside the cap and it leaked everywhere. I called Ulta Customer Service and they sent me out another one immediately, no questions asked – so now I have 2 bottles of “Grinchworthy” and 2 pots of green felt. I cannot wait to make my nails look like Astroturf! Oh, and I got another tidbit from Customer Service – they won’t be including samples in orders again until January. Cheap bastards.
I added a bottle of Zoya Remove+ to get me over the $65 mark, to get the glittery pink 18-piece Cyber Fundays sample bag. The sample bag was STUFFED – it had: Too Faced Glitter Glue (saving for a special occasion); Cover FX Blurring Primer; Urban Decay Perversion Mascara; Patchology Flashpatch Restoring Night Eye Gels (this is the third set I’ve gotten – I guess I should use them); philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar; Clinique Happy; 2 Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Glosses in “Vintage” (2!!!); Lime Crime Unicorn Hair in “bunny” (ugh, another one); bliss lemon & sage body butter; Biolage Hydra Source Shampoo & Conditioner; L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Primer/Base for Mascara; philosophy Amazing Grace; Armani Code Cashmere; Skin Laundry Hydrating Cream Face Wash; L’Oreal Paris Pure-Clay Cleanser Detox-Brighten (this black one is my fave); MAC False Lashes Mascara in “Extreme Black”; and Clinique Moisture Surge Hydrating Supercharged Concentrate. There were also 2 hot coupons – $15 off $75 (only good in December) and another $5 off $15 Ulta Beauty Collection (good until 2/1/19).
I was also able to use a $10 off coupon, bringing my order down to $64.49 before tax – but I still got the bag. I was sweating for a hot minute! Just $301 to Diamond…I do predict another order before the end of the year, but not that much!
The Mother of All Sample Bags
Ulta might be stingy when it comes with its regular samples, but they are more than generous when it comes to their gift with purchase sample bags. To kick off the Memorial Day weekend, Ulta offered the Mother of All Sample Bags with a $65 purchase…but first, my purchases.
When I get the emails with a sample bag or gift with purchase, I’ll check the sales and fill up my bag. Sometimes I’ll complete the transaction, but oftentimes I don’t. I’ll usually just leave stuff in my bag for next time. Unfortunately, my bag was empty, so I had to start this shopping trip from scratch. I started by checking the Ulta Sale page. I noticed that Edge/Skintimate Shave Gel was BOGO 50% off. Unfortunately, they were out of Edge, so my husband will get to shave his head with Skintimate. Then I noticed that L’Oreal Colorista Semi-Permanent for Brunette Hair was $8.99, down from $10.99. Since it doesn’t work all that well, I figured it would be perfect to use on the kids. I got 3 – Teal, Midnight Blue and Maroon. I also found Ofra Limited Edition Metallic Long Lasting Liquid Lipstick in “Fantasia” (it reflects in blue, red and purple – it’s almost holographic) for $10.20, down from $17.
Another deal I was able to take advantage of was a Makeup Revolution Mystery Bag Offer with $25 purchase. This one was hard to do, since Sally just sent me ALL the newest palettes. I decided on the SophX Ultra 24 Eyeshadow Palette, $15 and the Pro HD Brighter Than My Future Palette, $20, but $16 after my 20% off any one item coupon. I had never heard of @SophieDoesNails until this palette, but apparently, she’s a famous Influencer in the UK. I tried out the eye shadows today (without primer) and they do seem to be slightly higher quality than the normal eyeshadows. They blended seamlessly and lasted decently well. Most of the colors are shimmery and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the dark greens, but looking forward to playing with it. It may – or may not – be a dupe for the Morphe Jaclyn Hill Palette. It looks somewhat similar, but infinitely more wearable. The Pro HD palette is a blush/highlighter palette. The shimmers are INTENSE. I tried one of the striped ones and had to pat half of it off – I looked like an alien. Good stuff, man. Inside the Mystery Bag: the Unicorns Unite Salvation Palette (I actually don’t have this one!), The One Sculpt Contour Stick, Ultra Strobe Stick in “Peach Lightening”, and Salvation Velvet Lip Lacquer in “The One for All”. Not bad.
And now. what was in the 29 piece Mother of All Sample Bags? In no particular order: tarte Shape Tape Contour Concealer (4 shades); DevaCurl Melt into Moisture Matcha Butter Conditioning Mask; Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara; Sexy Hair Sexy Suds Shampoo & Conditioner; Ulta Beauty Poreless Face Primer (nice); Benefit Roller Lash (one of my fave mascaras); Hempz Herbal Healthy Hair Herbal Fortifying Shampoo; First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads; Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion SPF 50; Sexy Hair Love Oil; Prada Candy; Maybelline Great Lash (that iconic pink and green tube); Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Cloud Cream Cleanser; NYX Worth the Hype Volume & Lengthening Mascara; Eyeko London eye do liquid eye liner in “carbon black”; Woman by Ralph Lauren; dermalogica Sound Sleep Cocoon Transformative Night Gel-Cream; Julep Love Your Bare Face Cleansing Oil; living proof. No Frizz Nourishing Style Cream; Mario Badescu Aloe Vera Toner (this opened inside the bag and got everything a bit MOIST); Lime Crime Unicorn Hair in “Bunny” (there’s no way this peachy shade would ever work in my hair – or anyone’s hair for that matter); philosophy Purity Made Simple Moisturizer; Mamonde Pore Clean Clay Mask; Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Gloss in “St. Tropez”; Lime Crime Diamond Crushers in “Lit” (even though I think Lime Crime is a shit brand, I’m looking forward to trying this one out); Kenra Platinum Luxe One Leave-In All-in-One Miracle Spray; COOLA Dawn Patrol Classic Primer; Garnier Skin Active Micellular Foaming Gel Cleanser; and Becca Ultimate Coverage 24-Hour Foundation (3 foil swatches). That’s a lot of stuff, right? That’s at least $50-60 worth of samples! AND it came in a huge, high quality woven canvas makeup bag. Oh, and did I forget the $5 off $15 Ulta Collection coupon?
I also forgot my regular samples – Redken All Soft Shampoo & Conditioner and HASK Biotin Boost Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner. I checked my Ultimate Rewards Balance and I just need ~$50 more to hit Platinum. There’s a slight possibility that I could make Diamond if I get a few haircuts…
Shroom
Nothing puts me off a brand like the fear of having my identity sold for $20 on the deep web…then again, I still shop at Target, so it’s not a dealbreaker. But in addition to the nastiness of Lime Crime’s hack and poor response, there have been rumors about the products not being vegan (like I care) and just being repackaged wholesale stuff. (Read this summary from Jezebel for more detail.) Even so, I’ve been wanting to sample Lime Crime’s Velvetines line to see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be.
Hautelook stepped in to save the day! On November 30th, they were stocking Lime Crime – with free shipping, to boot. I jumped on that deal and ordered Velvetines in “Shroom” (90s Brown) for $12, instead of the normal $20 – plus, I didn’t have to worry about my card information ending up in Slovenia. It arrived on my doorstep today.
The packaging is hella cute, but it takes more than that to impress me. The formula went on smoothly and didn’t bleed. It dried to a matte finish quickly and wasn’t sticky at all. I’ve only been wearing it about an hour, so I can’t tell how drying it is on my lips yet. I’d say that the formula is similar to Kat Von D Everlasting Lip Liquid, but almost a dead ringer for NYX Liquid Suede. If I was blind testing the product, I don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference. As a matter of fact, “Shroom” is suspiciously close to the NYX Liquid Suede “Sandstorm” that I picked up a few months ago…just sayin’.