Mystery Gift Card Ulta Haul
Never look a gift (card) horse in the mouth!
I am not going to ask any questions as to why my employer sent me a duplicate of the $100 Ulta gift card that I got in December – I just spent on things I didn’t want to spend my own money on…
Peach Slices Scar Remedy Silicone Sheets ($19.99) had been chilling in my cart since January. I had a cyst on my arm removed and I would like to avoid scarring. Guess what – these damn things won’t stay on my skin, so I have no idea if they actually work. Dammit.
My big splurge was the Urban Decay Cosmetics Naked Shaped Multi-Tasking Eyeshadow Palette Warm ($56). I am fortunate to have a (mostly) neutral skintone, so this palette works for me – although not as well as the Cool one I got a few months ago. It’s giving Naked 3 vibes.
Clinique was 30% off, so I picked up a spare Clinique High Impact Volumizing Mascara in “Black Honey” ($18.90, down from $27).
Something new from Sol de Janeiro: Cheirosa 68 Jelly Perfume Balm ($26). It’s like perfume chapstick? I haven’t decided if I like the way it feels on my skin…
Lots of freebies with this order! There was a Diamond Exclusive gift with $50 purchase – it Cosmetics Confidence in a Cream Moisturizer – good stuff. I also got a Peach Slices Snail Rescue All-In-One Oil Free Moisturizer with $10 purchase.
Inside the free 8 piece Skin Sampler with my $70 purchase: Sol de Janeiro Beija Flor Elasti-Cream (to match my Jelly Perfume Balm!); Cocokind Electrolyte Water Cream; First Aid Beauty Ultra Gentle Cream-to-Foam Face Cleanser; Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser; Versed Cleansing Balm; Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream; e.l.f. Cosmetics Thirst Burst Drops (I am using a sample of this now – good stuff); erborian Skin Hero; and Vacation Crystal SPF 50 Face Gel. I think I’ll use every single one, except the cleansing balm.
Inside the free 7 piece skin care sampler with $95 purchase: Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner; Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Serum; mixsoon Bifida Ferment Essence; Round Lab 1025 Dokdo Ampule (what IS this?); Peter Thomas Roth Peptide Skinjection (wasn’t this fool in the Epstein Files?); DIME Hyaluronic Acid Serum; and Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream. A higher end bag of samples – but I’m less likely to use these.
$1,027 to Diamond in 2027.
Rift
Say what you want about crackle polish – it’s the one early 00s trend that I just cannot give up.
I only grabbed one of the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri x Stranger Things polishes – “Rift” which is supposed to be the red one. I was expecting a red crackle, but I should have done more research before I started. According to the internet, it’s a ‘crackle jelly’ – meaning that the color is left under the crackle. Since I used a pink polish as my base, it’s hard to tell that this polish is slightly redder than the base polish alone. I’ll have to give it another try over a white or gray polish to get the full effect.
This is two coats of Dreamland Lacquer “Pink Pajama Party” and one coat of “Rift” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Huckleberry“.
February 2025 Ipsy Ultimate – Spring Collection
No curator for this quarter’s Ipsy Ultimate. I’m not even mad though – I usually have to Google who they are these days.
My favorite product choice this month was Fable & Mane SahaScalp Wild Ginger Purifying Scrub ($36). With the psoriasis flare I had a few months ago, my scalp is still recovering. Of course, my first stop was a new dermatologist to get a topical steroid to get it under control…but this scrub has really helped knock the mummy dust off of my scalp. I might actually purchase this when I run out.
My other two product choices were meh – not a lot of good products to choose from this month. I picked Tatcha Camellia Gold Spun Moisturizing Lip Balm ($32), which is like the Goldschlager of lip balms, and NARS Cosmetics Quad Eyeshadow Palette in “Kuala Lumpur” ($55), which is almost too pink for me. I’ve only used it once and I don’t foresee reaching for it often. I was hoping for more of a NARS Orgasm pink.
The products I did not get to pick were pretty good. I got Kevyn Aucoin Indecent Mascara in “Black” ($32 – one of the best mascaras I’ve tried – no clumps!); Rodial Collagen Drops ($95 – I’ve been using this on my face at night and I can definitely tell a difference in some of my deep wrinkles); Il Makiage Shade Addict High Impact Eye Color Palette ($68 and a much better match for my skintone than the NARS palette); Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Wand Duo in “Pillow Talk” + “Pinkgasm” ($84 and gifted to my big sis with a bunch of other Tilbury samples); and Dr. Brandt Skincare Glycolic Skin Renewal Mask ($52 – haven’t tried it yet).
$454 in this quarter’s box – I’m very pleased with my choices.
I subscribe to the original ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and ipsy Ultimate (formerly Icon Box, and before that – Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Vintage
It’s giving BAJA BLAST!
I don’t buy many mainstream polishes these days…but when I do, they’re on clearance at Ulta.
Orly “Vintage” is a lovely neon teal, but it leans a bit green on me – almost like a mint green? On the screen, it leans more blue and I was assuming that it would be a closer match to my living room paint…but alas, that green gives me more of a Baja Blast type color. That’s fine, I love Baja Blast. The formula was very smooth and only the slightest bit of streakiness, which is hard to avoid in creme polishes.
This is two coats of “Vintage” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Huckleberry“.
TGIF
…and another one from Sherry the GOAT…Canmake Tokyo “TGIF”. This polish even matches my car! In person, the polish has a bit of a purple glint, but the camera doesn’t want to see it.
This is two coats of “TGIF” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Huckleberry“.
Covered in Roses for my Birthday
I had a BIG birthday last week…the big 5-0. I can KICK…and I can STRETCH…barely.
I’ve gotten over the fact that no one ever knows what to gift me…I feel like I am easy to chop for. I’m very vocal about what I like, but there’s the small problem of me buying whatever I want, whenever I want it. So when my daughter asked me what I wanted, I just told her that I want “Covered in Roses” stuff from Bath & Body Works, because I had sampled it at the tail end of the Semi-Annual Sale and fell in love. There were a few other rose scents launched for Valentine’s Day, but they were not for me.
I was expecting a lotion and maybe a spray, but my child took advantage of B3G3 and got me every single product in the line, except the Hand Soap (which wasn’t included in the sale). I’m talking Fragrance Mist, Shower Gel AND Moisturizing Body Wash, as well as Lotion, Body Cream and Body Butter. Come smell me – I’m wearing it right now.
Per B&BW, the notes are ruby berries, sugared rosebuds and blush amber. I think the berries are delivering the green note I sense, and the amber is very subtle – I don’t do well with overly musky scents. I hope this one sticks around!
The Shadow on the Moon
Sassy Cats Lacquer “The Shadow on the Moon” is my first polish from Sassy Cats Lacquer and color me impressed! It’s a beautiful, velvety magnetic polish that I picked up from December’s Maker’s Choice. It’s inspired by Oogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas).
I actually ended up wearing this polish for nearly three weeks straight. I used it before a week-long trip to Oregon to see my big sis…and forgot to take a picture. So as soon as I got home, I used it on my nails again for the picture…but I liked it so much that I left it on for over a week again. I also brought it to my last pedicure – it’s beautiful unmagnetized as well.
Doesn’t it remind you of Scarlett O’Hara’s green velvet curtain dress?
This is two coats of “The Shadow on the Moon” magnetized with my neodymium bar magnet, over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Huckleberry“.
First Ulta Haul of 2026
There was a really good sale going on during the beginning of January, so I stocked up on a few things…
Vichy Dercos seems to be helping with the heartbreak of psoriasis, so I restocked on Vichy Dercos Selenium Sulfide Anti-Dandruff Shampoo and Dercos Hair + Scalp Moisturizing Conditioner ($15.99 each, down from $19.99). This purchase netted me a free sample of Vichy Mineral 89 Serum.
I couldn’t pass up the BOGO 40% on Garnier, so I got 2 Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water with Rose Water (normally $11.99), as well as another pack of Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Eco Pads 3 Pack ($7.19, down from $11.99). This purchase netted me a free metallic train case…I quibble with their definition of train case – it’s just a medium size makeup bag.
Ulta Beauty products were 30% off, so I picked my Ulta Beauty Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($7.70, down from $11) and Exfoliating Round Cotton Pads ($2.79, down from $3.99).
Against my better judgment, I bought another crackle nail polish – Sally Hansen Insta-Dri x Stranger Things Nail Polish in “Rift” ($7.99). It wasn’t even on sale! But then I scrolled the sale page and bought Covergirl STRANGER THINGS The Bite PH Transforming Lip Gloss in “Hawkins Lab” ($4.50, down from $7.99). The slimy green gloss turns into a coral-leaning pink. (I like the r.e.m. beauty one better.) It also smells like burnt marshmallow goo, which tracks with that weird white goo in the upside down. I also got Orly Nail Lacquer in “Vintage” ($4.20) because it matches my living room.
I used a $5 off coupon AND $50 in Ulta points from my holiday shopping.
$1,143 to Diamond in 2027!
January 2026 Ipsy Bag – The Year of Yes
The Year of Yes…I don’t know about that. Seems kind of dangerous to be declaring shit like that in January?
The past month has been a blur. The only product I’ve tried is my product choice – Korres Apothecary Wild Rose Brightening Sleeping Facial. It’s a nice, thick face cream and it smelled really nice.
Also in this month’s MEH bag: Girlactik 2-in-1 Luminous Tint Foundation; IBY Beauty Hilite Powder Brush (are people still wearing highlighter?); Luna Magic Lip Pencil in “Strawberry Mojito”; and Moonslice Beauty Cream Blush in “Cutie Pie” (when did they stop calling it ‘rouge’?).
Even the makeup bag is a bit MEH – it looks like an astronaut maxi pad.
I subscribe to the original ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and ipsy Ultimate (formerly Icon Box, and before that – Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
Miss Blossom
It’s been so long since I’ve received “nail mail” other than my PPU orders…I received a Xmas package full of nail polish and Barbie stickers from ones of my besties – I am but a simple girl and those two things are the way to my heart.
The first polish from the package is Ducato “Miss Blossom”. According to the interwebs, Ducato is sold at places like Miniso, Teso, Daiso – you know, the “-so stores”. “Miss Blossom” is a sheer peach with just a hint of sparkle. It’s perfect when you want nude nails that are not nude – almost like control top pantyhose? Remember those? What the FUCK were we thinking?
This is two coats of “Miss Blossom” over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Huckleberry“.