Tag: Coupons
Ciao Renaissance
I may have made a grave mistake. Ulta sent me a 20% off coupon and I used it to try out the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette ($42)…and it’s one of the most beautiful palettes I own. The quality is outstanding – I’ve never had shadows that blend so well, and WITHOUT primer. The colors meld together seamlessly and they complement each other perfectly. I don’t want to use any other eye shadow ever again.
Okay, I may have exaggerated on that last bit…but it seriously might be one of the very best formulas out there. Luckily, none of the previous ABH palettes are available to buy retail – or I’d be buying them all right now. That was my mistake – another brand to be in love with. I should’ve known there’s a reason all the Social Media Influencers (Manny, Jeffree, Skelotim, NikkieTutorials) keep coming back to this palette.
I’m done gushing…about eye shadow. I’m also in love with the new scent I discovered in the Ulta flyer this month. I also smell the scented flaps, gag, and then forget about the scents…but not with Vince Camuto Ciao. It smells so good, that I kept the scent card in my purse, so I could re-smell it. I don’t usually like sickkly sweet scents, but there is something about Ciao. As soon as I got the coupon, I went ahead and ordered the rollerball ($22) . My only complaint is that the scent doesn’t seem to last on me past a few hours. Sigh.
In my sample pack, I got Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer in “White” and “Smoke” (Ooooh, I’ve never tried dark primer), and ogx Bamboo Fiber-full Shampoo & Conditioner. I also got a few extra free samples – Urban Decay Perversion Mascara and Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer.
This order made me so, so happy!
Got Any More of Them Free Gifts with Purchase?
Been a while since I got one of these Ulta Bags – I’ve passed on the last one or two that Ulta offered. But this one looked fairly good…so when I was FINALLY getting my hair cut on Saturday, I decided to indulge.
The 12 products inside the snaky aqua bag: Amped Mascara in “Jet Black”, Full Size Matte Lipstick in “Petal” (limited edition), Full Size Brow Tint in “Medium”, Eye shadow Palette shades in “Lace”, “Charm”, “Nostalgia”, “Vintage”, “Delicate”, and “Seaside” (these shadows are the thing that drew me to the bag), Cheek Palette shades in “Fresh Glow Highlighter” and “Nude Pink Blush”, Eye Makeup Remover Pads, Full size Nude Matte Eye Shadow Primer, Lip Gloss Stain in “Treason”, Dual Eye Liner in “Majesty” and “Smoke”, Blush Brush, and a Cosmetic Pencil Sharpener. The bag also had a coupon for $5 off any $15 Ulta Beauty cosmetics or brush purchase.
So I had to spend $21.50 on Ulta products to get my free little bag – and it was easier than I thought it would be. I’d been wanting to try Ulta’s new Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($10) – a dupe of ABH Brow Wiz, I’m hoping. I grabbed a nail clipper for Lily, since she was using one of mine; an Ergonomic 3 Way Nail Buffer; some eyeshadow applicators and a couple of packs of Exfoliating Cotton Pads – I can always use more cotton pads.
PLUS, I had a $10 off coupon for my birthday AND a code for a deluxe sample of Benefit The POREfessional AND double points for my birthday month. All in all, I spent about $13 for all these goodies – SCORE!
20% off Vice
Anyone else get a 20% off coupon from Ulta the Saturday before last? I found it while we were sitting in traffic, on the way to buy my car…sure as shit, I used it.
I didn’t think to hard about ordering 3 more of the new Urban Decay Vice Liquid Lipsticks – I got “Studded” (a metallic gray-brown recently spotted on Ruby Rose – it’s so hot), “Tryst” (a neon-y pink/red that seems like a dupe for JS “Watermelon Soda”) and “Trap Queen” (I wanted this gold glittery red to be more glittery – a bit disappointed). Very happy to get these for 20% off!
I also added another Zoya Remove+ to put me over the edge for free shipping – I always need it.
There were a few freebies available – I got another tube of drybar Hot Toddy, plus a full size Honest Beauty Truly Kissable Lip Crayon in “Sheer Chestnut Kiss”. In my sample pack, I got it Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ and ogx Quenching + Coconut Curls Shampoo and Conditioner (I don’t have curls, but I love smelling like coconut).
Thank you Ulta!
Not So Good Girl
I guess I am not so good of a girl…I was totally incapable of driving past the Bath & Body Works Outlet – in the middle of a 6 hour drive – without stopping.
I didn’t go crazy. I picked up 5 more Hand Soaps – 3 for me and 2 for Lily. I had to get “Very Merry Berry” after smelling it in Erin’s bathroom this past weekend.
Logan asked for a Wallflower for his room – how could I say no to a pre-teen who wants their room smelling good? I got that, plus 4 more refills.
I also couldn’t pass up “Sweet Cranberry Rose” at 75% off – it was only 50% during my last trip. I picked up the Fine Fragrance Mist, the Body Cream and Shower Gel. In retrospect, I should have gotten more shower gel – it smells wonderful.
Got to use my $10 off $40 again – at least that part was good.
I’ve Been a Good Girl…
I’ve been so good the past few months. Sure, I’ve bought a few things here and there, but I’ve drastically curtailed my beauty shopping. I’m trying to use what I’ve already amassed, sure – but really, trying to budget around two house payments. Regardless, I cannot pass up the Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale.
I really stuck to the essentials. A $10 candle. A couple of bath poofs. 3 $3 Wallflower refills. 8 bottles of $3 Hand Soap. And NO bath gel/lotion/body spray. Zip. Nada. NONE. I’m still trying to finish off the dozen or so scents I have, but I was really tempted by Sweet Cranberry Rose. If it was 75% off, I might have cracked.
Also had a $10 off $40 coupon from the mail. SO it was a pretty economical haul.
Show Me How to Say No to This
How could I say no to $25 off $50? Show me how to say no to this…
I tricked my husband into a Sephora visit by suggesting we kill time at JC Penney while my daughter was at a UIL Competition…sneaky me. I decided to look for a new powder foundation – I needed a sheerer one than the MAC and Kat Von D ones I have. The castmember steered me towards one I hadn’t considered before – bareMinerals Bare BAREPRO Performance Wear Powder Foundation ($30). We had a hard time matching by swatching, so we tried by my Color IQ…and then went a shade lighter to pick “Aspen 04”. It goes on lighter than the other powder foundations I’ve tried and it’s a perfect match for my skintone. I was skeptical at first, since I used to use the original bareMinerals and had to stop once I started getting cow’s feet – that shit is horrible about settling in fine lines. I’ve worn BAREPRO a few days though and I’m loving it.
I also picked up Sephora Favorites Lip Temptations ($32) – I really wanted Kat Von D Studded Kiss “Mercy” and they didn’t have it in full size. Also in the kit: Bite Beauty Lip Crayon in “Aubergine”; Urban Decay Vice Lipstick in “714” (one of their new Vice bullets – full size!); NARS Lipstick in “Jungle Red”; Sephora Lipstick in “#49”; and Know Cosmetics No Bleeding Lips Secret Lip Liner. I didn’t really need 3 new red lipsticks, but whatever.
About $40 after tax – I don’t say no to this. No, no, no.
20ROUGE, Part II & III
Merry Xmas to me! I make Xmas shopping SO easy for my husband.
Well, as much as I love torturing him and making him visit Sephora and Ulta to go shopping for me…I love saving money more. So I decided to forego the torture and take this opportunity to order myself some Sephora exclusive items.
I’d had my eye on the Kat Von D Metal Matte palette ($60) since it launched. In real life, it’s HUGE. I’m glad I ordered when I did – it was already out of stock when I went to Sephora on the 4th. I’m still disappointed that I missed out on the Mi Vida Loca palette last year. I had bought it for my ex-BFF, and I thought she was getting it for me, but she blew it off for too long and it sold out. c’est la vie.
I also said, “fuck it” and ordered the Kat Von D Everlasting Mini Liquid Lipstick Set. I don’t have any of these shades and I wanted to try the new shade “Plath”, plus some older shades – “Backstage Bambi” and “Mother”.
I was a good girl and did not open the boxes – I just shoved them in my husband’s junk drawer to wrap later.
For samples – I didn’t get what I picked again. I don’t remember what I picked, but I ended up with Wildfox perfume (never heard of it, smells like a generic Victoria’s Secret type scent); Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation + Concealer in “neutral”; and Juliette has a Gun Not a Perfume (insert says it is pure Cetalox, a background note in perfume – interesting, it smells very generic).
At the last minute, I decided to order one more thing for myself – MILK MAKEUP Gel Brow in “Pilsner” ($18). I had used 100 points to get a sample of it with my last order – all the way back in August – and I like the way it lasts. I don’t like having to sharpen it, but other than that, it’s a winner.
This one will not be waiting until Xmas – I’ll break into it as soon as I’m done with my little sample.
Samples this time were Sephora Instant Moisture + Cream; Tatcha One Step Camellia Cleansing Oil; and Josie Maran Surreal Skin Argan Finishing Balm.
20ROUGE, Part I
Sometimes, you just gotta TREAT YO SELF.
I’ve held back several months…but when that 20% off discount code hit my inbox…I decided to use the fuck out of it. Sephora is not like Ulta, throwing around 20% off codes like confetti. They do it exactly ONCE a year…and I was not Rouge yet last year, so this is the first time I’ve gotten to take advantage.
Even though I had placed an Xmas present order online earlier, I decided to swing by Sephora after work to pick up something I’d been lusting over for months – GlamGlow GravityMud Firming Treatment. I can only watch so many of Jeffree’s silver snapchats without wanting to try it myself. I wasn’t about to spend $69 on it…but $55.20 seems so much more reasonable. (I know I’m full of shit.)
I tried it Friday night…and it was worth every fucking cent. It smells like coconut (my husband said pina colada) and tingled slightly. I don’t know if it lifted anything, but my skin DID feel firmer and smoother – much more so than with any of the other masks I’ve tried. The effect was most noticeable on my forehead. It will be hard to limit myself to using it just twice a week.
I also got my Rouge Renewal Gift – NARS Blush in “Goulue” (what kind of word is that?). I tried it today and it is perfect for me – much better than the famed “Orgasm”. I also got a free totebag – you can always use a new totebag.
I placed a few online orders – I’ll document those as they arrive…
Been So Long Ulta
It’s been so long Ulta…I’ve missed you.
As you can tell, I’ve drastically cut back on purchasing the past few months, with the move and unpacking and having less space in the new place…but I couldn’t break this ritual…I buy a UD palette every time I hit a milestone at work – you know, raises, bonuses, etc. I hit an unexpected milestone, so I decided on a little “treat yo self”.
I immediately snatched up Urban Decay XX Vice Ltd Reloaded Palette for $34, down from $56. I already have the previous 3 Vice palettes, and have most of these colors in my original UD palettes, but so what? I’ve used it for the last three days in a row – I love it! It’s actually my favorite of the Vice palettes. The palette didn’t come with any free samples inside though…rude!
Since the “Beautiful Hair” event was going on last week, I grabbed the daily special – John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Visibly Deeper Shampoo & Conditioner at 40% off – $5.99 instead of $9.99. I’m a bit disappointed – I’ve been using it for a week and I don’t notice a lick of difference in the tone of my hair. I mean, the shampoo is as nice as any other John Frieda, but I don’t expect to rebuy.
I also took advantage of “Buy One, Get One Half Off” on Freeman Beauty Masks – I got Cucumber Facial Peel-Off Mask and Pear Pore Clean Mask. They both smell fantastic, but Pear is the best…
For freebies, I got a free Deluxe Size Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipstick in “Centerfold”. The texture is luxurious, but it doesn’t dry matte like I expected – it gets on everything. I also got L’Oreal Revitalift Bright Reveal Brightening Moisturizer with Sunscreen and Lab Series Future Rescue Repair Serum (this is for dudes, wonder if I can get my husband to try it?)
You know I used a $3.50 coupon and got free shipping…oh yes I did.
Ulta Stars Aligned
The stars aligned to give me a 20% off anything coupon for Ulta at the same time I had enough points on MyPoints (referral link if you’re interested in joining – I’ve been a member for 18 years and have gotten $100s of gift cards) for a $25 Ulta gift card. And on the very same weekend that I was scheduled for a haircut. Did you know that you can use those coupons on salon services? You sure can! (I had set this appointment up three months ago and I couldn’t have planned it better.)
I got there a bit early, so I decided to take advantage of the NYX BOGOHalf sale. For myself, I picked up another NYX Micro Brow Pencil in “Chocolate” (I had been using “Ash Brown”); NYX Sculpt & Highlight Brow Contour in “Medium Beige/Ash Brown” (I used it today – the brow pencil was a little fatter than I like, but I really liked the built in highlighter); another NYX Ombre Lip Duo in “Cookies & Cream” (also used this today – dark brown and nude combo is a bit much for summer, but it looked good on me); and NYX Blotting Powder in “Light/Medium” (I used this over sunscreen moisturizer for oil control – it gave sheer matte coverage with no caking). I also picked up 4 NYX Retractable Eyeliners for my big sis. It is impossible to get makeup in Ketchikan and she liked the one she picked up on her visit a few months ago.
I also grabbed a Freeman Mint & Lemon Clay Mask at 15% off. They are like Pokemon – gotta catch em all.
I ended up saving well over $50 between gift cards, sales and coupons. Go me!