Tag: Coupons

Ulta Success!
Any excuse to go to Ulta, right?
I went to a different Ulta yesterday in search of Zoya Remove+ – success! They had a dozen bottles…but I just got one.
I also capitalized on Ulta’s 21 Days of beauty special – Butter London 2 for $15. I picked up “The Black Knight” – black, pink, blue, and silver suspended in a black base – and “Tart with a Heart” – pale pink parade of glitter carries a dash of grey.
I also grabbed a Ms. Manicure Buffing Block from the kiosks by the checkout. I LOVE those kiosks – they’re dangerous to me!

Fuck Traffic, Go Shopping
Right as I was packing up to leave work, my husband called to tell me that the highway was backed up – huge wreck. Sigh. When the going gets tough, the tough say “fuck traffic” and go shopping.
My backdoor route to avoid the highway conveniently brought me right past my Ulta – imagine that! The main reason I wanted to drop by was to pick up a new Zoya Remove+, but of course they are still out. My second choice was Orly Bonder, suggested by Angie as an excellent base coat. We shall see…
Although the clearance section has dwindled, I still had to look. I was excited to find Sparitual “Citrine” Luminary Matte Top Effect for $2.97. I was even more excited when it rang up for $1.49, especially since I paid $12 for “Opaline” several months ago!
Finally, I decided to try eos lip balm in “Blueberry Acai”. Erin raved about eos the last time we had a traffic chat, so I figured now was the the time. I was skeptical of rubbing that huge knob all over my lips, but it felt SO GOOD. I thought I would end up smearing it all over my face like Steve Buscemi in Billy Madison, but it only went on my lips.
The $3.50 coupon is back – I hate those 20% one item coupons! I’ll probably hit another Ulta tomorrow to look for my Zoya Remove+, plus Butter London polishes are 2/$15 tomorrow!

Ulta Makes Me So Happy
I can’t pass up a gift with purchase…I’ll tell myself that it’s virtually the same as the last gift with purchase, but it does no good.
Ulta’s purchase requirements are go strange – $19.50 of Ulta products to get the gift. I got Ulta Oil-Free Makeup Remover, Ulta Precision Liquid Liner in “Plum” (I know, weird), and Ulta Double Duty Lipstain & Blam in “Romance”. The gift is a makeup bag filled with the usual stuff – but DIFFERENT usual stuff. I am most excited to try the Ulta Super Stretch Fiber Mascara and the eye shadow topper…which was unfortunately shattered during shipping…fuck.
I also got the two 97 cent polishes I saw on Nouveau Cheap – China Glaze Halloween 2013 Monsters Ball “Bat My Eyes” and “Boo-gie Down”.
Since I used my $3.50 off coupon, I had to find one more thing to qualify for $25 free shipping. I picked Pixel Lip Tint in “Addictive”, which also came with the choice of a free nail polish – I chose Pixel “The Midas Touch”.
Finally…my free samples. I picked the Variety Sampler again, because I am scared of the perfume samples. I got three little foil packets – Smashbox Photo Finish More Than Primer Blemish Control Salicyclic Acid Acne Treatment, The Body Shop Nutriganics “Drops of Youth” and Dermelect Cosmecuticals Timeless Anti-Aging Daily Hand Treatment. Meh.
The most exciting thing in the box was the new Ulta Catalog – for the 21 Days of Beauty that starts 9/7! So many good deals! Ulta makes me so happy…

Influenster Virtual Vox – Ice Cream Stock-Up
So…I joined Influenster. Influenster is a site that links to your Social Media accounts. You can participate in campaigns to trial products and programs, in addition to giving opinions on products, services and entertainment on their website. Sometimes, you have a chance to get free stuff. They even do whole boxes of free stuff. I figured I could give it a spin to try it out…
The first thing I qualified for was the Ice Cream Stock-up Virtual Vox. Influenster sent me a coupon for a free box of ice cream from Target – score! I was a bit disappointed that the coupon I got was for Fruttare and not Magnum or Klondike. Luckily, Target was having a “Buy 3, Get 1 Free” sale…
You know that commercial where Rachel Bilson is stuck in a traffic jam, but then she goes berserk and carjacks an 18 wheeler full of ice cream bars? Totally realistic, because Magnum is that fucking good. I only buy them when they’re on sale AND I have a coupon – even at $3.49 each on sale, that’s pretty pricey when there are only 3 in a box.
Obviously, I bought 3 boxes of Magnum and used my free Fruttare coupon, so really – I got 2 free! Fruttare is actually pretty good. I got Coconut & Milk – there were chunks of real coconut in it!

Sunday Shopping
Lily and I usually go shopping on Saturday, but since my husband and son went to see Guardians of the Galaxy this morning, I figured why not do some shopping that doesn’t involve school supplies.
I struck out at Ulta. They were out of Zoya Remove+. I was also thinking about getting Michael Kors “Glam Jasmine” now that it’s back…but then I smelled it and I didn’t like it as much as I thought I did. That’s ok – I placed an amazing order online on Friday, so I have that to look forward to.
I fared much better at Bath & Body Works. I had a 20% off coupon, plus a free travel size. I got 2 three wick candles at 2/$22 – “Wasabi Apple” & “Turquoise Waters”. I got 11 hand soaps – 6/$24, plus “Sweet Clementine” on special for $3. I’m not going to go through all the scents I got, but I am really excited about “Brown Sugar & Carrot” – that’s just WEIRD. My total was $49.36, so I went ahead and used the $50 debit card I got from Acuvue for a contacts rebate. I know I threw away 64 cents…sigh.
HEB is becoming my favorite place to find beauty deals. They had $2 off Revlon coupons again AND $2 off Milani. Lily is a bad influence on me. I was trying to decide between 2 Revlon Quick Dry Top Coats – “Hearts of Gold FX” and “Celestial FX” – she asked why I couldn’t I just get both? So I did. I also picked up “Balinese Bay” from Revlon’s Limited Edition Haute Rocks Collection of pebbled polish. I’ve been wanting to try one.
I’ve been eyeing Milani “Sugar High” for a while, so I grabbed it…the multicolored glitter will look great over “Glass Pink”. I also decided to try out one of the Milani Baked Marble Shadows I’ve been hearing about. If they’re anything like Laura Geller Baked Shadows, I’ll love it. I picked “Green Fortune”, which I’m not exactly sure how I’ll wear – it’s green, pink and copper!
My house smells great, my hands smell great, the kids start school tomorrow and I have new polish and makeup to play with. Life is good!

My Best Friend Thinks I’m an Idiot
For some reason, my BFF thinks I’m an idiot…is it because I keep buying more Julep polishes? I have it on good authority that she is also expecting a Julep shipment…with 4 polishes!
I took advantage of the August 8th Magic Eightball Coupon to get 50% off these two polishes from Julep’s Birthstone Collection. “Martina” – Ruby for July is named after Martina McBride. I know she’s a country singer, but I couldn’t name one of her songs if I had a gun to my head. “Claudia” – Peridot for August is named for Claudia Schiffer, the 90s supermodel. Is she still alive?
I am Peridot-ing my fingers as soon as I click “Publish”.

Everybody Be Cool!
If you knew me 20 years ago, chance are…you knew me like this.
True, this pic was from Halloween, but even when it wasn’t Halloween…I dressed like this a lot. (Thanks Bryan McAlister – for loaning me your shirt that I never gave back – I wore it until there were holes in it…)
What can I say? I was obsessed. I saw Pulp Fiction like 6 or 7 times in the theater. While I’m wearing a wig in the picture, I actually (accidentally) dyed my hair black the next Spring and then cut it in a pageboy (in my bathroom while drinking). I thought I WAS Mrs. Mia Wallace….until of course, I decided I was Amy Blue. (What are the odds on a Doom Generation palette coming out?)
Cut to 20 years later…thanks Urban Decay, for releasing the Pulp Fiction Collection when I can actually afford it. Thanks to Ulta, too – for releasing the collection the same week as a 20% off EVERYTHING coupon.
I bought it ALL. The “Pulp Fiction” Palette comes with 5 eye shadows: Righteous (light cream matte), Tyranny (warm brown matte), Vengeance (deep taupe-brown matte-satin), Furious (white satin) and Anger (black satin w/slight tonal sparkle); Revolution Lipstick in “Mrs. Mia Wallace” – a deep, blood red; Nail Enamel in “Mrs. Mia Wallace” – Deep red w/slight shimmer; Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in “Gunmetal” – Black w/black and silver sparkle – and 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in “Mrs. Mia Wallace” – a deep, blood red.
I also picked up a new UBU Powder Brush – my old Mary Kay one was scratching up my face.
With my coupon and Ulta points, I managed to spend just under $100. I never could have afforded that 20 years ago!

Nudist Colony
I LOVE lip stain…it stays put all day. So why not a lip balm stain?
I had a $1 off wet n wild coupon, so when I was at Target I picked up a wet n wild megaslicks Balm Stain in “Nudist Colony”. The name alone pulled me in…
Why do my pink flamingo nails look orange? We replaced all the lights in our house with compact florescent lights. I love how much money I save on electricity, but the lights make every picture I take of my fingernails look orange. That’s why I take most of my pictures outside on my patio. I have a wrought iron fence and all my neighbors can see EVERYTHING. I bet they think I’m a loony, arranging tableus of fingernail polish on my patio table every other day. Eh…

Red Sticker Fever
Yup…I went again. I picked a different location to see what goodies they had left from the massive Ulta clearance…I was not disappointed.
I decided to try Ulta “Citrus Rose” Rejuvenating Bath & Shower Gel ($2.97 down from $9.50). I’m gonna be pissed if I love it, because I’ll never find it again. I also got a compact folding brush for my purse. I’m tired of rushing out of the house and realizing that my children look like Little Orphan Annie.
The best deals were in nail polish. I found Sparitual “Improvisation” ($2.97 down from $12), China Glaze “Bling it on” ($.97 down from $8.50), 2 China Glaze “Scattered & Tattered” ($.97 down from $8.50) – 1 for me and 1 for my BFF because it appears to be a dupe of her favorite Sinful Colors polish, Sally Hansen “Fruit-Ta-Ta” ($1.49 down from $2.99) and Ulta “Pinata Yada” ($.47). Including my $3.50 off coupon, I spent $9.53 at Ulta.
I also stopped by Big Lots to take advantage of their 20% off for members day. Besides Pop-Tarts and Veggie Sticks, I found My Beauty Spot “Lux Velvet Effect Nail Art Kit”. It is supposed to make my nails look and feel like crushed velvet. I am skeptical, yet intrigued. For $2.80, I can take a chance…

Ulta Clearance
I held back and held back, but the call was too strong today. I had to see what was left of the Ulta clearance sale.
I found the Urban Decay 2012 “Feminine Palette” for $16. I grabbed one for me and one for my BFF. I knew there were a few duplicate shades – I already have “Skimp” and “Gunmetal” in my “Mariposa” palette, but no big deal – I can always use more!
I grabbed 3 NYX Chunky Dunk Hydrating Lippies in “Berry Mojito”, “Cherry Smash” and “Happy Buddha” for $1.59 each. I also got 2 Ulta Double Duty Lip Stain and Balm in “Drama” and “Suspense” for $4 each. My lips will be bright and well hydrated!
Of course, a $3.50 coupon – I like them so much more than the 20% off one item ones.
I was showing my husband my haul and he was shocked that there was no nail polish. Oh ye of little faith…there just wasn’t any polish cheap enough!











