Tag: Ulta
Platinum Perk – Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil
Ulta Platinum has it’s benefits. Literally.
I was pleasantly surprised to get a surprise from Ulta in the mail yesterday. It was a product from Benefit’s new line of brow products, launching June 24th. Once I figured out how to get the box open, I found a Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in Shade 3. Cool!
I tried it this morning. The tip is an oblong diamond, similar to the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer or Hourglass Arch Pencils that I have. Performance was similar and Shade 3 matched well enough, but it wasn’t a perfect match. At $24, it’s more expensive than the Anastasia, but cheaper than Hourglass. I lean towards the Anastasia Caramel as my favorite anyway.
I’ll definitely continue to use this pencil, but I don’t know that I’ll be buying it.
My Gecko Does Tricks
I’d been eyeing this polish on Instagram for a while, so when I spied it on a clearance rack at Ulta for $4.99, I snapped it up.
This is OPI “My Gecko Does Tricks”, a beautiful kelly green/gold duochrome. It kind of reminds me of Julep “Tatum” and Sinful Colors “Happy Ending”.
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I just did two coats. Like almost all OPI polishes, the application was flawless. I finished with “HK Girl”.
Horror of horrors, I blew a huge chip off my left index finger putting my laptop in my trunk…before I even had a chance to take a picture! I had to let it go, as pretty as it was. Such a tragedy…
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Look…I could give a shit about Alice Through the Looking Glass movie coming out…but the new Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass palette ($60) – that’s a big fucking deal!
I was expecting it to become available on May 1st, but I was surprised to see it show up on the Ulta site on April 28th. I was at Ulta on April 29th, a quick pit stop on my way to Texas Frightmare Weekend. I stopped in The Woodlands, knowing that if it was out of stock, I could also stop in Conroe.
It was so pretty, I had to open it in the car. The packaging is very elaborate – the top opens up and a butterfly pops up. I’d heard that it is supposed to play a tune, but I haven’t figured out how to make it play. The shadows slide out of a drawer on the bottom. 20 new shadows, 4 for each character – Alice, Mad Hatter, Mirana, Iracebeth and Time.
I also had to swatch all of the Urban Decay Alice Lipsticks ($18): (L-R) “Time”, “Mirana”, “Mad Hatter”, “Iracebeth” and “Alice”. At first, I thought I would get the blue one – “Time”, but where would I wear blue lipstick? Work?
I played it safe and picked “Mirana”.
The best part? The palette was FREE and the lipstick was almost FREE, because I’d been hoarding my Ulta points for the last 10 months and had $72 of points built up. Go ME!
Oh yeah, I also grabbed a clearance OPI polish – “My Gecko Does Tricks” ($4.99), a green that I’d been coveting for a while.
Ulta…Note?
Ulta gives out unique coupon codes for their spring 20% off, so I didn’t have a cute name for this post…Instead of one or two big things, I bought a lot of little stuff. I also bought some gifts for another upcoming birthday, so those items are not shown, of course.
I can’t pass up 97 cent polishes, so the first thing I added to my cart were essie “Strut Your Stuff” and China Glaze “Long Kiss”. I then added two Freeman Beauty Masks – “Sweet Tea & Lemon Peel-Away Clay Mask” and “Apple Cider Vinegar 4-in-1 Foaming Clay”. I wanted to try another shade of Makeup Revolution Lip Euphoria, so I got “Aura”. I added another Zoya Remove+ for shits and giggles.
There were so many gifts with purchase last week! I got free Redken pack with Beach Envy Volume Texturizing Shampoo & Conditioner, Beach Envy Wave Aid and 25 Benefits One United Multi-Benefit Treatment (I have a full size of this that I use all the time). I also got a free Ahava pack with Dead Sea Crystal Osmoter Facial Serum (the fuck?), Time to Clear Purifying Mud Mask, Time to Hydrate Essential Day Moisturizer, Dead Sea Water Mineral Body Lotion, and a free tote bag. By far, the best samples were in the free Smashbox bag, which came with all this: Ahava Beauty Before Age Uplift Day and Uplift Night Cream, Parissa Brow Shaper Mini Wax Strips (I don’t have eyebrows, but I have a mustache – wonder if it will work?), pür Correcting Primer, Hampton Sun Sunless Tanning Gel (NO), Estee Lauder Modern Muse Le Rouge (me likey), Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue (me no likey), MyChelle Dermaceuticals Refining Sugar Cleanser, Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer (for real), StriVectin Advanced Retinol Intensive Night Moisturizer, It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product, LORAC POREfection Mattifying Face Primer and Benefit Benetint.
Oh ya, also samples of Benefit Dew the Hoola Bronzer and Urban Decay Naked Skin Ultra Definition Powder Foundation.
Phew…my fingers are TIRED.
Ulta Gifting
I placed another Ulta order the Wednesday before last…because there were GIFTS I needed. Really, I had a reason.
Besides the gifts, I also order some stuff for myself – the Makeup Revolution Redemption Palette “Unicorns are Real” and new Lip Euphoria “Fate”. Lip Euphoria just launched and Ulta got it quick – there’s hope!
I also qualified for the Bare Minerals Beauty Break, which included 5 in 1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow; Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara; Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara for Short Lashes (They make special mascara for short lashes? How is it different?); Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in “Get Ready” (I got this in my first ipsy bag – great color!); and BareSkin Sheer Sun Serum Bronzer (weird). I also got some weird samples – Escada “Joyful” and Herban Essentials Lavender Towlette (what the fuck do I do with this?)
And then Saturday, I went to Ulta to get my hair did…and buy some more gifts. All gifts must come from Ulta!
I liked my neon eyeshadow and pink eyeliner combo so much, that I wanted more liquid eyeliner options – red and blue! I got NYX Glam Liner Aqua Luxe in “Azur Glamour” and NYX Vivid Brights Liquid Eyeliner in “Vivid Fire”. They were BOGOHalf and I figured I would try both formulas. I also grabbed a pack of eyeshadow sponges from the bin by the checkout…sometimes the cheap stuff works best.
…and my receipt told me that I am only $5 away from Platinum status for next year. WHOOP!
On Wednesdays, We Order from Ulta
Ulta knows what they are doing, offering their Wednesday Beauty Breaks…I’ll be pondering on whether to order something, I’ll get that email, and I’ve clicked “Complete Order” before I know what hit me…
Since my main purchase was a gift, I’ll show you the stuff for ME that I got. I ordered BOGHalf Freeman Beauty Masks – both new – Banana-Oat Instant Smoothing Mask and Charcoal & Black Sugar Mud Mask. There’s a new Apple Cider Vinegar Mask that I wanted, but it was sold out.
This weeks Beauty Break (free with $50 purchase) was from Laura Geller. It was Baked Marble Eyeshadow Duo in “Pink Icing/Devil’s Food”; Color Drenched Lip Gloss in “Pink Lemonade”; i-care Waterproof Eyeliner in “Charcoal”; and double-ended makeup brush (I wanted this the most!) – all in a cute gold wristlet.
I got nearly the same skincare samples AGAIN – Benefit The POREfessional and smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. Both are good products – but I have so much! Oh…and I used a $3.50 off coupon to get my total to $50.94 – I’m getting good at this!
Bonus Ulta Haul
For the past few years, I’ve had a ritual. As soon as I find out what my yearly bonus will be, I go online and buy the makeup that’s been on my mind. I only spend around $50 – nothing huge – it’s just a fun, immediate way to celebrate.
This time, I immediately went to Ulta’s site and started adding.
First was another Makeup Revolution Palette and another Salvation Lip Lacquer in “Nothing Like Anything”.
In addition to 3 more NYX Lip Lingerie and another Lip Ombre Duo in “Rags & Riches”, I also decided to try NYX HD Finishing Powder in “Banana”. Yup, I’m gonna try Banana Powder…the Kardashian Holy Grail for contouring. I’m not going to contour, per se…I don’t know what I’m gonna do with it.
There was also a Skincare Beauty Break – it was free, so why not? It came with a Clarisonic brush head (I don’t have a Clarisonic…yet); Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel; Clarins One-Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser; Exuviance Purifying Clay Mask; and Bliss Fabulous Makeup Melt. My freebies were Benefit Air Patrol and Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer (I think I have enough of this to paint my house now).
I promise – these NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks are NOT all the same color. From top to bottom, they are “Push-up”, “Corset” and “Bedtime Flirt”. The formula is creamy, although a bit drying, and last almost all day
I wore “Push-up” today – it looked great with a dramatic matte eye. It did feel dry after a few hours, so I did a bit of lip balm over it to replenish my lips. It didn’t melt away and didn’t leave any weird residue on my lips.
I couldn’t resist swatching the Makeup Revolution Salvation “New-trals vs. Neutrals” palette. It’s a bit frustrating that all the Salvation palettes come in identical plastic cases…although this palette is matte black plastic and “Girls on Film” is shiny plastic. Other than that, the only way to tell them apart is to look at the stick on the back. This palette also comes with the shadow names printed on the plastic liner – I love that! It also came with a good quality, dual-ended brush – instead of the sponge applicator in “Girls on Film”.
The quality also feels better than “Girls on Film”. I wore it this morning, sticking to the lightest matte and the orangey matte for my crease. It went on flawlessly with the brush and blended beautifully. I’m looking forward to trying the shimmers tomorrow – they look very similar to the UD Gwen Stefnai palette. I’m in HEAVEN…at least until my monster order for the Makeup Revolution site makes it across the pond…
The Makeup Revolution
I’ve been curious about Makeup Revolution since it launched in the US at Ulta last summer. It’s a UK brand, famous for their prestige dupes and ridiculously low prices. Seriously – palettes for $5-$10 and lipstick for $3-$5. I hadn’t gotten around to trying out the brand…until my fellow makeup enthusiast in the UK, Sally, placed an order…then I had serious makeup envy.
I was out shopping with my big sis this past weekend, so of course there was a stop at Sephora and Ulta. I didn’t see anything new at Sephora, but I went directly to the Makeup Revolution display at Ulta. It was pretty well picked clean, but I managed to find a few things…
The first thing I grabbed was the Makeup Revolution Salvation “Girls on Film” palette. 18 eye shadows – 12 shimmer and 6 matte – for $10! The colors are smoky neutrals, leaning towards copper and bronze. It’s not a dupe of any well known products, but it reminds me of the Urban Decay “Mariposa” Palette.
For the last few years, I’ve been dutifully detailing my purchases, but I’ve decided to try branching out and swatching some of my purchases. My palette is no longer pretty after swatching, but I have already used it the past three days, so it was no longer pristine anyway.
After three days, I’ll say that the quality is fairly decent. The shimmers are buttery and blend well. They do tend to fade through the day, but I haven’t been using any primers – they tend to feel heavy and itchy on my eyes when I wear them through the work day. The matte shades aren’t as vivid as I would like, but still better than the usual drugstore or store brands.
I also tried one the Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquers in “Vamp” ($5). I wore it today and it applied smoothly and dried matte…but disappeared on my inner lips right after coffee. I tried to perk it up with lip balm, but the balm totally dissolved it, so I had to wipe it off. I am not thrilled with the staying power, but it would work for going out.
I also found a single NYX Lip Lingerie in “Exotic” ($6.99) – just one in the entire store, stashed among the Soft Matte Lip Creams. I grabbed it quick! I wore it Sunday – it is an almost perfect dupe for Kat Von D “Lolita”! It, too faded after a hearty Taco Bell meal…but I was able to revive it with lip gloss. Since it is a lighter shade, it still looked good with gloss on top and didn’t dissolve.
I was rather irritated that the current coupon was 20% off one item – I only got $2 off my palette.
I’ve also been spying on the Makeup Revolution Website…so much more than what launched at Ulta! They have Too Faced Chocolate Bar, Urban Decay Naked/Electric and LORAC Pro dupes, plus well-reviewed foundation. I am having a hard time stomaching the $12-$15 shipping, so I signed up for their emails…hoping for a sale that makes the shipping worth it…until then, I’ll just have to buy EVERYTHING available through Ulta.
The Fingers are Weak
…if you offer me free stuff for my birthday, I’m gonna go get it…
I talked my husband into dropping me off at Ulta on Saturday to get my deluxe sample of Benefit Roller Lash (I tried it and I must admit, it’s pretty nice.)
I also used my $10 off coupon to try some NYX stuff. I heard that NYX Micro Brow Pencil is a dupe of Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz…and it IS. Only $9.99 instead of $21.
I also got NYX BB Cream in “Natural” ($12.99) – another win – it’s great on my skin. I was looking for NYX Lip Lingerie – the display was there, but it wasn’t in stock…so I got the NYX Lip Ombre Duo in “Ginger & Nutmeg” ($11.99) instead. I also grabbed a clearance NYX Mosaic Powder Blush in “Spice”. I am getting addicted to NYX!
After I checked out, I went to track my son and sister-in-law down at Five Below. I found them in the checkout line wearing hats and taking pictures…but I felt something pulling me.
It was the nail polish. I can’t leave Five Below empty handed. I grabbed Funky Fingers “Queen of Hearts”, “Use the Force” and “Cupcake Sprinkles” – they have the bestest top coats!
The heart is strong, but the fingers are weak.
First Ulta Haul of 2016
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I didn’t think it would be so soon…but here it is – my first Ulta haul of the year.
I had been using John Frieda Illuminating Shine and I REALLY like they way it makes my newly short hair feel. I noticed it was $3 each on Ulta’s site and went nuts, ordering 3 each of shampoo and conditioner. (I guess it is discontinued now – it’s no longer on Ulta’s site. FUCK.) Isn’t that the way it always goes? You find something you like and them BOOM – it’s gone. Ugh. I also got a John Frieda Gift with Purchase – travel sizes of John Frieda Beach Blonde Cool Dip Purifying Shampoo, Smooth Seas Detangling Conditioner and Sea Waves Sea Salt Spray. Of course, I just cut all the blonde off my hair, but these will be good for summer.
I also picked up Urban Decay Loose Ultra Definition Finishing Powder – I’ve been using the Pressed, but wanted to try this. I also got Biore Baking Soda Liquid Cleanser (is baking soda the new charcoal?) – I tried it last night and it was nice. I had been lusting over Nicole by OPI “Pick of the Glitter” for about a month, after spying it in a Walgreen’s display. It was still on my mind, so I broke down and bought it. (It is every bit as good as I thought it would be.)
My purchase qualified me for the Platinum Skin Beauty Break Gift with $60 Purchase – a little plastic makeup bag with NOICE samples. Inside the bag: Dermablend Professional Setting Powder (Pricey); Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser (going to Vegas with me); StriVectin SD Advanced Intensive Concentrate for Wrinkles & Stretch Marks (Which one should I work on first?); Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive (Leave it to Gwyneth Paltrow to make beauty products in the worst scent imaginable); Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate; Lancome Renergie Lift Multi-Action Lifiting and Firming Moisturizer; Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels; Patchology FlashPath Eye Gels; and Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Oil. This is the best sample bag I’ve gotten from Ulta, I think!
I didn’t get my Variety Sampler though…Bummer.