Tag: Ulta
Womanly Wiles
3rd post today…I’m out of control…
No one felt like cooking tonight, not even enough to shove a few frozen pizzas in the oven, so we went to IHOP. After IHOP, my husband wanted to run by Auto Zone to get something for his car project. I waited in the truck with the kids. I had an idea…I whispered something in Lily’s ear.
As soon as my husband got back in the truck, Lily leaned over and said, “Daddy, can we go to Ulta?” He just looked at her…and then looked at me and said, “Really?!?!?”
Yes, I totally attempted to use a six year old child to persuade my husband to take me to a makeup store at 8 o’clock at night….AND IT WORKED. He made me promise to make it a quick trip and I agreed, seeing as they close at 9. His eyes got BIG and his mouth set in a firm line…I asked if he would come in with me, but like me at Auto Zone, he stayed in the truck with my son.
All I picked up was Physician’s Formula Super BB Cream in “Light” (I mistakenly ordered “Light-Medium” a few months ago) and Nude Wear Glowing Nude Powder in “Light”. Physician’s Formula was “Buy 1, get 1 50% off”, plus I had a 20% off coupon, so I ended up saving $10.
With that purchase, I’m about $20 away from Platinum Status at Ulta. Yeah, I’m kind of a big deal…
Is Ulta Addiction a Thing?
The DSM-5 needs to be updated to include the very first case of POCD – Polish Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I could make some psychiatrist’s whole career!
Ulta is a weekly thing with my BFF and I, but while in DFW for Texas Frightmare Weekend, we realized that our other friend had never stepped foot inside an Ulta. We had to remedy that immediately! (To be fair, I passed 2 Ultas while I was walking around in Downtown Chicago and I did NOT go in – most of my co-workers were dudes, so I controlled myself…)
While my BFF had her eye on stila concealer, I was content to browse the clearance aisle. The Irving Ulta has a kickass clearance section. I picked up 4 polishes…
Sally Hansen Gem Crush “Lady Luck” – fuchsia and silver holographic glitter – for 69 cents. I really LOVE Gem Crush and will own them all someday.
Orly “Purple Poodle” – fuchsia with a blue shimmer – for $4.99, and Orly “Masked Ceremony” – Steel with silver shimmer, fuchsia highlights and silver chunks – absolutely spectacular and $3.99. I’ve never tried Orly polish, so I’m intrigued.
Seche “All Lit Up” – fuchsia with gold shimmer – for $3.99. I’ve never tried Seche either.
So on top of saving approximately $18 on the clearance polishes, I also busted out a $3.50 coupon from my email. My total was $11 even. Now THAT made the OC in me REALLY happy!
Gymnast Nails
Lily had her first Gymnastics Show today, so I decided to get all Pinterest-y and paint her nails to match her leotard. She usually paints her nails herself, so I was afraid that I would have to tie her to a chair to let me paint her nails. Turns out that all I had to do is bribe her with Hotel Transylvania and candy.
I put on one coat of Ulta “Fuchsiamania” and topped with China Glaze “It’s a Trap-eze”. They dried relatively quickly, so I didn’t have to get out the quick dry drops.
“It’s a Trap-eze” has a milky white base. It’s really an odd formula, but I like how it muted the fuchsia to create a lighter pink. Even so, I don’t know how I feel about actually trying it on my own nails…
Oh…and despite what the picture shows, my daughter does have 5 fingers. I don’t know what the hell happened to her pinkie.
Easter Shopping
Remember when stores used to be closed on holidays? Easter is one of the few holidays that still closes some stores – HEB and Target are closed today, but Ulta was open. Do a lot of people go buy makeup after Easter Sunday service?
I got a ladyboner yesterday when I got an Ulta sale mag in the mail yesterday. Most of it was fragrances for Mother’s Day, but there was one special that caught my eye – Buy 2 Zoya polishes and get a free Zoya “Monet”, a multi-colored, cellophane holographic special effect topper. Plus, I still had a $5 off $15 coupon. I picked up “Cassedy” (full-coverage celestial pewter metallic from the Zenith Winter Collection) and “Dillon” (full-coverage green mint metallic with silver shimmer from the Awaken Spring 2014 collection). I also got a sample of it’s a 10 miracle leave in product – what does that even mean?
I couldn’t wait to try “Monet”, so I used it on my middle fingernails, over Julep “Tatum”. NOW, my Easter Grass nails are complete.
I got Issues
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I forgot to go to the bathroom after my son’s allergist appointment and Ulta had the closest bathroom. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
I knew I couldn’t make it to my next stop – in 5 o’clock traffic – so I HAD to stop…and use my $5 off $15 coupon. I picked up Zoya “Faye” and China Glaze “It’s a Trap-eze”. I was going to get 2 Zoyas, but Lily BEGGED for the China Glaze because RAINBOW GLITTER, so I went ahead and got it “for her”. (I still have one more $5 off coupon.) You can’t really tell from the picture, but “Faye” is a chameleon purple/copper shimmer – it’s hot.
After Ulta, I had to get a prescription from Target. I live for the clearance endcaps at Target. It just so happens that the endcap right by the pharmacy had hundreds of 50% off nail polishes. I showed considerable restraint in only getting one today – Sally Hansen Gem Crush “Glitz Gal”.
I had planned to paint my nails tonight, but Zoya polish doesn’t chip – my Disco “Bobbi” nails still look good! I’m thinking slamming my hand in the car door tomorrow, to ensure I need a repaint…
Saturday Shopping
If I’m out of the house, I’m going to find a way to go shopping.
Before heading to a birthday party, my BFF and I had to drop by Ulta, kids in tow. While she availed herself of her 20% off coupon, I was going to put my $5 off coupon to use by picking up Zoya “Bobbi” and essie luxeffects “A Cut Above”. (Too bad I didn’t check the dates – my coupon isn’t valid until Monday. Luckily, they had a $3.50 off coupon at the check-out.)
After a fun birthday party for a very sweet 5 year old, I demanded that we visit Bath & Body Works, so that I could take advantage of B3G3 and an “up to 40% off” coupon. I picked up Fragrance Mist, Body Cream and Shower Gel in “Oahu Coconut Sunset” for my sister in Alaska. They don’t have B&BW where she lives and I figured she may be missing Hawaii after a cold winter. I also picked up back-up Body Creams for myself – “Mad About You”, “Pure Paradise” and “Carried Away”. My coupon ended up being for 30% off – not a bad deal…
Polish Remover Battle Royale
I’m taking my polish off 2, 3, sometimes 4 or 5 times week. I also use a lot of glitter. When I say “a lot” – I mean a fuck ton. A METRIC FUCK TON.
Since joining Julep and then starting this blog, I’ve gotten a few suggestions to take me beyond the usual drugstore removers. The first suggestion I got was from my cuzzin, Beth – Zoya “Remove +”. I was going on and on about Julep and she said I HAD to try Zoya Remover. Although I still haven’t gotten my hands on Zoya polish, I immediately went to Ulta and picked up the Zoya Remover for $10. It’s really tough on glitter, although it can still take a long time scrubbing my nails. It smells good and leaves my skin feeling soft.I was all impressed because I thought it didn’t contain acetone – the main ingredient was listed as 2-Propanone. A quick Google told me that 2-Propanone IS acetone. Very sneaky, Zoya.
My friend Angie commented on the site that she swears by the little plastic jar that you dip your fingers in from Target. (The product is actually called up&up “nail polish remover dip-it”.) It was only $3-$4, so I picked one up. Immediately, I was reminded of THE DIP from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? This shit melts fingernail polish like it was a tiny cartoon horn. There are little scrubbies inside the jar that power the glitter off. Except for the fact that it dries my skin out like leather, this is the best thing EVER.
The last product I tried out is Julep’s “Party’s Over” Glitter Nail Polish Remover Kit. The kit is 10 little silicone caps that you pop on the end of your nails with an acetone wipey. The first 7 caps went on just fine…the last 3 were a bitch to get one. I would have tried one hand at a time, but I was afraid the wipeys would dry out. This method works exceedingly well…but it was $22 for just 5 packets of wipeys.
Ultimately, the winner of the Polish Remover Battle Royale is…the up&up “nail polish remover dip-it”, but the remover inside of it is exceedingly toxic-feeling. When I finish it off, I’m going to refill it will Zoya “Remove +” to create the PERFECT product.
Stained Glass
Pictures do not do my nails justice – they are gorgeous!
I started with a coat of Sally Hansen “Flirt” – a dark maroon. Then I added a sloppy coat of Sparitual Luminary Matte Top Effect in “Opaline”. My nails looks like stained glass. Blood-splattered stained glass!
This is my first experience with Sparitual products. The bottle says Vegan, but I bought it anyway. (At first I thought they were referring to ingredients, but then I realized they must be referring to the animal testing aspect. Feh, I put nail polish all over my dog and she’s fine.) It’s the most expensive polish I’ve ever bought at $12, but again, my nails look damn good.
20% Off Ulta Haul
Send me a coupon…and I’m gonna use it.
Ulta has always been pretty free with their $3.50 off coupons, but they’re nothing special, since you can’t use them on “Prestige” brands. But the 20% off coupon they sent IS usable on “Prestige”. That’s kind of a big deal.
Since I had just ordered the Too Faced “Boudoir Eyes” Palette for my BFF, I decided I wanted it, too. (We don’t get all salty when we get the same products – we like buying the same makeup, carrying the same purses, wearing the same horsemask.) They were out of the free “Better Than Sex” mascara, but the clerk gave me a sample of Bare Minerals “Lash Domination”.
As I was testing Too Faced BB Cream, the stila makeup artist asked if I had any questions. I didn’t realize she was just stila, so she couldn’t answer any of my questions about the Too Faced stuff. For once, I didn’t have my kids with me, so I figured why not try the stila? (It’s funny how these makeup artists talk shit about other brands. I mentioned that I used to use Bare Minerals and she said it’s basically like rubbing dirt on my face.) I let her try out the stila Stay All Day Foundation on me. Honestly, it wasn’t bad, but too much work for me. I DID like the Set & Correct Baked Powder Trio and bought it. I also picked up 3 of the lip glazes from last month’s Birchbox – Red Velvet, Lychee and Banana Berry – they were 3 for $15!
Finally, I grabbed a Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil in “Soft Brown”. I’ve heard good things about Anastasia Dip Brow, but again – too much work for me. I’ve already tried the pencil and I’m liking it so far…lighter than the normal cheapie pencils I use, but more natural.
My initial total was about $115, but with the 20% off coupon and $11 in Ulta Rewards, it was $79…this post should have been called “How to Make Your Husband Shit a Brick.”
I’m a Giver
It doesn’t matter that her birthday is still almost 3 weeks away…as soon as I got the last part of her gift in the mail, I had to give my BFF her birthday present. Mostly because I was afraid she might visit Ulta herself…
She wanted the Too Faced “Boudoir Eyes” Palette really bad…solely based on the fact that there is a color of eye shadow called “Sugar Walls”. I guess she wants to unleash her inner Sheena Easton. The palette came with a free “Better Than Sex” mascara and eye shadow primer.
She also wanted the Urban Decay Naked Palette. She already had Naked 3 and her daughter has Naked 2, so now her life is complete – she can die happy with fabulous eyes.