Who loves sale shopping? Lauren loves sale shopping. Is it true? Mhmmm. I do I do I do-ooo.
I don't get over to Ulta all that often because it's a little out of the way for me in my day-to-day wanderings, but last weekend I found myself in the area and couldn't resist poking around. If you've never been to an Ulta, it's basically like a beauty wonderland (complete with its own salon and a Benefit Brow Bar). Drugstore makeup, prestige makeup, hair styling tools, bath, body, skincare...you name it, you'll find it. Aside from the awesome selection, Ulta also always has coupons, special offers, and sweet gifts with purchase available to give you the most bang for your buck.
As I was shopping around I noticed that there were a TON of amazing sets for purchase, and it took a whole lot of will power not to buy any. It was also the very start of the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Sale, which means every day for three weeks a different product will be on crazy discount for you to purchase. I'm thinking I might just have to do a "What's Hot at Ulta" shopping guide kind of post just to share with you guys all the amazing stuff that's available right now.
In the meantime, let me show you what I DID actually buy. I'm quite proud of myself for keeping my haul down to these four little goodies, and for only spending $17! That means I basically got everything here at a 50% discount (woop woop!). Let's take a closer look.
As I was perusing through the store I noticed that a lot of body and skincare brands were part of a buy 1 get one 50% off sale. I've been meaning to try more from Pacifica for some time now (flashback to this post I wrote about natural beauty brands) so I figured this was the perfect time to pick up a couple of things. After reading Tiffany's glowing review over at Will Work For Makeup I immediately knew the first thing I had to grab was the Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash ($10). I also can never have too many face wipes, so as my half-off product I decided to try the Pacifica Essential Makeup Removing Wipes ($7). There were quite a few different wipe varieties to choose from, but I was hoping that by being formulated specifically for removing makeup these ones would be a little more heavy duty.
Of course I immediately had to try both of these products out when I got home and I have a feeling I'm about to get SO addicted. First off, I am a fan of coconut scented anything. If coconut isn't your jam, these might not be your favorite things to use, but I personally find them intoxicating. The Sea Foam Wash is a really nice, creamy gel cleanser that does a decent job of removing makeup, dirt, and oil without leaving your skin feeling stripped. I'll definitely have to use it more regularly to see how it affects my skin over time, but my first impression is really positive!
I also was really impressed by these wipes. They're very soft, and not too wet, but they seem to do a really great job of removing face makeup. I will say that if you're wearing a boat load of eyeliner or mascara this is not going to help you out much, so you will need to use a separate eye makeup remover to take them off. Ultimately I think these wipes will be great for pre-cleansing, to refresh your skin in the morning, or for those days where you come home and want to take your makeup off but aren't ready to go through your whole skincare routine.
In my email I knew I had an offer for 5x points on any It Cosmetics for Ulta brushes. I really seriously considered picking up the Your Beautiful Basics Airbrush Set ($58) which does look pretty amazing, however I knew that since I JUST bought this set from BH Cosmetics I really couldn't justify picking up any more face brushes. I was about to abandon the whole IT Brush prospect when I spotted this flippin' ADORABLE travel sized foundation brush in those deadly little towers by the checkout counter. The Airbrush Blurring Foundation Brush #101.2go ($12) is a baby sized version of the original #101 Brush and half the price. Maybe it's a little gimmicky, but at the same time I also think it's the perfect size to throw in a makeup bag you're taking with you on the go. A lot of times I can find cheek, eye, and lip products that apply beautifully without a brush, but foundation is always a little trickier. You can usually do a decent job slapping it on with your fingers alone, but sometimes it's nice to be able to buff things out with a brush. Hopefully this will end up being as useful as it seems!
And of course, to go alone with my mini makeup brush, I also picked up a travel sized bottle of the Japonesque Makeup Brush Cleaner ($6). I've heard a lot of good things about this brush cleaner, including the fact that it has an intoxicating orange scent. I didn't want to drop the cash on the full-sized bottle in case I didn't love it, so I figured I'd start with this small bottle instead. It'll also be really convenient to take with me on the go.
Even though this wasn't the biggest or most exciting haul, I'm really happy with what I picked up. You may also be wondering how I managed to take this $35 purchase down to $17. The Buy 1 get 1 50% off offer saved me $3.50, plus I also was able to use my $3.50 off any purchase of $10 or more coupon that comes in all Ulta e-mails and flyers. I was able to save an additional $11 thanks to the point perks that I had saved up.
On that note, I have to hand it to Ulta for doing a fab job of revamping their points system. Rather than reward you with deluxe samples like Sephora, your Ulta rewards points can be redeemed for a discount off anything in the store. Your discount also grows exponentially as the number of points you have increases, and they're always giving you opportunities to earn bonus points. Even in this order my $12 brush earned me 48 bonus points all by itself!
Sooo....yeah! It's amazing how a few little things can really brighten up your day. And of course, saving money always makes me happy. I hope you all have a fabulous Friday, and I'll surely be chatting with you again soon!
Have you made any fab purchases lately? What's the best deal you've gotten?
