July 2018 Favorites!

Picking fresh, new favorites is tough after a month on a no buy! I do, however, love seeing repeat products on other peoples' favorite lists, so I don't feel bad doing that with mine. It's been hot and gross here all month, so my favorites include some products that compliment summer weather.

Spring Sales - Planned Purchases From Sephora & Ulta

It's that time again - Sephora spring sale time! Sephora offers 15% off for VIB and VIB Rouge members in April, along with 10% off for all Beauty Insider members. It's not as good as the holiday 20% off, but ti's something! Sephora is pricey, so I know a lot of people, myself included, plan larger purchases around these coupons. I've been adding and removing items from my cart since last month in anticipation!

Along with the Sephora sale, Ulta usually issues a 20% off Prestige coupon in early April. The coupon usually coincides with the end of their 21 Days of Beauty event. The coupon was mailed out today (4/12) and  I've been (not so) patiently waiting with a full cart for about a week now. However, I seem to get every Ulta email BUT these emails, so I am waiting to hear back from them about my code.

Sine I've been focusing on low buying and using what I have, I've been pretty particular about what's going into my carts. A lot of the items are repurchases, or trying something new in place of a product I'm almost out of. I also love seeing what other people are planning on getting, so I wanted to share what I'm looking forward to pulling the trigger on!

Korean Skincare at Ulta!

Over the past year or so, I've hardcore gotten into Asian skincare. Until relatively recently, getting lesser known Korean brands required ordering from specialty sites like Memebox or placing orders from Korean sites such as Jolse or RoseRoseShop and then wait for the international shipping to get your goodies to you. However, stores such as Ulta and Sephora have "discovered" Asian skincare and the previously "unknown" brands are now popping up for sale! I love shopping at Ulta for their rewards system, so I was excited to see brands such as Goodal and Whamisa available on their site. I've been slowly ordering more goodies from Ulta to supplement my other orders. Ulta's prices are in line with stateside retailers such as Glow Recipe and Memebox, which are a little more expensive than ordering directly from Korea (give or take with that shipping, though...) but give faster gratification. Unfortuantely, the full lines of the K-beauty brands are not available, but hopefully one day there will be more of a selection. Another benefit to buying from Ulta (or Sephora) is the advantage to return purchased items in store, which is just added convenience.

Goodal and Whamisa are brands that both focus on fermented ingredients, with Whamisa putting extra emphasis on organic ingredients. These brands tend to cost a bit more than brands such as TonyMoly (also sold at Ulta!) and have packing that isn't as cutesy as other K-beauty brands. I've bought Goodal Double Bright Intense Serum and Waterest Lasting Water Oil, and I really like them both. I wasn't terribly impressed with the sheet masks I tried, and since they're excluded from the famous $3.50 off $15 Ulta coupon, I may not give them another try. From Whamisa,  I really like the Organic Flowers Eye Essence. I've only used the Water Cream a few times, and it was a little heavier than I'd like, but my skin feels really silky in the morning after I use it. Ulta has some exclusive "7 Wonders" masks from Leaders, along with some of their other sheet masks. I really liked the Pore Minimizing mask I got! To be completely honest, I didn't realize it was a gel mask and put it on my face with the protective film still on it and thought it was a total piece of crap before I realized that I was an idiot.

I also picked up a TonyMoly foot peel, and I got about five weeks of super soft feet. I've already ordered my second one. TonyMoly items can be bought using a coupon, so it makes the increased price of the sheet masks a little easier to swallow. (I still order packs of 10 sheet masks from Korean retailers because it's cheaper per mask, but if I want something on a whim, this is super convenient.) Some of the other brands are online only, but TonyMoly and Leaders are both available in store. (Not to mention the Hada Labo that was already available!)

I swear I'm not being paid by Ulta or Sephora or another store to gush about this, I'm just really excited that I can buy stuff I've been wanting to try and get points for it. I'm really hoping western stores expand their offerings so more goodies can be tried!

Platinum Perk Coupon and Points - Ulta Haul!

Ulta has one of the best rewards programs - the points you accumulate can be used towards merchandise. They often have point multiplier promotions, which lets you rack up points quickly. I like to hoard my points until a 20% coupon valid on regular and Prestige cosmetics comes around, so I can haul hard with no money out of my pocket. Ulta recently had a coupon soooo...here's what I picked up!

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Ash Brown - I jumped on the dipbrow bandwagon when it first started, and have had a pot of Dark Brown for over a year, with a bunch left. However, ABH released an extension to the shade range earlier this year, including Ash Brown, which I thought would be an even better fit. I've been waiting MONTHS to finally get my hands on this! My old pot must be dried out, since I was not prepared for how soft and smooth the new product would be.
• SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Hair Masque - What a mouthful! I wanted to get something as a deep conditioner for my hair, and this sounded wonderful. I really like my SheaMoisture clarifying shampoo, so I'm really excited to try this.
• Becca Radiant Glow Collection - I've had this sitting in my cart since the day it came out. I've been wanting a pressed Moonstone highlighter, so I decided to get the set with the mini, since the full size is absolutely massive! (I have a full size Rose Gold, and it is huge.) This set comes with a mini pressed Moonstone, a mini Opal liquid, a mini Under Eye Brightening corrector, and a full size Beach Tint Lip Shimmer Soufflé in Raspberry/Opal. The eye brightener jar is super teeny, which makes it difficult to get a brush in, but it really does brighten! I love Moonstone, and the lip tint is nice as well.
• Too Faced Hangover Rx Primer - Everyone seems to be putting coconut water into everything. I'm not a fan of the beverage, but I love putting it on my body! This primer is supposedly hydrating, and helps less blendable primers (ahem, Becca Ever Matte...) spread more easily. 
• Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighter - Highlighters are my new thing, end of story.
• Ulta Crystal Nail File - I like crystal nail files, and I really needed a new one. Now I have two - new one for home, old one to keep at work!
• Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara in Soft Brown - I really want to buy Benefit's Gimme Brow, but I don't want to spend that much! I'm going to play with this brow mascara in the meantime.
• Scunci Hair Ties - I was out, so why not get them with my points???
• Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray - I've been out of this stuff for months, but I didn't feel like shelling out for it. I love this setting spray. I use it after Fix+ to actually set my makeup. I get oily, so I buy the De-Slick one, though a lot of people swear by All Nighter.
• Alterna Bamboo 2-in-1 Volumizer - I love Alterna volumizing products, so I decided to try a new one! This cream is supposed to add a bit of texture as well, which my hair desperately needs.

I also picked up the Lorac Unzipped palette, but that came separately (due to realizing I had more points, and then a shipping mishap...) I'm excited to try it! Have you gotten anything awesome with Ulta's reward system?

Not So Glamorous Ulta Haul

I was at Ulta the other day and I picked up a few things! Not too much, and nothing incredibly exciting, but hauls are fun!

I picked up another bottle of Nivea In Shower Body Lotion. This stuff has totally changed my shower experience, I love not having to worry about moisturizing my back after the shower since I can manage much better in the shower! I also don't have an issue with tub residue, though I know I have heard it from some. Some more mundane items - bobby pins and foam toe separators. I've been working with broken toe separators for what feels like a century, and it's always one of those things you never think to pick up. Thankfully, I spotted these right by the registers and they were a dollar.

I was in the market for a foot scrub. I normally pick up a Footsie Pumice Scrub from indie shop Savor, but they haven't had it listed lately, and the shop is currently closed for vacation. In its stead, I picked up Earth Therapeutics Purifying Foot Scrub. Hopefully it gets the job done, I need to keep my feet looking nice during sandal weather! (Like I wear sandals...more like constant flip flops.)

Also managed to snag my third repurchase of the NYX Cosmetics Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown. It's $10 and I love it - I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it from me. Also picked up my go to top coat, Seche Vite. I've tried other top coats, but I keep coming back.

I love hauls, even small, mostly boring ones! Hopefully the foot scrub works out, I really miss the Savor scrub (mine was chai tea scented!) but I needed something in a pinch.

Mini Ulta Haul!

I was at Ulta this weekend to get my bangs trimmed, so I decided to pick up a few things! I also had a 20% off coupon and an offer for triple points, so I wanted to make sure I cashed in on that as well! I'm working on a low buy right now, and the majority of these items are repurchases/replacements. 

• Nivea In Shower Body Lotion  - I love this stuff! It makes getting soft, moisturized skin even easier My boyfriend uses it as well, and this is the third bottle I'm picking up. I'm trying to go through all of the other body butters and lotions I have from indie companies, but so far nothing tops this in terms of ease of use. I can even get the middle of my back with this, meaning no dry, itchy spots I can't reach later in the day!
• Simple Cleansing Wipes - I keep these in my gym bag to take off my makeup before a workout. This takes off everything but the most stubborn waterproof mascara, which is OK by me. The scent is nice, and I haven't had any negative reaction after using these for a few weeks. This is my second pack of these. There are a few variations of them, such as exfoliating and what have you, but I just pick up the run of the mill cleansing ones.
• Formula 10.0.6 Deep Down Detox Mask - This is a new product for me. I saw this brand on the website, and I decided I wanted to give this mask a try! This mask is supposed to deep clean your pores and detox the skin. I'm a sucker for face masks, so I picked it up. There's another product I wanted to try from this brand called Three Times Sublime, but my Ulta was sold out. The scent on this is nice, like oranges!
• Rimmel Stay Matte Primer - Another repurchase! I wanted to have a drugstore mattifying foundation on hand, and I really loved this stuff when I used it initially. I find it's much easier to work with than Becca Ever Matte in terms of spreading it onto the skin, and still gives a great matte finish.
• NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Ash Brown - I reviewed this a while back, so this is another repurchased. I LOVE this product, and recommend it to anyone who uses the Anastasia Brow Wiz. It's cheaper per ounce, and does the exact same thing. I'm sure some people will be nitpicky about the formula, but I personally do not see enough of a difference to pay an additional $11 for a basically identical product. Plus, Ulta has these buy one get one 50% off all the time, plus coupons...I just really like this product, okay??

Drugstore Face Haul

I decided to pick up some drugstore face products while at Ulta the other day! I've heard a ton of great things about these products, so I wanted to check them out for myself.

Here's what I picked up:

• L'Oreal True Match foundation in N1
• L'Oreal Magic Lumi primer
• Maybelline Fit Me foundation in 110 Porcelain
• Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10 Light

I haven't gotten a chance to really test these out yet, but here are some swatches:

I'm excited to give these a shot! I've heard really great things about both foundations and the concealer, and the primer looks really interesting. I'm looking forward to see how it compares to mixing in Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl into my foundation.

Haul - Ulta 20% Off Sale!!

Unlike ~other~ major beauty retailers, Ulta has sales more often. However, they do not have the Prestige items on sale as often as we would like. So when the 20% off of everything coupons roll around, it's time to haul! If you're anything like me, you had a ton of stuff in your cart, and you had to try and whittle it down to something reasonable. I know I waffled back and forth on the Vice 3 palette for about a week before finally deleting it for good (at least...for now.)

Here is what recently arrived on my doorstep...