A Hard-to-Resist Ulta Sale
It feels like there’s almost always some kind of sale going on in the beauty world. Ulta ran a “Forever Fabulous” sale this week in conjunction with 2x rewards points, so (DUH) I ordered a few things. My package shipped SO FAST—it showed up the next day! Check out what I received in my latest Ulta sale haul:
The Shampoos
The first product I decided to order was this EcoTools Makeup Brush Shampoo. I’m part of a small beauty community that instituted a mandate of “On Wednesdays We Wash Brushes” to encourage us to do just that. Clean brushes FTW! I’m almost out of the e.l.f. brush shampoo that I’ve been using and this one was on sale, so I added it to my cart. Six ounces of brush shampoo should last me quite awhile!
When I saw that Pacifica products were on sale I decided to get this Salty Waves Texturizing Shampoo. I’ve never tried Pacifica hair care products and those beachy waves are the dream. Pacifica’s packaging is so gorgeous! Kudos to their design department.
The Pink Stuff
Real Techniques products were also on sale. Their adorable limited edition Brush Crush line has tempted me before but the prices are higher than the brand’s regular brushes so I hadn’t scooped them up yet. When I spotted this Brush Crush 300 Powder Brush on sale I immediately added it to my cart. It is SO SOFT AND FLUFFY! And how cute is that sparkly pink handle?
Maybelline mascaras were also on sale so I bought an extra Lash Sensational in Blackest Black. I’ve been trying some other brands’ mascaras but I keep going back to Maybelline. Their mascaras are pretty much the best I’ve tried. This one has a curved brush; I like to apply one coat with the curved part at the bottom, then flip the brush and apply another coat with the curved part at the top. This application method really helps fan my lashes out! I’ll have to do a video demonstration sometime.
Tarte for Travel
A few Tarte palettes were on sale so of course I had to check those out. As I was browsing I realized I could use a good travel palette; most of mine are a little large for travel. This Double Duty Beauty Happy Girls Shine Brighter Eye & Cheek Palette stood out to me as a good on-the-go palette:
The palette is even smaller than I expected. It’s basically a large compact that fits in the palm of my hand:
And the colors! The palette contains six eyeshadows and one blush, all containing Tarte’s signature Amazonian clay. The neutral shades are RIGHT up my alley. I can use the darkest shade, Sweetie, as an eyeliner, and I can use the lightest shade, Posse, as a face highlighter in addition to a browbone and inner corner highlight. Also? The palette contains a large mirror. Happy Girls Shine Brighter is literally the perfect travel palette I didn’t know I needed!
I swatched the shades on my arm, which you can see here:
Let’s Talk Money
So how much did these five products set me back?
- EcoTools Makeup Brush Shampoo: $7.99 regular // $4.79 sale
- Pacifica Salty Waves Texturizing Shampoo: $10 regular // $7 sale
- Real Techniques Brush Crush 300 Powder Brush: $6.49 regular // $3.89 sale
- Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara: $8.99 regular // $6.29 sale
- Tarte Double Duty Beauty Happy Girls Shine Brighter Eye & Cheek Palette: $30 regular // $18 sale
Shipping was free, so my total including tax was $42.27. Not bad—that’s an average of $8.45 per product!
As I was writing this post I realized that almost my entire haul is cruelty-free, with the exception of the Maybelline mascara. Maybelline may not be testing on animals in the U.S., but the brand sells in China, where animal testing is required (this is something I learned about on Natch Beaut). I didn’t intentionally pick mostly cruelty-free products, but it is something I’m trying to be more aware of while shopping. I do feel guilty that my favorite mascaras are Maybelline, but I haven’t found a better cruelty-free alternative yet. If you have any good cruelty-free mascara recommendations, please do let me know in the comments!
Did you order anything during Ulta’s latest sale? I hear their 21 days of beauty sale is coming up soon, and Sephora is doing another Beauty Insider special later this month. I might have to put myself on a shopping lockdown…yikes.
