Mini Haul: Ulta

Over the weekend I went on a serious hunt, mainly for a cheap highlighter but also because I had some coupons. The destination Ulta, the outcome, well a lot more things than I was expecting. I ended up getting a highlighter, matte lipstick, a finishing powder, two more face masks, and a free birthday mascara! So let me go ahead and tell you about each product.

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First on the list, and the item was after all along, is a highlighter from Makeup Revolution London. I picked up the Vivid Baked Highlighter Powder in Golden Lights and already I am loving it. Over the weekend I was searching for highlighters and put some effort into looking into the Becca highlighters. The only issue is the Becca highlighters are $38…sadly I can’t justify that after seeing a swatch. I know people swear on these highlighters but honestly I was disappointed when I visited the section in Ulta. I tested the lightest shade Moonstone  and it was just well a typical highlighter to me. I decided to go searching in the drugstore product section of the store and after looking at every single brand I fell upon a small section of Makeup Revolution products. I had never heard of this brand, and when I went home learned it is a UK based brand. I couldn’t swatch the shade in store but had hope in the product since it looked very similar to Moonstone. Getting home and swatching it I was glad I went with this one. The similarity between this product and Moonstone was incredible, with this product having a little more gold to it. I was reading online people think the gold specs are large and looks unnatural but honestly when I put it on it looks just like the Becca highlighter would. You can pick this product up from Ulta for $6.

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Next on my list to get was a finishing powder similar to the Sonia Kashuk Matte Finishing Powder which has been discontinued. All I’m saying was that, that product was my holy grail finishing powder and they really need to bring it back. That product would set my under eye area so good that no product would ever run or smudge or even budge through a 24 hour day. So as it is finally near the end of that product I decided to look for another product similar to that. Honestly searching through Ulta I came up with about no drugstore brand solutions. If it was matte, it was also brightening, and really that is not something I really want since it usually shows up in flash photography or just looks super weird. I landed on the NYX HD Studio Photogenic Finishing Powder in SFP01 White/Translucent. I was tempted to get one of the two color shades but thought since my Sonia Kashuk powder was white I should probably just stick to another white product. I have yet to try this product but I am hoping it ranks up there with my Sonia Kashuk powder. At Ulta this retails for $9.99, but as always NYX products are buy one get one 50% off…so of course I had to get something else.

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So with the 50% off deal I decided to look at some NYX lip products, and I came across their NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in San Paulo. I have never tried a matte lip cream before and I know people rave about the darker shades of this product so I decided to give it a go. I have yet to wear it yet, but when I do expect a review! This product retails for $5.99 but I got it 50% off.

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To round out my shopping trip I decided to look at more of the Freeman’s Feeling Beautiful Masks. The only reason I thought of this was because of a conversation I had with my boyfriend a while ago. He was complaining about his breakouts and dry spots, which I then suggested trying a face mask. Only now did I remember this and decided to go see what this brand might have to help him (of course I would have to try them too…just to make sure they were good…). The masks were also buy one get one 50% off so I decided to try two of them to see if they would benefit my man. The two I picked are the Dead Sea Minerals Anti-Stress Mask and the Clay Mask in Chocolate & Strawberry. The Dead Sea mask claims to clear pores and smooth skin while also moisturizing the entire face, plus it has calming scents to help relax you. The Chocolate & Strawberry mask claims to moisturize and tone while purging pores and making them look smaller. We will see how these work for him. Hopefully they get the job done! Also expect a review on those two masks coming up. Currently at Ulta they retail for $4.29 and are either on a 50% deal or a dollar off, depending on when you go.

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The last item I received was an Urban Decay mascara. If your birthday falls in June, July, or August and you have signed up as a member with Ulta (which is free) then you can receive this gift at checkout. Just show them the email you received and you’re good to go. The Urban Decay Perversion mascara comes in black for the birthday gift and is just a trail size. This mascara claims to nourish the lashes and make them bigger and bolder. I haven’t worn this yet since my work environment is a bit conservative for massive lashes, but expect a review in the near future when I can really put this mascara to the test!

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I hope you enjoyed reading about my mini haul. Let me know if you have any of these products! I would love to hear from all of you!

As always, thanks for reading!
-Nicole