Mini Ulta Haul

Hello everyone, and Happy Monday!

I went to Ulta about a week or so ago, and I picked up the Naked 3 palette (which I have since returned, sadly). While I was there, I also picked up a few products from NYX because they were buy one, get one 50 percent off and I had a coupon for like $3 off a $10 purchase. In case you can’t tell from previous posts, NYX is probably my favorite drugstore brand. And they normally have some good sales on the products, too, so that always helps. Anyway, here we go!

NYX Chunky Dunk Hydrating Lippie in the shade Berry Mojito

These are relatively new from NYX, and it’s their version of a lip crayon basically. I was drawn to this color because it looked kind of like a cross between pink and purple, which is very on trend right now. These are very moisturizing, and they have a bit of a staining effect on the lips, so the color seems to last for longer than I expected. I wasn’t crazy about the other colors in the range, so I probably won’t pick up any more of them, but I really like this color and the formula of these.

NYX Butter Lipstick in the shade Razzle

It seems like everyone has been talking about these lipsticks lately, so I figured I should try one out. There are a ton of colors in this range, but most of them were similar to shades by other brands that I already own or they just weren’t a good color match for me. But I love this one! It’s pretty bright, so it’s perfect for summer, and you can apply it lightly to just get a nice wash of color. The formula is great, and it also has a bit of a staining effect on the lips.

NYX Butter Gloss in the shade Strawberry Parfait

First of all, these smell really flipping good. Secondly, the formula is really nice in that it’s not sticky at all and you get good color on your lips from it; it’s not too sheer. I like to wear this one by itself just for a nice simple look, but it’s also nice to layer it over the other lip products above, or really anything. I’ve layered it over a couple different products, and it looks nice over all of them since it’s just a light mid-tone pink color. These glosses are really nice, and they smell super good, so it’s just a win-win.

(From top to bottom) Swatches of the NYX Butter Gloss in the shade Strawberry Parfait, NYX Butter Lipstick in the shade Razzle and the NYX Chunky Dunk Hydrating Lippie in the shade Berry Mojito

NYX Blotting Powder in the shade Light

I think this is a relatively new product from NYX as well, but I could be wrong. I’ve been wanting to try their Stay Matte, Not Flat powder, but my Ulta is always sold out of the lightest shade, which would be a good color match for me. Anyway, I thought I’d give this a try and so far I like it. It’s not amazing, but it does work well for touchups throughout the day. It comes with a little NYX pouf to apply the product, and there’s a good size mirror as well, which is also nice.

Drugstore Haul

For some reason, I got a lot of coupons this month from CVS and a few other places had some really good sales like buy one get one free or buy one get one half off, so I decided to combine it all into a drugstore haul. Take a look at the products I’ve picked up recently, and let me know if you’ve had any success (or not!) with them.

Que Bella Relaxing Aromatherapy Lavender Clay Mask and Anti-Ageing Goji Berry Mask

I love face masks! Especially on the weekends, it’s such a great way to relax. I haven’t tried these out yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Primer

I’m still undecided on this primer. It has a thicker texture to it, and I don’t like applying it all over my face. I only apply it on my T-zone and cheeks before I apply my foundation. I can’t tell how much it really helps, though, because in the afternoons sometimes I still have to grab my blotting paper to touch up my forehead and cheeks. I’ve only tried it a few times, so I’ll give it another chance or two.

Physician’s Formula Concealer Twins

I LOVE this concealer! When I went to CVS a few weeks ago, the Physician’s Formula brand was 40 percent off, so I decided to pick this up. It’s two concealers in one! The one on the left is a yellow concealer that works great for hiding dark circles under my eyes, and the pink concealer on the right is great for evening out my undereye are after I use the yellow concealer, and it also works great for touchups all over my face if I need it.

Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner in Purple

I really love this color, and since I recently ran out of my other purple eyeliner, I decided to pick this up because it was only 99 cents! It’s not very creamy, but the color payoff is nice and it should last me a while, which is a bonus.

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad in the shade Amethyst Smokes

This quad is perfect for a purple smoky eye! I’ve only used it once so far, but I love it.

Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in the shade Silent Treatment

This trio is really nice for a subtle smoky eye or a bit more of a dramatic look that’s also appropriate for work.

Wet n’Wild Fergie Center Stage Collection Eyeshadow in the shade Dutchess Lounge

I haven’t used this yet, but I just LOVED the colors so I had to pick it up. They all have shimmer or glitter in the, except for  the bright purple shade in the middle. Excited to try it out!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in the shade Water Color

Oh my gosh, this color was just so gorgeous that I couldn’t not pick it up. It’s a great bright blue that’s perfect for spring and summer, and with only one coat of color, it looks great. I normally apply two coats, but it’s nice to know that if I’m ever in a hurry, I can swipe this one my nails once and be good to go.

e.l.f. Daily Brush Cleaner

I…don’t like this. It has a very nice smell, but it didn’t really do anything to my brushes to remove eye shadow, foundation, blush, anything. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in the shade Transparent

I like this powder a lot! I put it on after foundation but before bronzer and blush, and I feel like it gives me a nice little extra layer of coverage and I like the formula. This would also work well for touchups throughout the day if you have a brush with you.

NYX Shadow Palette in the shade Sex Bomb Femme Fatale

When I saw this palette at Ulta a few weeks ago, I knew I had to have it. The colors are just gorgeous! I’ve tried a few different looks with it so far, and I like it! Even the red looks nice, even though it looks super bright in the pan.

Neutrogena MoistureSmooth Color Stick in the shade Bright Berry

This color is gorgeous! It’s kind of like a “your lips, but better” color. It’s also a little hydrating, which is nice for winter. I won’t say it moisturizes my lips all day, but it’s good for at least a few hours.

 NYC In A New York Color Minute Quick Dry Top Coat

This stuff is amazing! I think it was less than $2 at Walmart, and I highly recommend it! It’s a super shiny formula and it dries my nail polish within a minute or so. Not much else to say because I just love it!

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad in the shade Designer Chocolates

I kind of have mixed feelings about this quad. The browns are very pretty but not very pigmented, same with the rose gold shade. They’re very pretty, but they didn’t last long on my eyes.

Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner in the shade Mink Brown

I haven’t bought brown eyeliner in years, for some reasons, so I picked this one up. Wet ‘n Wild was buy one, get one 50 percent off, so I got this for 50 cents. So far I like it! Nothing spectacular but it gets the job done.

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in  the shade Elusive

I like this, and I find it has more staying power than the lacquer balms from Revlon, but it’s a bit too drying for me to use during winter. My lips get really dry this time of year, but it’s a beautiful color that maybe I could use more in spring and summer.

Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in the shade I’m Getting Sunburned

I like this trio, but not as much as the other ones I picked up. The browbone color is almost like a duochrome pink/champagne color, and it’s pretty frosty. The colors are nice, but I just don’t see myself reaching for it much.

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Polish in the shade Bridal Shower

This color is very pretty! I didn’t have any light purple nail polish, and this one said it would help strengthen my nails, so I figured it’d be good to try out.

Sephora Glittering Eye Duo in the shades Gold and Lavender

I don’t know how practical these are, but they were on clearance at Sephora, so I had to get them. I don’t think they’d work well all over my lid, but I can see them being good for a pop of color on top of shadow. I like that they each come with a sticky base, which is actually a very pretty light champagne color without shimmer.

Haul: Ulta and CVS

I had a lot of coupons to use that expired this past weekend, so I decided to make quick trips to Ulta and CVS. Here are some of the products I picked up! Let me know if you’ve tried any of these products and had success (or not!).

Ulta:

  

NYX Tea Tree Blotting Paper

Right now I have dry to combination skin, but when the weather gets warmer, I tend to have more oily skin so I thought I’d pick these up. I’ve only used them once so far, but I really like them. I keep them in my purse and grab one sheet in the afternoon to freshen up my look.

 

L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

L’Oreal has so many different mascaras, and I’ve really liked all the ones I’ve tried so far. I picked this one up because I had a coupon to get a free full-sized eye shadow if I spent $7.99 on mascara or eyeliner, and this mascara was $7.99, so it worked out perfectly. Oh my gosh, I LOVE this mascara! I feel like it gives even more volume and drama than Covergirl’s Bombshell Mascara, and it was cheaper. It was more of a wet formula, so my lashes don’t feel dry or brittle. I would highly recommend this product for anyone looking for a new drugstore mascara.

 

L’Oreal 24-hour Infallible Eye Shadow in the shade Smoldering Plum

This was the eye shadow I got for free, or else it would have cost me $7.99. Most of the shades were pretty picked over when I was at Ulta, but I don’t think you can go wrong with having purple eyeshadow. The color is beautiful and just a little bit shimmery, but not glittery. From far away, it almost looks black on the eyelid, which adds nice dimension and mystery to the look. I’ve used the shadow once so far, and I thought the product was creamy and it applied nicely. However, I noticed that by 6 p.m. or so, the shadow started to crease a bit. It’s being marketed as a 24-hour long-wear shadow, but even on top of a primer, I still noticed it starting to fade away. The color is still gorgeous, and I’ll still wear it, but I was a bit disappointed it started creasing on me.

Covergirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow in the shade Mink

There were a bunch of these single Covergirl eyeshadows on clearance for $1.99, so I picked this one up. It’s a very light bronze with a bit of shimmer, and it looks beautiful as a base or highlighter shade on the lids. I know Covergirl eye shadows aren’t always the best quality, but I really like this one. It stayed on all day whether I had primer on or not without creasing, so I was impressed.

Swatches of Covergirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow in the shade Mink and L’Oreal 24-hour Infallible Eye Shadow in the shade Smoldering Plum 

 

 

NYX Wonder Pencil in the shade Light

I look at this product almost every time I’m in Ulta, so I figured it was time to pick it up. The Wonder Pencil is good to use on your waterline, as a concealer and as a reverse lip liner to make your lips look bigger. So far I’ve only used it on my waterline, and I love it. It makes my eyes look brighter instantly, and I don’t have any problems with it smudging.

 

Maybelline Color Show Nail Lacquer in the shade Wine & Dined 420

These were also on clearance for $1.99 each, and there were a TON of different shade choices with a variety of finishes. This color caught my eye because it looked like a deep burgundy with some glitter in the bottle, but once I looked closer, I saw it was more of a beautiful dark purple shade with glitter. I’m really excited to try this out!

 

Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer in the shade Ultra Violet Femme

What can I say? I’m a sucker for purples. These were also on sale for $2 (I’m also a sucker for a good sale!), and they were usually $6 each. What caught my eye about this shade was that it’s purple but with almost a blue holographic undertone, which I thought looked beautiful. I’ve liked other shades I’ve had from the Ulta brand, so I’m sure this one will be no different.

 

Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer in the shade Sunset Bronze

This shade really caught my attention because it’s almost like a burnt rose gold color, so I thought it would be a beautiful color for any season. It also seems to have a nice almost holographic look to it, so I’m curious to see what it will look like on my nails, but I’m pretty excited!

 

CVS:

Maybelline Color Tattoo by Eyestudio 24-hour Eyeshadow in the shade 10 Fierce & Tangy

I have two other shades from this line, and I really like them. I normally don’t gravitate toward bright shades like this, but I thought it would be fun to play around with, if nothing else than a base for other shadows. I’ve seen other people wear it in tutorials on YouTube, and it looks gorgeous.

Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments in the shade 35 Breaking Bronze

I normally don’t like loose eye shadows, as they can be so messy, but I decided to give this one a try. I was very pleased with the wide range of colors represented in this line, although there were quite a few brown shades, this one included. I haven’t used it yet besides to swatch it, but it looks like a beautiful color that will be easy to incorporate into nearly any makeup look.

Swatches of Maybelline Color Tattoo by Eyestudio 24-hour Eyeshadow in the shade 10 Fierce & Tangy and Maybelline Color Tattoo Pure Pigments in the shade 35 Breaking Bronze 

 

Essie Mirror Metallics Nail Lacquer in the shade 942 Penny Talk

I don’t know why I’ve never tried Essie nail polishes before, but I’m already in love! CVS had such a wide range of colors, finishes, textures, everything, and I was really impressed. This is the first shade that caught my eye, and who doesn’t want gold nails?! It looks like it has gold shimmer more than straight glitter, which I think will look absolutely beautiful on nails. This would also be really pretty as a statement nail with perhaps a darker shade as well.

 

Essie Nail Lacquer in the shade 218 Madison Ave-hue

Everyone loves pink nail polish, but this one really stood out to me because of the silvery glitter flecks in it. I think this would be a really fun shade for summertime, so I’m really excited to try it! Plus for some reason when I look at it, it makes me think that this shade would be something like a Disney princess or someone would wear, so that’s an added bonus 🙂