Ulta's been on a roll lately, beefing up their international beauty brand roster with new offerings like Makeup Revolution, Catrice, Leader's Insolution, and Tony Moly. These rollouts all happened within the past few months in their online store. When I heard reports that Tony Moly had been spotted IN-STORE, naturally, I put on some pants, and went in to, as someone else so eloquently put it, "plump my [sheet mask] stash". Unfortunately I was a bit too early and eager, and Tony Moly was nowhere to be found. I was however, feeling spendy. Armed with one of their everlasting coupon codes (you know the one... $3.50 off $10+, ya that one) and a lust for blush, my biggest addiction, I ended up leaving with a handful of NYX and Physician's Formula products instead.
ULTA HAUL
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| The little spot is a vitamin C serum stain from an early photo sesh today! It looks gross. Sorry about that! FYI, NYX and PF are cruelty-free. |
From Left to Right:
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strip in Riviera Strip / Sand Bronzer, $12.99
These shimmer strips probably remind you of the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks a lot. Me too, which is exactly why I got it! I had the pleasure of owning a Bobbi Brown one years ago, and I remembered that it was gorgeous and lasted me forever. I'm not much of a bronzer girl these days, so I didn't want to spend on another Bobbi Brown. Actually though I still prefer the BB, I find these Physician's Formula strips are pretty nice. There are 5 color strips in the pan, a shimmer cream, shimmer champagne, shimmer amber, a latte colored shimmer, and a milk chocolate shimmer. Blended all together, they make for a beautiful caramel color that makes you look alive and well.
Pros: The colors are beautiful, not orange, and not muddy. They also blend well. The lasting time is average ~6 hours (in the heat).
Cons: The shimmers are medium-large, and I prefer a finer shimmer. This means you'll want to avoid applying it on areas with large pores. It's also not as buttery as the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks. There is no depth to the shimmers, they are one-dimensional since the shimmers are uniform in color. The product is a bit "glitzier" and more intense than the Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks which are more subdued.
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, $4.49
The NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is just a standard beauty blogging tool to have. It's a creamy jumbo eye pencil in a matte white shade that you use as a base for eyeshadow. If you have issues with eyeshadows looking like they're the same color on you, or if the shadows tend to fade a lot during the day, using this pencil underneath makes the colors more vibrant and last longer. This is also so useful when experimenting with different eyeshadow shapes. It's way more precise to draw the shape you want your eyeshadow to take with Milk first, and then apply the shadow on top.
Pros: Makes eyeshadow colors pop. Makes it easier to shape your eyeshadow look.
Cons: It doesn't fit into a regular pencil sharpener. It can make your shadows crease (create lines) if used without a primer.
NYX Wonder Pencil in Medium, $4.49
The NYX Wonder Pencil is a beige pencil eyeliner that works as a nude color for me. I'm an NC15-20 and I bought this in Medium. This is also just a standard beauty blogging tool to have. I've usually seen it used in the bottom waterline, to make your eyes look bigger and more refreshed. I've used it this way, but I most prefer to use it to correct my eyeliner and eyeshadow mistakes, and to make my eyebrows stand out. To do this, I use it beneath and above my brows and blend out the color.
Pros: Great color match for me NC15-20. Easy to sharpen. Easy to use to correct eye makeup mistakes. Great to use to highlight brows.
Cons: It doesn't last that long on the waterline, usually only 2 hours on me.
NYX Proof It Primer, $6.69
I'm just going to be honest and put out there that I'm not a primer connoisseur. I have no clue what makes for a good primer over a bad one. I just know that it's supposed to make your eyeshadow last longer. This one seems as good as the Urban Decay Primer Potion, which is the only other one I've tried.
Pros: I like the slick silicone-y feel. The color neutralizes my eyelids. Keeps eyeshadows from fading for a few extra hours.
Cons: The improvement in lasting time is only incrementally better. It only gets you 1-2 hours more of wear time, not 6-8 hours. Not sure if this performs better than say the Wet N Wild Fergie Eyelid Primer which is cheaper.
NYX Baked Blush and Illuminator in Foreplay / Prelude, $7
This is a baked blush in a shimmery peachy pink color. NYX is basically TELLING you (us) that it's a dupe for Nars Orgasm. I mean come on, they called it Foreplay. I've had the opportunity to own Orgasm before, so I'll tell you that if you're beauty addict, you probably wouldn't consider this product a dupe at all. Orgasm has really obvious golden flecks of shimmer that are very visible against the peachy pink backdrop. Also the shimmers aren't distributed very evenly. NYX Foreplay on the otherhand, has shimmers are more fine. In natural light, the shimmers look like they are silver, but in artificial lighting, they look more golden. They don't stand out against the base color, but rather make it seem like the entire blush is just a shimmery peachy pink. It's more one-dimensional, and the sheen is more uniform.
Pros: Baked blushes are very buildable, hard to overdo. Finer shimmer makes pores look less visible. Wears an average length of time ~6 hours (in the heat). Reminiscent of NARS Orgasm.
Cons: If you're expecting Nars Orgasm, you won't get it, but this shade is beautiful on its own.
Not Pictured: I also picked up the Nyx HD Blushes in Soft Spoken, Nude 'Tude, and Beach Babe but ended up returning them. They kicked up way too much powder which was a big nope for me. Come to think of it I should have swatched them. Dagnabit.
SWATCHES
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| Nothing says Americana like a golden peachy pink blush, next to a sandy bronze. |
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| The gems of the haul, I'm using these every day lately. |
FOTD
I used the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strip on my eyes, and as a bronzer on my forehead, nose, and temples. I also used NYX Foreplay as a blush.
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| Bronzed again like it's 2005 |
You can earn 4% cash back on Ulta purchases by shopping through Shopathome.com through this link.
ebates is also offering 3% cash back on Ulta purchases. If you do not have an ebates account, you can sign up here.
To get the famous $3.50 off $10+ deal, enter coupon code 308014 at checkout.
BLOG SALE, open to U.S. and Canada
I'm running a blog sale!! Theres some Becca, Make Up For Ever, Holika Holika, 3 Concept Eyes and Etude House makeup bits I'm looking to find a good home. Just comment below or leave me a note here if you want to pick anything up. Everything will be first come first serve.
Everything is at least 50% off, and very lightly used. The items will also be sanitized with alcohol before being sent out.
You can pay through Paypal Friends and Family, Venmo, or Chase Quickpay.
Shipping is not included. Individual items will likely cost $3 maximum to ship. If you pick up multiple items, I think the max shipping cost should be around $5.
Etude House Lovely Cookie Blusher in Blueberry Pie -
This is a very hard to find discontinued color. 95% of the product is left. It also won't come with the puff. See it in action here.
Holika Holika Jewel Light Blusher in Bitter Peach -
95% of the product is left. See it in action here.
3 Concept Eyes Eyeshadow in Golden Glow -
99% of the product is left. I thought this was a color I would get a lot of use of, but was dead wrong. See it in action here.
Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream Eyeshadow -
99% of the product is left. I desperately want to be cool enough to wear silver eyeshadow. I'm sooo not. See it in action here.
Have you picked up any gems from the drugstore lately?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you're curious about my policy on press samples, affiliate links, and sponsors, see my disclaimer and policies.
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