Cashing in my Ulta Rewards Points

Ulta Beauty, like Sephora, has a rewards program. Unlike Sephora, you can use your Ulta Rewards points for pretty much anything...not just deluxe samples.  I have been hoarding my points forever, and I finally cashed them in. I don't want to think about how much I spent in order to amass the number of points I needed to get this haul. I make myself feel a bit better by reminding myself that a bunch of it was purchased during 3X points specials.

The Haul

Urban Decay Naked Basics

Ulta Minerals Blush in Tulip

NYX Round Case Lipstick in Tea Rose

(random grab bag of samples. I got 3 hair care products.)

I had been eyeing that Naked Basics palette for a while. I don't really have a decent set of mostly matte shadows that would be suitable for daily wear. (Honestly, I think I had two matte shadows before this.) Venus is the only non-matte, so it'd be great for an inner-corner highlight. It's a nicely pigmented (for the most part) collection of neutral matte colors that will work on pretty much any skintone. The palette is small and compact, so it's great for throwing in a purse or overnight bag. It doesn't come with a brush/applicator, but I don't mind that as I generally like my own brushes better anyway.

had to add the dots so I'd be able to see the swatches were
there. The lighter 3 shades are pretty damned light.

I wanted to give the blush a try since it looked nice and peachy on the website...and it was $2.00. It's very sheer but the color is nice. A very soft pink with up-front gold shimmer. It'll be nice when/if summer ever gets here...but I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it.

on the skin it reminds me A LOT of the eyeshadow I pressed.
Maybe I'll turn into a girly-girl and wear them together?

The last thing I picked up was a lipstick from NYX. I have generally been impressed with the overall quality of their products. This lipstick was almost perfect. It's a lovely warm pinky color, great for daily wear. Not too bold, but not a color that will blend into the background. It had surprising staying power too. My lips were still pink four hours later, admittedly not as boldly pink as they were. However, as much as I really like this lipstick, I will be returning it. The taste. IT TASTES LIKE SOAP. Oh god, it really is awful. I think something is off with this, because none of their other lip products have a pronounced taste. It's unbearable, and believe me I tried. Accoring to the internets, this is a dead-ringer for MAC Fanfare, so perhaps I'll check that out. MAC lipsticks are pretty decent...even if they are almost 3X the cost.

so pretty. so gross tasting.

Overall, I'm moderately pleased with my purchases. My purchasing experience was notsogreat. There was a free gift with purchase that I kinda wanted, but you had to spend $50 to get it. I had more than enough points for that amount, and I wanted to cash them in all at once. Unfortunately, online, you can only cash in $36 worth at a time. I called their Customer Service line (great helpful folks, btw. A pleasure to deal with.) but they couldn't complete my order and get me the freebie. Not like I actually needed that stuff anyway...but still! It was free!! I ended up paying $3.60 for tax, and I'm fine with that. The palette alone made it worth all the trouble.


*it has been brought to my attention that not everywhere does the points program. That is a travesty. We should start a letter writing campaign. I'm outraged!*