Real Technique Brush Sales

I'm super late to the game, but there's two awesome deals for Real Technique Brushes going on:

• Ulta Buy 1 Get one 50% off - Use the coupons that were available on coupons.com for $3 off for 1 brush from Real Techniques. These coupons have an expiration date of 12/31/15. Use 2, use the 3.50/$10 coupon. Depending on which brushes you pick out it's a great deal. (Do this in store!)
• Kohls Buy 1 Get one for $1 - AMAZING deal to get in on the new Bold Metals collection! If you have a Kohl's Charge use coupon codes "TURKEY30" and "SHIPMVC"
• I was able to get the 4 face brushes for $36.40 (pre-tax). They are normally $24-26 per brush.

Don't forget your favorite cash back website!

I'm a huge fan of Real Technique brushes especially that original purple eye set...maybe it's cause I have tiny eyes and they fit perfectly! They are super soft and are great deals! 

Ulta Rants

I love Ulta.

I, in fact, love it more than Sephora - why?

Because of its membership program where every purchase earns you points that you can redeem for $ off your purchase. The more you accumulate the more the points are worth. I enjoy that they have a mixture of drugstore & high end, they usually have promotions for certain brands where you can get additional gifts with purchase,  they often have lunch break promotions where if you buy online you get even more, and lastly they offer times where you get double/triple points depending on the brand/month.

So why am I ranting about them today?

Customer service

1) I moved nearly 3 months ago, changed my address before I moved, and also received an order to my new address - I still have not received an ad. I reached out to customer service and they said it takes nearly 2 months to receive an ad - that sounds like 2 months of business you're losing out on Ulta.

2) E-mail promotions. I without a fail have been receiving emails from Ulta and when I reached out to customer service about the ads - the e-mails stopped. I told customer service - they said I'm on the system, but still no e-mails. Then I reached out and said I'm not getting any still and its strange because I know during the 21 days of beauty - there's emails everyday! Still seems like a bad business strategy to not have these two ways to reach your customer base have such a long lag...

Here's what Ulta Guest Services said:

We confirmed that our email department has ensured everything within your email account is up to date. We sent roughly a few emails a week, and you should be on that list. If you do not receive 1 email in the next week, please let me know.

Return Policy
Sephora has this unlimited return policy and will refund your original payment method with proof of purchase. If you lost your receipt they can look it up via your account  and give you store credit which you can use in store or online. Even without the box, Sephora will accept it.

Ulta on the other hand, must be returned within 60 days with proof of purchase. But if you lost your receipt or its been longer than 60 days they will give you store credit which you cannot use online - which is annoying. In addition, if you used points or a coupon or bought at a discount...well good luck. 

Cashback
Sephora has to be on every cash back site from fatwallet (3.5%), ebates (8.0%), topcashback (5.0%)
Ulta (comes and goes) right now fatwallet (1.0%), ebates (6.0% Wow - that's a first being so high!), topcashback (2.0%)

Also - if you're looking to redeem cashback from credit cards, ibotta, etc. good luck finding Ulta giftcards. 

CVS Deals

I went to CVS last night - purely to get a good deal. Right now if you scan your extra care card you get a $5 off coupon for beauty products over $15.

In addition, Physicians Formula had a deal for $7 extra care bucks for spending at least $10 in products (basically 1 product).

Other extra care bucks (ECB) deals:

• L'Oreal Facial Care ($10ECB/$30)
• CoverGirl Olay Facelift Effect ($5 ECB)
• Maybelline & L'Oreal ($5 ECB/$15)
• CoverGirl ($5 ECB/$25) 

Other Offers:

• Make Up Academy had buy 2 products, get the 3rd free.
• Relvon, Rimmel, Milani had buy one get one half off.

So, I spent awhile at CVS trying to think up the best bang for my buck while still sticking to products that I would use. I had an $11 gift card from a previous extra care buck event. 

At first, I was very tempted to just buy a Physicians Formula product (PS. I spent time in store reading reviews on various blushes) and Ardell Lashes ($4.49). This would total $12.79+$4.49 - $7ECB - $5 Beauty Coupon = $5.28 for 3 products

My next thought was to buy Physicians Formula Blush, 2 Make Up Academy lashes (get one free) for a total of $12.79 + $5 + $5 - 7ECB -5 Beauty Coupon = $10.79 for 4 products - but then I have never tried Make Up Academy lashes and well I just don't wear fake lashes that often.

So I looked through my coupon stash and came up with this combination:

Physicians Formula Blush ($12.79)
+ Rimmel Stay Matte ($5.99)
+ Rimmel Lipstick ($5.49)
- $2 Rimmel Coupons ($1 per product)
- $2.75 (BOGO50%)
- $5 Beauty Coupon 

$14.53
- $11 gift card 

$3.53 + tax (I also got a 7ECB to use next time!)

I think I did well! 

Hoping the pressed powder will help with my shine!

Happy Booster Blush in Natural (very light sheen) and Lipstick in 28

Weekend Couponing & Resdiscoveries!

I went to Target this weekend and picked up 4 products! I believe that I got a steal for it. 

Maybelline Color Show Go Nude $1.48 (clearance) - $1 Manufacture Coupon (weekly smartsource) = $0.48

Maybelline Color Show Taupe on Trend $1.48 (clearance) - $1 Manufacture Coupon (www.redplum.com) = $0.48

Eco Tools Retractable Kabuki $6.99 - $1 Manufacture Coupon (www.coupons.com) = $5.99

Eco Tools Facial Sponge $5.99 - $ 5.99 Free with Eco Tools purchase = $0

Total before tax = $6.95 (5% off with Red Card). 

I'm look forward to having nudes in my crazy nailpolish collection! 

I was home this weekend so I decided to go through my makeup drawer and throw out a bunch of stuff. I ended up throwing out like 7 dried out mascaras. It felt pretty good to declutter! While cleaning I was able to rediscover a few things! 

Anyone remember these glitter tattoos and jem tattoos? I don't think I'll use it but I thought it was interesting to refind. I also have that rainbow to iron onto some plain top or pants. I am came across some nail polishes. I remember wanting these prism nail polishes so badly because my middle school math teacher had it on and while she wrote on the projector I just stared at her nails. 

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Diamond, Emerald Amethyst, Turquoise Opal

Solar FX Tough Tied (Pastel Blue to Mauve), Sweet Tooth (Peach to Lilac),You're Fired ( Bubble Gum Pink to Denim Blue) - These are supposed to change color in the sun, But I don't think they work anymore. So I'll just use them as regular polish. I also came across some nail stickers! 

See what I mean by not being able to resist a sale?