Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Haul

Some people say that the most wonderful time of the year is Christmas. I disagree. I think the most wonderful time of the year is the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale. It's just such an exciting and fun way to pick up and try different makeup and skin care products. Ulta's bi-annual 21 Days of Beauty sale just recently ended, and I picked up a lot of stuff--way more stuff than I should have, actually.

Anyway, today we're going to do a good old-fashioned haul with the stuff that I picked up during the sale. Let's get into it!

Double Duty Beauty Empowered Hybrid Gel Foundation by Tarte - I've been wanting to try this foundation for a long time. In fact, I think I've had my eye on it since the last 21 Days of Beauty sale. I swatched it in Ulta, and I was intrigued by the texture, so I've been dying to play with it. I have mixed thoughts about this foundation. You definitely have to work with this foundation a bit; it doesn't have super full coverage and it can get really cakey really quickly if you're not careful. The packaging is also a little difficult to use (even though it's very pretty). Usually, I scoop the foundation out of the jar with a concealer brush, dot it all over my face, and then blend it with a sponge. Usually, I prefer a foundation with a pump. I will say however that the lightest shade of this foundation is probably the best shade match that I have in my collection. It's also a super light and comfortable foundation. If you have very dry skin, I think you'll really love this foundation, but, if you have oily skin, this probably isn't for you. I also think this isn't a good foundation for beginners, but, once you get used to using it, this foundation can look really beautiful.

Lipstick Chess in Rook by Lipstick Queen - Guys, I've been wanting to try a Lipstick Queen lipstick for a LONG time. When I first started getting interested in makeup, I encountered the Lipstick Queen brand, and I was really intrigued by it. Now, about three years later, Lipstick Queen was finally on sale, so I picked up two Lipstick Queen lipsticks from their Lipstick Chess collection. First of all, let me just say that I think the packaging and design of this collection is genius. I love the chess theme; I love that some of the lipsticks are black and some are white; I think this collection is really well thought out in terms of aesthetic design. Now, let's talk about the actual lipsticks. The first shade I picked up was Rook. Rook is described as a deep plum. I don't really think that that's accurate; it seems a little more red toned to me. The color is nice and very wearable; I think it's a great color for Fall. The formula, however, seems to be incredibly ordinary. This color is rather sheer, which I don't really mind, but I think it's odd because online it was described as full coverage. I also think that it emphasizes my lip texture. Now, that's sort of on me because I should exfoliate more, but, for $24 (full price), I expect my lipstick to help me out a little more. I feel like I could have gotten the same look that I got with this lipstick with a $10 drugstore lipstick. I'll use this lipstick for sure, but I wouldn't buy it again fro full price. 

Lipstick Chess in Bishop by Lipstick Queen - As I said above, I finally got around to trying out Lipstick Queen lipsticks, which is something I've been dying to do for forever. However, I wasn't totally impressed with these lipsticks. They weren't necessarily bad lipsticks, they just seemed incredibly ordinary. These lipsticks are $24 normally; for $24 I expect an extraordinary lipstick. I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying. This shade, Bishop, is described as mauve, which seems pretty accurate to me. I will say that I preferred this shade to the other shade I purchased, Rook. It's got more coverage, and, in general, I just think it's prettier. As I said above in regards to Rook, I'll definitely use this lipstick, but I probably wouldn't purchase it again, and I certainly wouldn't purchase it for $24.

Gen Nude Matte Liquid Lipcolor in Friendship by BareMinerals - I heard crazy good things about this liquid lipstick, so, when I saw that it was going to be included in the 21 Days of Beauty, I was so excited (which is the story of this blog, if you haven't already guessed). I decided to pick up the shade Friendship because it's a gorgeous brown-y, pink color, and those sorts of colors are my jam. I have to say that these liquid lipsticks were not over hyped. They are fantastic and worth every penny. I probably should have gotten at least one more. They're very pigmented, smell like mint chocolate chip ice cream, and they last literally all day. They're also fairly comfortable, as liquid lipsticks go. I don't know what else you could ask for from a liquid lipstick. I highly recommend this.

Loose Setting Powder by Dermablend - I'm all about powders. Setting powders. Powder foundations. Finishing powders. You name it, I want it. Actually, I should probably stop buying powders because I have way too many, and I really need to start focusing on using them up. So, naturally, I was intrigued by this powder and decided to pick it up while it was on sale. I haven't tried it yet (because I'm trying to use up some of my powders, like I said), but I have high hopes!

Alter Ego Lip Liner in Secret Agent by Lorac - You may or may not know this, but Lorac's Alter Ego Lipstick in the shade Secret Agent is my favorite lipstick of life. So, when I saw that Lorac had a lip liner version and that it was on sale, I was like "yes! Take my money now!" Unfortunately, I'm not really crazy about this lip liner. Actually, I think that ColourPop makes a much better lip liner for a fraction of the price. This lip liner just isn't very pigmented, and it's also not the same color as the Secret Agent lipstick at all. Like, I'll use this lip liner, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Alter Ego Lipstick in Secret Agent by Lorac - As I just said above, I'm crazy about the shade Secret Agent by Lorac. It's just a perfect, pink toned brown, and it works so well with my skin tone. So, when I saw that Lorac lipsticks were going to be on sale, I decided to buy a back up of Secret Agent because I'm almost out of mine. Seriously, there's only like 1/16 of an inch of product left above the rim when you twist it all the way up! My current tube has also been used and abused like crazy. It got half melted at one point when I left it in a hot car, and all the writing has rubbed off the packaging, so I'm really excited to start using the new tube! (It's the bottom lipstick in the picture.) 

Alter Ego Lipstick in Duchess by Lorac - As I said above, I really like Lorac's Alter Ego lipsticks. Secret Agent is like my favorite lipstick shade of life, but I wanted to try more shades from the line. So, I picked up the shade Duchess, which is a beautiful cool toned pink. I've really been into pinks lately, which is weird because I used to hate pink lipstick. But, I think this is going to be a great shade for winter, and I see myself getting a lot of use out of this. I highly recommend and lipstick from the Alter Ego line.

Brow Powder Duo in Ebony by Anastasia Beverly Hills - I've had the brow bug lately. Like, I was happy with my brow routine for a long time, and then I woke up one day and was like "I want all the brow products!" So, of course, I had to grab this Brow Powder Duo. For context, I like using powder for my brows. When I first started "doing" my brows, I just filled them in with eyeshadow and set them with a clear gel. And, TBH, that works really well for me, and there's really no reason for me to try anything else. I mean, it took me a LONG time to venture into new brow products. I've been using this brow duo for about a week and half now. I like it, but I think you can easily achieve the same result with eyeshadow. Don't get me wrong, I definitely like this product and will use it, but I don't think it's something I need to have. I also had a difficult time "shade matching" myself online. I eventually bought ebony, but ash brown or granite probably would have been slightly better for me. Oh well, I'm making it work!

Vitamin C Serum by Mario Badescu - I've been really into skin care lately, and I've particularly been loving serums, so this was a no brainer purchase for me. I haven't been using this serum for very long, but so far I really like this. First of all, it smells amazing. Secondly--and more importantly--it feels great on the skin; it's super soothing. Like I said, I haven't been using it long enough to see a difference in my skin, but I feel like it's probably making a difference. Ya know what I mean?

ka-BROW! Cream-Gel Eyebrow Color by Benefit - As I said above, I've been really into brow products lately, and I've been really excited to try out new things. This product is described as a Cream-Gel, and I think that is pretty accurate. It is a cream, but it's not very creamy, if you know what I mean; It has a stiffer consistency than a cream. I would say that this is sort of like a pomade. I've used this a few times, but I haven't really decided how I feel about this product. I'll definitely continue to use this product and check it out, but I think I still prefer powder products. (I do think the packaging on this product is pretty cool, though.)

LA Palette DTLA by Lorac - This is something that I didn't intend to buy. When I saw that Lorac has released all these little, LA inspired mini-palettes, I thought "that's cute, but it's not something that I really need. I honestly wasn't all that tempted to buy it until 1) it went on sale and 2) I went to Ulta, swatched it, and got really excited about the colors. In particular, I got really excited about the blush and highlight. I rationalized buying this palette because it's genuinely tiny, and I thought it would be really good for travel. Like, I think I would have to pack a few shimmer shades as well to create a complete look, but there are some good, everyday shades in this palette. Tarte's Rainforest After Dark is usually my go to travel palette, but sometimes I struggle with it because there isn't a matte white; so, I think this palette would compliment it well when I'm traveling. I don't think this palette is something you need to run out and buy, but if these sorts of colors appeal to you and you want a travel palette, I recommend picking it up. In any case, the quality is definitely there. I'm always impressed with the quality of Lorac shadows. 

Anyway, that's what I picked up during the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty Haul! Let me know if you picked up anything during the sale in the comments.