Smart is Always Beautiful: haul

, by Jackie Diane

What I Bought Myself for my Birthday: Part Two

So here's the second part of my birthday haul. Last week I shared what I got from Sephora with gift cards that I got for my birthday. This week my Ulta order finally showed and now I can share that as well. I got a little irritated with Ulta about this order. I didn't call them or anything, it was just a mental/impatient thing that I went through. I got a notification that they shipped my order but it didn't actually make it to UPS for four days! FOUR DAYS! And then it took a week after that for them to move it across the country. So this order took forever to arrive. My birthday feels like it was so long ago now. But it's here now and that's all the matters. So here is my Ulta Birthday Haul!

I have mentioned that I have a great fondness for stick foundations so it should come as no surprise that I picked up another one to try. I spotted the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Makeup Stick on the new products tab and immediately threw it in my cart. I think stick foundations are easy to apply and a less messy use. They also tend to have a creamier, thicker texture which usually means great coverage or super oily. Obviously, I always hope for the non-oil slick version. These are also great to throw in your bag and take with you for touch ups, which I rarely do, but if I know that I'm going to have a long day that I might want a touch up, then this is nice to have. This is supposed to be the same formula as the Teint Idole Foundation just in the more convenient, highly buildable stick formula. I haven't tried this formula yet, so I'm excited to give this a go. I've always loved how amazing Lancôme foundations have made me complexion look in the past.

I have kind of an OCD thing about owning everything in a series. Back when we had a DVD collection I couldn't buy a movie without also owning their subsequent sequels, regardless of how bad they were. Now, I have all three Urban Decay Naked Palettes (they didn't number the Smokey palette so I've been able to pass over it - but it's been kind of a struggle) and now I have all three Lorac Pro palettes. At first the Lorac PRO Palette 3 didn't jump out at me but then slowly and surely, the shades really started to appeal to me. They are really neutral but extremely pretty especially used in conjunction with the other two palettes. I mean can you really have Pewter without Light Pewter? Or Mocha without Dark Mocha? I think not. So far I've tried an eyelook with the Rose Bronze, Almond Pearl, Clay, Canvas, Dark Mocha, and Black. It was really really pretty. They are all extremely pigmented and easy to blend, as you would expect a Lorac palette to be. I knew Rose Bronze was going to be pretty, but I think Clay is going to be my new go to transition shade. There's something really unique and flattering about it. I'm excited to throw Amethyst into the mix... Oh, and Pink Nude. The shades are all so pretty. So far this palette is an A+.

I picked up one of the Tarte Tarteist Glossy Lip Paints earlier this year, but it had a melt down in a hot vehicle back in June. Of course I had to pick up a new one and this time around I chose Goals, a really pretty rosy peachy pink. I really like both the matte and glossy versions of the lip paints. The glossy version is a gel-like and doesn't feel sticky. They don't seem to quite dry like the mattes do. They are kind of more like a glossy liquid lip hybrid. I wouldn't say that they moisturize your lips, but they don't dry them out. They feel really amazing on. The color selection is awesome. I love when collections have a well rounded out 'a shade for everyone' shade selection. I probably will end up with a few more shades from this range in the future.

I really fell in love with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Eyeshadow Palette after I first saw it but man is it scary looking. I love the shades: a burnt orange, a beautiful raspberry, a pumpkin spice, and a gorgeous brick red; But, I'm not quite sure how to wear them yet as they are really intimidating. I'm up to the task though! The color payoff is amazing and they are really easy to blend. It was a well thought out palette and really unique. There's also something really artsy about it, being that they are shades inspired by artists' oil paints and it's called the Modern Renaissance palette. It kind of makes me want to go Paris and Italy and hit the museums and art galleries. I really think that I'll get a bit more use of this in the fall when I want my eyes to look like an autumn leaf. But, I think I can create an amazing look with the pinky shades that will look amazing with summery bronzed skin. I'll keep you updated for sure on the looks I come up with.

I started perusing the sale tab on the Ulta website, which honestly I never do. I spotted The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Scrub for half price. Vineyard Peach has been my favorite scent from the Body Shop for years and honestly who doesn't need a good body scrub? Scrubs give you glowy skin all over and for me I use them to get rid of the little bumps on arms. I'm not a huge fan of using big tubs in the shower, but my hair mask is also in a tub and there haven't been any accidents yet. I probably wouldn't have picked this up if it was being sold for full price though. For some reason The Body Shop treats Vineyard Peach like it's special edition. You can pretty much grab the body butter year around (if you can find it in stock), but the scrubs and shower gels come and go. I think they focus on this scent for spring time. I'm no longer finding this on the Ulta website, so I linked to the Body Shop's website which is also selling it for the $10 price tag.

I'm about to the end of my L'Occitane Almond Supple Skin body oil and while I really LOOOOVE it, it is really pricy. Especially for as fast as I've gone through it. So I thought that I would give my wallet a break and try to find something that was a little more affordable - Not that my skin doesn't deserve the luxury. I was kind of intrigued by the SheaMoisture Superfuit Complex Firm & Contour Dry Oil Mist. I think part of the intrigue was the promises of firming and smoothing. Normally I don't really buy into that kind of stuff, but the Brazilian Bum Bum lotion put some hope back into my life for miracles to happen. And, what woman over the age of 16 doesn't think about firming up their skin? I was hoping to love the scent. It's okay. It's not very strong or fruity. I think I'm going to miss the almond scent. Oh well. The bottle also says that you can use it as a hair oil and I do love me a hair oil. So we'll see...

Shea Moisture is on sale at Ulta for buy one get one 50% off and I've spent more money on those sales than should be allowed. There's just something about a BOGO that makes me feel obligated to put more into my cart. Anyway, I decided to try the SheaMoisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Weightless Texture Spray you know because it was half off... This is the time of the year that I'm okay with allowing myself to be a little lazy and let my hair air dry. I like that this texture spray is one of the few that doesn't try to sell you on putting salt water in your hair but rather nourishing ingredients like coconut water and aloe. It also sold me on being weightless and for fine hair. The problem that I have with letting my fine, wavy hair run free is that it's totally flat and lifeless when I don't apply any product but when I had a product for volume it becomes a poof-ball. So, I'm excited to see how a texture spray leaves my locks.

A note on the packaging: apparently this bad boy leaked while it was in transit, thus the weird bubbly label. It only leak on the Lorac Pro 3 Palette box and the palette itself was spared so no harm, no foul. But I definitely won't ever think about traveling with this bottle. It needs to just stay on a counter upright, for ever and ever.

A couple days after my birthday I went to my regular hair appointment at Ulta and ended up treating myself to the Marc Jacobs Fragrance Splash in Rain. I had previously abstained from the splurge because I worried that it was too similar to Clean Rain but, carpe diem! Ulta also doesn't have this on their website and it's limited edition, so there's that. It's birthday month and all that. My go-to signature scent right now is Maison Martin Margiela Replica Beach Walk, which I absolutely love. But I do like having Rain sitting next to it for a lighter, cleaner smelling option. It instantly makes you feel like you've been caught in the rain and I'm a sucker for that. It doesn't quite last on my all day though. Also, the clerk threw in the Marc Jacobs bag as a gwp. I thought I was really cool walking out of the store with this cute little bag instead of the traditional orange Ulta bag. She was such a sweetheart!

I also wandered over to Anastasia Beverly Hills and swatched some of the Liquid Lipsticks that are so commonly raved about. There was a shortage of Dusty Rose when it first launched and it was highly sought after. I can see why, it's super pretty. So I grabbed one of those and I fell in love with Crush which is a really nude rosey-beige. I really like these and they are a good 'traditional' liquid lipstick. They are a little drying and they take work to get them on evenly and looking nicely, but they are a really great product if you want to and have the time to put the work into them. I don't see me wearing them often, but I love them when I do. I have been topping Crush with Manna Kadar Lip Locked in Lucky and it's a really pretty combination.

Birthday month is officially over but at least I have all my goodies to get me through the subsequent months. Thanks for reading my blog and please don't hesitate to add comments!

Let me know what you've picked up lately!

Let me know if you have any thoughts or comments on these products!

Have a great day today!