Best Ulta Beauty Buys
Hi, friends! It’s been a really long time since I’ve done a haul post, but I just got a bunch of new stuff from Ulta that I am so excited to try out and I just HAD to share it with all of you.
Great news for Hawaii residents – a bunch of new Ulta stores are opening! I’m not sure of the locations on Oahu, but the Maui location is now open!
My mom and I went to the store before the Grand Opening because we had a 20% off everything coupon, so you know I bought a ton of stuff!
Before the launch of the new store, I made an online purchase from Ulta. And because Ulta has the absolute worst shipping to Hawaii, my order arrived AFTER the physical store opened.
It takes like a month for Ulta orders to get to me, so I am beyond ecstatic that I never have to order online from them again LOL.
The only reason I even ordered from Ulta online is because they carry some brands that I can’t find anywhere on Maui – like Flower Beauty and Makeup Revolution.
And they have so much more selection of certain brands than any store on Maui does – like Nyx and L.A. Girl.
So, in today’s post I will share everything that I bought in my online order and everything that I bought in-store.
What I love most about Ulta is that both high-end and drugstore products are sold there. I can get so many different things in one place! WIN.
Sometimes shopping at a store like Ulta can be overwhelming because there is SO MUCH to choose from. It’s like, where do you even start?!
I know I definitely have that feeling sometimes.
If you need help narrowing down your choices, the products on this list stood out enough for me to buy them over everything else in the store!
Some of the items on the list are products that I already love and will keep buying them over and over again and others are first-time buys. But nonetheless, they all made the cut to come home with me!
Without further ado, let’s get started!
This post is NOT sponsored by Ulta – I actually bought this much shit LOL. However, there may be some affiliate links used in this post. You can read my full disclosure here.
But before we start, if you are planning on making an Ulta online purchase, don’t forget to use Ebates (now called Rakuten)!
SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE AND GET A $10 BONUS after you make your first qualifying purchase using Ebates!
SKINCARE
Clinique – Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm ($29.50) & Cleansing Oil ($28)
I’ve been eyeing the Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm for a pretty long time because I’ve heard so many people rave about it.
I have a pretty good thing going with the Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil for removing my makeup, so I never pulled the trigger on purchasing the Clinique Take The Day Off Balm. However, with the 20% coupon I had, I couldn’t resist!
I didn’t even know they had an oil version in the Take The Day Off line, so being the die-hard oil cleanser user that I am, I HAD to buy that one, too. I haven’t tried either of them yet, but I have high hopes for both!
FOUNDATION
Can someone please tell me why I felt the need to buy 4 different foundations?? LOL.
Makeup Revolution – Fast Base Stick Foundation ($9)
Makeup Revolution is a brand I’ve been very curious about lately, but haven’t been able to find anywhere on Maui until now. So…there may be a few Makeup Revolution products in this list. 🙂
I first saw this foundation in one of Casey Holmes’ videos. If I remember correctly, her first impression was that it was a dupe for the Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation.
I don’t think she ended up liking it because she became very oily by the end of the day (sorry Casey if I totally got that wrong). But, she has oily skin and I have pretty dry skin, so I thought this foundation might be great for me, especially if it has a similar finish to the Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation.
And it is pretty similar. I would say it’s less matte, but I totally like that it has more of a natural finish. I’ve used it a few times now and I definitely like it. I’m actually wearing it right now and it looks great!
Maybelline – SuperStay Stick Foundation ($11.99)
Another stick foundation! After trying out the liquid version of the Maybelline SuperStay Foundation, I could not wait to try the stick version! The liquid version is definitely one of the best drugstore foundations right now, so I figured the stick version must be good, too!
This is another foundation that could be a dupe for the Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation and… is it?
Spoiler: I already tried this a few times it very well might be a dupe for the Hourglass Vanish Stick Foundation. I’ll have to try it out more to come to my final conclusion. But nonetheless, it’s a beautiful foundation and I’m really enjoying it right now.
L.A. Girl – Pro Matte Foundation ($10)
This foundation has gotten a lot of great reviews for its coverage and how matte it is. Even though I’m not really into matte foundations right now, I couldn’t resist getting something that has gotten such great reviews!
I actually haven’t tried this one yet, but based on how good the L.A. Girl Pro Conceal concealer is, I have no doubts this will be amazing.
Flower Beauty – Light Illusion Foundation ($13.99)
I’ve also been SO curious about Flower Beauty and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere on Maui until now (so there may also be a few Flower Beauty products on this list).
The thing that stood out to me about this foundation is the claim of a soft luminous finish with medium buildable coverage. I’m all about the natural finish foundations these days and seeing Tati’s video with Drew Barrymore (founder of Flower Beauty) pretty much sold me on this foundation.
CONCEALER
Tarte – Shape Tape Concealer ($29)
The holy grail of all concealers. It may be too heavy or thick for some, but ya girl has really bad dark circles under her eyes so she needs it.
I will continue to buy this concealer again and again, so it was no-brainer to pick one up with my 20% off coupon!
I’m pretty sure the only place you can buy Shape Tape is from Ulta and Tarte online, so I used to buy a few at a time. Thank goodness Ulta is now down the street from my house!
Makeup Revolution – Conceal & Define Concealer ($7)
GUYS. Literally the entire beauty world was saying that this concealer could be a dupe for the Tarte Shape Tape. I’m a HUGE lover of the Tarte Shape Tape, so there was absolutely no hesitation in deciding to buy this.
I have already tried it and… yeah, it’s pretty damn good. It’s slightly thinner and sheerer than the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer, but it’s pretty close and I’ve been using it every day since I bought it. Would totally buy it again.
Flower Beauty – Light Illusion Full Coverage Concealer ($9.99)
This is another product that I first saw on Casey Holmes’ channel and she absolutely loves it! I see her using it in so many videos!
That was enough to make me buy it because she likes the full-coverage shit and so do I. (These YouTubers really do live up to their title of Influencers, huh?)
Side note: I’ve been really enjoying watching Casey Holmes over any other beauty YouTuber recently. Her personality is just so real and not extravagant at all.
Sometimes I like to watch the extravagant personalities of James Charles and Manny MUA, but when I actually want to learn about products instead of being entertained, I turn to Casey’s channel.
SETTING POWDER
Flower Beauty – Miracle Glow Satin Finishing Powder ($13.99)
I bought this powder in hopes of finding a loose setting powder that looks less dry and powdery. I love using setting powder and I need it to ensure the longevity of my foundation, but sometimes I go overboard and end up looking really dry.
With the fine reflective particles in this powder, I’m hoping that’ll give a much more luminous finish to my foundation. And when I say fine reflective particles, I mean glitter.
So if you’re not keen of putting a powder with glitter in it on your face, this one might not be for you. The particles are REALLY tiny though, and there isn’t a lot of it so I don’t have any problem with it. In fact, I like it. All about DAT GLO.
I have tried this a few times and I really like the satin finish of it, but the packaging sucks!! It’s so bulky and it’s such a pain to open. But, I still like it and will continue using it.
Note: I’ve seen lots of reviews on Ulta complaining about how bad this powder is for baking. Yeah, I wouldn’t use this to bake. It’s not meant for that. It’s meant to give you a nice finish to your entire face.
Makeup Revolution – Luxury Lace Baking Powder ($8)
Speaking of baking, THIS powder is meant to bake. It has it in its name!
I’ve seen many rave reviews of the Banana version of this powder, but I bought the Lace version because I’m not the biggest fan of banana powders (just a little too yellow for me).
I have yet to try this one out, but I have high hopes!
SETTING SPRAY
Morphe – Continuous Setting Mist ($15)
I’ve tried to order this Morphe Setting Spray online before, but I guess they can’t ship aerosol sprays to Hawaii. 🙁
So, I was so happy when I saw it in the Ulta store here on Maui! How awesome is it that Morphe is now available in Ulta? I really hate buying from Morphe online because there is no free or flat rate shipping for non-continental US.
The more I wanted to buy, the more shipping was. It’s definitely caused me to refrain from buying things on multiple occasions. Don’t have to worry about that anymore, though!
The biggest difference between this setting spray and all other setting sprays I’ve tried is the continuous fine mist. It feels amazing! And I love how you don’t have to worry about getting those wet spots on your face if the mister screws up. It’s a huge plus.
Flower Beauty – Seal the Deal Hydrating Setting Spray ($12.99)
While Flower Beauty also has a long-lasting version of this spray, I decided to buy the hydrating version. I’ve just really been into the hydrated, glowy look!
I’ve tried this out a few times and it’s a win. It definitely keeps my makeup in place all day and creates a very natural, hydrating finish. It isn’t mattifying at all, yet it locks everything in. And it smells really good!
Urban Decay – All Nighter Setting Spray ($32)
The holy grail of setting sprays! Before buying the above setting sprays (and the Cover FX spray mentioned in my July Favorites), I was exclusively using the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray.
It’s just so good. I just opened my last bottle, so I figured I’d pick up a backup!
BRONZER
In addition to trying to look glowy and hydrated recently, I’ve been really bronzing it up. I used to love looking pale, but now I’m really into the sun-kissed look!
Catrice – Sun Lover Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun-kissed Bronze ($8.99)
This bronzer probably looks pretty crazy, right? I don’t know why it looks so dark in the pan LOL. It definitely does not go on that dark! In fact, out of my three new bronzers in this list, I would say this one goes on the lightest.
It has a bit of shimmer in it which gives you a bronzed glow and I LIVE FOR IT. It’s not a whole lot of shimmer where it looks strange, but it’s just enough to give you a really healthy looking glow.
Essence – Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder Bronzer in Brunettes/Darker Skin 02 ($4.99)
First of all, I find it strange that they named the darker of the two shades available ‘Brunettes/Darker Skin.’ But, I’m a brunette with lighter skin??? LOL.
Anyways, I admit I went kind of bronzer happy and ended up throwing this one in my cart because of its cheap price and because I wanted to try something from Essence for the first time.
I haven’t tried this one yet, but it has pretty good reviews on Ulta so I have high hopes!
NYX – Matte Bronzer in Medium ($8.99)
This bronzer is known to be one of the best drugstore bronzers, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet to try out.
So far, I love the way it performs. It blends out really nicely and definitely gives me a tan. It’s a little warmer than I would like, but it’s absolutely perfect for summer.
HIGHLIGHTER
Makeup Revolution – Liquid Highlighter in Starlight ($9)
If you read my July Favorites, you know I already love this highlighter. It only took me a few days of using it to know it’s one of my favorites.
I’ve been using it more of a mixer with my foundation and it gives the most beautiful luminous finish! I really want to try out the other shades, too. Highly recommend.
Makeup Revolution – Skin Kiss in Golden Kiss ($9)
I couldn’t pass up this beautiful massive highlighter when I saw it in the store. I haven’t really given it a good go yet, but so far, it looks pretty good!
There seems to be a ton of glitter in the formula, so it may emphasize texture. Will update you on this one!
EYESHADOW
Makeup Revolution – Re-Loaded Palette – Iconic Fever ($7)
$7?! Are you kidding me?
A part of me wants to buy all of Makeup Revolution’s eyeshadow palettes because they’re all so cheap.
Makeup Revolution has been kind of known to make dupes of high-end palettes. Or, take inspiration from high-end palettes. I mean… look at all of their chocolate bar palettes.
However, I don’t think that’s the case with the Re-Loaded Palettes. (I could be wrong, though.) Nonetheless, this palette is amazing.
I’ve been using it every day since I bought it. I love the mattes – they are all pigmented and easy to blend. The shimmers leave a bit to be desired, though. They definitely aren’t as shimmery as I would like.
But, with every palette I use, I almost always add additional glitter on my lid (ColourPop Super Shock Shadows, if you were wondering), so it’s definitely not a deal breaker for me.
And it’s only $7. The two highlighters I bought cost more than this palette each!
PENCILS
Catrice – Eyebrow Stylist ($3.99)
I bought this brow pencil in hopes it would be a dupe for the Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil, especially because it’s so cheap!
That’ll be amazing if it is because I go through brow pencils so quickly! Will definitely update you on this one – you’ll be sure to see it in my next favorites list if it works out well!
L.A. Girl – Gel Glide Eyeliner Pencil in Black and Brown ($3.99)
I bought these online after reading the great reviews on the Ulta website. I’m always looking for smooth liners that won’t smudge to put on my waterline.
I haven’t tried it out yet, but fingers crossed it works out because I really like the price!
Anastasia Beverly Hills – Brow Definer in Medium Brown
This is the brow pencil that I’m using right now, so I figured I’d pick up a backup while at the store.
Although I’ve been a longtime fan of Anastasia’s Perfect Brow Pencil, I’ve really been enjoying this one recently. The angled tip makes filling in my brows much faster!
Phew. Okay, that’s it. How many items was that? I bought 24 individual items. Oh my god LOL.
Who let me do that? Someone needs to take my credit card away from me.
But, at least I was able to get some cash back from my online purchase through Ebates!
SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE AND GET A $10 BONUS after you make your first qualifying purchase using Ebates!
And that’s it for my Ulta haul guys! Hope it gave you some ideas on what you should buy from Ulta next!
Thank you for reading and until next time! <3
P.S. If you like what I do here on lianadesu, it would mean so much to me if you bought me a coffee (support my blog)!
More Beauty Posts:
- Summer Makeup Tips
- Best Bronzers for a Sun-Kissed Glow
- Best Drugstore Makeup Face Products Under $10
- Ultimate List of Drugstore Dupes
- Best Makeup – Holy Grails
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