One can not live on Avon alone.  Even though I could challenge that, but confessions of a product junkie, I shop around.  Usually I don’t pay much attention to the 21 Days of Beauty Event at Ulta but I’m going through a little Ulta obsession right now and there are some KILLER deals in this event.  Its half way over but some of the best deals are yet to come!

Everyone blogs/IG’s about the Sephora VIB event but honestly I kinda like Ulta better.  I like more bang for my buck, having more options, and up until a yr ago Ulta was just closer and more convenient.  What I hated about Ulta was the checkout line, it is always so long and takes forever… BUT now they added buy online pick up in store and LIFE IS CHANGED.  I shopped the Beauty Event last weekend and here are a few tips I discovered.

Buy Online Pickup In Store:  This will depend on your location.  I did this and for the most part it was AMAZING.  I got my weekend deals without dealing with the weekend crowd.  HOWEVER I did not get the matte eye pallet I ordered.  For the daily deals they got a memo that they are not allowed to pull the online orders until an hr after the store is open so customers have a chance to shop the items first.   So if a location doesn’t have the stock the online in-store pickup orders will suffer.  I did notice now online some of the daily deals tell you if they’re available for your store or not, but if its something you REALLY want then go to the store when they open for your best shot.

Utilize the calendar notifications:  This was the first time I used these and was a huge success for my scatterbrain.  I scanned all the deals late at night so you know I wasn’t going to remember which days have which products I want.  Since I was on my phone, I clicked the calendar notifications and all week I’ve been getting the alerts so I know to swing in and grab what I wanted.

Stack daily deals with freebies:  A lot of the daily deals have free gifts associated with them too!  I picked up this neural Too Faced Eye Palette and with a $35 Too Face purchase you get this Juicy 4 Piece set.  I’m stoked for more freebies!  (see all free gifts here) You can also use your Ulta coupon, but normal restrictions (like prestige brands) apply – $3.50 off of a $15 purchase coupon.

I’m not going to lie though, I have a problem.  One of the main reasons I signed up to be an Avon Rep was that I quit my 2nd job but still had 1 job income, so I needed to re-evaluate my spending.  Ulta was a big culprit of that.  I signed up to sell Avon for 2 reasons, make some extra money to fuel my habits and get some just-as-good-as-Ulta products for a MUCH better price.  Who knew it would lead to all these awesome opportunities, income and fun!  Which also means I may not spend as much at Ulta these days but I do go through my spirts and shop it like a mo fo.  Picking up my free birthday gift was what set off this spiral.  I of course strategically planned my purchase to include whatever free gift they had going on, this time it was the bath and body sample set.  It included such a great selection of products and brands.  I’m REALLY loving The Body Shop 3-1 Tea Tree Oil Cleanser.  This gift set doesn’t look to be available online anymore but in my store, they still had it available with a $35 bath and body purchase.

I also got the September Ulta Birthday Gift as my August gift because they ran out of August.  This NARS mini lipstick in Pour Toujours is the Ulta September Birthday Gift and it’s just ok.  The color is a nice true nude that’s not too foundation-y has the right amount of cool undertones, but the formula is heavy, I just don’t find it comfortable to wear.   And if my lips are dry they look even more dry with this formula.  I would of loved that Benefit Hoola Bronzer more…  Anyways… Ulta 21 Days of Beauty, it’s fun, it has good deals this year and tell me what you’re picking up so I don’t feel like the only product junkie out there.