ULTA haul!

Hello!  Well, I have a few minutes this morning before the "craziness" of the day starts and I have really been wanting to share my ULTA shopping trip from a few days ago with you.

 

I had my ad in hand and knew everything I wanted. Here is what I came out with and my opinions after use:

Benefit's Sexy Little stowaways - these miniature sized bottles of some of my favs will be perfect for my trip to NYC with the hubs next weekend! Frederic Fekkai Advanced Ironless shampoo and conditioner, Lorac POREfection pressed powder and Lorac performance foundation, ULTA Ionic wide tooth comb (they really do eliminate static in your hair and help prevent damage and breakage especially if you use when your hair is wet)$1.79, Smashbox Photo Finish primer (in a travel size - $17), ULTA pro-brush set with clutch, Essie polish in "Over the Top" (I put this on almost immediately after arriving home and I LOVE it! It is a gunmetal sparkly color - what is not to love?)- $8 and OPI polish in "Lincoln Park After Dark"- $8.50

~ More Details about products below ~

 

Okay, so one of the things I was on the hunt for was a new foundation. I am one of those girls that HAS the wear foundation. The years have not been very kind to my face and what started off as "okay" skin has become pretty problematic to say the least.

My skin hyper-pigments so I have to protect my face from the sun at all times. That means sunscreen year round or I have dark spots that begin to really show up. I also have very visible pores and the smallest imperfection can morph into a new dark or red spot even without provoking. 

The results are that I need a primer and a pretty solid coverage skin correcting foundation (at least that is what makes me feel better about my skin!). Enter the ULTA beauty expert that recommended LORAC Natural Performance Foundation and LORAC POREfection pressed powder. Oil free, Paraben free and fragrance free foundation was a great plus and the coverage was great!  I have been wearing it for 3 days and I can report that it has lasting power, great coverage and has not caused any breakouts.... This one is a winner!

The POREfection pressed powder is really amazing!  It has a light silky finish and seriously does reduce the look and size of your pores!   I am a believer after 3 days and I am so excited that they showed me Lorac :)

Lorac Natural Performance Foundation $36

Lorac POREfection powder $32

 

ULTA 6pc pro-brush set - great set of brushes offered through ULTA and they come in this super cute sparkly clutch that would be great for holiday parties! only $25 it was a steal!

So I pretty much love alot of the Benefit products (thanks to my make-up artist girlfriend who introduced me a few years ago! :).  This great little set not only had a few of my favs that I can through in my bag for my NYC trip, but also had a couple of new ones (to me) that I have wanted to try out. My favs; Stay dont' Stray - incredible lid primer for eye shadows. I really like Urban Decay's lid primer, but this is still my favorite. That Gal - I know I have mentioned it before on my blog, facebook, pinterest, etc. so it is probably not a surprise if you have been following, but here it is again! I LOVE this stuff. I actually apply it after I have finished my make-up as a kind of "final set" to my face. It brightens and holds everything nicely in place for a longer lasting "face" :) Ohh la Lift - this under eye brightener is the best!  I dot it all around my eye and lightly smudge it in. Instant eye brightening :)

I am looking forward to trying Badgal Lash and have been using Bella Bamba out as my blush the last few days and I think I really like! Great value at only $34.

 

Fekkai Advanced Silky Straight Ironless shampoo and conditioner:

I really don't wear my hair straight nearly as much as I used to, but I still have heard such wonderful things about this set that I had to try it for myself.  I figured that since my hair is naturally wavy (something I try to avoid it doing on it's own) that it might help me straighten some of that wave naturally.  Well, that is exactly what it did. I have only used it once (I only wash my hair every 2-3 days) but I plan to use it again tonight and see if I am still feeling good about it (without build up!).  I do have to say that my hair air dried much faster than normal and with alot less wave. It was also much silkier than normal. It really did seem to tame the ends a bit which was nice, too.

I would say it is worth a try!

$25.00 per 8oz bottle

Well, I am off to my son's basketball game! Glad to be enjoying some indoor family time on this gloomy, rainy Saturday :)

XO

Jessy