Holy Ulta Haul, Batman!

I  have exciting news.  There's a new Ulta by my house!  Hooray! (ok so it's exciting news for me)  We recently moved to a more rural area, and the closest Ulta was more than an hour away.  So when I saw one going up next to an (also recently built) Kohl's in my area, I was beyond excited.  Of course, having both stores together in one shopping center will be bad for my wallet, but oh so much fun!

Well, I got a flyer in the mail recently from Ulta, and was amazed and delighted to see a fantastic GWP!  (that's gift with purchase, for any of my readers that are not shopping-obsessed.)  With any $19.50 purchase of Ulta brand products, they're giving out a cute little bag full of makeup worth $88!  And to avoid having to describe the contents ad nauseum, I decided to just share the pic from their website:

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Ta-da!  The set is available in 2 different colors, one is super-pink, shown here:

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Well, what's a girl to do?  I took my happy little self down to Ulta to check it out!  The first thing I saw when walking in (and don't you just love that new-store smell?) was a bunch of adorable cosmetic sets.  The sign said "Over $100 value!  Sold for $24.99.  On Sale $9.99!"  And it was all Ulta brands!  I grabbed a manager who was walking by (figuratively grabbed, retail workers have enough difficulties without me assaulting them) and asked if it qualified as part of the GWP deal.  She said to go ahead and grab it and see if the computer would take it!  AND IT DID.

Ok, here's why I'm so excited.  These aren't some cheap sets thrown together by a company just to get some holiday traffic.  The eyeshadows are the same colors as the full-size ones that sell for up to $7 each in the stores.  Same with the blushes, eyeliners.... well, all of it!  I certainly don't mind that the shadows are smaller (about dime-sized pans), as I never use an entire eyeshadow before it's time to throw it away.

Ready to see the goodies?  I'm going to show you everything, then I'll tell you how much I paid.  You'll be... amazed.  I certainly was! (Oh and FYI, if any of the pics are too small to see properly, just click on them, they'll pop up much larger.)

First, the items I actually paid for:

Behold... the tower of awesomeness

Here's the $9.99 "Beauty Retreat" Makeup set.  The lid opens to reveal:

The first layer of... awesomeness.  I need more adjectives.

Dual Ended Eyeliners in Smoke/Plum and Black/Brown
Super Shiny Lipgloss in Natural (matte neutral shade)
Super Shiny Lipgloss in Whisper (shimmery peachy pink)

First "drawer":

Look at those greens! LOVE

Eyeshadows, 4 rows, from L-R
Seashell/Cashmere/Verdigris/Trendsetter
Naked/Stardust/Sage/Silk
Au Naturel/Aztec Gold/Green Machine/Lustre
Firework/Brown Sugar/Shamrock/Mink

Second drawer:

The cool colors... I can't wait to experiment!

Eyeshadows, 4 rows, from L-R
Complicated/Amethyst/Seaside/Granite
Pearl/Bloom/Moonbeam/Ice Queen
Pink/Magic Hour/Bayou/Sterling
Thrill Seeker/Plum Noir/Sapphire/Galaxy

Third drawer:

Blushes!  Wheeeee!!!

Starting with top left, going clockwise:
Bronzer/Infatuation/Adore/Girlie/Flush/Afterglow

Sorry that the flash washes out Girlie, it's a matte light peach.  Afterglow is essentially the same color, but sparkly.

Fourth (and last!) drawer:

Yippee!  Lippies! (shut it, you love me)

Lip glosses, 3 rows, L-R
Flirtini/Charmed/Princess
Guava/Mischief/Pixie
Toast/Rich Plum/Berry

I'm amazed at how many of these I want to try!  Usually palettes aren't my favorite because they'll contain mostly colors that won't work with my skin.  But I want to try all of them but Pixie (middle row, far right).  And I may try that one just for fun one day!

What a freakin' lot of makeup for $10!  Ok, here are the other items I paid for:

So pretteh.

The nail polishes are, from L-R:
Bam-blue-zled/Diva/Eye Popping Poppy

Also pictured, Double Duty Lip Stain and Balm in Thriller.

Ready for the free stuff?  Me too!

My preciousssssss....

Included (approximately L-R):
Grey/Yellow Floral Bag
Amped Lashes Mascara in Black
Nail Polish in Oh!
Super Shiny Lipgloss in Flirtini
Blush in Flush (hehehe, it rhymes)
Ultimate Clean Foaming Face Wash (0.5 oz)
Lipstick in Perfect Nude
Blush/Eyeshadow/Spongetip Brushes

Guess what?  That's not all!  This GWP also includes your choice of Eyeliner (Kohl or Automatic) and any Ulta Eye Shadow (including Baked, Glitter Eye Top Coat, and Extreme Wear).

My picks!

I got the Automatic Eye Liner in Moss (and olive-y green shade) and eyeshadow in Deep Sea (a shimmery teal).

The entire haul!

Ok, so remember how the GWP came with a $19.50 purchase?  The set was $9.99, the nail polishes were on sale for $2 ea (normally $6 ea!), the stain/gloss was $4 (normally $8).  Total $19.99.  But guess what?  You know there's more... there's always more.  On the front of the sale flyer was a $3.50 coupon!  Sooo.... Total $16.49.  With tax, a bit over $17.

$17.  For all this.  I'm in heaven.

I'm also on a makeup no-buy for quite some time!  The only makeup I'll be getting is from my subs.  But you know... there's always the wonderful world of skincare!

What's your favorite makeup haul?