Elven Ulta Haul
I purchased a bunch of e.l.f. products, so it’s an “Elven Ulta Haul” – get it? I crack myself up sometimes, I really do.
I noticed bristles falling out of my favorite kabuki brush, so I’ve been on the hunt for a replacement. (I’m pretty sure that the one I’m using is 10-12 years old.) I’ve gotten several in the past decade, but I think the e.l.f. Cosmetics Kabuki Face Brush ($7) is my favorite. It’s huge and it’s SOFT.
I decided the add a few more e.l.f. products to my cart and I was not disappointed. The e.l.f. Cosmetics Main Stain Lip Marker in “Hotvine” ($5) is the best lip marker I’ve ever gotten – it’s the perfect intensity for lips and it stays all day! It’s still there when I get home from work, imagine that. The e.l.f. Cosmetics Sheer For It Blush Tint in “Burgun-Did That” ($5) is not quite as good, but it’s as good as the Ulta version at half the price so I’ll be switching. I don’t even know if I need more brush soap, but I added the e.l.f. Cosmetics Clean Queen Solid Brush & Sponge Cleaner ($5) to my cart just in case. Okay, not just in case – I wanted the gift with purchase, which was an e.l.f. Cosmetics Flawless Face 6 Piece Brush Collection. I don’t NEED more makeup brushes, but I’ll use these as my travel set. I wasn’t ready to forsake my Ulta eyebrow pencil for e.l.f., so I picked up an Ulta Beauty Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Dark Brown” ($6.60) while it was on sale.
I am auditioning new shampoos and conditioners, so I added L’Oreal EverPure Sulfate Free Iron Sleek Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner ($10.99 each, with 200 extra Ulta points) to my cart. I’ll swap these into the shower when I finish the Pantene Rosewater set I got at HEB.
Thayers was BOGO50, so I picked up a Thayers 80 Hour Hydrating Milky Liquid Moisturizer ($14.99) and a Thayers Oil Balancing Jelly Toner ($7.49) – it was kombucha in it. I’m not used to the jelly texture, but I’m trying…
My purchase got me a few more gifts with purchase. My diamond gift was a Redken All Soft Mask Deluxe sample and I also got a 12 piece gift with my $65 purchase: Vacation Shimmer Oil SPF 30; tarte tartelette XL Tubing Mascara; Eau Thermale Avene Vitamin ActivC9 Serum; Vichy LiftActiv Bonding Serum; Some By Mi Air Fit Sunscreen SPF50; Bondi Sands Self Tanning Foam in Dark (definitely giving this away); belif Super drops Niacinamide Golden Glow Serum; e.l.f. Skin Whoa Glow SPF 30; NYX Butter Gloss in “Creme Brulee”; and La Roche-Posay HyaluB5 Serum. That’s only 10 items, so I am kind of annoyed.
I was already annoyed because the main box was crushed and the Blush Tint and Brush Cleaner were missing, leaving only crushed boxes. Ulta Customer Support was very helpful and sent replacements right away and even included a second free brush set – my heroes!
I’m poor right now, so I used a $10 off coupon, as well as $17.50 in Ulta points. I also had a gift card in my purse, but I forgot to use it…
Just $582 to Diamond in 2027.
Snap, Crackle, Splash
Ahmya Cosmetics “Snap, Crackle, Splash” is from the June 2025 “Vacation Destinations” Polish Pickup and is a magnetic polish inspired by fireworks on the beach. I cannot believe I just let this polish sit on my coffee table for a year!
The base is charcoal gray, but the magnetic pull is mauve/rose gold , with scattered holo and blue/green flakes. It really does look like fireworks!
This is two coats of “Snap, Crackle, Splash” magnetized with a neodymium magnet, over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Vampire Blood“.
July 2026 Ipsy Bag – Passport to Play
July’s bag is kind of a dud…not the makeup bag itself, but the contents…
I mean, I guess my product choice was fine – Tatcha The Melting Balm in “Pinku” – but I have enough lip gloss to lubricate an oil rig.
Also in this month’s bag: Ace Beaute Ready In Five Hydrating Creamy Concealer in “F2” (I am too old for concealer – it makes me look like one of those crusty-eyed white dogs); BLAQ Beyond Hope Rejuvenating Serum; Grace & Stella Eye Mask Heroes; and Seraphine Botanicals Power Curl Mascara. Meh.
I subscribe to the original ipsy bag for $14/month (recently increased from $13/month) and ipsy Ultimate (formerly Icon Box, and before that – Glam Bag X) for an extra $60/quarterly (recently increased from $43/quarterly). If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my referral link.
That’s America’s Ass
Steve Rogers is arguably the most famous Steve, so I chose his polish to try first – All Mixed Up Lacquers “That’s America’s Ass”. Yes, this polish is inspired by Captain America’s ass in Endgame.
The base of this polish is rather sheer, but the SHEER quantity of glitter make full coverage possible. My only regret was missing the chance to be wearing this polish on July 4th…I was a day late.
This is two coats of “That’s America’s Ass”, over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Vampire Blood“.
Greenhouse Semi-Annual Sale
I hit that Bath & Body Works Semi-Annual Sale the Sunday before the actual sale started in stores…although it’s fun hopping to different stores, it is kind of annoying when you cannot find matching products! I loaded my cart and ended up smelling like my greenhouse.
That’s right – I bought the whole “Off the Vine” collection – Shower Gel, Body Cream and Fragrance Mist. It doesn’t exactly smell like tomatoes…more like tomato leaves. The geranium notes are also pretty strong, but not off-putting. I cannot wear it every day – but it’s a nice change every few weeks or so.
I also grabbed Shower Gel, Body Cream and Fragrance Mist in “Carrot Charm”. Again, it’s not exactly carrot scented, but carrot adjacent? There’s a lot of nectarine in the scent, which is nice. Again, this is not a daily wear fragrance.
And then there is “Lemon Pomegranate Cream” – this is a scent I could wear every day! I probably should’ve gotten two Shower Gels instead of just one.
They only had Shower Gel in “Always & Forever” – it’s a traditional rose scent, so I can use it with “Rose Water & Ivy” or any of the other dozen rose scents I’ve got.
I also threw a few Wallflowers in the cart, as well as a cool Snake Wallflower plug. I got a few “Covered in Roses” Hand Creams for the purse and an “Aurora” Lip Gloss, which is a disappointing clear goo.
Oh, and did I mention the free shipping? The only buzzkill was having a duplicate order made – the website is hella glitchy, but the return process was fairly simple.
Even though I hit the stores a few more times – like when I had to return the duplicate order – I never did end up buying more past this original order. I didn’t even get any hand soap – I never caught prices below $3.50, which pissed me off.
Polish Pickup June 2026 – Famous Steves
That’s right, June’s Polish Pickup theme was “Famous Steves”. I used to date a guy in high school named Steve (the non-famous kind). He dumped me in a Ruby Tuesday’s because his wife wanted to get back together. They ended up getting divorced anyway, Ruby Tuesday’s went out of business and I got a college degree.
Lurid Lacquer “Out of the Box, Into the Sun” ($14.50) is inspired by the Sun Sensation Steven doll from 1991. (Ken finally got a black friend!) Looking at the box, I can see the inspiration.
Glam Polish “Gold Dust Woman” ($14) is inspired by the white witch herself, Stevie Nicks.
I cannot remember the inspiration for Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Pink Sugared Lemons” ($10) and I cannot find it online…shucks.
All Mixed Up Lacquers “That’s America’s Ass” ($13.50) is inspired by the ass of Captain America – Steve Rogers.
Oh, and my order included Paint it Pretty Polish “Grab n Go” from May’s “Vending Machine Snacks” Pickup.
Oh, and my ex-Steve had a mullet.
Leprechaun
Baroness X “Leprechaun” is from February’s “Cute but Deadly” Polish Pickup. The leprechaun from Lucky Charms – cute, but not deadly…unless you count the diabeetus. The leprechaun from the films – not cute, but certainly deadly. Somewhere out there, there is a cute AND deadly leprechaun…
I should’ve gotten off my ass and used this polish in March for St. Patrick’s Day, but anytime is a good time for green nail polish, am I right? The gold magnetic effect is really strong, just like the leprechaun’s proverbial put of gold. I was paranoid that this polish would stain my nails…but it didn’t! Hallelujah.
This is two coats of “Leprechaun” magnetized with a neodymium magnet, over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Vampire Blood“.
Icarus
Poor Icarus, he flew too close to the sun. The wax on his wings melted and he plummeted back to earth…
Pahlish “Icarus” is from March’s “Sky Creatures” Polish Pickup and it’s yet another stunning magnetic polish. Instead of just magnetic particles, there are stunning rose gold flakies that are revealed when the magnetic particles are pushed aside…I could look at this polish all day and all night.
This is two coats of “Icarus” magnetized with a neodymium magnet, over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Vampire Blood“.
Beija Flor Travel Ulta Haul
I’ve got a few trips coming up and I decided to switch out my Bum Bum travel minis with Beija Flor minis with the Sol de Janeiro Beija Flor Jet Set ($34), which includes spray, body wash and elasti-cream. While I was at it, I added a backup Vichy Dercos Hair + Scalp Moisturizing Conditioner ($19.99) and another Ulta Beauty Magic Marker Lip Stain in “Rose Goals” ($11.50).
My paltry purchase was enough to qualify for THREE gifts with purchase, even after using my 20% code. I got a NARS Beauty Break, with NARS Blush in “Orgasm” (YES – I ran out) and “Orgasm Rush”; NARS Afterglow Lip Balm; NARS The Multiple in “Orgams Crave” and a NARS Powermatte High-Intensity Lip Pencil in “Cruella”, which seemed to be extra because it was only supposed to include 4 items. My free Diamond gift was CeraVe Air Foam Cleanser, which is really soft and airy. Finally, I received a Mystery Gift that included Dolce & Gabbana “Devotion”; Dolce & Gabbana “Light Blue”; Tatcha The Longevity Serum; Round Lab Birch Juice Moisturizing Cream; Biore UV Aqua Rich Broad Spectrum SPF 50; and 2 tubes of Smashbox HALO All-in-One Tinted Moisturizer.
Just $628 to Diamond in 2027.
Fire in the Hole
I hate Minions.
I consider myself blessed that my children thrived through the early part of the 21st century without becoming obsessed with Minions and Minion-adjacent things. I’ve never seen Despicable Me, much less Despicable Me 4 – the inspiration for one of the most amazing magnetic polishes I’ve ever seen.
Whatcha “Fire in the Hole” is from May’s “Vending Machine Snacks” Polish Pickup. It’s magnetic, with a galaxy-like shifting effect and multi-sized round glitter. I have a whole new respect for indie nail polish creators when I consider all of the risks and experimentation that must have gone into just this one nail polish.
This is two coats of “Fire in the Hole” magnetized with a neodymium magnet, over Cuticula Mic Drop Base Coat in “Froot Loops” and under Cuticula Limitless Top Coat in “Vampire Blood“.