Ulta – Page 6 – Forty, Flirty & Fabulous

A Mineral Make-up Virgin No More — bareMinerals by Bare Escentuals

I don’t know why I’ve been so hesitant to try mineral make-up. Everyone raves about it. It has changed lives, well, at least it has changed the look of people’s skin.

The honest truth is that I love liquid and mousse make-up. I love slathering on a creamy potion that matches my skin tone and evens out my skin’s texture. The idea of exchanging my Cover Girl TruBlend (what I use now) for powder just hasn’t appealed to me.

But since I am now blogging about cosmetics, I think it’s fair that I touch on many of the trends, including mineral make-up.

I decided to try the most popular brand, bareMinerals, while browsing through Ulta last weekend. They had a 4 piece introductory set on sale for $15.00 USD. “Wow, what a bargain”, I thought to myself. And it is. The set includes two .03 oz foundations, a .03 oz mineral veil, and a mini kabuki brush.

I purchased the Light kit which includes the Light and Fairly Light foundations. Ulta was nice enough to color match my skin and the Fairly Light was my perfect color. I of course tried it as soon as I went home. The steps included are:

1. Swirl a small amount of bareMinerals in the lid with the brush until all the bareMinerals are tucked into the bristles.

2. Tap away excess. There should be no visible bareMinerals on the outside of the brush.

3. Buff bareMinerals onto the skin in a circular motion, starting on the outside of your face near the cheekbone and swirling as you go. Buff until you are satisfied with the coverage.

I followed the directions. The look I got on the first day was glowy, but a bit powdery. I have used this product all week and I tried different ways to apply it. I used it with primer, without primer. With the mineral veil and without the mineral veil. I think I have become pretty handy with the brush, but I have noticed that my skin looks and feels much drier than it did in the beginning of the week.

So my verdict is…still out. I like the glow I get using the minerals. But I don’t like the dry feeling or the work it takes to apply it perfectly. I will try it again in a week or two to see if I like it better.

In the meantime, if any of you wonderful readers have any tips or tricks or another mineral product you love, please leave a comment. I am keeping an open mind!

Ojon Revitalizing Mist — Frizzy Hair Fix

I was strolling through Ulta a couple of weeks ago, browsing through the cosmetics aisle, when I looked up and noticed that Ulta also has a pretty large haircare section. Touching my extremely frizzy hair, I made my way through the aisles and noticed that they had testers available. I stopped in front of the Ojon display, having read about it online, and sprayed some Revitalizing Mist leave in conditioner on my messy mane. I then ran my fingers through my hair and looked in a nearby mirror. Oh my! I couldn’t believe how soft, smooth and bouncy my straight, dark hair appeared. It looked fantastic!

I moved to Kansas City, Missouri from Portland, Oregon two years ago, and my hair hasn’t been the same. The humid summers and dry winters kill my hair. But the Ojon mist rescued it. It didn’t make it super shiny, but it looked very healthy.

What is this amazing mist made of? On the Sephora page it says that it is formulated with 100% pure Ojon palm nut oil. This oil is harvested in Central America and was originally used in the hair of native Central Americans to keep it healthy.

The price for this wonder product is $26.00 USD. I would recommend the splurge if your hair is trouble like mine is!

Ulta — My New Fun Find

I’m so excited! Imagine my delight last month when I discovered that a new Ulta store had opened 5 minutes away from my house. This must be like when a junkie finds out his dealer has moved into his neighborhood! I am very addicted to beauty products!

Before this, I have only been to one Ulta store, which wasn’t nearly as nice as mine (oh, yes, it’s mine!). I love the mix of high end products with ones you would find at your neighborhood drugstore. It’s so much fun to dream of splurges why you are buying more affordable treasures.

On a recent trip to Ulta, I decided to check out their own cosmetics brand. These items are very affordable, ranging from the regular price of $6.50 US for an eye or lip liner to $14.00 US for mineral powders. But be on the lookout for sales, they often price their cosmetics for much cheaper.

I found myself intrigued by their eye shadows and eye liners. I’ve been recently into shadows with a bit of a sheen to them. The colors I chose are Gold Leaf, a shimmery medium antique gold and Pearl, an shimmery ivory shade. I used the Gold Leaf on my upper lid with the Pearl under my brow bone. I find that this is a nice day look. The only down side is that the end of the day, the colors faded quite a bit. I bet with primer underneath, they would last longer.

I also purchased Ulta’s Kohl Eye LIner in black. This is a very creamy liner that glides on easily. I used it on my upper lash line for my day look. Although this is a nice liner, like the shadow it was almost completely gone at the end of the day.

For the price of the shadows and liners, especially on sale, these are good products and I would recommend them.