Birthday Haul 2015

Last month I turned 30.
Along with all my other birthdays, since I'm signed up for quite a few rewards cards, I was drawn into having Birthday Savings at a lot of different places, as well as receiving giftcards.

Here's what I got from...

Sephora



I got the Nars lip pencils as a Birthday Gift from Sephora for being a Beauty Insider.
I also treat myself on my birthday every year to something else from Sephora since I'm already there, and decided to get the Too Faced Natural Eyes palette. It is now one of my favorite palettes I have ever owned, and I find myself using it almost every single day. All the colors are so wearable for my skin tone, and are just gorgeous.
I also picked up a new Urban Decay eyeshadow in Lost, and it goes quite well in my Urban Decay palette.



I purchased Sin either last year or the year before (I honestly don't remember), and it was so lonely. Now it has a buddy, and they look beautiful together.


Ulta


A couple of friends of mine gave me giftcards to Ulta for my birthday, so I decided to use them to get some things I had my eyes on, but never bought with my own money.
The CoverGirl mascara was kind of a dud- it's definitely not up there with my favorite mascaras, or even ones I just tolerate.
The foot scrub and foot balm were a couple of products I had been eyeballing, and when I went in they were BOGO 50% off, so I decided to try them and give myself a pedicure. Okay, a pregnant girl giving herself a pedicure is like the funniest thing, ever. If only you guys could have seen me. I will say both the scrub and the balm worked great, and I'm definitely glad I have them for after my pregnancy, but for now I will either ask my husband for help or leave it to the professionals.
The Morrocan Oil Mask is something that is so incredibly hyped that I just had to give it a try finally. I had been holding out to see if maybe I would receive it in a subscription box, but no such luck. I now know that it's definitely worth the money, and I can see myself saving rewards points to purchase this in the future.
The Eucerin hand lotion is something I always have at my desk at work. It's non-greasy, and unscented. And incredibly moisturizing.
The Covergirl Ink It eyeliner is another thing I've heard a lot about, and even though I didn't really need a new black eyeliner, I bought it. And I'm glad I did- I really enjoy it. It's very black, and does not go anywhere.
And, finally, cotton pads. I bought these because I knew I was getting the Marcelle eye makeup remover in my February 2015 Birchbox, and I didn't have cotton pads.



This is my second Ulta purchase in the month of February. It was only after I bought everything above that I remembered I get a birthday gift with Ulta, but it doesn't come until your actual birthday. So, this year, they gave away that eyeshadow palette (which, okay, that's fine, but I really liked the CKOne Mascara from last year and wish it was a higher-end brand product), and since I'm a Platinum Member I also received $10.00 off anything. I combined that with about $20 worth of rewards dollars, and purchased the Matrix Oils you see above. I had received samples of them from the girl that does my hair at Ulta, and they are pretty great.
I also got a sample of the itCosmestics Universal Brow Pencil from an email coupon- it was free with any purchase.



Overall, other than that Covergirl mascara, I'm pretty happy with all of my purchases. I've been really careful lately to truly think about what I'm buying before I buy it, and if I'll actually use it. I actually impulse buy a lot less now that I do a couple of subscription boxes, and I actually research everything I buy before I buy it, at least in terms of cosmetics. With the kid on the way (and the cost of daycare in the front of my mind all the time), I know I need to watch my dollars as carefully as possible!


FTC: These products were either purchased by me with my own money, with giftcards provided by friends, as birthday rewards gifts for being signed up for loyalty programs, or as a gift-with-purchase. All thoughts and opinions are my own.