*This is a sponsored post*
If there's one thing I love more than telling you guys about great products it's giving you the opportunity to get free products for yourself. The wonderful people at Measurable Difference are gracious enough to allow me to run a giveaway for ten of their new Desert Nights Eyeshadow palettes. Ten lucky winners will receive a palette containing 5 different colors to mix and match for some seriously awesome smokey eye looks.
About the brand:
Measurable Difference was developed to help the everyday person keep and maintain their youthful glow. The LASHEM line of natural beauty products consists of mascaras, anti-aging creams, and an eyelash booster. They seek to combine the best natural ingredients out there for the highest quality possible.
I'm really drawn to the neutral sandy palette out of the three featured, though they are all really interesting color choices. These would make a great holiday present for that makeup lover in your life, and at $6.99 each are an affordable option. In fact there are lots of great products available on their website as well. Good luck to all who enter the giveaway, I wish I could give a palette to every single one of you!
Showing posts with label free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2015
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Nars Birthday Lipsticks from Sephora
While looking through all my various lip products I came to the realization that I never blogged about the two lip crayons by Nars that is the 2015 Birthday gift from Sephora. And that's a crime you guys, someone should have yelled at me and said "where's the birthday goodies post?!?!" I actually only got these and the Ulta Urban Decay Eyeliner this year (sad face), so I kind of spaced on doing a full write up. Let's just pretend this is still April and I'm not two months late on this post.
If you are part of Sephora's free rewards program, you get a free birthday gift every year. Last year was a Make Up Forever mini mascara and mini lipstick, which I found to be really cheap feeling and didn't like at all. So when they announced that this year's gift was from Nars, I was ecstatic. Nars is a very expensive brand so the chances of me every buying anything from them are slim to none. So getting two items from them (and both lip products, my personal favorite) was an awesome birthday gift. They are deluxe mini size, which if fine by me since a full sized costs a whopping $26! You receive a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade Cruella (a classic red) and a Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Rikugien (an almost shimmery neutral pink).
Rikugien is the most wearable of the two, since it is a lovely neutral shade of pink. The satin finish means it's slightly glossy, slightly shimmery. This is what I'd call an everyday shade, something you could put on to go grocery shopping or out to lunch with friends. I keep forgetting how much I like this particular shade, but every time I wear it I think I need to wear it more. I'd love to find an affordable dupe for this shade, since $26 is my total monthly beauty budget typically.
Cruella is a gorgeous red shade, and the matte finish makes it much easier to wear than a full gloss red. I don't reach for this particular red very often though, I find it uneven in how it fades and it does feather quite a bit so it takes some planning to wear. I wish this had the lasting power you typically associate with matte finishes, then I'd probably wear it at least once a week. The shade is stunning, and a matte red goes great with the retro look I like to do quite a bit.
I like the crayon format but I wish they were twist up instead of needing to be sharpened. Because they are fatter than any sharpener I own I'll probably end up paying the $6 for the Nars one, unless I can find a cheaper one the right size somewhere else. I feel like needing the sharpener is a way for Nars to get even more money out of you, which is lame. You already spent $26 on the lip crayon, you'd think they'd throw the sharpener in for free. And that's my problem with these high end brands, they are so expensive and require expensive tools to use them properly. It makes them really out of reach for people like myself who don't have $100 to drop on a fancy primer than will make my $100 foundation actually look good. So while I liked these two crayons I'll still avoid Nars and their high priced makeup till I win the lottery.
If you are part of Sephora's free rewards program, you get a free birthday gift every year. Last year was a Make Up Forever mini mascara and mini lipstick, which I found to be really cheap feeling and didn't like at all. So when they announced that this year's gift was from Nars, I was ecstatic. Nars is a very expensive brand so the chances of me every buying anything from them are slim to none. So getting two items from them (and both lip products, my personal favorite) was an awesome birthday gift. They are deluxe mini size, which if fine by me since a full sized costs a whopping $26! You receive a Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in the shade Cruella (a classic red) and a Satin Lip Pencil in the shade Rikugien (an almost shimmery neutral pink).
Rikugien is the most wearable of the two, since it is a lovely neutral shade of pink. The satin finish means it's slightly glossy, slightly shimmery. This is what I'd call an everyday shade, something you could put on to go grocery shopping or out to lunch with friends. I keep forgetting how much I like this particular shade, but every time I wear it I think I need to wear it more. I'd love to find an affordable dupe for this shade, since $26 is my total monthly beauty budget typically.
Cruella is a gorgeous red shade, and the matte finish makes it much easier to wear than a full gloss red. I don't reach for this particular red very often though, I find it uneven in how it fades and it does feather quite a bit so it takes some planning to wear. I wish this had the lasting power you typically associate with matte finishes, then I'd probably wear it at least once a week. The shade is stunning, and a matte red goes great with the retro look I like to do quite a bit.
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| Rikugien |
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| Cruella |
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
How to Save When Buying Beauty Products
I thought we'd take a break from DIY recipes and talk about the different ways I save money when buying beauty products. I'm frugal by both choice and necessity, so I'm always looking around for the best deals. I give myself a max of $20 each month to cover hair care and body products, plus any new makeup I may need. And by need I really mean want, let's be honest here. Now $20 isn't a lot in the beauty world, but I've managed to stretch that pretty far some months.
The first thing I look at whenever I start shopping somewhere is whether or not they have a rewards program. Sephora, Ulta, and even Birchbox have a rewards program that translates into free products for me. Unless there is a sale going on somewhere else I get 99% of my stuff at Ulta and Birchbox because of their fantastic rewards programs. Right now I'm placing a $100 order at Birchbox that after a 20% off coupon they sent me and $70 worth of points will cost me less than a lunch out. That is some great savings.
Speaking of sales and coupons, Ulta does either a $3.50 off $10 purchase OR a 20% off one item coupon each month. If you combine that with the already existing sales they have going on, you can walk away with a ridiculous amount of free products. Ulta also has the best sales, like buy one get one free or half off. This month the shampoo/conditioner I like is buy two get one free and there's a 20% off one item coupon as well, so I will be stocking up a bit. And I've noticed that NYX, Maybelline, and Physician's Formula are almost ALWAYS buy one get one half off at Ulta, so if I miss a sale I can just wait another month or two before stocking up. Or buying an obscene amount of lipsticks.
Stocking up during sales is the key. If I wait until I'm out of something, like my dry shampoo, I often end up getting stuck paying full price. But if I buy a few bottles during a buy one get one half off sale, I'll not only be set for a while but I'll have some great savings. Unless I have a huge stockpile I ALWAYS buy at least two bottles of my usual items whenever they go on sale. Like the Freeman masks I love, I've never paid full price for those. In fact, I've gotten over half of them for free thanks to buy one gt one free sales, coupons, and points.
Sometimes you do run out unexpectedly, then what? Look around and see who has the best price or sale/coupon available. Amazon has makeup products for a good price, but all the shampoos/conditioners I like are twice the price of my local Ulta. Freeman masks just went up in price at Ulta but my local grocery store carries them for almost a whole dollar cheaper. And I always check the beauty aisle of my Dollar Store, sometimes I get lucky and find name brand products there. My point is look everywhere, sometimes you can find a really good deal in a surprising place. And don't discount store brand items, the Target Up&Up line is really great and so much cheaper than the name brand item they are duping.
My personal rule is to never pay full price for anything. Being frugal requires a bit more work than just grabbing whatever I need/want, but in the end I'm getting a much better deal which amounts to me being able to get more on my budget. If you have any tips or questions share them below in the comments.
The first thing I look at whenever I start shopping somewhere is whether or not they have a rewards program. Sephora, Ulta, and even Birchbox have a rewards program that translates into free products for me. Unless there is a sale going on somewhere else I get 99% of my stuff at Ulta and Birchbox because of their fantastic rewards programs. Right now I'm placing a $100 order at Birchbox that after a 20% off coupon they sent me and $70 worth of points will cost me less than a lunch out. That is some great savings.
Speaking of sales and coupons, Ulta does either a $3.50 off $10 purchase OR a 20% off one item coupon each month. If you combine that with the already existing sales they have going on, you can walk away with a ridiculous amount of free products. Ulta also has the best sales, like buy one get one free or half off. This month the shampoo/conditioner I like is buy two get one free and there's a 20% off one item coupon as well, so I will be stocking up a bit. And I've noticed that NYX, Maybelline, and Physician's Formula are almost ALWAYS buy one get one half off at Ulta, so if I miss a sale I can just wait another month or two before stocking up. Or buying an obscene amount of lipsticks.
Stocking up during sales is the key. If I wait until I'm out of something, like my dry shampoo, I often end up getting stuck paying full price. But if I buy a few bottles during a buy one get one half off sale, I'll not only be set for a while but I'll have some great savings. Unless I have a huge stockpile I ALWAYS buy at least two bottles of my usual items whenever they go on sale. Like the Freeman masks I love, I've never paid full price for those. In fact, I've gotten over half of them for free thanks to buy one gt one free sales, coupons, and points.
Sometimes you do run out unexpectedly, then what? Look around and see who has the best price or sale/coupon available. Amazon has makeup products for a good price, but all the shampoos/conditioners I like are twice the price of my local Ulta. Freeman masks just went up in price at Ulta but my local grocery store carries them for almost a whole dollar cheaper. And I always check the beauty aisle of my Dollar Store, sometimes I get lucky and find name brand products there. My point is look everywhere, sometimes you can find a really good deal in a surprising place. And don't discount store brand items, the Target Up&Up line is really great and so much cheaper than the name brand item they are duping.
My personal rule is to never pay full price for anything. Being frugal requires a bit more work than just grabbing whatever I need/want, but in the end I'm getting a much better deal which amounts to me being able to get more on my budget. If you have any tips or questions share them below in the comments.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Ulta February 2015 Gift With Purchase Review
My favorite price will always be free, so a free gift with purchase is the best thing ever. Its like a reward for shopping, or an incentive depending on how you look at it. During the summer Ulta did a free bag full of goodies with any $19.50 purchase of Ulta brand stuff (you can see that review here) and they are doing the same type of promotion this month. I was going to purchase the new Rose Gold Palette but my Ulta was out so I just picked up some new nail polishes (debuting Monday for a super cure manicure). There was no difference between the two bags offered so I picked the prettier colored bag. Shall we see what's inside?
The bag itself is very...Eastery. It seriously reminds me of the frilly Easter gowns I use to wear as a child. I will probably save this and put my next giveaway stuff into it like I did with the last bag.
Like last time, a mini bottle of nail polish was included. I actually really like the Ulta brand nail polish and this is a cute spring color so I'm pretty happy with it. I think I'll put it on my toes this weekend. The shade itself is called Peach Parfait.
This was actually one of the items I was excited to try, I LOVE lip crayons and don't have any in this shade, which is OH!. This isn't a full sized tube, making it perfect to through into my purse or stick into my pocket if I need to.
The shade was actually pretty close to how it looks in the tube, and gave my lips a lovely golden coral sheen. Pretty pigmented, but not enough that I was running around with orange lips. And it seemed to last pretty well, survived an hour of me talking and teaching one day without any fading.
I think this is Ulta's attempt at a dupe for the NYX Butter Glosses, though NYX is typically quite a bit cheaper than the Ulta brand stuff. This particular shade is called Thumblina, and as you can see is not a full sized item.
The shade is this pretty pink shade, not super bright but bright enough some people may not like it. It applied well and wasn't really sticky, so I think they did a pretty good job of duping the NYX butter glosses. I don't know how much wear I'll get out of this particular shade but I liked it well enough.
I have not actually tried this mascara yet, but I am currently using and loving the one that came in my last bag, the Super Stretch fiber one. I'm hoping that this one will be decent as well. This is a full sized mascara and retails for $10, so not a bad deal assuming it doesn't suck.
This is where things started to go downhill for the bag for me. Included with the makeup was a set of brushes, an eyeshadow brush, a sponge brush, and an angled blush brush. These are total crap, they went straight to my son to play with. The ones in the last bag weren't the best but were at least usable. These are exactly like the ones that come in those $100 giant makeup kits for tweens. I'd rather they didn't include crappy brushes and stick that value into something else.
This dual ended eyeliner came in the last bag, and it also sucks. One end is brown, the other black, but it smudges and smears horribly. I keep it in my travel bag because if I lose it or break it I won't cry but if I lose my favorite $16 one I'd be seriously crying. This will probably be given to my son to play with and draw whiskers on his face next time we do face painting.
The last bag also included 3 quad palettes and they ended up being surprisingly good. One quad ended up becoming a personal favorite and is why I wanted to buy the Rose Gold palette since it contained those colors. The quad on the left is almost an exact match for the green one from the last bag, while the one on the right is similar to another quad from the last bag. I was a bit disappointed to see repeats (but not of my favorite shades), I felt that was lazy on Ulta's part.
So according to the names on the back only the top right and bottom left are repeats, but the top left is almost exact to the blending shade in the green quad from August. The only new color is the bottom right, that pretty looking copper color.
I knew the blending shade would match my skin, so I wasn't surprised that it doesn't really show up. I was however very surprised at the copper color. It was almost rock hard and I could barely pick up any shadow at all to do the swatch. I may break it up into a lose powder and use it that way. The two greens are repeats so I won't go into them, but they are odd shades most people probably won't use. A frosted lime moss green is not very flattering for most skin tones.
This quad is completely new, though I think the white is similar to the purple quad's blending shade from last bag.
And again some pigmentation/hardness issues. I have this backwards for some reason, so the black in the quad is the lower right swatch. That one was again very hard and barely pigmented. The frosted grey was actually the most pigmented, while the two lightest shades were just kind of there. I had high hopes for this quad, I haven't decided if I will keep it or chuck it yet.
This quad is pretty similar the the purple on in the August bag, but this time all the shades are shimmery. I like a good shimmer so I didn't mind the lack of mattes.
The top left was the rock hard one for this palette, while the bottom right is the stand out winner. I love that shade and will probably use it quite a bit. The other two shades are decent as well, so I'm pretty happy with this quad. I don't know why one shadow out of each was rock hard, the rest of them are buttery soft so I'm a bit baffled. I will also note the cases were difficult to get open this time, like the lids are just a touch to small.
They included a loose eyeshadow this time, which I thought was a nice change from the weird "eyeshadow topper" they used last time.
The shade is Yolo, and is a lovely white gold shimmer. It actually reminds me of a Cailyn shadow I own called Champagne. I liked this one quite a bit and will probably get a fair amount of use out of it.
The bronzer and blush duo this time was much larger and came in an actual compact, which was a nice step up.
These are actually usable this time, unlike the last bag. The bronzer has a bit of a frost to it, but not enough that I would call it shimmery. Same goes for the blush, which is a light baby pink. The blush is a little light for my taste but will make a nice addition to my travel bag. The duo also makes for a nice space saver, and really is a decent size.
They also included a eyebrow kit, which looks a bit like the NYX one. There's a colorless wax on the right and two powders on the right, so you can mix up your perfect shade.
The bottom powder is pretty dark, better suited for dark haired individuals. The top shade is kind of an ashy light brown, probably too dark for blonde's but ok for lighter haired folks. The powder was nice and applied well, the wax just felt a little hard to me. It has been brisk here so it may soften up when the temperature rises. It doesn't replace my favorite eyebrow kit (review coming eventually), but I liked it enough I wouldn't mind using it again or sticking it in my travel bag.
Overall I did not like this as much as the last bag, though there are some great items in it. And since it was free I'm not out any money for the bad products. I think they corrected some of their mistakes from the last bag, but I'd like to see them try not to repeat items next time they do this promotion. I believe this promotion is going on till the beginning of March, so if you want one you still have time to snag one. The "retail" value is $88, so well above the $19.50 you need to spend to receive it.
The bag itself is very...Eastery. It seriously reminds me of the frilly Easter gowns I use to wear as a child. I will probably save this and put my next giveaway stuff into it like I did with the last bag.
Like last time, a mini bottle of nail polish was included. I actually really like the Ulta brand nail polish and this is a cute spring color so I'm pretty happy with it. I think I'll put it on my toes this weekend. The shade itself is called Peach Parfait.
This was actually one of the items I was excited to try, I LOVE lip crayons and don't have any in this shade, which is OH!. This isn't a full sized tube, making it perfect to through into my purse or stick into my pocket if I need to.
The shade was actually pretty close to how it looks in the tube, and gave my lips a lovely golden coral sheen. Pretty pigmented, but not enough that I was running around with orange lips. And it seemed to last pretty well, survived an hour of me talking and teaching one day without any fading.
I think this is Ulta's attempt at a dupe for the NYX Butter Glosses, though NYX is typically quite a bit cheaper than the Ulta brand stuff. This particular shade is called Thumblina, and as you can see is not a full sized item.
The shade is this pretty pink shade, not super bright but bright enough some people may not like it. It applied well and wasn't really sticky, so I think they did a pretty good job of duping the NYX butter glosses. I don't know how much wear I'll get out of this particular shade but I liked it well enough.
I have not actually tried this mascara yet, but I am currently using and loving the one that came in my last bag, the Super Stretch fiber one. I'm hoping that this one will be decent as well. This is a full sized mascara and retails for $10, so not a bad deal assuming it doesn't suck.
This is where things started to go downhill for the bag for me. Included with the makeup was a set of brushes, an eyeshadow brush, a sponge brush, and an angled blush brush. These are total crap, they went straight to my son to play with. The ones in the last bag weren't the best but were at least usable. These are exactly like the ones that come in those $100 giant makeup kits for tweens. I'd rather they didn't include crappy brushes and stick that value into something else.
This dual ended eyeliner came in the last bag, and it also sucks. One end is brown, the other black, but it smudges and smears horribly. I keep it in my travel bag because if I lose it or break it I won't cry but if I lose my favorite $16 one I'd be seriously crying. This will probably be given to my son to play with and draw whiskers on his face next time we do face painting.
The last bag also included 3 quad palettes and they ended up being surprisingly good. One quad ended up becoming a personal favorite and is why I wanted to buy the Rose Gold palette since it contained those colors. The quad on the left is almost an exact match for the green one from the last bag, while the one on the right is similar to another quad from the last bag. I was a bit disappointed to see repeats (but not of my favorite shades), I felt that was lazy on Ulta's part.
So according to the names on the back only the top right and bottom left are repeats, but the top left is almost exact to the blending shade in the green quad from August. The only new color is the bottom right, that pretty looking copper color.
I knew the blending shade would match my skin, so I wasn't surprised that it doesn't really show up. I was however very surprised at the copper color. It was almost rock hard and I could barely pick up any shadow at all to do the swatch. I may break it up into a lose powder and use it that way. The two greens are repeats so I won't go into them, but they are odd shades most people probably won't use. A frosted lime moss green is not very flattering for most skin tones.
This quad is completely new, though I think the white is similar to the purple quad's blending shade from last bag.
And again some pigmentation/hardness issues. I have this backwards for some reason, so the black in the quad is the lower right swatch. That one was again very hard and barely pigmented. The frosted grey was actually the most pigmented, while the two lightest shades were just kind of there. I had high hopes for this quad, I haven't decided if I will keep it or chuck it yet.
This quad is pretty similar the the purple on in the August bag, but this time all the shades are shimmery. I like a good shimmer so I didn't mind the lack of mattes.
The top left was the rock hard one for this palette, while the bottom right is the stand out winner. I love that shade and will probably use it quite a bit. The other two shades are decent as well, so I'm pretty happy with this quad. I don't know why one shadow out of each was rock hard, the rest of them are buttery soft so I'm a bit baffled. I will also note the cases were difficult to get open this time, like the lids are just a touch to small.
They included a loose eyeshadow this time, which I thought was a nice change from the weird "eyeshadow topper" they used last time.
The shade is Yolo, and is a lovely white gold shimmer. It actually reminds me of a Cailyn shadow I own called Champagne. I liked this one quite a bit and will probably get a fair amount of use out of it.
The bronzer and blush duo this time was much larger and came in an actual compact, which was a nice step up.
These are actually usable this time, unlike the last bag. The bronzer has a bit of a frost to it, but not enough that I would call it shimmery. Same goes for the blush, which is a light baby pink. The blush is a little light for my taste but will make a nice addition to my travel bag. The duo also makes for a nice space saver, and really is a decent size.
They also included a eyebrow kit, which looks a bit like the NYX one. There's a colorless wax on the right and two powders on the right, so you can mix up your perfect shade.
The bottom powder is pretty dark, better suited for dark haired individuals. The top shade is kind of an ashy light brown, probably too dark for blonde's but ok for lighter haired folks. The powder was nice and applied well, the wax just felt a little hard to me. It has been brisk here so it may soften up when the temperature rises. It doesn't replace my favorite eyebrow kit (review coming eventually), but I liked it enough I wouldn't mind using it again or sticking it in my travel bag.
Overall I did not like this as much as the last bag, though there are some great items in it. And since it was free I'm not out any money for the bad products. I think they corrected some of their mistakes from the last bag, but I'd like to see them try not to repeat items next time they do this promotion. I believe this promotion is going on till the beginning of March, so if you want one you still have time to snag one. The "retail" value is $88, so well above the $19.50 you need to spend to receive it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
How To Make Your Own Tinted Moisturizer
We've all been there, you reach for your tube of foundation and nothing comes out. No matter how much you squeeze there isn't a drop to be found and today is a day you can not skip the foundation. Well with two simple ingredients and a little bit of patience you can have some tinted moisturizer to save the day. Now the pigmentation level on this can be adjusted for either light coverage, a true tinted moisturizer, all the way up to full coverage. It will all just depend on the ratio you use.
For this tutorial you will need:
For this tutorial you will need:
- Loose mineral foundation powder. In all my research I found that mineral powder works best for this, though technically you can use any powder I guess. I'm using my Mary Kay mineral foundation powder that I'm trying to use up anyways.
- Face lotion of some kind, just make sure it's one you'd be comfortable wearing during the day, not a heavy one that takes a while to absorb. I'm using a Vitamin C lotion by InstaNatural, it absorbs really well and never leaves me greasy feeling.
- A small glass bowl for mixing in and something to stir with. I just used a straw to stir, didn't feel like doing extra dishes.
This is not something you can make up in bulk, it will go bad after a few days so only make what you need to do your face. And as I learned the hard way, be careful not to breathe in the loose powder as you shake it from the jar. Just about coughed up my lung I swear.
Step one is to place about a teaspoon or so of lotion into your glass dish.
Step two, add in an equal amount of loose powder. This is for a tinted lotion, for a medium coverage add in about twice as much powder.
Now start stirring it up. It will look like the powder is not mixing in, just give it a minute and it will. Keep stirring and scrapping the edge of the bowl to make sure it is all incorporated. And you can done.
As you can see, this blends out to a nice and light coverage, perfect for those good skin days. If the pigmentation is not enough for you, keep adding in powder until you get to the right level. If you added in too much powder you can lighten it back up by adding in more lotion. Remember, this will only stay good for a day or two so be careful not to make to much of it. Theoretically you can also do the same thing with blush but since I haven't personally tested it (maybe for next week's Tutorial Tuesday) I can't vouch for it.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
How to Get Free Makeup on Your Birthday
As a lover of beauty products, getting free stuff for my birthday is the best. I figure you guys are probably the same way, so I'll share which companies give you free goodies to celebrate getting another year older.
Ulta: Ulta, which might be one of my favorite stores, gives you a free full sized CK One mascara for your birthday (retails for $19). This is actually my favorite mascara ever, so I'm happy to get a free one. This stuff will last through showers, swimming, naps, crying, pretty much anything. Great stuff. You also get double points on your birthday month, which is pretty sweet since points equal great discounts. All you have to do is sign up for their free rewards program, and you can either pick it up in store (totally free) or get it added to your online order (so free with whatever you're actually buying)
Sephora: They do a different gift every year, but they seem to always be pretty great. 2014 was a Makeup Forever mini mascara and nude lipstick (plus a mini eyeliner if you're rouge status), I heard 2013 was some Philosophy minis, one year was even some Benefit minis! This is another free perk of signing up for their free rewards program. You can either pick it up free in store or tack it onto your online order like with Ulta.
Smashbox: They give you a mini version of their famous mascara, but it's only free if you purchase $35 worth of stuff from their site. Kind of a bummer, unless you want to order stuff. Again, sign up for the free rewards program to get this perk.
Bare Escentuals: Signing up for their free rewards program nabs you lots of goodies, like a free gift (no idea what it is, I just signed up myself) AND a "personal shopping day" which nabs you 15% off your purchases on a day of your choosing.
Urban Decay: Signing up for an account (free) gets you a free eyeliner on your birthday. I assume you have to add it to an order online, but I just signed up for this one and haven't hit a birthday on it yet.
Benefit: If you happen to live by an actual Benefit retail store, you can get a free brow wax. I assume you need to sign up for an account/rewards program, but since I live nowhere near one (the one inside Ulta doesn't count) I've never bothered to sign up.
If I find anymore I'll do another post, but these are pretty freebies. There are lots of food places that do free meals, but that's not really my gig so I'm not going to post about it, but let's just say I eat free my whole birthday weekend. If you know of anymore please either shoot me a message or list it below in the comments.
Ulta: Ulta, which might be one of my favorite stores, gives you a free full sized CK One mascara for your birthday (retails for $19). This is actually my favorite mascara ever, so I'm happy to get a free one. This stuff will last through showers, swimming, naps, crying, pretty much anything. Great stuff. You also get double points on your birthday month, which is pretty sweet since points equal great discounts. All you have to do is sign up for their free rewards program, and you can either pick it up in store (totally free) or get it added to your online order (so free with whatever you're actually buying)
Sephora: They do a different gift every year, but they seem to always be pretty great. 2014 was a Makeup Forever mini mascara and nude lipstick (plus a mini eyeliner if you're rouge status), I heard 2013 was some Philosophy minis, one year was even some Benefit minis! This is another free perk of signing up for their free rewards program. You can either pick it up free in store or tack it onto your online order like with Ulta.
Smashbox: They give you a mini version of their famous mascara, but it's only free if you purchase $35 worth of stuff from their site. Kind of a bummer, unless you want to order stuff. Again, sign up for the free rewards program to get this perk.
Bare Escentuals: Signing up for their free rewards program nabs you lots of goodies, like a free gift (no idea what it is, I just signed up myself) AND a "personal shopping day" which nabs you 15% off your purchases on a day of your choosing.
Urban Decay: Signing up for an account (free) gets you a free eyeliner on your birthday. I assume you have to add it to an order online, but I just signed up for this one and haven't hit a birthday on it yet.
Benefit: If you happen to live by an actual Benefit retail store, you can get a free brow wax. I assume you need to sign up for an account/rewards program, but since I live nowhere near one (the one inside Ulta doesn't count) I've never bothered to sign up.
If I find anymore I'll do another post, but these are pretty freebies. There are lots of food places that do free meals, but that's not really my gig so I'm not going to post about it, but let's just say I eat free my whole birthday weekend. If you know of anymore please either shoot me a message or list it below in the comments.
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