Ulta Sale Haul!

I have a love affair with two stores:  Ulta and Sephora.  Both opened here about a year and a half ago and I honestly can't remember what life was like without them.  (Other than the fact that I'm pretty sure I spent a lot less money on makeup.)  They also both have really great rewards programs that I've been able to take advantage of.  

I knew that as we neared the holiday season both stores would be having some sales and specials that I would like to take advantage of.  I'd had a small running wish list of some things I wanted, but was waiting for the best time to make my purchases.  (I pretty much hate paying full price for anything!)  I'd tentatively budgeted some extra fun money for these things out of my bonus check that I get in November, but I knew that whenever the sales came I needed to just jump on it.  

Ulta had a bonus points deal a few weeks ago and it worked out well because I was already planning on buying some items there for my mom for her birthday.  I ended up with enough points to get $17.50 off a purchase, but even then, I decided to hold out for something more.  On Friday I got a coupon for their big 20% off everything sale!  It's rare that Ulta's nicer brands are part of their discounts, so I decided now was the best time to make my purchases! 

I ended up getting the Urban Decay Naked 2 eye shadow palette and the Benefit "Fast Track to Fabulous" kit.  After all of the discounts it pretty much ended up with the Benefit kit for free!  Not to shabby!

I'd been eyeing the Naked 2 for a while and had talked about it in my wish list posts.  There were several eye shadow palettes I'd been looking at thanks to all sorts of blogs and You Tube videos, but this was one that I kept hearing rave reviews about and that I thought would suit me the best.  

The Benefit kit was something I had looked at, but not one I was initially planning on getting.  It was $34 and included a full size POREfessional, full size Benetint, a mini They're Real! mascara, and a little perfume sample.  I'm nearing the end of my POREfessional and considering that a bottle of that runs $29 alone, I figured the kit was the way to go, especially with additional 20% off.  

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchases and am glad I used my points and coupon now while everything I wanted was in stock.  Both Ulta and Sephora have come out with great gift sets, many of which are huge bargains!  Sephora is rumored to have their Beauty Insider sale in November and I plan on snagging my Clarisonic during that sale.  (I've been told Sephora is the place to get it in case something goes wrong.  They have awesome customer service!)  Other than that, I'm pretty much calling it good for beauty spending for the next 2 or 3 months.  I have pretty much everything I could need (other than probably needing some lighter foundation), so I'll continue working on finishing off products in my collection.  

Have you hit any of the recent pre-holiday sales?  

Found any of your own beauty bargains lately?