ULTA Beauty Haul!

Hello readers! So this is pretty much the first post I've done on beauty and makeup and things of that nature, so let me know how it goes! Also, this isn't sponsored; I purchased the products myself, and all of the opinions are my own.

If you live near me, you would know that the weather last weekend was fantastic. You would also know that anytime the weather is fantastic and it's a weekend, it's a great time to go hang out at the local outdoor mall. So, of course, I grabbed a friend and that's what we did.

While we were there, I dragged this same friend into Ulta, since there were a few things I had been meaning to buy anyway. But lo and behold, if I don't see "Free Gift!" sitting right in front of me when I walk in. All you had to do was spend $20 on Ulta products to get a makeup bag full of more Ulta products. So, of course, I spent $20 on some Ulta products.

Basically, I ended up getting two matte lip creams, mascara, a blush/highlighter palette, an eyeshadow palette, primer, a double-ended eyeliner, an eyebrow pencil, three brushes, nail polish, and eye makeup remover wipes, plus a cute makeup bag. I did try almost all of these products, so I can give you an idea of what they're like.

I'll start with the primer. This came in a small black tube that just says "Professional Flawless Prime." So, I was a little surprised when it came out looking a bit like guacamole. But have no fear, my friends, it's not made out of avocados; it's just color-correcting. I don't usually use primer, so I'm probably not the best judge, but I thought this product did a decent job of smoothing out pores and reducing redness.

Moving on to the brushes. The free gift came with three brushes; a blush brush and two eyeshadow brushes, one "large" and one "small." I was excited to see the blush brush because I have one from Ulta that I got in a different free gift before, and I really like it. It's soft and a good size for me. Both of the eyeshadow brushes were smaller than what I normally use, but I thought they were soft and worked fairly well anyway.

Speaking of blush, I'll move on to the blush/highlighter palette. This came in the colors "Apricot blush" and "yellow diamond highlighter." The blush has a bit of an orange-y tint, so I'm not sure it would work best with my skin tone, but it might work well for you. I like the highlighter color, but I wish it was a little bit more pigmented on the skin.

Now for the eyeshadow palette. The packaging on this was adorable, covered in little purple watercolor flowers. I really loved the colors inside (I'll include an extra picture for you), but I was a little disappointed with the pigmentation and fall out. I didn't think it was quite as good as the other Ulta eyeshadows I have. Still, I'll probably use it because the colors are just so pretty.

I'm going to go ahead and combine the eyeliner and the eyebrow pencil. The eyeliner is a shimmery white on one end, and a dark brown on the other. As far as pencil eyeliners go, I liked this one because the colors and the pigmentation were nice. I had been wanting to buy an eyebrow pencil, and I really liked this one. The color (warm brown) worked well for me, and I liked the little brush on the other end.

I normally don't use Ulta mascara, and I wasn't extremely impressed with the last one I had. Not that it was bad, because it wasn't, it just didn't beat my favorite. So the mascara they included was a bit of a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure it'll top my favorite mascara (more on that soon!), and I don't know how prices compare, but it did do a pretty good job, in my opinion.

So, with all of this eye makeup they give you, it was nice of them to include some eye makeup remover wipes. These were pretty small, only big enough for your eyes, and I didn't like them as much as my normal makeup remover. That said, they did do a good job of removing my eye makeup. Which is what really matters, I suppose.

Moving on to the nail polish. The color is called "Lilac-ing You," and it's a soft, pinky-purple color that I really like. I haven't actually tried this one yet, but it's a nice spring color, and I'm looking forward to using it.

Lastly, there's the two matte lip creams. One of these, in "Artistic," I bought myself. It's a nice pink that's good for spring, and I liked the product itself. The other one, in "Allusive," came in the free gift. I thought it was a bit strange that they would include this color, with everything else looking so perfect for spring. It's more of a dark, purple-tinted berry color. It's a nice color, but better suited to fall and winter than spring and summer.

Lastly, there's the makeup bag everything came in. As you can see, t's a light, pinkish purple with a leafy cutout pattern, and has a wrist strap on the zipper. I liked the bag a lot, especially for spring.

So there you guys go! I know it's a bit of a long post, and it's something different, so thanks for making it this far! Have you tried any of these products? What's your favorite makeup for spring? Let me know in comments!