It’s 11 p.m. and I’m currently trying to find sweaters online for a fun trip I’m taking later this month with my mom. Um. There are ZERO sweaters in stock in all sizes. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

{Okay, that’s a tad dramatic. I’m overreacting. But everything I’m finding is $80287 and I’m just not having it.}

This transitional period can always be a little awkward when it comes to shopping for clothes, so we are doing another beauty post today. Beauty never fails you. Doesn’t matter the weather, you can still faithfully love your lipsticks and mascara. What’s better than seasonless beauty products? Affordable ones. A whole lot more affordable than the sweaters that keep popping up on my google searches…

So to start your weekend off right, I partnered with Ulta to share a few things I’m loving from their line ALL under $20!

I’m starting with the #1 thing you need to swatch the next time you are in store, my new eyeshadows.

I have shown this palette on stories a few times and now it’s so well loved it’s barely photographable. Poor thing looks like I let 17 toddlers loose on it and I only have me, myself and my eyeshadow brushes to blame.

What started as finding a dupe for a designer shadow {I shared which one on my insta story highlights}, turned into a palette I reach for every single day. These are the Ulta Beauty Eyeshadow Singles and I placed them into the customizable palette they have.

Here are my takeaways:

• These are very creamy, which I love. They are $8.50, but feel very equivalent to single shadows that normally run about $16. I’m nuts and went to Ulta AGAIN last night to swatch some more and they all have that same buttery consistency.
• They are made without parabens, FYI for you beauties that like to have less toxic formulas.
• They are magnetic. Most of the time shadows that come in an individual compact, can be a pain to depot and place in a palette. I was able to depot these and place in the compact in 10 seconds flat. No chipped nails. No chipped product.
• These have 36 shades and I found a dupe for a LOT of my designer shadows, which is great when you maybe want to find a shade you don’t use consistently and can’t justify a high price tag.

Shades from left to right:

Petite, Summer in Paris, Valentine, Pin-Up Girl

Suede, Roaring 20’s, Plum Pop, Coffee Bean

Personal Favorites: Valentine {for inner corner}, Petite {for brow}, Suede {for crease color}, Roaring 20’s {for all over}

The shades are $8.50 each and the palette is $12.50. Of course, when you build the entire kit it’s going to be well over $20. However, that’s to build a collection. What I really like is the ease in which you can depot the shadows and the creaminess of the individual shadows. They come in pans so if you didn’t want to make a palette you could buy 2 for the price of what 1 designer shadow typically costs. Or you can get the 4-pan palette for $8.

Here’s a quick rundown on how I’ve been using the palette. This is the look I showed on Instagram Stories the other day!

First, I take a big fluffy brush and apply “Petite” all on my brow bone and let that blend down onto the lid. This is a shade I would 100% repurchase as it is very velvety and the perfect shade for my skin tone. 

Then I take a crease brush and apply “Suede” in the crease of my lid. I only blend from outer corner to mid corner of the crease.

I’ll also lightly tap my brush into Plump Pop and Coffee Bean and blend that into the outer crease over Suede. This provides depth, but I don’t go all over Suede. Suede is blended higher up into my crease, where these darker colors are more in the outer corner.

Next, I take “Roaring 20’s” and press the pigment onto my actual lid.

I make sure to blend that in with “Suede” as well so it isn’t an extreme juxtaposition of colors.

Next, I take my MAC Fix + and spray it on a brush. This is going to allow “Valentine” to stay really pigmented throughout the day and not lose any shimmer.

I press my brush into “Valentine” and then apply on the inner corner side of lid.

I soften that out by tapping my brush on the lid and I’m finished!

This is a $6 find from Ulta. These are their SENSITIVE Cleansing Wipes. Cleansing wipes can irritate my skin {you know that burning feeling they leave- or is that just me?!} and these don’t do that. If I have any fallout or transfer of shadow pigment on my face, I just take a wipe and remove that excess before I start my foundation. After that, I’ll apply my eyeliner and start my foundation.

Many of you know I don’t have oily skin, so I don’t reach for mattifying products. However, a girlfriend told me that this matte primer is what a lot of beauty Youtubers use to cover blemishes- so I wanted to try it. This Ulta Matte Face Primer has salicylic acid in it to fight blemishes while you wear your makeup. I kid you not, I had a smaller blemish on my face when I did this tutorial and it was gone the next day. It’s a nice added step to banning a blemish that pops up.

I just applied a light dot of primer over said blemish, let it dry for a minute and started my foundation. This also is my favorite texture of primer as it’s the silicone texture, so if you do have oily or acne-prone skin I think you’d enjoy this all over before makeup application.

I did my foundation, then applied concealer.

After bronzer and blush, I used my setting spray!

Next, I do my lipstick. You all know I’m very faithful to liquid lipstick but I get a lot of e-mails about liquid lipstick being drying. My trick is to always apply a gloss one shade lighter in the very center of your pout. This is going to make your lips less dry and appear more full.

The Ulta Shiny Sheer Glosses are a new-to-me product that I honestly thought would be very sheer. I think sheer is in the name because they simply aren’t sticky. I enjoyed the pigment! These have Vitamin A, E and aloe to prevent the dreaded liquid lipstick crack on your lips. But my favorite part is they have hyaluronic acid in them to give the plumping effect of a fuller lip. I use the shade “Ballerina” for my Stila Perla lipstick.

Last but not least, you know how we all wash our hands after we do our makeup? Well, as part of #MarchMeTime, I’m trying to incorporate a little more TLC in the care of my hands. One of the challenges I gave during March was to use my skin routine on my hands sometimes. I found this brightening scrub and it got phenomenal reviews, while it isn’t for face I thought it would be a great step in my routine. I now leave it out on my counter and once a day after I do my makeup or hair, I scrub my hands with it. It’s got a great citrus scent with Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps your skin to glow, but this also has Alpha Hydroxy Acid to help make your skin more radiant over time. This is one I’d definitely repurchase as I personally think incorporating a scrub has helped my cuticles look a lot better in these cold, dry months. And if you’re like me it helps to scrub off the excess self tanner on your mani. 😉

I hope you enjoyed this more affordable review. Do you have any affordable things you love from Ulta I should grab?! I mean I literally went last night to get things for more #MarchMeTime giveaways but I never turn down a run in store…

I hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend. We are headed to Oklahoma to see my grandparents, so wish us luck with Maxi in the car! Poor girl is getting her molars and it breaks my heart! Teething has never bothered her this much.

Ulta Eyeshadows | Ulta Palette | Ulta Primer | Ulta Glosses | Ulta Sensitive Wipes | Ulta Brightening Scrub | White Shirt | Necklace | Jeans

Photography by: Madison Katlin

In partnership with Ulta Beauty. All opinions are my own.