ULTA: 21 Days (of Beauty) Sale Event Thread

[QueenMarceline]

As many know, ULTA hosts multiple 21 day sales events per year where select items are on flash-sale for 24 hours at (usually) 50% off. This sales event goes on for 21 days (3 weeks) and each day new sales items are up for grabs. Personally, as a savvy shopper this is one of the events I watch closely for and like to plan ahead for since many times there are some truly best selling products offered up for 50% off.

This can be a great time of year to look out for those sought after products at a huge discount, introduce yourself to new products that you don't want to pay full price for (because now you don't have to) and stock up on some old time favorites. I have yet to see a thread made for this particular event and I thought it would be nice to have one dedicated solely to beauty that is the 21 days of beauty sale event. This is the place to discuss what you're looking forward to stocking up on, what you will be skipping and what you're going to take the plunge and finally buy this sales event! 

Current Beauty 21 Day Beauty Sale: Summer 2022 Sales Event 

Event Dates: 08/28/22-09/17/22

(Full Spread of Sales Products Can Be Found at: Ulta Dot Com Slash 21Days)

Week 1 Spoiler:

Spoiler

Week 2 Spoiler:

Spoiler

Week 3 Spoiler:

Spoiler

[treestar86]

@QueenMarceline I ordered the steel gua sha. 😍 Its been on my saved for later, along w/a few other tools. Ive never used a tool and been waiting for a good deal on one, and this looks good based on the reviews, and since it says its more antibacterial than the stone ones Id been wanting, which many arent even real sttones, even tho they claim to be. 🙁 Also wanted a roller, but reviews often say the things snap and pop off, so its not very safe, or break if u drop them, and supposedly the gua sha is more effective, while the rollers are more spa-like and therapeutic. Id still like to get a stone one to try sometime, I have a jade one on my loves list...kinda wished Id gotten 2 of these, but cant afford it. 😕 Wish it was in store, also...hate having to ship 1 little thing. 😩

Also got a tarte balm yesterday, in hibiscus. 🤗 Wanted to get more, but didnt have the money, and the coconut one I wanted wasnt available in store, so I figured Id just get the hibiscus, since I can go pick it up in store. 🤗 I have 2 of the mini ones, rose and strawberry (like the rose one best), so Ive been wanting to try other colors. Sadly I missed the awesome holiday set w/4 full sizes for $35 while I was holding out for a good gwp...lol. So I had to decide which color to get, since I couldnt afford to get them all...lol. so settled on the hibiscus since I love purply pinks, and that looks like it...although the pics probably arent accurate, cuz the strawberry looks more orangey on me than on the model, which is why I dont like it as much. I wish they had more colors in the minis, bc theyre so big I thought they were full sized!! 😱

Also I see they just came out w/a plump version...and the colors look the same, but I havent really looked into it. lol. but reviews of the tarte say they go fast, so not really worth the full size, and even $10 is still a bit much for a tinted balm...but eh. 😅

I also want the bobbi brown vitamin cream, but have so many I need to use up, and probably wont have the money...thats the frustrating thing about these...trying to decide if you should buy something you really dont need, just bc its a good deal. 😅 look what theyre doing to us. aaahhhhhh *pulls out hair* LOL. 🤣

[QueenMarceline]

@treestar86 Wow, great choices and for sure an amazing snag on the Gua Sha. I don't own one of those but I have a jade and rose quartz roller and am enjoying them a lot so far. I'm glad you got to pick that up at such a great price. So far I have only gotten a back-up beauty blender but I have my eye on a few of the items coming up this week. 🙂

Also, I like the Tarte balms. I only own one in strawberry I believe in the mini version. I got them at the buy one get one free mini sale in late January along with the Too Faced Hangover Pillow Balm mini and I definitely prefer the Hangover balm for a nightly treatment. It's amazing. I even prefer it to the Laneige night cream and Agave Bite treatment. Truly recommend, so far I only tried the original version but I already ordered a Mango one just have not opened it yet. 

I know what you mean with the debate of getting it or not on the sale. I recently did a no buy February and it really changed my perspective. I have so many things that aren't even opened yet and I'm really trying to curb my spending on things collecting dust still in their packaging. I also started keeping crazy track of my empties, the exact date when they run out and keeping a monthly empties pile. It really put it into crystal clear terms exactly what I'm using and just how long it takes to go through even one little lip balm. The reality of it is, I have been overspending and overbuying for years now. I'm starting to value less clutter and more space over getting every limited edition release out there just so I can say I have it. The materialism in the makeup industry has gotten insane in the last decade or so and I was definitely a victim to that. I truly do not understand my skewed way of thinking in the past... this was not an overnight change but it started in 2020/2021 when I realized how little makeup I really needed during the pandemic. Then I just found different things to invest into: skin care... so the spiral continued but I was more self aware.

Realistically, my job is pretty "cross your t's and dot your i's" so I cannot get away with anything but a neutral eye and neutral lip. Although I try my best to rock that and add my own style to it or maybe even add a spice of a more "fun" lipstick... I never reach for most of the palettes I have anymore because of that. I counted a few months back and I have well over $1,500 worth in just palettes... which to me is insane. I started gifting them to people I think would actually use them and hung on to the more special ones. Even with my massive decluttters I'm pretty much at full capacity and I now get mad at myself for overbuying. I sometimes am looking for a product and I can't even find it because I have a bathroom stash, a closet makeup/vanity area and then an entire DRESSER filled with things in my bedroom. For me money isn't the issue but the amount of money I've spent is ridiculous... to the point where I now have buyers remorse anytime I try to "treat myself" to something fun because I just think of all the things I could have done with that money: invest in some more stocks, put it in my savings, go on a 2 week vacation. Maybe I'm just getting old(er) but I really no longer find joy in overspending, overbuying and materialism in general. What I really want is to find some amazing products, treat myself sparingly, finish my products until they're fully empty and be happy with everything I own.

[treestar86]

@QueenMarceline  nice!! I hope to get a roller someday too, I know they have cheap ones but a lot of reviews even of the not so cheap ones say they pop off, so I'm waiting for a quality one to be half price. LOL. I think sephora may have better ones, but doesnt have sales as often.

oh, I got my tarte balms when they were buy 2 get 1 free lol. 😒 oh, I have the hangover balm, also!! I got 2 of the holiday sets w/4 minis, then full size banana and chocolate ones from TF's site when they were on sale. and just saw they have a free full size of your choice w/$60 purchase!! I was going to get the mango too, lol, but sadly dont have the money right now. 😩 but they are having a 75% off sale and the new ethereal palette was $16!! I was like, oh damn!! I could have gotten 2!! lol. but it must have been a glitch or something, bc when I checked later, it was up to $23. 🤧😩

right, its so easy to sit here and look at all the nice stuff and say ooh, I want that, and that, I need that, could use that...and then see all the boxes of stuff I have, and when you actually go to use things, realize how exhausting it is to even use them up. LOL.

sunscreen is my main woe. Ive been trying to wear it, so I buy it so Im prepared...and then since I dont go out much, and when I do Im already late and think "well im just going to the store or some other building lol, so I'll only be outside for like 20 mins, so why bother"

so now I keep coming across sunscreen that expired, or is about too, and im like, UGH. 😩

good point, and the palettes are cazy. lol. 😜 I saw a lot of ppl online complaining about the TF holiday palettes, saying they do the same things every year, "oh boy, neutrals w/a pop of color, how exciting". LOL. but its like, well you dont have to buy them. 😒 but I see how it could be compelling for makeup addicts, LOL, to want to get EVERY palette. and yeah they can be compelling bc the packaging is so darn cute, and all the gimmicks they use to try and lure us in, like scented eyeshadow... 😒 when I saw that I was like 🤣 lol, who buys this stuff!?!? then when the pineapple and razzle berry ones went half off, uh, the answer was, ME. 😬 lol. but at 50% off its not bad, but I know I dont even use them lol, so I only buy when theres a really good deal or the packaging is too cute to pass up...lol. like the sweet peach one being a surprise steal is nice, but I got the mini peach one, and like you, am glad Im better about prioritizing spending on stuff that would be more benficial, or that I dont already have.

and I think the pandemic changed things a lot, like you said. I noticed lipsticks everywhere were 50% off. 🤣 lol. which I never even used them up before, but now im more aware of that stuff, too. when I saw the MAC mini lipsticks b1g1 free on perk day, I was like great!! I'll buy anything if its a mini and on sale...lol. 😅 I'm glad to see more minis, and hope brands do more of those, bc I dont really care if its the wrong color if its a mini and was half price...but I dont like wasting money on full sized things that I dont end up using. 

yeah I think prioritizing things becomes more natural as we get older, so we can thank age and wisdom for that!! 😊🤗

[QueenMarceline]

@treestar86 For some reason I am having issues with receiving notifications this morning. It's only going back about 10 hours and claiming I have no notifications since then which is simply not true and impossible because you replied 5 hours ago... very strange. Hope that gets fixed soon and that I'm not missing too much.

Ah yes... the sweet peach palette.... sigh. I remember when I went on a state-wide manhunt to find this "limited edition, sold out everywhere" palette. I found it... over an hour and a half away at full price. Not only did they bring it back it's now a 50% off beauty steal at the 21 days sale. Truly, I'll never trust Too Faced after that and I refuse to buy any of their palettes at full price. Well played Too Faced, but sometimes shady short-term actions have negative long-term effects. Quite frankly, I refuse to buy anything from them at full price... lol.

Thank goodness for age and wisdom, am I right? hahah!

[treestar86]

@QueenMarceline weird!! Im also having issues where it wont let me heart things, and when I click reply it goes to a separate page but the reply box doesnt show up sometimes. 😕

urgh, thats a bummer!! I hate it when they do that...or it says "ulta exclusive", when its actually not... 😒 I dont think most things are worth full price anyway, Ive noticed TF and UD palettes 50% off all the time. I got the UD cherry one full price, bc there were extra pts., and I love pinks and reds, and hadnt seen anything like it, so it seemed worth it...but I see that 50% off from time to time, too. LOL. and I see what ppl mean about TF doing the same things over and over, so the peach one isnt as compelling since it looks pretty similar to the others...altho the mini peach one smells 😍, so I imagine that would be the main advantage of the big peach one. 

[QueenMarceline]

Event:  21 Days of Beauty Early Spring 2022 💐

Day 5: Thursday, March 17th

[QueenMarceline]

Event:  21 Days of Beauty Early Spring 2022 💐

Day 4: Wednesday, March 16th

[QueenMarceline]

Event:  21 Days of Beauty Early Spring 2022 💐

Day 3: Tuesday, March 15th

[QueenMarceline]

Event:  21 Days of Beauty Early Spring 2022 💐

Day 2: Monday, March 14th

[QueenMarceline]

Event:  21 Days of Beauty Early Spring 2022 💐

Day 1: Sunday, March 13th

[QueenMarceline]

Items Purchased: Beauty Blender Sponge

Amount Spent: $10

I'd never pay $20 for a sponge but I usually pick one or two up during this sale if it becomes available. I use the real techniques sponges whenever I run out because they're much more affordable. To be quite honest, I'm not sure which sponge I like more (because I like them both) but I want to do an experiment where I do a half/half face with both to finally get my answer sometime soon. 

[QueenMarceline]

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 21: Saturday, January 22nd

[QueenMarceline]

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 20: Friday, January 21st

Full Perricone MD Cold Plasma Sale Line-Up:

Spoiler

[QueenMarceline]

The Daily Recap (and some very blunt and unsolicited opinions)

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 20: Friday, January 21st

Top Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

Perricone MD Cold Plasma+ Collection-$14.50-89.50  (Original Price: $29-179)
The Cold Plasma line is generally very highly regarded in the beauty sphere and it's not often that it's 50% off. This is an especially expensive line so it's very nice that a lot of beauties will be getting this for half the price and I have to applaud ULTA here for putting this very pricey line all on discount. I'd definitely like to see this return. 

*Honorable Mention: I Dew Care Let's Get Sheet Faced Sheet Mask Set-$12.50  (Original Price: $25)
This sheet mask set sold out within the first 12 hours of the sale and it was a wonderful value: 14 sheet masks for $12.50 is a true bargain. I think this deserves an honorable mention here.

Flop Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

Clarins Body Fit Anti-Cellulite Contouring Expert-$36  (Original Price: $72)
Clarins is a fantastic reputable brand with a ton of well-deserved clout within the beauty sphere. However, in such a strong line-up I think this product fell a bit short here. This is a new release without much of the matched reputation (which comes out of longevity of a product) and I don't think those are the right products to put in the 21 day line-up.

What I Ended Up Buying:

Spoiler

I actually planned on getting the sheet mask set but similarly to a few other products I didn't bite the bullet fast enough. I was building up my cart since I have a gift card and unfortunately, I ended up "sleeping" on my decisions because I got too tired. By the time I checked my cart it was out of stock, so I ended up getting nothing...oh well.

Overall Thoughts:

Spoiler

Even though I didn't buy anything, I think this was one of the strongest days not only within this week but also throughout the entirety of the sale. Even the flop was a very reputable and luxurious brand that simply had a new product that hasn't been tested enough within the community. The sheet mask set was a great value, the cold plasma line was a wonderful addition to the sale, the tarte maracuja oil is a nice product that I enjoy and the Urban RX product seems to be well liked as well. All around, kudos!

 

[QueenMarceline]

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 19: Thursday, January 20th

Full Elemis Cleaning Balms Line-Up:

[QueenMarceline]

The Daily Recap (and some very blunt and unsolicited opinions)

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 19: Thursday, January 20th

Top Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

ELEMIS Cleansing Balms-$32  (Original Price: $64)

Flop Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Eye Revive Mask-$41  (Original Price: $82)
I have nothing particularly against this product and it honestly sold out (so it might not be much of a flop after all) but it has the least amount of reviews by a long shot and also I think this being a ELEMIS repeat item takes away from this standing out. I decided to crown ELEMIS as both the winner and the loser today.

What I Ended Up Buying:

Spoiler

I did not end up buying anything today, other than the groceries I shopped for in order to cook my yummy dinner 😛

Overall Thoughts:

Spoiler

I don't think this day was a total blunder but I really was not inspired to purchase anything, like... not even a little bit. Yes, the Elemis cleansing balms looked fun and I'm sure many people enjoyed them at their discounted price. However, I think it's kind of strange that the ELEMIS beauty steals were counted as two separate steals. In theory, they offered 4 items total (3 that are "variations" of the same product) but I still really dislike when ULTA does this and it seems this sale even they are specifically pulling this stunt. When you really look at it for what it is, there was only one item offered other than ELEMIS products and that's just not cutting it for me.

[treestar86]

@QueenMarceline I have some of the mini balms, but havent used them as Idk if balms are good if u dont wear makeup...lol.

[QueenMarceline]

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 18: Wednesday, January 19th

[QueenMarceline]

The Daily Recap (and some very blunt and unsolicited opinions)

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 18: Wednesday, January 19th

Top Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

Kate Somerville +Retinol Firming Eye Cream-$49  (Original Price: $98)
I've loved this eye cream for a long time because it truly gives off results. It's gone up in price significantly over the years I remember it being around $80, so this beauty steal really gave you a great discount off of this great item.

*Honorable Mention: Kopari Beauty 100% Organic Coconut Melt-$14.50  (Original Price: $29)
This is a highly raved about product and it's great for ULTA to feature products that many people use. It has over 1,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.6 on the site, I'd call that a great product.

Flop Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

Proactiv Deep Cleansing Face Wash-$15  (Original Price: $30)
This was a very popular product, around a decade ago. I really don't believe this product sold many units this sale and it has the least amount of reviews and the lowest average here. The clear "womp, womp" out of today's line up.

What I Ended Up Buying:

Spoiler

I was really tempted to buy the Kate Somerville retinol eye cream because I actually use this product and the steal made it a very irresistible price. However, this cream does last a very long time for me because I only use it a few times a week and I have a full-size back-up... plus, I'm on a low buy and trying to shop my stash so the timing was all sorts of off for this. Hoping it'll be featured again sometime in the future but the cards just weren't right for us this time.

Overall Thoughts:

Spoiler

Honestly, this was an impressive day. There was no true standout bad product, even the ProActiv is not necessarily a  bad product (although it is a boring and outdated one...) the Kate Somerville eye cream is excellent, the Kopari melt is a very popular item, the SriVectin eye concentrate also has some fans. Compared to the day before, this is a hit. One of the better overall sales day and we also got four products this time, so yay for having a full line-up. 

[QueenMarceline]

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 17: Tuesday, January 18th

[QueenMarceline]

The Daily Recap (and some very blunt and unsolicited opinions)

Event: Love Your Skin Winter 2022

Day 17: Tuesday, January 18th

Top Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

PEACH & LILY Glass Skin Water Gel Moisturizer-$20  (Original Price: $40)
Keeping it short and sweet: this was the best item of the sales line up today. A lot of people genuinely enjoy this product and I think it got quite a few snags for the day.

Flop Deal of the Day:

Spoiler

Mario Badescu Grab and Go Travel Set-$11  (Original Price: $22)
Mario Badescu products are already quite affordable and tbh, have lost a lot of their initial hype over the years. I'm not impressed with slapping on one travel kit and trying to pass it off as a beauty steal. This is something that easily could have/should have been put on sale or clearanced out. It's clear they're trying to off load some holiday kits today.

What I Ended Up Buying:

Spoiler

Nothing, zip, nada.

Overall Thoughts:

Spoiler

Today was clearly a lazy kind of day for ULTA... we basically got two beauty steals. Peach & Lily only had two products from the brand available and the only thing from Mario Badescu was that travel set? It's truly no wonder that everything and I mean everything is still in stock. What a true disappointment today was, really seemed like this was a "half done" type of sale due to the lack of any beauty steals being available (seriously... two?!). I would have liked to see at least 2 more products offered. ULTA could have offered more products from Peach and Lily or MB, seriously... anything. One of the biggest, lack-lustre days from a selection point of view.