Julep Meet Your New Beauty Bestie Maven Meet-Up Exclusive In-Store Event at Ulta, Clearance and GWP Offers

See Targeted GWP Offers for 2018.

I love all things Ulta and all things Julep. When I received an email from Miriam at Julep stating she was going to Ulta on 10/08/16, I decided I wanted to check out the event. The Julep event I attended on 08/29/16 was a lot of fun. This event was in a store, instead of a restaurant, so I went in knowing it would be a different experience. According to the email, I’d get a chance to play with some Julep products, have a tutorial, and a GWP if I decided to buy anything. I responded to the email to see if she needed an official RSVP. Miriam said I did not need to RSVP as long as I came in between 12 and 6:30.

I arrived before 3:30pm and saw a sign outside advertising the event.

I actually go over the best sellers in detail for the other event I’ve attended, so I am not going to do that again. As someone whose been a Maven for 2 and half years and never skips a box, I’ve tried most of the best sellers and a lot of other items from the brand.

I noticed there were two Julep employees working the event, which was right in the front of the store. The one in the picture above was busy with the lady in her chair for a while, so I am assuming she gave her a mini makeover. She was busy while I was there, so I never got a chance to talk to her.

The one with this group of ladies was extremely friendly. I am assuming this is Miriam, because she looks like the lady in the picture on the email I received. When the lady in the chair insisted she needed a lipstick and did not like any of the ones Miriam showed her, Miriam went and grabbed an Urban Decay lipstick for her. That was above and beyond for me, because I am assuming this lady had no idea this was a Julep employee. Yet, Miriam just wanted to make her happy. This customer ended up buying the Urban Decay lipstick, so Miriam helped Ulta make a sale. She also impressed me in the process.

Julep actually sells lipsticks, and Julep lip products are on par with their nail polishes. They’re typically great items. I did get a chance to talk to Miriam after the group of ladies left happily with her Urban Decay lipstick. Miriam said they did not have any traditional Julep lipsticks at Ulta. Once I got home, I confirmed Julep lipsticks are not on sale at Ulta online either. It looks like the Julep collection at Ulta is somewhat limited. Hopefully, Julep expands, because I have no doubt Miriam could have sold that lady a Julep lipstick if she had any to sell.

I thought the set up was nice given how little product Julep actually has at Ulta. There were so many products out to try. Many of these items already exist in my collection. The only thing that could have urged me to place an order for Julep items (when I get such a great deal for purchasing directly as a Maven)

Miriam explained that the GWP starts with a Julep mascara and a bag. For every extra item purchased over the first, Julep adds an extra free gift. That is essentially a buy one, get one free sale.

Granted, you are not buying an item you want and getting an item you want free. You are buying an item and getting predetermined items free. That is the way GWP usually works though. I ended up passing, because the first item was a mascara. There is way too much mascara in my collection. Mascara is one of the few Julep items I’ve never tried, because I get to customize my purchases and have never purchased mascara. It is completely possible their mascara is wonderful, but I need to use up more in my stash before I actively seek more mascara.

One of the things I love about Julep products at Ulta is they put together incredibly cute value sets. This Korean Skincare Made Simple Set retails for $49. It has two full-size products and two travel sized products with a $74 value. I’ve tried 3 of the 4 items in this set (so far because I own the 4th but have not opened it yet), and I love all three of them. Jane was telling us at the last event that she was never cool growing up, but she is cool now that Korean skincare is in. Her products are great, so I think she deserves the attention she’s getting now.

There were so many goodies out to play with. The first thing I noticed is the new packaging is a lot nicer than the basic black I own on most of the Julep items I’ve purchased. All of my It’s Balm (and I own all 13 shades), are in the old packaging. I hope Julep incorporates some of this new packaging in its direct purchases, because I will rarely purchase from Ulta (unless the deal is better). As a Maven, that is not likely to happen.

Another reason I went to this event is I was hoping to find new items. When I saw the foundation on the table, I got excited. I thought Julep launched a foundation. It turns out they were using Lancome foundations and products from other brands to give complete makeovers. One of those Lancome foundations matches my skin better than the Lancome foundation I am using now. This will probably be the one I try next from the brand.

I love everything Julep stands for. The brand is all about being yourself and doing what makes you happy. Brave pretty is “Being True to you,” and Trying Trends at Any Age.”

Brave Pretty is also “bold lips everyday,” and “Learning your comfort zone.” Those statements almost seem contradictory. If you’re comfortable in bold lips everyday, go for it. Makeup should be fun!

Meanwhile, this makeover was still happening. If I knew this lady, I would have asked for an after picture. She was in that chair a while.

The Trend in Ten Glam it Up Kit is a steal at $39. These are all full-size makeup products with a $74 value. I’ve used 3 of the 4 products in this set. As I mentioned above, I’ve never tried and do not own any Julep mascaras. I love the formula for the lip mousse and the eyeliner. They are both stellar products. My lids are too oily for the Eyeshadow 101. It creases on me unless I top it with a powder shadow, but that takes away some of the effect.

I always love when brands give me these papers, so I can remember what I tried. If you buy products right at application, you cannot see how they wear. This is such a simple form, but I barely receive these when I get makeovers. My makeup was already done when I arrived, and I own most of these products, so I chose not to get a makeover.

After I thoroughly checked out the Julep event, I decided to stop by the clearance section. I try to always hit the clearance section when I am at Ulta, because I’ve found some serious gems there. Saturday was no different. The Alterna Caviar Clinical® Exfoliating Scalp Facial was on sale for $17.97. That is half off. Ulta no longer lists this online, but it is still full-price at Sephora. I always use the Alterna Caviar Clinical Daily Root & Scalp Stimulator, which is a FabuFind. This product from the same brand and the same line, which explains why the full-price is the same. The biggest difference between the products is the one I love gets applied after washing. This one gets applied before washing. It will be nice to try it to see which I like better, and I can always purchase it from Sephora if I prefer this one (unless I find it on clearance again).

I adore the Wet Brush. This will always be a part of my Core Collection, because it is the only brush I can use on wet hair that actually works. It is not too shabby on dry hair either. These brushes are 20% off through 10/22/16. Cassie of ThriftThick said she hated the original Wet Brush, so the brand sent her this rectangular version. She loved this Wet Brush Pro Detangle Professional. I love the normal one, but I decided to give this one a try to see if it is really better than the oval. This is my fourth Wet Brush, but I thought of a new place to put this (so I do not have more than one brush per place I use a brush). My hair is thin, so I do not see much difference between this brush and the ones I already owned. I could see someone with thick hair brushing it faster with this, because it covers more area. Other than that, it performs the same with a different shape.

The back of the rectangular brush has holes in it. I wonder how this helps or hurts this brush compared to the oval ones, which have no holes.

By purchasing those two items, I was less than $2 off spending $30. I’ve wanted to test an expired in store referral coupon to update my All About Ulta Coupons article. Expired referral coupons work online, but would they work in store? The only coupon I had left is one customer service emailed me separately, so it did not have a bar code. It did list the date I received the coupon, which was 08/22/16. This is the coupon I used for a 10x points order online, but the codes for coupons are different in store versus online. That means it will work once in store AND once online. I found an Ulta Collection Simply Clean Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap in the clearance section for $2.99. It seems Ulta no longer sells the antibacterial foaming soaps with the regular line, which explains why this was on clearance.

There were also three GWP offers available, and my store surprisingly had all three available. The first is the only one still available online. It is a 0.06oz Buxom Wildly Whipped Lightweight Liquid Lipstick in Centerfold with any purchase, and it expires 10/15/16. This is a general offer (as noted by 10 numbers under the bar code and no unique characters near the click here), so you can add it online with the link above or use the coupon below to pick it up in store.

This is a warm nude. I see hints of brown and mauve. Once I wear this, I will edit in a picture and a review.

The second GWP was a deluxe Laura Geller Baked Blush-N-Brighten in Pink Grapefruit with any purchase. That is no longer available online, but it is still available in select stores until 10/15/16.

It was the last day for the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara, so I could not believe they still had that one. In all my time shopping Ulta, I’ve never been able to successfully redeem a GWP offer in store on the last day. This one gives me hope.

I’ve reviewed the Laura Geller Baked Blush-N-Brighten in Pink Grapefruit and the Urban Decay Mascara before.

The person checking me out had a hard time getting this offer to work initially, so I thought expired offers may not work in store. She also told me she did not think all of my GWP coupons would work. I’ve never had a problem redeeming multiple GWP coupons, so she may have been new. That is not the first time an Ulta rep told me that, but the bottom of the coupon only says one per customer. It does not say one coupon per customer or cannot be combined with other offers. After calling someone else over, she was able to get the expired refer-a-friend coupon to work, so I can confirm they work in store after the expiration. I will probably never know if she had to do something extra to get it to work or of the first girl just did not know how to ring it up without a bar code. The ones Ulta automatically send over come with a bar code. If customer service sends you one you have to ask for (once you prove your referral signed up and your coupon did not arrive), there is no bar code. I am not eligible to receive any more this year, and I mistakenly deleted all of my other expired ones. Next year, I’d like to test this on one with a bar code.

If you have questions about any Ulta Coupon, I go over all types. Targeted Offers are exclusive to UltaMate Members, so I do recommend joining. New members get $10 of their first purchase with a referral. Remember to check all Ulta offers before placing an online order, because there are always general or brand specific offers that are not targeted. Deal stacking is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. Product reviews do not always make it into the haul article, but you can always type the product into the search bar to see if I’ve mentioned it or reviewed it elsewhere. See all Ulta articles. Read Tips For Getting the Best Deal at Ulta. View my main page for the guide map to the site and deeper deal exploration.

Disclosure: Affiliate and Referral Links