Help me spend $500+ at Ulta Beauty, and quickly!

December 29, 2021 2:32 PM

I have $500+ in rewards points that looks to be expiring at the end of the year at Ulta Beauty. I have stopped wearing makeup since COVID and also stopped doing anything with my hair beyond shampoo/condition/wet bun. What in the world should I spend these points on?

Assume I have no friends or relatives who would want/need anything. I’m female, early 40s, extremely low maintenance for the last two years, work from home, and will be upset if these expire even though I clearly don’t need anything. I have enough shampoo/conditioner/nail polish to last me years.

What should I do?!? I can redeem them online in $250 increments. What’s worth buying?

posted by jabes to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (19 answers total)

My first thought was to donate someplace. Can you purchase gift cards either to be raffled off or given to low-income folks who might need to purchase makeup, skincare, shampoo, and grooming stuff? An example of someplace that might appreciate this is a local organization that works with teens living in foster care group homes. Or buy lots and lots of low-cost shampoo and conditioner to donate to an organization that hands out hygiene supplies to people who need them?
posted by lizard music at 2:46 PM on December 29, 2021 [17 favorites]

I really appreciate the Dyson blow dryer. I used to go without drying my hair because regular hair dryers are too hot and too loud, and tend to get hair stuck in the coils and generate that awful charred hair smell. Then I'd get that cold hair headache. Not a problem any more with the Dyson.
posted by dum spiro spero at 2:46 PM on December 29, 2021 [19 favorites]

There was a subreddit (r/skincareaddiction?) where people were making up gift packages for healthcare professionals/first responders whose skin was a wreck from all the masks and hand sanitizer. If that's still happening, I'm sure those folks would have ideas! Maybe you could coordinate with someone who has a clear track record of doing up the boxes and just send things straight to them?
posted by teremala at 2:57 PM on December 29, 2021 [8 favorites]

Sunscreen expires, so don't buy too much.
Skin care that you will actually do at home, like masks and night creme.
Some nice toiletry bags and train cases
Reed diffusers
Hand Soap

If you get desperate, I'd look for perfume that can be resold.
posted by soelo at 3:02 PM on December 29, 2021 [3 favorites]

Please Google [your town] women's shelter, go to their web presence, and look at what they need. Or call them.

Shampoo and conditioner are very expensive, especially good stuff, and especially hypoallergenic stuff (if you can even find that at Ulta).

You don't need this stuff, and if you buy something, it will probably be slightly wasted. You can do real good here!
posted by amtho at 3:15 PM on December 29, 2021 [19 favorites]

Chiming in with the donations advice above. If you’re so inclined, Ulta has a Black-owned brands page, including a number that focus on shampoo, conditioner, and skin care. As pointed out above, among products that can be donated, shampoo/conditioner/lotion/sunscreen last for a long time and can easily be split into smaller bottles by places you might donate to.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 3:20 PM on December 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

Is there a shelter for trans girls and women in your area? Homeless LGBTQ+ youth? If so, I’d reach out to them and see if they need anything.
posted by sugarbomb at 3:42 PM on December 29, 2021 [8 favorites]

Electric toothbrush, silk pillowcase, hair wraps for wet hair, razors or other hair removal tools
posted by MadMadam at 4:00 PM on December 29, 2021 [3 favorites]

Shelters and services focussing on trans BIPOC women might maximize Where the Need is Greatest. In general, shelters want body lotion. shampoo, conditioner, makeup for job interviews and general morale.

mrs_goldfish notes that lots of specialized skincare products are actively damaging, so, by not buying them, you're already coming out ahead! IF you're interested though, she recommends beautypedia.com for reviews.
posted by feral_goldfish at 4:01 PM on December 29, 2021

If you need the money, you can redeem the points for appliances like straightening irons that you then sell on eBay for slightly less than retail.
posted by xo at 4:03 PM on December 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

It appears that they also sell toothbrushes and other oral care products, which can last a really long time (replace your toothbrush when actually recommended!) or make excellent additions to a shelter donation package. They also have Venus razors and cartridge refills, which will similarly last forever and be great for people in need because they are a touch too expensive to justify a lot of the time.
posted by Mizu at 5:08 PM on December 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Hair tools -- blowdryer and or curling iron etc if you use these

shampoo, conditioner, hair treatments, OPI nail polishes

skincare

Perfume and perfumed lotion

white strips for teeth, hair accessories
posted by loveandhappiness at 5:42 PM on December 29, 2021

Murad skincare. My better half swears by their Revitalixir serum.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:02 PM on December 29, 2021

Perfume & Skincare can easily help you meet your $500 goal. I also really like the idea of buying some essentials and extras that can be donated. If you’re into that idea too, I’d call around and ask what is most needed, and then buy accordingly.

For Skincare I’d look at Fresh, Kiehl’s and Murad. For perfume, it’s not the biggest selection, but if you see something you’d like, cross reference it on Fragrantica.

If you want some items that this internet stranger can personally recommend, while also spending as much money as possible, here you are:

Kiehl’s Bath and Shower Liquid Body Cleanser Grapefruit

Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Body Lotion (Get the huge one
it’s really nice lotion, and if you can get it for free, it’s worth it).
Fresh Rose Petal Soft Lip Cream (rose scented lip balm)

Lancôme Rènergie Lift Multi-Action Ultra Double-Wrapping Cream Face Mask (unscented moisturizing cream sheet mask-highly recommend these for dry winter skin)
posted by Champagne Supernova at 10:23 PM on December 29, 2021

If I were in this situation, I'd splurge on some nice tools (hair dryer, hairbrushes, nail clippers and nail files, etc.), get a pouch or bag if I needed one, get one or two tubes of sunscreen (no more, because they do expire), and then use whatever's left for donations (after checking with a local women's shelter to confirm what, if anything, they'd find useful).
posted by rhiannonstone at 10:43 PM on December 29, 2021

If you go the donation route, another type of organization that often takes donated cosmetics/toiletries are student food pantries at universities. The one at my university puts out requests for full size bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
posted by mostly vowels at 7:25 AM on December 30, 2021

Response by poster: WCityMike2, that link was perfect -- I don't have time to call local organizations so I sent that one a bunch of lip balm and cosmetics today. Thank you!
posted by jabes at 9:15 AM on December 30, 2021 [3 favorites]

If you're going to donate products, consider selecting products designed for POC. Most donations are for products designed for white women, and POC often have very different hair and skincare needs.
posted by decathecting at 10:44 AM on December 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

If there's an organization that deals with Black and mixed-Black children in foster care, or low-income Black families, buy hair products for them, oh man that would be such a kindness. They may be fostered by people who have no idea how to care for their hair so you can help the child's pain/frustration and self-esteem by getting a gift that not only helps with their hair but also attainably teaches them how to do so in the future. A lot of Black hair products are massively overpriced... but there are a few inexpensive drugstore brands that work amazingly, so get those, since then the family gets a chance to test them, feel confident that they work, and most importantly, can afford to buy them again when they run out!

Tangle Teezer hairbrushes - a bit pricey at $15 each but they are MIRACULOUS. They work in every single hair texture and the brush will last for years.

Package each Tangle Teezer brish with a bottle of Aussie Moist conditioner - a $3 drugstore brand that also works in every single hair texture.

Now the young people who get these have a brush that detangles their hair painlessly AND a chance to try out a consumable conditioner that will painlessly detangle their hair and that they can easily replace when it runs out.

I'm honestly getting kind of weepy just thinking of the difference this would make in a little Black child's life when their caregivers are falling down on caring for their hair.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:28 PM on December 30, 2021 [5 favorites]