Why Ulta Lost My Business

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Why Ulta Lost My Business After Fifteen Years and Thousands of Dollars Spent

After a decade and a half and thousands of dollars spent, Ulta lost my business. For years, Ulta impressed me with its unique combination of products. Having drugstore, prestige, and salon all in one place is great! It was convenient and felt like a more inclusive place to shop. It wasn’t intimidating to my younger self the same way Sephora and beauty counters were.

I’ve been a member of their Ultamate Rewards program since 2008. Unfortunately, though, Ulta lost my business due to a critical security issue. You should reconsider whether you do business with them, as well.

Weird Activity

Like many, my beauty spending tapered off in 2020. I wasn’t going through product at the same rate. Add that to the amount of uncertainty in the world, I was being judicious and cautious with nonessential spending. I expected my rewards tiers at both Sephora and Ulta to lapse. So, imagine my surprise when I got an email from Ulta suggesting I had more points than I expected.

Compromised?

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Worth it? HydraSkin

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Do NOT buy the HydraSkin Hydra-Dermabrasion device.

It isn’t common for me to write a post jumping STRAIGHT to it, but I feel extremely strongly about the HydraSkin Hydra-dermabrasion device:

Do NOT buy this damn thing. Using anyone’s money. Seriously.

I’m not even going to link to it because that’s how bad it is. Now we’ll do that annoying movie trope where we rewind some number of weeks.

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Hair Loss Update

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Hair Loss Update

Back in January, I shared some fairly shocking news: I was suffering some pretty dramatic hair loss which seemed related to my use of a shampoo from TRESemme. A reader recently reached out having suffered a similar experience – which made me realize that it is time for a hair loss update.

Jarring

No matter your age, sudden hair loss is unnerving. But when:

  • you aren’t even thirty yet (soon, though) and
  • even your spouse notices that your hairline is a bit sparser and your part is wider and
  • you continue shedding hair at a ridiculous rate

Your concern turns to fear.

Cancer-surviving fitness instructor and entrepreneur Linn Lowes asserted in a recent Instagram Story that our hair isn’t just frivolous vanity. She would know: she lost hers to chemo (but now has a beautiful head of her own hair again).

I threw out the TRESemme. Then, I switched to Costco’s salon quality Kirkland Signature Moisture Shampoo after scrutinizing its label for things that concerned me. It passed my test and is (un)surprisingly good (review).

Hair Loss Update

Two weeks after stopping use of the shampoo, full-shaft hair shedding started to slow. More of my loss was midshaft breakage. This is a marked improvement, but is still wild as hell to me. My hair wasn’t even damaged to that point from my balayage highlights.

Since then, I’ve been trying to reverse the damage.

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E-Files Do Not Damage Your Nails

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E-Files Do Not Damage Your Nails

Last week, I wrote about the myth that gel damages your nails (it doesn’t). In most cases that people experience nail deterioration after gel polish or enhancements, it’s due to incorrect use of an electronic file (or, e-file for short).

–but it’s a myth, too. E-files do not damage your nails. The key words in the previous paragraph are incorrect use.

E-Files AREN’T Bad, Either!

You’ll see people online harping about, “When I go to the salon, I tell them they aren’t using, ‘that drill,’ on me!”

Proper usage of an e-file is safe! It is safe and effective, that is, provided the right combination of bits and speed are used for the task at hand: prepping the nail plate calls for a very different combination of factors than prepping an enhancement for a fill. Unfortunately, though, in many salons, a one-size-fits-all approach is used – and that is not appropriate.

It is also a great way to accelerate the service, Hand filing takes a long time. It is gentler, but definitely less efficient.

Why Service Speed Matters

A faster service benefits you, the client, because it gets you out of the salon faster. Even if you like the experience of being in the salon, your time is valuable!

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SO COOL: Dieux Forever Eye Mask

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The sheet mask trend has completely missed me. What value is having a sheet on my face? It seems wasteful; I’d rather just slather the product on. But although the sheet mask trend isn’t for me, the little swoop eye masks are not only relevant to my interests but a fairly important part of not looking quite so … zombified. So learning about the Dieux Forever Eye Mask blew my mind.

Over the years, I’ve been working towards a more mindful approach to my consumption and use of disposables. I no longer use makeup wipes, have drastically reduced my use of disposable cotton, and done several other things to lower my beauty waste. Under-eye masks, however, didn’t have a good swap or alternative, though – until now.

The Dieux Forever Eye Mask

What makes these eye masks so great?

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Gel Does Not Damage Your Nails

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throwback picture from this throwback post!

Everyone, breathe: gel does not damage your nails! After seeing one too many complaints about how, “gel damages your nails,” and all of these, “gel rescue,” type nail recovery products, I’m losing my mind.

Root Cause

If you’ve experienced nail damage after having gel nails, I’m not gaslighting you. Many people DO experience damage after nail enhancement services. My goal isn’t to make you feel crazy! You aren’t.

My goal is, however, to correct a common misconception and improve understanding of nail enhancement processes. Gel does not damage your nails.

If you’ve experienced weak, thin, peeling, or sensitive nails after removing gel, you aren’t alone. The issue isn’t the gel – the issue is how the nails were prepped.

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