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Ulta To the Rescue Skincare Collection Review – January 2016

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyJan 17, 2016 | 12 comments

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Ulta recently released a couple of skincare collections.  This one is “To the Rescue” collection.  I spend far too much money at Ulta and I love trying new skincare items so of course I had to have this!  These are still available via the Ulta website as of the time of me writing this review.  You get free shipping on Ulta.com orders over $50 and sometimes they have coupons on their main page, so definitely look out for that if you are thinking of ordering.

My Subscription Addiction paid for this collection. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Subscription Box: Ulta “To the Rescue” Skincare Collection

Cost: $15

The Products:  Targeted treatments that will lift, firm, and hydrate any skin type.

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There was not an information card.  However, the back of the box this collection came in had product names, sizes, ingredients, and a little icon indicating whether or not items are TSA-friendly sizes (everything in this box was).

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Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner (1 fl oz) – Value $2.25

First off, sorry for the quality of this photo.  Sometimes things look really good on the viewfinder of my camera but then I bring them up to full size and eww.  (I’ve already used most of the products in these bottles so I guess I don’t get a re-do.)

Anyway, I love getting toners because I don’t see them too often in subscription boxes or skincare collections.  I also like glycolic acid products in general, and use a lot of them.  If you are not certain how your skin will respond to glycolic acid, it’s best to do a patch test first, just to be safe.  This is an alcohol free toner so I am liking it for the cold, dry winter.

Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash (2 fl oz) – Value $7.27

This is almost a third of the full size, which is great.  I’ve used this product before and it does a fine job cleansing for me.  I don’t think it’s super exfoliating but I am a fan of some harsher exfoliators so maybe it’s just a little less than I’m used to.  Bliss is going to have to reformulate this product, though, because it contains polyethylene microbeads which were recently banned by Congress (effective next year).

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Karuna Skin Hydrating+ Face Mask (1 mask) – Value $8

I love sheet masks and this is a pretty luxurious one.  I’m hesitant to pay full price for them but will jump at the chance to use an expensive one in a subscription box or collection like this.  It is very moisturizing, probably due to the sodium hyaluronate (so it’s not vegan), but it is also free of parabens if that is a concern of yours.

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Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask (1 fl oz) – Value $10.40

This seems like more of a summer item to me as it has a lot of ingredients that are supposed to soothe irritated skin after sun exposure, waxing, etc.  I am saving this for one of two scenarios: (1) in the event that I experiment with a skincare product that causes redness or (2) if my facial skin gets dry when/if the temperature in Georgia finally drops.

Cindy Crawford Meaningful Beauty Wrinkle Smoothing Capsules – Advanced Formula (7 ct) – Value $6.30

If you have ever seen the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide products, these are in little capsules like that (only the capsules are purple instead of gold-colored).  I don’t have a lot of wrinkles yet (I stay out of the sun) but these are also supposed to firm and plump the skin.  I think I might need more than 7 of them to see real results, though.

Dermalogica HydraBlur Primer (0.24 fl oz) – Value $14.72

I love pretty much every Dermalogica product I’ve ever tried and I love mattifying primers.  This costs $46 in full size though, for only 0.75 fl oz, so it’s much more expensive than my current favorites from Smashbox and Paula’s Choice.  Oh well, I will enjoy this while it lasts.

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StriVectin SD Advanced Intensive Concentrate for Wrinkles & Stretch Marks (0.35 fl oz) – Value $13.83

I don’t have much in the way of wrinkles yet because I tend to stay out of the sun.  However, I figure it is never too early for prevention.  So far this is not causing any irritation and I think this is the first skincare product I’ve used with green bean seed extract!  I sort of hope I don’t fall in love with it, though, because a full-sized tube is $79…

Philosophy Ultimate Miracle Worker (0.25 fl oz)- Value $9.38

I am never going to run out of Philosophy products thanks to beauty bags, subscription boxes, and gifts with purchase.  Unfortunately, this contains some chemical sunscreens to I will be using it on my arms instead of my face (I sometimes have bad reactions to chemical sunscreens and I’d rather be able to cover it up with sleeves than take chances with a rash on my face).  I will have some nice-looking arms, I guess!

Verdict: This collection has a retail value of approximately $72.  That is almost five times the cost of the collection, which is awesome.  I’m happy to get to try a lot of these products in travel sizes because buying the full sized ones would get really expensive, really fast.  And it’s less of a risk, if it turns out a product doesn’t work for me.  In general, I think this is a great introduction to some of the higher end skincare products that Ulta carries (and the sizes are way better than a lot of the ones in their GWPs…).

What do you think of the Ulta “To the Rescue” Skincare Collection?  Are you going to grab one?

Ragan Buckley
Ragan Buckley
Ragan stumbled across My Subscription Addiction in late 2013 and immediately subscribed to way too many beauty boxes. She's now focused on boxes for her cats and dog, vegan/vegetarian food boxes, and craft subscriptions (and she didn't give up beauty boxes entirely).

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12 comments

Elena

Checked at my local Ulta – they were out of these (even though their website showed “in stock”). It was sold out online but looks like they are back in stock and I just ordered one. I ended up paying $22 ($15 + shipping + tax), decided that I’d rather overpay than go back and forth to my local Ulta waiting for them to re-stock.

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Cindy

Will all Strivectin be on sale or just that item? I’m interested in the neck cream.

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Tillia

Well, I caved again. After reading this post today I went to my local Ulta and scored this set and the Flawless set to. No shipping fees…Yea me! I saw online that there is a set for hair but they didn’t even know about it there. I almost drove to another Ulta but stopped myself. Good girl. And I also noticed the sale next week for the Stri-Vectin which I use daily. I normally get 2 2oz tubes at Costco for 90.00 which is a great deal, but this sale is even better. The 2 tubes usually last me a year as a little goes a long way and I really feel it helps. Also when dine putting it on my face, I rub the trace amount on my fingers onto the back of my hands.

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Jodie

Check your local TJ Maxx for that StriVectin SD product. I see it at mine all the time.

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Heathery

I’ve never tried that particular Strivectin, but I have the full size of their hand cream, and it’s great. The skin on my hands was looking very paper-y several months ago, which freaked me out because I’m only 30. I use the hand cream every night (almost out of it by now), and it has absolutely plumped up my hands again. They actually look like 30-year-old hands now lol. Expensive, but one of the few products which you can actually tell a difference after using.

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Karla

It’s sold out at both my local stores and when I tried to purchase it online, it states that it is temporarily out of stock. You may want to try calling the store first because on the website it stated that it was in stock at my local stores but when I arrived they were sold out. I was able to purchase the other Ulta kit Fast-Track to flawless skin before it sold out online.

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Elena

You may want to try again – looks like they’re back in stock, I just grabbed one (paying shipping was pretty painful lol)

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Karla

I hate paying for shipping as well but did not need/want to buy $50 worth of products. I ended up paying paying $22.21 including taxes and shipping. Hopefully it will be worth it.

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Rebecca

Is there a possibility that they have this in store? I hate paying shipping lol

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Who's Thirty

The StriVectin SD is going to be 50% off at Ulta on January 21st, 2016. One day only.

Thanks for the review, think I might actually have to pick this up. I’m always looking for new skincare products!

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Who's Thirty

Sorry, I meant the 23rd, not the 21st.

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Emma

Looks amazing! As a skincare addict, this looks too good to pass up.

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