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View activity, savings and benefits
Redeem items, samples and more
View and track online orders
Reorder it from in-store and online purchases
View saved products
Recommendations from your store visits
Manage your services, classes and events
Complete your beauty traits for personalized recommendations
Payments, contact info, addresses and password
Ask questions, join challenges, and get recommendations from people like you
Discover topics tailored to your beauty interests
Add your photos and get inspired by fellow beauty lovers
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
Get inspired, play with products & learn new skills
Exciting launches, parties & more
Explore what's hot in your store
*Sign-ups are CLOSED - Exchange is in progress ❤
It's back! The gift exchange celebrating "the best day of the year" is here
Our previous rounds have been wonderful platforms for bringing us all together though our appreciation for beauty, treats and camaraderie. We're glad that you've decided to join in on the fun!
Positive Energy and Unicorn Love Always,
Mcakes & ZombieMetroAnt
Tips and Tricks:
♥Ask questions! Anyone can ask anyone an anonymous question, that will help you get a better idea of likes and dislikes, haves and wants, etc.
♥When you purchase something, click "Mark As Purchased." They won't see it, but they might be using the same wishlist for other gift exchanges, so this can prevent them potentially getting the same gift from two different people.
♥If you got something for yourself, remove it from your wishlist!
Shipping Suggestions:
How to ship abroad/add a customs label while still using online shipping:
1. Creating an account: First, you must create a free account on the USPS website. The paypal.com/shipnow site will not let you create customs forms.
2. Shipping Label: To create the shipping label, you want to use the "Click n Ship" function from the dropdown menu under Mail & Ship. Many of the directions from above are basically the same but the key difference is under, "Where are you sending to?" you will need to use the dropdown menu to select the country of choice.
3. Finishing the Shipping Label:Fill in all the corresponding information until the end of the form including the value of the package. The Canadians on the board may have more to speak to with this but I always kept this amount on the lower side so the recipient doesn't get hit with high customs fee. (average amount I would put would be $10-$20) A great feature is at the end of the page it will give you all your options for shipping. I can tell you on a personal note that when I ship to England I always choose first class international mail and I have never had a problem. Once again, delivery confirmation is thrown in for FREE.
3. Beginning the Customs Form: You will then get to a page that will you through step by step filling in the customs form. The first question will ask you to "Enter Package Information." This is where you can just write this is a gift box for a friend. You do not need to write anything more!
4. Customs Inventory: Next up is, "Enter Item Information." Okay, this one is a little tricky. If you want to itemize, and fill in every single thing in the box, you can. If you only want to do a couple, you can. I've done both over the years and both have been okay. I'm not going to tell you though that it will work every time so ultimately, the decision is up to you. Make sure though that you mark each item a GIFT so that the recipient does not get charged increased fees. Also, and this is IMPORTANT, the total that adds up for the all the items has to be the same total you gave on the previous page for the value of the box. So if you make something worth $1, that's fine! (Again, Canadians speak up hear if I'm wrong but my abroad friends always told me it was better to do this to reduce customs fees for the recipient.) Lastly, each weight of each individual item will need to add up to the to the total weight item, so I've honestly literally made up ratio numbers in the past. (I have never had a problem in years of sending packages)
5. Tarrif Number: Lastly, you do not have a tariff number so leave that blank. Okay, one last thing, choose your AES exemption. I would choose the second one having to do with gifts.
6. Obtaining the Label/Customs Form: The steps following this are similar to the ones from above except that I believe the payment options for USPS may also include credit card options as well as PayPal. Go ahead and print your label which will also contain your completed customs form. (Please note: you may need to sign your customs form before affixing it to your package) On a positive note, YOU STILL SAVE MONEY BY USING THE ONLINE POSTAGE SYSTEM!
7. How to actually ship it:For international packages, my personal advice is yes, bring it to the post office, and yes, actually check it in and get a receipt saying it was checked in by a postal worker. Since many international packages take quite longer than domestic and tend to get delayed at different intervals, you want to make sure that everything is okay when it first enters the system.
Link to Galentine's Day 2018:
Housekeeping :
*Information Only- Exchange is already underway*
If you are interested in joining, please see the Eligibility Requirements, Rules, and Key Dates below to see if this will be a good fit for you!
Eligibility-
Have you participated in a gift exchange on BT/BIC previously?
Yes
Previous participants in exchanges that either ZMA or I have hosted without incident on their part are pre-approved. If you participated in an exchange that ZMA or I have not hosted, please kindly provide a link to that exchange thread for us to do our due diligence. If there were no issues from the exchange on your part, we are excited to have you on board!
No
Meet one or more of the following requirements:
1.Must be willing to do a $50 box deposit that will be taken at sign up and returned once your Galentine has given us confirmation of delivery.
2.Must be vouched for by 2 members of the community who ZMA or I are familiar with.
*Since we are trying to be as inclusive as possible while also protecting other participants in this exchange, ZMA and I will have final discretion on participant eligibility. We realize that this is very subjective, but we must establish a certain degree of trust between users as there is sensitive information being exchanged. Thank you for your understanding.
Rules-
By expressing interest in signing up for the exchange, you are agreeing to the following:
-The minimum spend for this exchange is $50. You do not need to go over this amount, but in the spirit of fairness you may not go under it.
-If you have not participated in an exchange previously, you must ship your gift on or before February 1st. If you miss this deadline and do not communicate with ZMA or I about the reason for your delay, you will not get your box deposit back. Instead, we will use your box deposit to create a gift on your behalf. No Galentine will be left behind!
-Provide tracking number(s) to ZMA or I once you have shipped your gift. This can be done via Elfster or messaging ZMA or I.
-Acknowledge receipt of your gift ASAP, even if you need a little more time to do a full post. This is a courtesy to your giftor to know it was received (it is stressful waiting to know if a package made the journey ok!) and for ZMA and I to keep track of the progress in the exchange. You may do this via Elfster, by posting on this thread that you have received the parcel, or by messaging either ZMA or I.
-You must post pictures of your gift. This is an integral part of the exchange experience and we want to share in the excitement with you! We know how much thought and care goes into curating a gift, and we want to acknowledge your giftor's efforts as well. You may provide pictures for either ZMA or I to post on your behalf if you are having issues posting, but please know that the pictures are a firm requirement.
Key Dates-
Sign Up Deadline: 12/31/18
Draw Day (This is the day you find out who you are shopping for, yay!): 1/1/19
Ship Date for First Time Participants: 2/1/19 (*If you are shipping from Canada to US or vice versa, this deadline will be earlier)
All Gifts Must be Received: On or before 2/13/19 (Galentine's Day)
To sign up, please comment on this thread! ZMA and I will be messaging approved participants with more details and will be updating the Participant List as we go.
We are looking forward to celebrating with y'all !
Positive Energy and Unicorn Love Always,
Mcakes & @ZombieMetroAnt
P.S. We will make every effort to accommodate all shipping restrictions, please state those restrictions at sign up via PM. Thank you!
Participants (42)-
ZombieMetroAnt - gift received, thank you faeriegirl!
Mcakes - gift received, thank you godivamoon!
notcrocker - gift received, thank you melissapurple22!
unfungirl
pixiedust2 - gift received, thank you mermadelove!
Tamara76 - gift received, thank you pixiedust2!
darkiceis - gift received, thank you Kim888!
godivamoon - gift received, thank you darkiceis!
sister13 - gift received, thank you CC3616!
prettyinpa - gift received, thank you Ispend2much6!
CC3616 - gift received, thank you SportyGirly125!
Kim888 - gift received, thank you sabrinas!
Ispend2much6 - gift received, thank you Samtian!
Anastasiya13 - gift received, thank you imlostagain!
ElleElleG - gift received, thank you prettyinpa!
bakeamuffin - gift received, thank you GG84!
scott1201 - gift received, thank you gonerogue!
Spacellama - gift received, thank you NotCrocker!
melissapurple22 - gift received, thank you Nickelliebear1!
Indy701 - gift received, thank you unfungirl!
GG84 - gift received, thank you Spacellama!
faeriegirl - gift received, thank you skcfan!
mermadelove - gift received
gonerogue - gift received
SportyGirly125 - gift received, thank you jen143xo!
MissPuff - gift received, thank you scott1201!
snoflakefaerie - gift received, thank you Tamara76!
lipstick4soul - gift received, thank you Anastasiya13!
quspork - gift received, thank you lipstick4soul!
naturalooks15 - gift received, thank you itscarin!
veronika23
itsfi - gift received, thank you Indy701!
eshoe - gift received, thank you MissPuff!
Samtian - gift received, thank you itsfi!
itscarin - gift received, thank you quspork!
skcfan - gift received, thank you eshoe!
imlostagain - gift received, thank you snoflakefaerie!
ohheyitscindyk - gift received, thank you ClassicallyFab!
ClassicallyFab - gift received, thank you ohheyitscindyk!
Sabrinas - gift received, thank you Mcakes!
Nickelliebear1 - gift received, thank you bakeamuffin!
jen143xo - gift received, thank you naturalooks15!
@MissPuff Oh my gosh I hoard the red envelopes too!!! I'm sorry about your fur baby. I know how you feel. Mine passed away this May and I'm still grieving.
A fellow pig lover! I love what you put about food and it being able to bring people together too, @MissPuff. Are you watching the current season of Top Chef? I like that they changed up restaurant wars a bit this year- just keeping it interesting! The food they all create always looks so incredible. Getting to judge on that show would be amazing! I hope things are better for you today.
@quspork PIGGIES!!! I am not watching the current season of Top Chef because I like to wait till all the episodes come out and binge 🙂 I have been trying super hard to avoid spoilers but I see them here and there! Now I'm even MORE intrigued knowing they switched up restaurant wars! I binged season 15 a few weeks ago and I'm in serious withdrawal...
You should check out Ugly Delicious on Netflix, such an interesting dive into several awesome foods/cuisines 🙂
Ohhh I hope I didn't give too much away LOL. It's actually a relatively minor change but it did make it a little more fun I think. I'll have to add Ugly Delicious to my list! Thanks for the recommendation, @MissPuff. This thread is both making me hungry and long for a few nights of binge-watching!
Sorry to hear you had a terrible week and day @MissPuff. 😞 I hope it gets better for you! Here's a cute pig gift! This is your year! 😉
And YAY
Thanks @veronika23 🙂 That pig getting a bath...I just want to squish him and take him home!
@MissPuff Mmmm...dumplings. That reminds me I need to get to Trader Joe's soon to stock up. Also, you crack me up. 🙂
haha, i try 🙂 @Ispend2much6 I could live on dumplings alone (and I almost do). You should check out the frozen section in your local asian grocers for the ultimate variety, korean, chinese, vietnamese, japanese... it's like an endless bounty of different shapes and fillings.
@MissPuff That's a great idea! I'll bet I can find some of those Korean rice cakes there too, the tteokbokki. For anyone who is cutting out gluten, these provide that "chew" that is missing from gluten-free noodles that makes pasta so good. I should cut that out, but I'm not ready.
Oh, cats...some of them could be so rude!
@MissPuff, your answers made me laugh! My adorable Chinese co-worker gifts my kids a Lucky Red Envelope every new year (signed "Aunty Jenny"). I've known her over 10 years and we've kept all her red envelopes as well, along with the renminbi she sometimes includes and hooray, this is the year of the Pig! I think you deserve another one for your *ahem* collection. After all, they bring good fortune
Hahaha, this gif always makes me laugh @ZombieMetroAnt ! And the pig collecting HAS BEGUN! I snagged that Becca embossed pig highlighter, two hoards in ONE!
Aww man, this poor kitty was ready to go to you @MissPuff ! 😞
😄
I'm sorry you've been having a rough week, I hope that things get better for you soon I'm glad you came in and spent some time with us! Hoarders Anonymous 😉
Thanks @Mcakes ! The irony is that I think kitties are so darn cute, it's just that their dander tries to kill me...internet cat gifs it is!
I’m sorry it was such a rough week for you @MissPuff. If it means anything, I got a kick out of your answers and many of them brought a smile to my face☺️
That's so sweet of you to say @eshoe 🙂 Thank you for care 🙂
awww, thank you @faeriegirl ! Tomorrow is Friday, so that's already a giant plus! And of course, BIC always puts a smile on my face!
@MissPuffSorry about your week, hope it gets better!
Ohhhhh Good idea!!!!
1. What is your most used emoji? I would love to say unicorn, mermaid or llama, but it has to be the pink heart - I use it so much that I have to watch myself to make sure I don't accidentally use it in work texts/chats 😉
2. If you were a food, what would you be? Beer? Avocado? Reese's? Diet Coke? I don't know - I need to eat healthier this year
3. Which TV show would you want to be a part of? Wonder Woman - Lynda Carter version
4. Favorite color? Pink
5. What's in your cup? Coffee, Tea, or an Adult Beverage? All of the above? I am hooked on iced skinny vanilla lattes made at home or at Starbucks, but I also enjoy a cup of mint or fruit tea or unsweetened iced tea (I'm in the south, but can't stand sweet tea). And I am a beer girl at heart, but would not say no to a nice Rose, Margarita or Bourbon.
6. If you were a season, what would you be? SUMMER!!!!
7. What is your favorite beauty category? Highlighter!!!!
8. What is your least favorite beauty category? Removing my makeup
9. If you were on a Hoarders: Buried Alive episode , what would it be for? Eyeshadow Palettes - I have boxes stacked in my bedroom waiting for my beauty room to be finished - I could build an annex to my house with them
10. Any fur babies? 2 dogs
11. If you could be any supernatural creature, what would you be and why? Mermaid, except they're real, right?!?!
12. Any allergies or things to avoid sending you in general?
a. No allergies, but I can't handle products with marshmallow root scent- they make me nauseous. Fake, sugary marshmallow scent is fine, but I also don't like eating marshmallows
b. I also don't have a tub in my bathroom, just a giant shower, and since my daughter's bathroom cleaning skills are questionable, I don't like using her tub, so no bath bombs at this time (I miss long, luxurious baths!!!!)
c. I also don't need sea salt sprays (I'm a mermaid, remember?) or sunscreen (I have a huge basket full) or anything from J* or Lime Crime.
13. What’s your favorite personal possession and why? My dogs, although they are more like my children than my possessions. Otherwise, family photos.
@Tamara76 Have you seen the containers of Starbucks skinny vanilla lattes you can buy at the grocery store? I can only ever find the regular ice coffee ones by me but my mom always finds the latte ones by her- so much cheaper than buying them in store individually!