Sephora

Mcakes · ‎12-22-2020

*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. Come and join in on the fun!

Positive Energy and Unicorn Love Always,
Mcakes & ZombieMetroAnt

Tips & Tricks:

Spoiler

♥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!

♥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:

Spoiler

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.

Duty Info (thank you @veronika23 ! If you need help with shipping info to Canada, please message her

The US can receive a gift up to 100$ USD. If you are sending a gift from Canada and mark it as 100$ you are actually saying it cost you 100$ CAD. Today Google converts that to 73.30$ USD so your recipient should be ok and not pay additional fees.

Canada can receive a gift up to 60$ CAD. If you are sending a gift from the US and it was 60$, you are actually saying it cost you 60$ USD. Today Google converts that to 81.86$ CAD. So your Canadian recipient in this case might pay duties/taxes/fees. But if your gift only cost you is lets say 35$ USD today Google converts that to 47.75$CAD. So the recipient shouldn't pay fees.

I believe customs will check the rate on the day the item is processed.

For the US ladies. The cheapest way to ship to Canada is via USPS First Class International mail.

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 $1, that's fine! (Again, Canadians speak up hear if I'm wrong but my abroad friends always told me it was better to do this to reduce customs fees for the recipient.) Lastly, each weight of each individual item will need to add up to the to the total weight item, so I've honestly literally made up ratio numbers in the past. (I have never had a problem in years of sending packages)5. Tarrif Number: Lastly, you do not have a tariff number so leave that blank. Okay, one last thing, choose your AES exemption. I would choose the second one having to do with gifts.6. Obtaining the Label/Customs Form: The steps following this are similar to the ones from above except that I believe the payment options for USPS may also include credit card options as well as PayPal. Go ahead and print your label which will also contain your completed customs form. (Please note: you may need to sign your customs form before affixing it to your package) On a positive note, YOU STILL SAVE MONEY BY USING THE ONLINE POSTAGE SYSTEM!7. How to actually ship it:For international packages, my personal advice is yes, bring it to the post office, and yes, actually check it in and get a receipt saying it was checked in by a postal worker. Since many international packages take quite longer than domestic and tend to get delayed at different intervals, you want to make sure that everything is okay when it first enters the system. Duty Info (thank you @veronika23 ! If you need help with shipping info to Canada, please message her The US can receive a gift up to 100$ USD. If you are sending a gift from Canada and mark it as 100$ you are actually saying it cost you 100$ CAD. Today Google converts that to 73.30$ USD so your recipient should be ok and not pay additional fees.Canada can receive a gift up to 60$ CAD. If you are sending a gift from the US and it was 60$, you are actually saying it cost you 60$ USD. Today Google converts that to 81.86$ CAD. So your Canadian recipient in this case might pay duties/taxes/fees. But if your gift only cost you is lets say 35$ USD today Google converts that to 47.75$CAD. So the recipient shouldn't pay fees.I believe customs will check the rate on the day the item is processed.For the US ladies. The cheapest way to ship to Canada is via USPS First Class International mail.

Links to previous Galentine's Day Exchanges:

Spoiler

2019: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Besides-Beauty/Galentine-s-Day-Exchange-2019/m-p/4361327#M182782
2018: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Besides-Beauty/Galentine-s-Day-Exchange/m-p/3675077#M161033

2019: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Besides-Beauty/Galentine-s-Day-Exchange-2019/m-p/4361327#M1827822018: https://community.sephora.com/t5/Besides-Beauty/Galentine-s-Day-Exchange/m-p/3675077#M161033

Housekeeping:

Spoiler

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:

Spoiler

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:

Spoiler

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:

Spoiler

Sign Up Deadline: 12/31/20

Draw Day (This is the day you find out who you are shopping for, yay!): 1/1/21

Ship Date for First Time Participants: 2/1/21 (*If you are shipping from Canada to US or vice versa, this deadline will be earlier)

All Gifts Must be Received: On or before 2/13/21 (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!

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? YesPrevious 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! NoMeet 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: 12/31/20Draw Day (This is the day you find out who you are shopping for, yay!): 1/1/21Ship Date for First Time Participants: 2/1/21 (*If you are shipping from Canada to US or vice versa, this deadline will be earlier)All Gifts Must be Received: On or before 2/13/21 (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:

Spoiler

ZombieMetroAnt - gift received
Mcakes - gift received
Nickelliebear1 - gift received
Kim888 - gift received
naturalooks15 - gift received
LCResz - gift received
SportyGirly125 - gift received
gonerogue - gift received
heartsmyface - gift received
faeriegirl - gift received
prettyinpa - gift received
quspork - gift received
Anastasiya13 - gift received
Lazybeautybeast - gift received
Serenely - gift received
CC3616 - gift received
fatimamummy - gift received
snoflakefaerie - gift received
NotCrocker - gift received
ohheyitscindyk - gift received
Tamara76 - gift received
SpaceLlama - gift received
missjeanie - gift received
tjffc - gift received
snglbug - gift received
sister13 - gift received
itscarin - gift received
ElleElleG - gift received

ZombieMetroAnt - gift receivedMcakes - gift received Nickelliebear1 - gift received Kim888 - gift received naturalooks15 - gift received LCResz - gift receivedSportyGirly125 - gift receivedgonerogue - gift received heartsmyface - gift received faeriegirl - gift received prettyinpa - gift receivedquspork - gift receivedAnastasiya13 - gift receivedLazybeautybeast - gift received Serenely - gift received CC3616 - gift receivedfatimamummy - gift receivedsnoflakefaerie - gift received NotCrocker - gift received ohheyitscindyk - gift received Tamara76 - gift received SpaceLlama - gift receivedmissjeanie - gift received tjffc - gift received snglbug - gift receivedsister13 - gift receiveditscarin - gift received ElleElleG - gift received

Mcakes · ‎01-16-2021

@itscarin Lilacs are so lovely! Have you tried the BBW candle Fresh Cut Lilacs?

Kim888 · ‎01-16-2021

@Mcakes @I love that candle scent !

itscarin · ‎01-16-2021

@Mcakes @No I haven’t. I bought Gucci guilty for the lilacs, and Tory Burch just like heaven. Only I never actually opened just like heaven because someone posted on fragrantica that it smelled like the glade lilac air freshener and that ruined it for me. Now that the suggestion is there I will forever associate it with the 90s air freshener de rigueur.

missjeanie · ‎01-16-2021

1. Are you watching The Bachelor ? Nah... I get enough reality in reality. I want my TV to take me away from real life lol

2. If you're not watching The Bachelor, what are you watching ? Yellowstone on Prime at the moment. I used to live out west and while I was a city girl there, I grew up with farming in my genes. I miss seeing the mountains from out west everyday.

3. What's your favorite book ? Hm... to be honest... I haven't been reading books a lot lately, and I don't think I can choose just one from my life.... Sailing to the edge of time by John Kretschmer is one that I've re-read several times.... but I don't discount the 'beach read' romance novels either.... lol

4. Have you picked up any new hobbies or skills during quarantine? I had gotten out of the habit of canning, something I'd learned to help with as a kid and teenager. Last summer I picked it back up again when helping out on the farm. I actually really enjoyed it, and have kept going with some winter canning as well.

5. Favorite scent? Boy wearing cologne. New baby. Actual scents I was always into fruity or gourmand scents but have been wearing more masculine scents the last couple years. Tom Ford Violet Orchid is my favourite this week, MM Beach Walk and Sailing Day are favourites in the warmer months... dang this changes weekly lol

6. What's your favorite way to start the day? By staying in bed. I'm horrible at getting up in the mornings. I need quiet, no one talking to me for a couple hours lol.

7. What are you most looking forward to? Being able to see family again. I miss my friends, I miss eating at restaurants, I miss being able to go into the US (some of my best friends live there), but mostly I miss being able to hang out with my nieces during stay at home we've got going on right now. Dang it if my best friends aren't 5 and 8 years old these days.

8. Favorite color? Purple. Blue. Black. Grey. Darker cool shades of each.

9. What's one thing you can't stand? People walking or driving in front of me going super slow. I'm always 5 minutes late and don't have time for the lallygagging lol

10. Favorite beauty brand? Just one? Id say traditionally I've loved Make Up For Ever, but Milk Makeup is a strong contender this year.

11. What's your favorite beauty category? How is anyone supposed to pick? I find make up to be fun and exciting, but I think I try to focus more on Skincare because I think it's something that can affect me and my 'look' so much more.

12. Are you a chicken nugget? I'm a 36 year veteran of the vegetarian game, so no nuggets here. I am more of a nacho. It's like a taco that doesn't have it's life together, but is still rockin'.

13. If you could inject yourself into a TV series, what would it be? Since I'm watching it now... Yellowstone. All that big open space, back to nature. Definitely a show where there's lots of nature, family and money hahaha.

heartsmyface · ‎01-17-2021

@missjeanie Haha, chaos tacos! I like it!

missjeanie · ‎01-17-2021

Chaos tacos sounds so much more succinct @heartsmyface ! I'm totally stealing this lol

heartsmyface · ‎01-17-2021

@missjeanie 😆. I feel like that name will stick. We must test this. Tomorrow night chaos tacos are on the menu😋

missjeanie · ‎01-17-2021

Done @heartsmyface ... I don't need to be told twice to make chaos tacos!

heartsmyface · ‎01-18-2021

@missjeanie Whaaaaaatcha eaaaaating? 😁😇

treestar86 · ‎01-20-2021

dammit, now I want nachos...lol. 😋 😍

missjeanie · ‎01-19-2021

@heartsmyface Ohhhhh ya!!! Chaos tacos for the win! I added a cold beer to mine last night after filing monthly taxes for work lol!

heartsmyface · ‎01-25-2021

@missjeanie Ahhh!!! love it! Not the beer part but your presentation is so fancy! I’m so lazy, i take the aluminum foil straight from the baking tray to the plate to avoid melted cheese sticking to anything 😆. Also holy olives!!! My olive loving husband cannot see this cause he’ll call out my chaos tacos as inferior but off I run to show him what he’s been missing 😂.

missjeanie · ‎01-25-2021

@heartsmyface lol... I LOVE OLIVES! But I also totally took the lazy route and microwaved this batch of chaos tacos!

heartsmyface · ‎01-17-2021

@missjeanie

Samtian · ‎01-16-2021

@missjeanie Haha #6, everyone knows not to talk to me until 2 pm lol. I feel ya.

missjeanie · ‎01-17-2021

@Samtian Yes! I question some of the people I've worked with who are so cheery in the morning... like what do you put in that coffee????

Tamara76 · ‎01-16-2021

@Samtian @missjeanie Saaaaaaame! One of the best part about working from home has been not having to ride the elevator with "talkers" at 8 a.m. How can people be so cheerful at such an awful hour?!🤷🏼‍♀️😂😂

treestar86 · ‎01-20-2021

crack? lol.😅

missjeanie · ‎01-17-2021

YES!!! @Tamara76 @Samtian I'll totally admit to taking advantage of being able to work my own hours and sleeping in. I do not miss having to make nice to people so early lol! I swear I'm a nice person... but just not early.... lol

Mcakes · ‎01-16-2021

@missjeanie I got a kick out of reading all of your responses 😄 There really isn't anything like that new baby scent ❤️ I just can't believe how time flew by this year! My new baby is nearly a toddler.

missjeanie · ‎01-17-2021

@Mcakes awwww there are so many advantages to every age, though I'm sure it's all going too fast!

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