~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2021♥~

[Mcakes]

*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:

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♥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:

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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:

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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

Housekeeping:

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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:

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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:

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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:

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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!

 Participants: 

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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 

[fatimamummy]

@NotCrocker Thank you so much! I can see how much consideration has gone into this box as everything is perfect. I love it.

[snoflakefaerie]

Everything looks so pretty and stunning. The formulas on the blush and eyeshadow look really cool, too. I hope you enjoy everything @fatimamummy . It looks like @NotCrocker did an absolutely wonderful job picking out presents and putting it all together in such a beautiful way.

[fatimamummy]

@snoflakefaerie  IKR? She nailed everything to perfection. These are exactly the shades I would have picked for myself. 

[tjffc]

@fatimamummy You received such a gorgeous package from @NotCrocker. The package is so lovely with vibrant colors and spectacular decor.  Love all of your nice gifts.

[fatimamummy]

Thank you so much @tjffc  I love them too, It couldn’t be any better.

[Nickelliebear1]

@NotCrocker You found the prettiest wrapping, I couldn't find anything covered in hearts.  

@fatimamummy Those gummies look absolutely divine and you definitely got spoiled.  That Eyes To Kill looks stunning next to the Rare blush.  

[fatimamummy]

@Nickelliebear1  Right? I couldn’t find any relevant  wrapping online and we have a state of emergency in Toronto so going out to buy anything was completely out of question. I loved they way she packed everything individually. 

[Samtian]

@fatimamummy Ooh those coasters are gorgeous! That blush looks interesting, and all the items are so beautiful!

[fatimamummy]

@Samtian The coasters are beautiful and so well made. I was thinking to pick the blush and guess she read my mind and bought it for me.

[itscarin]

@fatimamummy @Yay!  Looks yummy!  Loooove the sugar lips!

[fatimamummy]

@itscarin These are delicious and are almost gone by now.

[fatimamummy]

Look what just showed up in my mail box!!!!!
Should I open it or wait?

Well whom am I kidding, Of course I am going to open it right away but let me know if I post the unboxing or wait until some more people have received their boxes!!!!!!

Can you guess my excitement from the number of exclamation marks ? 😁

[Samtian]

@fatimamummy PPPPOOOOSSSTTTT IT!!!

[fatimamummy]

@Samtian  Here we go !!!

[Nickelliebear1]

@fatimamummy Are on a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to break out into song?  😁

I say post it!  I'm not going to be too far behind you, I can't wait to dig into mine. 

[fatimamummy]

I was kind of singing. Lol If it wasn’t for helping my kid with her homework I wouldn’t have waited even this long.

[Nickelliebear1]

I have to run so I'm not going to be able to run but I wanted to stop by and say thank you so much to my Galentine.  I'll be opening it p and posting my unboxing this evening.  😍

[Nickelliebear1]

I normally don't rush in to pick up things that show up in my flexdelivery box but knowing that it was my Galentine's gift, I was there within ten minutes of the building being open to the general public.  I couldn't contain my excitement and I thought that after having such a successful shift yesterday, it came at the perfect time. 

I posted the box already, decorated with flowers and just the slightest hint of pink and green.  After a few hours I'm home and ready to actually dig into the box. 

  My Galentine was none other than @fatimamummy and she picked out the cutest pink goodies, including the card. 

After lifting up the bubble wrap, there was a box of chocolate that I'll try to save for my nexThet girl's night in and some cosy pink socks.  

 Next up is a really cute pink hairbrush.  I saw the bristles and while it may not be the most suited for my hair (there's a lot of it), it'll be perfect for brushing my niece's hair out for some braids before we play video games together so it'll definitely get use. 

   I wish I were joking when I said I was thinking about checking the Artist Couture website because the Artist Couture Diamond Lights Finisher has been OOS for about a year.  I wanted this shade when it first came out after seeing the pretty white shade in everyone's super glam routine.  

   Bella came by to check the next item out, the pink pom pom looked like it was a toy for her from a distance (and let's be real, anything could be if she tried hard enough) but the smell of the box deterred her for an extra few moments.  

 

  The culprits for the delightful scent that's filling my whole apartment.  I've never actually tried Scrubbee but he's too cute to not have been curious about and my dry skin absolutely loves honey.  And now my bath tub can be stained purple from bath bombs and not just my hair!  🙂  Goddess is one of my favorite bombs that doesn't smell like candy.  It's hard to explain but it smells sensual and delicious.  Apparently it was Ariana Grande inspired?  I didn't take it out of the bag to try to contain as much of the gold magic for later.

   Hand cream!  I don't know if you can tell but my hands are absolutely busted.  They bleed every other day.  Vitamin E sounds like exactly what I need.  And it seems like 2021 is the year of EOS coming back in my life- I used to have at least four of these little balls of fun all over my house.  

 The finger prints on Milk & Honey are from me touching the Scrubee.  I feel like I'm six years behind finally sticking my face in this book.

  

I had to edit this post to include the text (the app, am I right?).  Everything is perfect and thoughtful. 

[sister13]

@Nickelliebear1 Everything looks wonderful so many great things to try! Nice box @fatimamummy 💚💚💚

[quspork]

These are some great picks, @Nickelliebear1 and all such a cute Valetine's theme! Enjoy your treats!

[Tamara76]

@Nickelliebear1 What a fun box!!!! @fatimamummy picked out such sweet gifts!!!  I love Scrubees and that poetry book is so beautiful!  Enjoy!!!💗💗💗