~♥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 

[gonerogue]

[missjeanie]

It's like it's whispering to me @gonerogue ! lol

[missjeanie]

@Mcakes @fatimamummy @Nickelliebear1  You guys are cracking me up!  I still have it sitting on my kitchen floor.  Right in the middle of the kitchen.  I had to actually go into work today and all morning I kept looking at it while getting ready to go.  I haven't flipped it over yet, but based on the packaging (Also... shout out to Canada Post for finally getting flat rate boxes!) I know my Galantine is Canadian! I don't think I can make it two weeks either.... All morning I justified waiting because I wouldn't have time to admire before I had to get to work and all day I can't stop thinking about it lol

[Nickelliebear1]

@missjeanie You have much better self-control than I do if you even considered holding off for the next few weeks.

I think you deserve to treat yo'self today but I'm sure we'll see the unboxing soon!  

[missjeanie]

I worked from home today so I'm seeing it right in font of me and I'm not sure I'll be able to hold out the whole time anymore @Nickelliebear1  lol

[prettyinpa]

@missjeanie- Oh, go for it! Self control is overrated in my book.

[missjeanie]

You guys are killin' me @prettyinpa !!

[Mcakes]

Ooohhhh @missjeanie tough choice...but...idk if I could wait that long 😄

[missjeanie]

@Mcakes Nah... This is Canada... I'm trying to have some control... But I've come close a few times today! Working from home and seeing it is the hard part!  I think if I was at work more it would be easier!

[fatimamummy]

@missjeanie  OPEN Pleassssssssse

[Nickelliebear1]

I might be biased but I'm team open! 😌 @missjeanie 

[tjffc]

@missjeanie Open, Open, Open........😀

[SportyGirly125]

@missjeanie open it!!!!

[missjeanie]

Lol... I might be crazy right @SportyGirly125 ??  I'm not anticipating a Valentines day gift this year so..... would waiting make me feel better on V day?  hahahahaha.... I'm not sure I could hold out for over two weeks!

[SportyGirly125]

I received notification that I have my package coming my way.  Another unboxing to come!

[gonerogue]

@SportyGirly125

Me lurking this morning to see if you got your box 😂

[SportyGirly125]

@gonerogue That was me last week when I sent snoflakefaerie her package 🤣

[Mcakes]

@SportyGirly125 Ahhh I am so excited to see your unboxing!!

[tjffc]

@SportyGirly125 I can't wait for the unboxing!

[snoflakefaerie]

OMG, I am so excited to share with you all what I got from my incredibly sweet and talented Galentine @SportyGirly125 . 

Here is everything as it came out of the box:

 

I really want to highlight the beautiful bouquet that she made by freaking HAND. I imagine lots of us have seen sportygirly125's handiwork over the years, but honestly, I am blown away. It is so pretty and intricate in person. I tried to get pictures from every angle:

It's just stunning. And she gave me an adorable little kitty planter vase to hold it in:

I'm so excited to have this near my vanity. It's in my favorite color scheme, so it's going to fit in so nicely. 

I've never tried Melt eyeshadows, and I'm already so excited to try this. I've been meaning to clean my brushes, and this is just the impetus I needed to get it done because I want fresh and clean brushes to break in to this palette. The shadows are even prettier in person (it was hard to get a picture that really shows the depth).

And a BIC (and mine) favorite, PMG lipstick! This color is Full Panic. I'm totally going to wear it for my Zoom company meeting tomorrow:

The Herbivore soak and Sweet Chef serums have been on my list to try for a while now. I'm going to treat myself to a little spa night at the end of this week with them.

Plus these other goodies she included for me that are totally going to be in my spa night or in my bag as daily staples:

I've actually never tried Glossier (!) so I'm really excited about these. The candle is one of my favorite scents ever (Goji Tarocco Orange). I know it's silly but I'm also really excited about the holder for the sanitizer. I have been using these little bath and body works ones (thanks for the refill, too) but they sometimes open in my pocket, so having the little holder I can hang off my bag is going to be key.

I also want to call attention to these adorable pens (in my favorite colors) and ribbon roses. My grandmother used to make silk roses like this that my sister actually put on her wedding dress in homage to her, so they brought back a very sweet memory for me:

Sportygirly125 also included a bunch of yummy chocolates that I have been enjoying this weekend (some of which did not make it in to the final shot). Here's a picture of everything unwrapped in all its glory, with the very sweet card as well.

I am so overjoyed by everything I received. Literally everything in the box makes me smile and I'm excited to use. I can't thank you enough Sportygirly125! You are a true gem. 

[sister13]

Oh my goodness, what a treasure trove! @snoflakefaerie @SportyGirly125 , you are amazing! 💛💚💛