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Post in Besides Beauty
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~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

 

***Sign Ups are CLOSED - Exchange is in Progress***

 

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It's back! The gift exchange celebrating "the best day of the year" is here 💖

 

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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 & @eshoe 

 

Links to Previous Galentine's Day Exchanges:

Spoiler

How to Join and, Key Dates and Housekeeping Info:

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 eshoe or I have hosted without incident on their part are pre-approved. If you participated in an exchange that eshoe 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 eshoe or I are familiar with.

*Since we are trying to be as inclusive as possible while also protecting other participants in this exchange, eshoe 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 eshoe 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 eshoe or I once you have shipped your gift. This can be done via Elfster or messaging eshoe 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 gift or to know it was received (it is stressful waiting to know if a package made the journey ok!) and for eshoe 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 eshoe 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 eshoe 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: 12/31/22

Draw Day (This is the day you find out who you are shopping for, yay!): 1/1/23

Ship Date for First Time Participants: 2/1/23 (*If you are shipping from Canada to US or vice versa, this deadline will be earlier)

All Gifts Must be Received: On or before 2/13/23 (Galentine's Day)


To sign up, please comment on this thread! eshoe 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 & eshoe

 

P.S. We will make every effort to accommodate all shipping restrictions, please state those restrictions at sign up via PM. Thank you!

 

Tips and 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:

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!)

 

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.

Participants:

Spoiler
Mcakes
eshoe
gonerogue
Snglbug
AznAngelLiz
SportyGirly125
faeriegirl
sister13
quspork
heartsmyface
Kim888
cianni
Cissy63
Mellmars1185
Anastasiya13
danielledanielle
missjeanie
ClassicallyFab
ohheyitscindyk

 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@heartsmyface okay that little glass Pikachu and the avocado mug are just tooo cute! What a lovely Galentine's box.

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@heartsmyface  What an amazing box of wonder!! How did it all fit in the box?? Lol 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@missjeanie and @heartsmyface determination and a little bit of strategy, haha. You have to make the most with those flat rate boxes! 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

Ohhh... Does Canada Post have flat rate boxes @Nickelliebear1 ?? I need to look into these!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@missjeanie I truly don’t know!  I couldn’t get it all back in to clean up the mess to upstairs and that was after snacks were pilfered.  What a happy problem 😆

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@heartsmyface Oh wow wow wow! This Galentines gift is bursting full of thoughtful gifts for you, and some treats for your family too 😁 I can just feel your excitement radiating out of this post 💕 This was so fun to see through pictures as you and your little sweet guy dug into all the fun! Enjoy everything emensely! 

 

@Nickelliebear1 Your package was amazingly put togeather 💗⚘️ you did the most lovely job on it!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@CynthieLu  wow wow wow is exactly it!! ha, my husband said he was jealous.  I told him ai’d share and he said that it wasn’t of the goodies but that someone else was spoiling me more than him.  ha, I told him he doesn’t neeeeed to but please, feel free to spoil me better! 😂🤣😇

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

Lol! ‌😂‌ Aww that's sweet! He's definitely a keeper @heartsmyface ‌‌😉‌‌‌‌💞

 

 

 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

WOW @heartsmyface, I kind of don't even know what to say!!! What an incredibly generous and sneaky Galentine @Nickelliebear1 is! She really spoiled you, enjoy all of your new amazing treats!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@eshoe  Right?  She went all out!  There’s something for every area of life!!!
I’m loving the Cherry cha cha tea this morning and 
last night I tried out the Good Molecules Overnight treatment!  Oh my it has some serious tingles (which I equate with effectiveness). It reminds me of the Ole Henriksen Invigoration Night Transformation Gel in both consistency and tingles but at a way better price point  It’s a perfect dupe!!!  OLEHENRIKSEN Invigorating Night Transformation™ Gel 1.7 oz/ 50 mL 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

Well everything looks just spectacular@heartsmyface. Your assistant appears to be quite happy with the entire process, too 🙂 Off to make note of the GM!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

OMG I was overwhelmed and excited just looking at the pictures @heartsmyface You've got some goodies to play with, I  love the blush and lip oil...and all the Pikachus 😍 @Nickelliebear1 totally understood the assignment!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@heartsmyfaceomg how amazing is all this!!! there are so many goodies in there, i was overwhelmed just reading about them all!! i also spy some controversial viral mascara 👀 so so sooo interested in your thoughts on that! @Nickelliebear1 you did such a fantastic job with this, so thoughtful!!!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@cianni  Ha, that whole mascara debacle… sigh…I hope no one believes those were her real lashes or due to the mascara.  There were a lot of steps between the decision to be deceptive about what the mascara can do and posting the ‘results’. The process of applying lashes and then the editing… Meh, just another person to not trust on the internet.  
 The mascara is fine on it’s own and without publicity stunts or deception.  It’s super black.  It dries down hard and doesn’t smudge.  It doesn’t have fibers in it so there’s no way it could possibly extend lashes past where your natural lashes are translucent but it does cost your lashes smoothly with zero clumping unless you try to do more than two layers so building up for volume isn’t ideal for this one.  It holds whatever curl you have prior to application well because again, it dries down hard. It’s my favourite drug store mascara.  


If anyone is looking for a great mascara WITH lash lengthening fibres Flow Fushi Mote Mascara Natural are  wonderful and can give an extra 2-3mm of lash length.  They’re around $25-27 imported so still not a bad price point but I prefer them when they’re $17-18 overseas.   It doesn’t build volume but if it’s length you want it’s gold! 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@heartsmyface oooooo i will look into that mascara! i have friends who are flight attendants, so i'll ask them to keep an eye out when theyre abroad doing layovers! poor them - i always ask for fun things if they see them. generally french pharmacy skincare haha, but it's just SO much cheaper, and they're there anyways......

 

it's been a while since i trusted an influencer review, so this situation hadnt really swayed me one way or another, but i have younger relatives that i'm always worried are going to be caught in the cycle of buying every new release because someone claimed that their "entire life changed for the better" (i mean who knows, maybe that blush DID change your whole life, but i just dont think we'll all have similar results....)

 

the thing i do rely on influencers for is learning about new products. there are so many releases that i couldnt keep up unless i was scouring the internet everyday. that being said - i do rely on the reviews and recommendations from the BIC (which is where a lot of my faves have come from). i may pick up this one, but i dont feel like rewarding a brand that played a role in deception by giving them my money, plus, what is going on with drugstore makeup prices lately? in canada, some loreal mascaras are up to $20 now! the viral nyx primers will run you $24.99 before tax! i'd rather stick to a mini of my fave right now

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

Oh my goodness, so wonderful and thoughtful and adorable! So many perfect items for you! Ah-mazing  @heartsmyface and @Nickelliebear1 ! Happy Galentine’s Day you two! 💗💗💗

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@sister13  She really did above and beyond with the Galentine project!  I feel so lucky and loved:). Happy Galentines Day! 

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@heartsmyface  What a wonderful Galentine package.  It was truly beautiful.  Enjoy all of your goodies.  Your son is so cute!  I love the picture of him sleeping like Pika 🥰

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@Cissy63  Thank you!  Ha I’m still in ‘stare at it’ mode with most of it (especially thé chantecaille) but I definitely will be enjoying everything!  it’s all so beyond perfect!  

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

Wow, that is a lot of loot.  Enjoy!!

Re: ~♥Galentine's Day Exchange 2023♥~

@CorgiMommy  Nickelliebear1 definitely had a lot of fun putting this together!  I can tell!  It’s overwhelming but in such a fun way!  

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