What should I do with rouge $100 gift card?

[NiccisNarrative]

• I really want to get the shark beauty cooling mask, and then use a 4 payment app to cover the rest to bring the cost down more manageably for me.

But the Danessa Myricks palette is screaming at me, I’m really only dying over the greenish area. But maybe some of the other colors would look okay on me? I’ve only been able to get two of her mini light works palettes, and I’d love to get this new one, but I just don’t know which is worth it more. I had a baby almost 9 months ago, my first and only and I’ll be 44 soon, I could use a pick me up to feel and look better.  Any opinions? 

[miss8]

@NiccisNarrative , You Could Always #TreatYourself 🎁

#TreatYourself

[WinglessOne]

@NiccisNarrative  I don’t have Shark’s LED mask but do have 2 other brands’ full face mask (Dr. Dennis Gross and Qure). I also have Danessa’s Lightwork VII palette (and most of her other palettes). It’s kinda hard to compare two completely different types of items that don’t do the same things, so my decision would mostly come down to this: 

What if the item doesn’t work out for you, and now you’re stuck with it (can’t return Rouge Reward buys)? 

$ amounts are USD; tax not included. 

	Shark mask	DM palette
OOP $ you're out	$249	$28
What to do with item	Gift it to someone. Try to resell at $100 discount. Try trading it with someone looking for an LED mask. See if any local charities will take it as a donation.	Gift it to someone. Find various ways to use the shadows you don't like. Sanitize it and try trading it with someone in a makeup trade forum/group/thread. Sanitize it and donate to a charity or shelter that'll take used powder cosmetics.

I doubt you’d have much luck selling a used Lightwork VII right now since it’s currently in stock at Danessa’s site, Sephora, Beautylish, and Ulta. Trading would be a better option, if you find a good reputable trade group/forum. Here on BIC, there’s usually a trade thread for the Beautylish Lucky Bags each January. In that thread, folks offer up unwanted items from Lucky Bags for trade. Someone who didn’t get Lightwork VII in their bag might be interested in trading one or more things for yours.

I’ll ramble a bit about LED masks in general and Danessa’s latest palette. Open the spoiler tag to see that: 

Spoiler

Shark mask:

Any LED mask needs consistent use for results. Would you use Shark’s mask on a regular basis? I’ve had my DDG mask for 5 years but still haven’t made it a consistent part of my daily or weekly routine. That’s partly because of the faulty mask strap: it’s so weak, I can’t use the mask unless I lie on my back or sit on an incline. This severely limits the multitasking I can do while wearing the mask. I got the Qure mask to see if it better suits me—but even if it does, it’ll still take me a while to make it a routine habit. If you’re sure you’ll use this mask consistently, especially if you can multitask while wearing it, then go for it.

I think Shark does Black Friday/Cyber Monday/whatever sales, and Best Buy also carries this mask. The Rouge Reward gets you about 29% off. I wonder if Shark or Best Buy would ever do 30% off this mask… I’m trying to remember if Best Buy’s ever done a sitewide or brand-specific discount that’s at least 30%. Pretty sure they’ve done 25% on other things though. Eh, a comparable or better discount might roll around next month, and then you could use your Rouge Reward on something else. 

DM palette:

If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend watching some swatch/review videos about this palette, especially long-form YouTube videos. The brand’s promo photos of this palette really don’t do it justice: even with some neutral/nude shades, it’s overall much more vibrant in person. Truly stunning, and this comes from someone who has (and loves) almost every Lightwork palette. You mentioned you already have 2 of her palettes (which ones?), so you’re probably already used to some of her shadow formulas/textures. I wish Sephora had this palette in stores so folks could play with a tester; maybe it’s coming to stores later. But if you see Lightwork VII in videos and swatch/review photos and love the color story, and you like the DM palettes you already have, then you might also like this one.

A makeup palette doesn’t require daily use of course, but you do need to think about how often you’d use Lightwork VII. I’m not saying someone must use a palette at least weekly to justify having it. Heck, some of my favorite palettes get used just a few times a year. 🤷‍♀️I’m thinking more about your life as a relatively new mom, and how much time you typically spend on makeup in general. The Shark mask does require regular use, but you can multitask while wearing it for however many minutes it needs to be worn. Can’t really do that with a makeup palette. 😅 Well, aside from listening to or watching a video, the news, notes from a meeting or class, etc. But I’ll also say you could use some of these shades as a one-and-done: just finger/brush-swipe on your lid and go. 

Normally I’d say skip a palette if you’re only wowed by 1-3 shadows (in your case, the green shadows), but a Rouge Reward gets you 78% off the price—and those green shadows would probably retail for more than the additional $28 you’d spend OOP, so overall it’s a great bargain.

Whatever you choose, I hope it’s the pick-me-up you wanted! I’m in my 50s with no babies, just perimenopause kicking my butt—so I totally get wanting a treat to make you look and feel better. Hope you and baby are doing well. 

[NiccisNarrative]

I know, I’m well aware. Also I know that you have to use the gift card all at once, which is NOT how any other gift card on the planet works, or you forfeit the rest of it, something that was not ever explained to me. But I learned the hard way when I bought a palette by Hudabeauty a few years back that I thought might get sold out when it released. And I lost $60 of the gift card by doing that. Rouge today is so miles from what it was when I was in my early 20s. I’m now almost 44, it’s so sad. Even when I did do a full makeover for $90 I wasn’t able to use any of the products I was wanting to try to buy. Nothing is worth it at Sephora anymore. But since Ulta has become trash not using 10x the points through the entire year on certain products it’s better than nothing.

[SportyGirly125]

@NiccisNarrative @Sephora employee here. 

with the Rouge reward you have to use it within 90 days of getting it and it has to be done with one purchase. You cannot return the item(s) bought with it. 

I have the new DM palette and love it. I also have a Dyson airstrait that I love. You will not be able to use the Reward with the discount during the sale coming up. 

[CynthieLu]

This is important info to know @NiccisNarrative  ☝️☝️