Beauty chat - freebies/gifts with purchase/offers THREAD FOURTEEN

[OvaHere]

Time for a new thread, our first in a MN Community Group. We've chatted and purchased beauty bargains so much we've become a literal tribe! 😂

In other news PLouise was out of the gate with ridiculous speed announcing the first advent calendar waitlist in April.

In celebration I thought I'd try out a poll. It runs for 7 days, there was only 6 options so comment in the thread for those that come under 'Other'.

As always, welcome back long standing beauty bargain hunters and hi to anyone new who would like to join. Usual caveats about the threads being bad for you wallet still apply, but enjoy anyway. 🤗

Oh tempting at £65.
Ive been looking at the laneige serum. Has anyone used it? X

Is there a specific thread about beauty edits and boxes, or do people just tend to post about them on here? Wanted to ask about the Fenwicks ones (bags, boxes, edits, AC) and whether they’re any good. Has anyone tried them?

Updating after the cult beauty debacle of a couple of weeks ago. I managed to accrue £35 worth of points wifh the multiple centella masks , with the current 20% off deal this meant i got a le labo perfume that should have been £75 for £25. So it seems to have all worked out. I say seem to as until it is in my hand I still dont fully trust them!

They use to do fab gwp which were very similar to the edit they were selling earlier this year which put me off. The ac for me looked really poor value compared to others so I didn’t bother with that. I’m not sure why but as a store they have fell off my radar a bit. I think the offers, loyalty etc just aren’t as tempting elsewhere. However, I can always be swayed so come on Fenwicks tempt me!

Didn't they do a bag one time which was literally just that - a plain cheap makeup bag with no actual beauty contents?

They did amazing GWPs in the day I still have a strong shopper/tote bag that came with one which is still going strong, probably talking pandemic era.

@IDontHateRainbows that’s amazing - fingers crossed for you! I made the mistake of buying a bottle of the neroli instead of replacing my beloved the matcha. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either, and am now just trying to work my way through it so I don’t waste it….£25 would have been so much more acceptable for a mistake (although thinking about it, I did use the £50 back on both mine and DHs Amex cards in Harvey Nichols, so it probably was around that price in total. So maybe I’m off the hook??!)

@LouScot echoing what everyone else has said. It’s him. It’s really not you. Don’t let this asshat knock you back. Sending massive hugs.

I’ve decided to return the M&S glow box. Despite getting it for £20 (as I would have gt £10 points back on £30 spend) I just don’t see £20 value in it for me. The only thing I really use is the Nuxe gold oil, and I’ve got some already (& it lasts literally forever….i swear I’ve had this bottle for about 5 years now!). Loving the Cult sun edit though, which feels like amazing value comparatively.

Still giving Jarrolds, JL and Debenham’s the side-eye. I’ve not yet loaded all my current beauty products into Chat, but it’s already been clear with me that it doesn’t think I need any more boxes! But it has suggested I add Azelaic acid into my routine. Is anyone else using that at the moment? How does it work with other actives?

I also STILL need to unpack my SK order: I made a start last night with the items that weren’t in the big mint box, and used one of the collagen sheet masks right away. But first I need to make space…might need to take a leaf out of @JoRaRaRa’s book and extend into the kitchen snack cupboard (can just see my teens being deeply unimpressed by that 😂😂😂)

They do lovely Christmas hampers. I used to teach at a school that had quite a wealthy clientele and they'd often send gorgeous food hampers at Christmas

The empty toilet bag offer was rubbish.

I'm using azelaic acid @Fillybuster. My biggest issue is melasma/pigmentation and ChatGPT suggested the best approach was both azelaic acid and tranexamic acid. I'm using Allies of Skin (very expensive, bought during CB glitches). I'm also using several other serums alongside them so I've ended up with a slightly ridiculous regime 🙈

AM: AoS GF & peptide serum, pore refining booster serum and tranexamic acid serum.
PM: AoS azelaic acid serum, Medik8 hydr8 (or whatever other serum I've got on the go)

They all layer/work well together, but I haven't been using them long enough to say whether they're actually working! I'm planning to use a whole bottle and if I feel they've made a difference, switch to much cheaper azelaic & tranexamic acids as ChatGPT and Skin Rocks assure me the cheaper ones are just as effective.

The AoS website tells me the azelaic acid is exfoliating, so I'm being careful not to use any other exfoliators or acids. Otherwise I think it's generally fine to use with other actives.

Well, I used up a 10ml spray of Floral StreetAB this morning, so have cracked and bought the Jarrolds bag.

That really has to be it for a while!

Still waiting for SK purchase two from a few weeks ago. I will put the whole of my StyleKorean haul away then.

Adult DS2 has gone to South Korea today. I have asked him to bring some Fwee or Fwee dupes back for me but - unlike DS1, (who is quite a cooperative shopper), he probably won’t. I do usually get a present but mainly of the fridge magnet variety. (I do actually like fridge magnets, tbf).

I shall report back in the event that he completes his mission and raids the make up in Daiso! (It’s very unlikely, unless his mates drag him in there!)

£10 off face the future box

Thanks @Beautyfox @Cyclingmummy1 and @IDontHateRainbows 😊

Sephora have some offers on. There is 20-25% off lots of things, and if you add something full price to your basket then enter the code SAVING a mystery discount will be applied. I tested it by adding the new Hourglass palette and it was reduced by 15%, down from £72 to £61.

I'm not planning to buy, but might be useful for someone

Sephora offered me 5%😹 You’d think they’d be keen to attract my custom as I haven’t bought anything from them for ages, but apparently not…

I experimented and I think the discount is product/brand specific. Some things in my basket (eg Tatcha) got 5%, some got nothing, some got 15%. I was surprised by the HG because it's new

I see @namechange0998776554799000 - thanks for the info. I really don’t need anything but was tempted to get the Ordinary lip serum mentioned above and something for DS2 if there had been a decent discount.

On a related note: I was quite surprised to find DS2 in the bathroom this morning extolling the benefits of serum for skincare as he was getting ready to leave for his flight.

Weirdly the Easter mystery set and birthday edit have both disappeared for me. I’m in Europe at the moment, I hope that’s the reason and not that I delayed ordering for too long

@MotherofTerriers The Easter Mystery Bundle is still showing for me (in the UK).

Been busy this weekend

Got a givenchy prisme libre mini with 20% off from Givenchy
Le labo the noir 29 with the cb credit
Went a bit mad on space nk with the double points, got the escentric molecules set to split and sell and then got the bibbi discovery wardrobe + ghost child set which meant i got a free 10ml fruit captain and escentric molecules mini. Plus £40 points.

In my defence im still recovering from covid/ flu and have had a crap social life this month so not been spending much on other stuff.

Thank you. Fingers crossed still in stock on Wednesday

@MotherofTerriers When I was away recently I couldn’t access certain things on the hotel WiFi but I could if I used 5G or a private browser so you might be able to access it that way?

Thanks for this! Also stacked with FREEDEL for free next day delivery so ordered one for a friend's birthday. It's a good set.

Not sure of the maths here 🤔. Both showing as 15% off when should be 25%

Has anyone tried the Patrick Ta lip balms? I absolutely don’t need any more tube balms/gloss but Espresso is calling my name. I’m wondering how they compare to others, such as Rhode or Summer Fridays…

With one hour on the clock & 4% battery power on my tablet I caved & bought the Debenhams edit. Cost a fortune because somehow an entirely unnecessary pair of combat trousers & sparkly skirt jumped into my basket. But the extra discount & free next day delivery helped ease the pain!
OTH I didn’t order the Jarrolds or JL boxes (yet), so overall I’m doing pretty well, right?