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. 🤗

It felt a bit random if I'm honest. Wasn't that keen on the tatcha lip jelly which was one of the main draws. The ludatrix wasn't up my street either. There are better edits out there.

Good point - I have had a few Vyrao samples and can't actually say any of them stand out. I think I'm just itching to spend at the moment.

Edit - thanks @IDontHateRainbows - I'll give it a miss, I really don't need anything in it.

@keepincool I'll go against the grain and say it's a nice set with the discount. I'm biased though because I really like Ludatrix (bought a larger size), the SF blush is a favourite cream blush and I like the Tatcha lip balm too.

It's subjective though. I can see why it's meh to others.

@keepincool I bought the SK blush set at 20% off in march and I thought it was quite good value . I am not sure about the perfume but love the blush and think it will be perfect for summer I believe it is a good dupe for rhode tan lines
I am also quite keen to try the refy lip gloss and tatcha and saving the mascara for travel
But I know why you are hesitating as compared with other kits available it just doesn't seem that attractive it took me ages to buy it myself and I think if I didn't love the blush so much I would have been disappointed

Does anyone want to share what they bought in April? I quite like seeing what other people have bought so I know I can ask here if I'm weighing something up. I bought a shocking amount in the last month but I kind of feel like I'm 'done' now, so I'll only be buying really good edits or new things in May. Of course having said that I've got full baskets ready for the potential JL and Harrods GWPs...

In April I bought: Allies of Skin GF serum, Dermalogica ultra calming cleanser, BoJ SPF, medicube face mask, IT cosmetics foundation balm, Oribe hair mask & humidity spray, SNK hair GWP, Nars foundation, Ouai curl crème, innisfree sebum powder, BoJ sheet mask, Kerastase genesis shampoo, conditioner & serum, FTF mystery item (omorovicza body serum), Bobbi brown eyeshadow stick, Laura mercier caviar stick, Oribe mirror treatment, colour wow kale treatment, kosas cloud setting mist, urban decay eyeshadow stick, LE velatura balm in rose madder & meeting the ex, 3 chantecaille lipsticks (2 from Vinted), YSL lovenude & Lip oil, Allies of skin pore refining booster, Next luxe edit beauty box (for the dermalogica wash), Byoma peel off mask, Tirtir red cushion foundation

In my defence, everything was either 20%+ off, bought with credit/to gain CB credit, or from Vinted. On the other hand, I also bought many many clothes 🙈

Thanks for sharing your purchases @namechange0998776554799000

I will share mine so I can encourage myself to spend less in future, as I bought more than I intended/should have in April:

Jarrolds bag: £35
SK Pink Bestie box, plus a few other bits £70
Random SK order - made for reasons best known to myself 🙀 £45
Two cheap Boots lip balms: £5

It looks pretty bad when I add it up 🙀

I also bought:

Denim shirt/jacket/light coat thingy from Uniqlo: Reduced to £20
Two WS skirts for work: £34
An extremely weird pair of huge denim baggy trousers from Anthropologie: £34 (Seriously don’t know what I was thinking there…)

I don’t regret the slightly more expensive skirt purchase from WS and I am thrilled with the Uniqlo thingy - the other two could have stayed in the shop.

I must do better - it’s not like I need any more beauty stuff!

How do you all know what you bought? I can barely remember the last week never mind the whole month. Are you writing them down as you go? That sounds way too scary. 😂

Birthday gift emails starting to come in. The best one has just arrived - SNK. This is my first year being Deluxe and the choice is good. So do I go for...

UV Supreme Screen £34
MZ Skin Soothe and Smooth Eye Complex £120
Sarah Chapman Comfort Cream 30ml £78
Emma Lewisham Skin Reset Eye Cream £74
Vida Glow Marine Collagen 30 sachets (no price on this one)

I can easily discount the sunscreen and the marine collagen so it's between the other three. Anyone tried them?

I have to make a purchase to redeem but I'm going to do it today in case later in the month there's only sunscreen and collagen left to pick.

@OvaHere - the MZ eye cream is good - I am using it atm as it was in the Liberty a/c. Won’t repurchase - far far too pricy!

I don’t buy many clothes nowadays, so they were easy to remember! Tbh, it’s not my clothes purchases I am annoyed with myself about - my beauty spending has gone through the roof since joining this thread 🙀

I started writing down my purchases (in notes on my phone) because when everyone was recaping a couple of months ago I had no idea what I'd bought. I thought it would make me more accountable and cut down on my spending. That did not work.

I actually find it really useful though, for keeping track of deliveries. I used to feel a bit overwhelmed every time the doorbell went trying to remember what I'd bought and if I needed to hide it from anyone 😆

It's also great for reminding me how much I now own and that I really don't need any more lipsticks. Or anything really! And if I can average less than one purchase a day in May at last I'll know I'm improving 🙈

I started listing it out and the amount made me unhappy before I’d even finished so I stopped 😑

I am at capacity skincare wise though so trying to focus on using stuff up!

I’m two days into May and haven’t bought anything at all anywhere- even food. (Sending DH to the supermarket doesn’t count!)

Please congratulate me 😹😹😹

I'm leaning towards the MZ eye cream @IlovePond that or the EL. Reviews on EL don't seem amazing but I do like the serum I tried from the brand.

That is such a good gift choice from SNK @OvaHere

Wow @OvaHere happy birthday month. it my birthday month too. SNK standard member is I think (only just joined so I think it’s all rather than a selection) summer Fridays jet lag mask, medik8 retinal 3 andEM champaca. All sample sizes. So quite a big difference to your full size treat.

My pelegrims box has arrived and I’m delighted with the selection. So thanks @Cyclingmummy1 for the recommendation. I really like the contents.

@OvaHere the MZ eye cream. I’d even pay real money for it.

It is good. It's described as May's choice so perhaps changes monthly. I do think SNK is probably the best loyalty scheme once you get to Deluxe. The Xmas Deluxe gift was a good size candle worth around £30.

If you add in the 100 points = £10 and the special deluxe CS phone line where you get to speak to a human immediately I'd definitely prioritise maintaining SNK status over CB or Sephora. There's perks to all of them of course but SNK is best value and manages to feel premium.

I’ve got to spend another £500 by January to get Deluxe status. Not sure if that’s something I should be aiming for 🥴

[Duplicate post]

I’ve got until March 2027to spend £350 to become deluxe. I think that says a lot about how much I have spent since joining in March!!!!

I am looking to put together a makeup bag as one of the gifts for my mum for her 60th. I'm not keen to add skincare as she uses specific products for that but would love any recommendations you have for makeup. I'm keen to make it a real treat, no constraints re budget as I've got a few months till her birthday so can buy bits as I go. Any help is much appreciated.

As a side has anyone tried the Westman Atelier lipsticks?

@openended I have both the balm and matte lipsticks. The matte I find a bit drying, but the balm ones I love. If you’re thinking of them for your mum, they definitely have a luxe feel to them. The packaging is very, very nice.

What kind of makeup do you think your mum would like? Cream or powder based? What does she wear now?

Interesting, that's the same as the April offering 🤔 I thought it would change but maybe they just have a lot of stock of those items 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've resubscribed to the LF monthly box again as this month's is right up my street for a tenner with BDLF, then between the subscriber discount and the £5 birthday code I've also ordered the the new season edit so I can try the Virtue. Interested in your thoughts if you bought it too and have tried anything@JoRaRaRa?

@user593 she tends to use powder products as that is pretty much what she has always used. She has expressed a desire to switch it up and play about with makeup now so I wanted to treat her to some products that she just wouldn't buy for herself.

The advent was £260 last year so that's a big chunk of it (if you want the advent).

Nobody should try to reach a rewards level but if it's a case of I could buy this thing I'm buying anyway from CB or SNK then it's maybe a consideration in where you spend.

It's a lot to spend to reach Deluxe but the advent calendar each year goes quite a long way towards it.

I placed my order, I went with the MZ cream. I bought a VB eye wardrobe case and used £10 indulge points towards it. A boring purchase but ever since I only bought the Orchid eyeshadow in a refill I've been meaning to buy a case for it.

I read the T&Cs around the gift and it is first come etc. with the gifts and they can run out of stock. They obviously send all members with birthdays the code on the 1st of the month. So if anyone else is due the gift, in any month, don't hang about claiming it.