Beauty swap: Ipsy, Birchbox, HauteLook

Beauty swap: Ipsy, Birchbox, HauteLook

Swap Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, October 19, 2014

This post is long overdue - the swap took place back in July! Why can't humans figure out a way of increasing the number of hours in a day instead of making smaller and fancier gadgets?
It was with several apprehensions that I ventured into a beauty box swap a third time. The first swap, with the lovely Elle, went extremely well. My second swap, with Greek bloggers Our Beauty Wonderland, as you can see here, was an out and out disaster, with me sending over Dirty Works, Accessorize, Bourjois and so on, only to receive PR samples - foil sachets, mostly - which had been featured on the swappers' blog and were well past their expiry date. My queries to the scamming sisters Jenny and Gogo Kourakou were met with my being blocked and unfriended from their social media and my comments and emails being deleted. It was the reason I did not swap for a long time and ended up writing this post with do's and don'ts.
But this time, the girl I swapped with, Casey, offered to send me my box first and wait till I got it, so I could send her the products she wanted after making sure I was not being conned. I thought this was incredibly trusting of her, and agreed. That she was not a blogger meant that she would not be sending me PR samples. 

Read on to see what I received in my third beauty box swap!

Beauty box swap with Greek blogger duo: A horrible experience

Beauty box swap with Greek blogger duo: A horrible experience

Swap Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, October 10, 2013

I like the idea of doing beauty box swaps a couple of times every year. So far, I've done one with the awesome Elle Robson from the UK (blog here), which was brilliant - she painstakingly went out and bought me things which I specifically wanted, and some lovely surprises, including a special gift from Cornwall.
This time, my swap was with Jenny and Gogo Kourakou, the Greece-based sister-bloggers of Our Beauty Wonderland - ourbeautywonderland.blogspot.gr. Their blog is in Greek but you can find a translate button on the top right, below the header.
Jenny/Gogo and I decided on a spending limit of EUR30, apart from postage - we agreed that we would both send by registered post with tracking, to prevent nasty shocks. I had asked for purely Greek/regional brands, provided lip glosses, toners and false eyelashes were avoided. They asked for any brands, and asked me to avoid glosses as well. We discussed skin types and so on as well and told each other when we were "going shopping for each other" and when "our shopping" was complete.
They had packed everything in a pouch from Bioplasis cosmetics (posted on their blog), which will come in use for storing shampoos and conditioners. Read on to find out how this beauty box swap went horribly wrong and I was taken for a ride by some clever women.

My first beauty box swap featuring makeup, skin care and other goodies

My first beauty box swap featuring makeup, skin care and other goodies

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, May 05, 2013

Last month, the lovely Elle May had asked if I wanted to do a beauty box swap with her. I was apprehensive about the postal services. But I was so excited about it nonetheless.
Elle and I had agreed on a budget of £25 excluding postage, though we did include some gifts in our respective boxes :D We discussed likes, dislikes and allergies and had such fun over quite a few emails. Elle got the box I sent her safe and sound. Her parcel to me arrived on Saturday and I was so thrilled, I almost opened it then and there before realising I needed to take photographs.

E.L.F. warm 32 piece eyeshadow palette swatches and review

E.L.F. warm 32 piece eyeshadow palette swatches and review

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, May 03, 2013

I received an e.l.f. 32-piece eyeshadow palette in Warm for my birthday - my first-ever e.l.f. product! This palette contains 32 warm neutral eyeshadows which are decently pigmented and great for every day use.