Birthday Swap with Joyce, my Birthday Twin!

It’s NOT my birthday yet, but neither Joyce nor myself could wait to post this, so we’re showing our swap a week and one day before our actual birthdays. 😉 Yes, Joyce of Local Girl Foreign Land and I share a birthday!  It’s next Tuesday July 11th! 😀  Here’s a glimpse at what Joyce sent:

😍 I’m so excited to dig into everything! Let’s have a closer look:

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Swapping with DanniiJane!

❤ Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤ Here’s a sweet post to make you smile. 🙂 Back in December, I proposed the idea of a swap with fellow blogger, DaniiJane, of A Beautiful Thing blog.  Dannii lives in the UK, and I live in Canada so it was an opportunity for both of us to get our hands on things that would otherwise not be easily accessible to us. Look at what Dannii sent to me! 😮
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We shipped our parcels out at the end of January and they arrived last week. As with previous swaps, I asked Dannii what types of items she was interested in receiving, and I gave her a few things I was interested in. She sent me those and then some! 😀

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Kiko Makeup Review – Color Fever Eyeshadow Palette, Moon Dust Face Powder and Shade Fusion Trio Blush

And here we go – starting to chip away at some of the items languishing in my stash waiting to be reviewed!
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I’ve had these items in my stash for nearly a year! 😳 I did take photos of them back in September so I did manage to wear them on the weekends while I was doing Project Pan.

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Swap with A Girl With Pink Cheeks!

I received this parcel just before Christmas.  It was my second ever makeup swap, this time with the lovely Isabelle from A Girl With Pink Cheeks blog!  We started chatting about doing this swap after my last one – and so, back in July, we formulated the swap guidelines: We buy each other one thing under 10€ / $15 CAD each month for 4 months (August to November), and mail out in time for Christmas. We wanted to focus on brands / products not available in our native countries – Isabelle lives in Belgium and I’m in Canada.  I’d indicated that I was most interested in eye shadows, blush, and concealers.  This is what she sent me:
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Here’s everything unwrapped:
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I’ve been completely spoiled! 😀

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Stashmatters Canadian Makeup Swap!

Now go check out what I sent to Nicola of Beauty As I Know It! 😀

Beauty As I Know It

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So for a very long time I have been thinking about doing a makeup swap outside of the UK but I needed to wait until I had found someone who I vaguely knew before I “popped” the question, mainly for their own peace of mind. For some some months on my blog the lovely Stashmatters has been one of my most active followers I always receive lovely comments & I truly appreciate not only what she has to say but interacting with someone so far away from me, for those who may not be aware of Stashmatters she is Canadian 🙂 https://stashmatters.wordpress.com

So I finally plucked up the courage to ask if she would like to do a swap with me & trust that I was a genuine person who wouldn’t let her down & I was so chuffed when she said yes – wow I really do feel like…

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UK / Canada swap!

Let me get back into beauty blogging with a bang – I got new makeup!  Huh?  But aren’t I on a No-Buy? Allow me explain.  Nicola of Beauty As I Know It contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in doing a swap – she’s in the UK, and I’m in Canada.  I contemplated this: was this a violation of my No-Buy?

Let’s weigh the facts:
• I’m not buying makeup for myself, but rather, buying makeup for someone else, like a gift
• I’m receiving makeup in return – but I didn’t pay for them!

My friends are 80/20 split in their opinion that I’m an horrible dirty cheater vs I might have found a loophole in my No-Buy. 😛

Regardless, I went ahead with the swap because, hell, what’s the fun of having a blog if I can’t connect with amazing people from all over the world?  Nicola and I set out some parameters for the swap:
• focus on makeup / skincare from drugstore
• target total of £30 / $55 CAD

I also sent out a little questionnaire to help each other narrow down our preference, here are my answers to the questions:

1) Are there any brands that may not be available in your country that you’re interested in?
Natural Collection (Boots), Sleek, Makeup Revolution, Soap & Glory (we have the skincare but not the makeup), MUA, Barry M

2) Skin type / skin tone / eye colour / hair colour / allergies?
Combination / NC25 I’m usually in the shade range light/medium or “Buff” shade / brown / brown / no allergies

3) What are your top 3 favourite makeup / skincare categories?
eye shadows, blush, concealer (I’m particularly interested in the Collection’s Lasting Perfection Concealer [I would be in Warm Medium] hint hint!)

4) Do you like sweet or savoury snacks? Any candies / chocolate that’s not available in your country that you would like to try?
I love sweets! I know there are loads of UK sweets – most of them are available in Canada as well in specialty British shops.

Here’s the parcel I received!
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She included a lovely handwritten card and put little star stickers on the items to indicate her personal favourites!

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