Everything started with a girl from France that asked via Beautesse Facebook Page - if anybody could help her out, and send her our Austrian Beautesse Beauty box - and she would send a french beauty box instead. As I am a fan of Beautesse Box myself.. I felt like I had to help her.. and contacted her. I ordered another Beautesse Box for her and I found out that she was a member of this Be a Beauty Correspondent Fb page - which is also connected to a private group for more privacy.. so I joined the group.
The group has ~180 members. But there are a bunch of girls (~30) that are forming the heart of this community.
The concept is.. to exchange beauty products from all over the world. You find a girl - a BC (Beauty Correspondent) - and you set the terms with her, how you wanna do it. Most common version is, to agree on a budget.. exchange a beauty questionnaire to get an idea about the likes and dislikes/colors/favorite smells etc.. of your BC. And then you start shopping for each other and you put together a surprise box.. The main idea is to get access to brands that are not available in your country. Some girls also ask for specific brands .. some just wanna get surprised.. and some do a mix. There is no rule how it has to be done.. as long as you and your BC can agree on something and both are happy with the arrangement.
Some girls also exchange glossyboxes or other beauty boxes.. some girls might help you out, if you wanna do an order at an onlineshop of a forgeign country, that doesn't offer worldwide shipping.. and provide their address and ship it to you afterwards. Everything is possible.
Of course, there is a risk to get swaplifted.. everything is based on trust .. you send a box .. you put lots of effort into it.. and you just rely on that the girl on the other side of the world is doing the same effort for you.
Did I have bad experiences yet? No! But I know that some girls had.. some didnt get a box back.. or they got a box with used makeup back..
But the group also lives from interaction.. it is not just to find a BC there.. you get to know friends all over the world! The girls are giving beauty advices to each other every day.. or they share life stories.. and also all the BCs post a picture of the swap they received.. so after some time.. you build up some kind of reputation.. you know the girls that are active swappers.. you see the pictures and videos they do on their swaps.. and you can basically get a good idea of who is trustful.. and who you might not wanna swap with .. or with whom you might ask for a proof of postage before you ship your parcel.
Also every community has it's dramas.. sometimes discussions or little fights come up.. of course.. not every girl has the same interests and opinions.. so it doesn't take much to start an endless discussion about an issue.
It is very easy to identify with the group.. because all the girls are passionate about Makeup/Beauty and swapping.. but it is also time consuming if the girls also share their problems.. (as if each of us didn't have enough of their own problems already) and you get involved too much with something that isn't really any of your business.
I can speak for myself..that none of my friends I know from Uni or school or my "real" surroundings... shares my makeup-addiction .. therefore it is so easy to like this group and get involved.
So.. unfortunately it is highly addictive..
The downside is clearly the time-consuming issue..and also the money-consuming issue. To be honest.. the last 2 months..i probably spent like 800-1000 Euro on Makeup.. budgets are usually between 50 and 100 Eur.. and I had quite a lot of swaps so far. It is shocking to look at this number.. I have 3 swaps left which i am shipping in November.. after this I really have to take a big break.. Right now, as a parttime employee and student .. this is really my limit.. and I will have to cut back when it comes to holidays and traveling.
But I also have to say.. it helped me to get through a rough period in life, because it kept me distracted from being too sad, when I should have been sad. Usually I'd say it is too much of a distraction.. but it can also be a good distraction sometimes.
I got to know many amazing girls.. I got to know girls I am talking now everyday to.. also about private things.. not only makeup related. With some girls I'm getting along so well, that I sometimes even wish I could take a plane to visit them!
Now I will include some pictures of the swaps I've received so far :) And if anyone has further questions or if you want more details - do not hesitate to ask me!
Canada |
France |
Canada |
USA |
Israel |
Australia |
Canada |