I Refuse to Buy This Until the Freebies Stop Sucking

Apparently, I am one of three people on Earth who actually likes the Sephora rewards program. Granted, spending around $75 to earn a deluxe sample is a bit rich, but at least Beauty Insider points don't expire. Getting actual cash back a la Ulta's rewards program is definitely preferable, but I will never spend enough money in a year for it to be worth it to me. So I do most of my shopping at Sephora, and I wait to push the "checkout" button until there are samples I really want.

Now, I've wanted the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo off and on for several years, and I decided to buy it back in February. But I have a birthday in April, so I waited until this month to place my order so I could use the credit from a return and cash in on my free birthday gift. That's already a big win for me; I never could have waited months to place an order in years past.

Annnnnnd I'm still waiting because the samples suck. One of the weirdly satisfying things that's come out of my downsizing and more conscious spending is that I'm very picky about what samples I'll settle for. It has to be a product I'm genuinely interested in, and it has to be in a shade or a formula I know I'll use. Currently, there's a red Laura Mercier lipstick available with a coupon code. There was a time when I would have just used that code and been done with it, because hey, free lipstick from a nice brand. Now, however, I know that I already have a ton of Besame reds I love, and I'm not actually interested in the formula. I'm actually quite interested in several of the foundation samples they've offered recently, but they're not offering a shade that will work for me. Nope. I'll wait.

Will I eventually just buy the ABH products and get the birthday gift if the samples never improve? Sure. But those Milk Makeup minis will be free to me until the end of April, and that store credit isn't going anywhere. I can wait. And the longer I wait, the more I feel like I'm breaking away from this endless need to BUY BUY BUY.

Speaking of my birthday! If you're interested in getting me a present and you have $3 to spare, donating to my Ko-Fi would be absolutely stellar. This spring's charity of choice is the DNA Doe Project, an organization that uses emerging DNA technology to identify John and Jane Does. While I have mixed feelings about law enforcement and medical organizations accessing genealogical DNA, I am all for it being used to give these people back their names and bring closure to families. You can read more about the DNA Doe Project on their website.

I have not received any donations for the past few months, so my recent donations will remain private.