Down the Indie Rabbit Hole

[tacehtpuekam]

Paypal is being inexplicably problematic right now and I can't check out at HoG!!! Ughhhhhh!

Yeah it looks like it's down 

http://downrightnow.com/paypal

But at least that means no one else can check out either & hopefully things will still be available when it's back up! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

 

[tacehtpuekam]

I'm proud of myself for sticking to my list. I got whipped soaps & pumpkin butters in Wintervale & Fancy Bread. And then sample perfume oils in Wintervale, Fancy Bread, Hearth, & Snow Wolf.   /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> 

 

[nolongerhere1723]

Yeah it looks like it's down 

http://downrightnow.com/paypal

But at least that means no one else can check out either & hopefully things will still be available when it's back up! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Ack thanks I totally thought it was my account. So frustrating. Already lost some things in my cart!

I can't check out at all it seems (even with just a credit card) because all their payments are processed by Paypal. 

 

[meaganola]

I managed to check out before noon, so I got everything in my cart!  I wanted more, but I just couldn't swing it.  I had to completely pass on whipped soaps.  /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />  Maybe next weekend.

 

[nolongerhere1723]

Ack thanks I totally thought it was my account. So frustrating. Already lost some things in my cart!

I can't check out at all it seems (even with just a credit card) because all their payments are processed by Paypal. 

Okay I got through with a credit card. Not quite everything I wanted (missed out on some of the pumpkin butter minis) but maybe I'll have better luck at the restock.

Shipping was really expensive though? I noticed that someone else had said something about that on their facebook page--it wouldn't give me the low cost option it was quoting. I am hoping they actually can and will refund some of the cost. 

 

[Shalott]

HOLY MOLY I thought I'd never gt through! One the first hand, I was totally unprepared and couldn't find my list (arrrrggghhh) and then PayPal wouldn't let me through for shizz. I lost several of the items I wanted but made up for it with other things, so I am good, I think! I got:

- Hearth Whipped Soap

- Snow Wolf 5mL perfume oil (wanted the sample, but oh well, I am sure I will like it)

- Plotter's Breakfast 2oz Pumpkin Butter and 5mL perfume oil

- Wintervale 2oz Pumpkin Butter and 5mL perfume oil

- Three Treasures 5mL perfume oil

- Eggnoggin perfume sample

I am really on the fence with Hearth, and everything was selling out so I went with the least expensive option so I could get a feel for the scent. Bonus, I will get to try their whipped soap! I hope it is nice and creamy... (that sounds weird, LOL)

 

[meaganola]

I noticed that the site initially quoted a very low price -- for media mail.  This stuff can't go that way.  (I really wish they did will call.  I would totally be willing to drive out there to pick up my goodies if it meant saving six bucks!)

ETA:  (I'm deliberately not saying what I got because Santa.  Already getting ready!)

And, ooh, GDE OTM sneak peek!  No actual color, of course, but the shade name is More Pie, Please!  I can't believe it's almost time for this to ship!

 

[CurlyTails]

I managed to snag a few things from Haus of Gloi.  Paypal was a beast so I'm not even sure what I ended up with.  I stayed faithful to my no buy and only picked up a few items as gifts.  (However, the gifts will be sniffed -- quality assurance and all!)

Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts on everything, though!

 

[meaganola]

(However, the gifts will be sniffed -- quality assurance and all!)

Well, of course!  How in the world can you verify that things didn't turn rancid while in transit if you don't sniff first?

(And I completely forgot what I ordered until I looked at the receipt.  It was all a blur.  I just hope whoever I end up sending this stuff to likes it.  I reserve the right to keep it all and order something completely different between now and the shipping deadline, though, especially since I just ordered random stuff and had no wishlist to work from.  I *had* to grab stuff now, though, because who knows what's going to happen with restocks!)

 

[Shalott]

Aww, you guys are so nice, already thinking of Secret Santa! Just out of curiosity, if you get someone who isn't in to fragrance/loose shadows/indies, what do you do? I'm not trying to be facetious or anything, genuinely curious since the last time I participated in a Secret Santa was like, seven years ago for work. I wouldn't dream of giving someone something that wasn't on or similar to their wishlist, but maybe there is a secret I don't know? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Lolo22]

I noticed that the site initially quoted a very low price -- for media mail. This stuff can't go that way. (I really wish they did will call. I would totally be willing to drive out there to pick up my goodies if it meant saving six bucks!)

ETA: (I'm deliberately not saying what I got because Santa. Already getting ready!)

And, ooh, GDE OTM sneak peek! No actual color, of course, but the shade name is More Pie, Please! I can't believe it's almost time for this to ship!

I'm wondering if my shipping charge was an error then. It seemed unbelievably low. I was clicking so fast I didn't notice which shipping method was applied.

 

[MIKAGlam]

Glad I stayed away from the HoG release, my no-buy is going good. But I can't promise about next restock. I want at least Snow Wolf, hearth, Eggnoggin, three treasures and Fancy Bread!

Argh. I do have a cart full of the Yule scents I wanted to try plus The Horseman! Ugh

 

[meaganola]

Aww, you guys are so nice, already thinking of Secret Santa! Just out of curiosity, if you get someone who isn't in to fragrance/loose shadows/indies, what do you do? I'm not trying to be facetious or anything, genuinely curious since the last time I participated in a Secret Santa was like, seven years ago for work. I wouldn't dream of giving someone something that wasn't on or similar to their wishlist, but maybe there is a secret I don't know? /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

I go with their list, but I have to confess that it's not going to have as much effort put into it.  I'm starting to have problems even going through makeup sections in stores because it just makes me feel *wrong* to buy mass merchandise stuff nowadays, so I would probably end up cramming the whole shopping portion into one weekend -- or even just one day -- so I could get it over with and call it good.  With indies, I can spend a *lot* more time planning things out, and I *really* like how a lot of these companies send extra goodies with orders, so I can stretch my dollars even further and give my Santee even more new and interesting things to play with.

(It's kind of like someone who wants stuff available only at Walmart.  I am not so much as setting foot on a WM parking lot, so what they are asking for is not an option.  But I can find similar stuff from other companies and go from there.)  ETA:  Uh, I deleted something here that would have made this paragraph make sense.  Oops.  I'll try to paraphrase:  A lot of people are open to indies but don't specifically put them on wishlists, mainly because they're not familiar with indie companies.  You can sometimes stalk and figure out whether this is the case with your person (unless it is CRYSTAL CLEAR that they're fine with indies), and then you can go from there, basing what you pick out on what they have demonstrated they already like.

(I can also really, *really* talk up indies in other parts of the forum to get people to check them out and add indie stuff to wishlists!  That was actually one of my ulterior motives behind this very thread.)

 

[Shalott]

@@meaganola I really like those suggestions, thank you! I'm getting better and better ideas of what to gift, I can't wait for the assignments to be made! Muahaha! :laughing:

 

[tacehtpuekam]

@@Shalott I have been stashing things away all year that are pretty universally loved items. I realize there's always a chance that my person might HATE everything that I have stashed away, but then I just throw it on my trade list or wait until the next circular swap. 

As far as buying things, if I'm buying things before assignments go out, I just make sure that I buy things I would like. That way if I find out my person doesn't like it, I can just keep it for myself /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> (or gift it to my mom or sister)

 

[meaganola]

@@Shalott I do have to say that there are some product types I would have had NO CLUE existed if I hadn't dipped into the indie waters, and a lot of people don't even know the waters exist!  Like bubbling scrubs.  They're basically a glorious cross between cream soap and sugar scrub, so they foam up like shower cream and scrub like, well, sugar.  I don't know of one single mainstream company that makes this sort of thing.  And whipped soaps!  I am always looking for new forms of soap that are not bars, and there's no way I would have encountered whipped soaps if it wasn't for indies. 

And if you end up with someone fannish, there are few things that will endear you to them more than something related to their fandom.  A Supernatural fan?  Get over to Notoriously Morbid for the Winchester Gospels and Coffin Kissers (not all of them are SPN-themed, but there are quite a few that are).  An X-Men fan?  Espionage Cosmetics has nail wraps.  Fairy tales?  Alchima Apothecary has a Grimm (as in the brothers, not the show) collection. 

 

[meaganola]

As far as buying things, if I'm buying things before assignments go out, I just make sure that I buy things I would like. That way if I find out my person doesn't like it, I can just keep it for myself /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> (or gift it to my mom or sister)

Yup.  That too.  And I do other swaps in all sorts of places year-round, so it's entirely possible that there will be, say, a Lupercalia swap somewhere that a Santa leftover would be perfect for!

 

[lovepink]

Haha @@meaganola I see you are going to be the indie expert for Secret Santa 2014!  I really hope I get someone who is open to getting indies and I hope whoever has me loves indies also or is willing to dip a toe in the water! I would also love to try HoG, as I want to order but do not know where to start!

I am currently waiting on: Oct NM VC (shipping purgatory) + Grisly Grimoires (bought one of the last 3) plus a lot of back from the grave shades, Shiro Oct COTM in Sweater weather and Halloween minis.

 

[meaganola]

@lovepink  Heh.  I actually did quite a few consultations for Midsummer and Summerswap!  As far as Haus of Gloi goes, what sorts of scents do you like?  Herbal, foodie, resiny, hippie, floral, etc.?  Are there certain notes you know you like?

 

[CurlyTails]

I need to figure out a new way to store my ever growing collection of indie eyeshadows. I used to keep them in a bead organizer like thing but it is full and I have a ton of samples to de-baggie. I like to keep all my makeup on my vanity and there's not much room left there.