It's better to give than receive

It's officially November, which means that some stores have already started their holiday set ups. November is also my birthday month, which means my favorite make up stores are offering me a free gift as a part of their frequent purchase programs, specifically Sephora and Ulta. Typically, I favor Ulta; they have better cash back rewards rather than points, I can get drugstore brand options and high end brands, and there are more Ultas available in the cities I frequent. But in terms of how they offer the birthday gift, Sephora wins.
 Usually, Sephora emails me about 2 weeks before my actual birthday and they usually left me grab one at anytime (as long as they are in stock). At one point in time in the past, I actually got 2 sets of the birthday gift due to a purchase at a Sephora in JcPenney then one immediately after at a separate Sephora location (my sister got me a gift card that I wanted to use for the Urban Decay blurring brush that was in stock at the JcPenney location, then my friend purchased the Sephora Cinderella palette at the actual Sephora).
 Ulta, however, sends out the email on my actual birthday and apparently you only have the birthday month to get it. And they won't let you get it early. I was in an Ulta today picking up a few things and asked if I could. The lady I spoke with was very apologetic but still a little disappointing. Of course, these stores could just not offer a free birthday gift at all. It's a nice perk to enjoy after all of the money I do end up spending at these stores, haha. I'm looking forward to picking up my free gifts from both stores, and will try to do a small write up on both options.

 Since it is November, it is also the start of National Novel Writing Month. While I have thought about writing novels in the past, I'm definitely more of a scribbler or dabbler, particularly of fanfiction. What I do enjoy is talking about beauty products and beauty stores and related items. So I'm trying an experiment: write a blog post for almost every day. I already have a few ideas floating around in my head and written down, so I hope whoever reads this enjoys my attempts to explain   much I enjoy make up. Feel free to add your thoughts or even requests for a certain topic or make up look. I'll do my best to accommodate!

Tahiti