Giving Tuesday Destash: the Snails Send Self-Care

I'm hopping out of hibernation early this year; I have a few posts upcoming but they're being temporarily shelved for something more important. It's Giving Tuesday and I want to talk about what I, my fellow Snails, and you can do with our neglected-but-new beauty products, unwanted gifts-with-purchase, and mountains of foil samples we've guiltily banished to the back of our skincare stash.


You've probably been there: unexpected 1+1 gifts with purchase, loads of random foil samples, unwanted sheet masks, deluxe mini sizes of products we'll never use.

I've got a lot of convoluted feelings about the term "self-care" and how it's been co-opted  from its original activist roots into a marketing slogan. The Snailcast episode The Evolution of Self-Care dives deep into the topic, so I won't get too wild on it here. This post is about gifting packages of self-care to women in need, and where and what you can send if you'd like to do so yourself.

Doing something that's genuinely helpful for others, especially in the wake of the Black Friday consumerism hangover, feels like exactly what's needed right now.

Over the last year, I've found myself posting less and less because I simply didn't have anything to write about, and I wasn't interested in writing unless I had something to say. Partly this is due to me relying on old product standards in troubled times (if you've managed to survive 2018 with sanity intact, I salute you) and not venturing into new products that need to be reviewed. 

It's been difficult for me to get hype for skincare when it feels like the world is on fire. (For some, that's been literal.)  Things seem to be getting more and more overwhelming at a rapid rate, for everyone, and sometimes that puts me in a place where I just have to check out of everything non-essential and just focus on enduring. I know I'm not alone in that; it's been a rough year for a lot of us.


Me every time I go on social media and see news coverage [source: giphy]

For me, the actual beauty aspect of blogging has always been secondary to the joy of learning something new, puzzling it out, and then sharing that knowledge with others. (Like my forays into nerdiness.) I'll get into what's dulled the luster of K-Beauty for me lately in another post, but in the interim, what do I do with all these beauty products I purchased while full of intent and enthusiasm, but have been sitting neglected in my stash?

When Tracy of Fanserviced-b suggested we team up for "Snails Send Self-Care" donations of unwanted beauty products to the women in need at Women's Aid Service, an organization providing safety and empowerment to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, I crawled out of my snail shell faster than a hedgie hermit scenting breakfast.



"Did you say my extra bottles of toner to women in need?!
[source: giphy]

Am I interested in braving the teetering stacks of dusty boxes in my office, and digging through the forgotten corners of my stash, for the sake of sending self-care packages to survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault? HELL YES, let's do this!


What we're doing

You can read more about what the other members of the snail rout are doing here:



  • Chel of Holy Snails: 10% of all sales for the next month (11/27-12/27) will be going to the Women's Aid Service organization.


I'll be doing a follow-up post with both the new unused items I've gleaned from my stash and the purchases I'm waiting on; I put unwanted store credit to good use and ordered products that will benefit others, huzzah!



Want to donate? Here's the details

Of course, you don't have to donate to this specific organization-- if you prefer to donate locally, I urge you to go ahead and reach out to its organizers and find out what kinds of items they need, and will accept.

Here are the details that we've received from their Director:

The organization: Women's Aid Service, serving Clare, Gratiot, and Isabella Counties of Michigan, an organization that provides safety and empowerment to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Featured items: beauty products (new products only please due to liability issues). We’re sending a mix of both full-size products and samples.

Other items: cheap burner phones, gift cards (especially for places like Walgreens or gas cards), and straight up money are always needed.

Where to send it:Women's Aid Services
PO Box 743
Mt Pleasant, MI 48804


Getting involved? Tell us about your #snailcare2018!


If you'd like to take part in this rout and share your stash of unwanted samples and unopened beauty products destined for women in need, let us know! Tag us (you can find me on IG @snowwhiteandtheasianpear, and @snowwhitepear on Twitter) and use the hashtag #snailcare2018 so we can celebrate sending self-care on this Giving Tuesday with you. Also, you're awesome.


Need help?

National Domestic Violence Hotline

The National Domestic Violence Hotline creates access by providing 24-hour support through advocacy, safety planning, resources and hope to everyone affected by domestic violence. You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE (7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224.


All the best,
-Cat

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