New Boots No7 Voucher

I picked up a few bits and bobs in Boots today at lunchtime and was pleased to see when I collected my receipt that I had also been given a No7 voucher.  I LOVE the £5 vouchers that Boots regularly do for No7 and I spend a small fortune at the No7 counter, on things I normally wouldn't buy, while the voucher deal is on by justifying that I am saving loads!

In truth, if there were no vouchers there are very few No7 items I would pay full price for, I struggle to think of any actually.  I find the brand rather over-priced and would rather spend my money elsewhere generally.  Don't get me wrong, there are some No7 products I love, their fast drying topcoat for one and also their micro-dermabrasion exfoliator but neither of them are so good that I would pay more for them than I would for a similar product from another brand which is what happens if you purchase at full price.

Anyway, on to the point of this post!  Out pops my voucher along with my receipt and I think to myself; I'll head over to the No7 counter and see if they have any nice new nail colours since they've re-branded or those blushers I want, but then I noticed that the voucher is not the usual £5 voucher; it is in fact £5 off skincare (lucky for you micro-dermabrasion exfoliator) but only £3 off cosmetics (not so good for you topcoat and blusher).

 

Now, £3 off their cosmetics is not to be sniffed at if you are planning on buying something anyway but it doesn't put everything at the No7 counter down to the excellent prices it used to, meaning I can't help but spend my money there, so instead of doing what I normally do and buying something extra I left the store.

 

As a one off, my £2 spend on a nail colour isn't going to mean much to No7, or Boots on a whole, but on average when these vouchers have been on in the past I would say I spend a minimum of £20 each time, often a good deal more (usually a good deal more in fact, this time around for example as well as checking out the new nail varnish I also had my eye on 3 cream blushers, I wanted to try one of their new foundations through the new skin tone matching service they have just launched and I fancied a couple of their make up brushes).  

 

If you take into account the amount of times the vouchers are on each year and multiple my £20 minimum spend that's a fair bit of money for one person to hand over to an individual counter and I'm sure I'm not the only one who spends more on No7 when the vouchers are on than they would normally.  It'll be interesting to see if the new style vouchers are here to stay and I'd love to see the No7 sales figures now they've changed them, I've always thought they must be a great boost for the brand's sales when they're being given out.

 

So, in conclusion, my favourite thing about No7 has come to an end. :(  I loved getting a little extra treat of a nail varnish with my meal deal when the vouchers were on and would specifically shop in Boots more often just so I could do that but now they'll set me back £4 a time I think I'd rather spend my money on other brands, like Barry M for varnish or Topshop for the cream blushes, who I generally prefer and work out cheaper. 

 

So, is it just me who's sulking over the new style vouchers?  Am I looking a (£3) gift horse in the mouth by not using them?  What do you think about the new style of vouchers, will they have an effect on your spending habits?