How it works: the Aveda free b-day gift offer.

A while ago, I posted an offer for a free birthday club at Aveda - you sign up, and they send you a postcard near your b-day good for a free Pure-fume customized product worth up to $25. Mine dutifully arrived a week or so ago, and I cashed it in this weekend. In case you're curious, I thought I'd tell you how it went.

I went to the Aveda store at U-Village, our schmancy open-air mall, and as soon as we walked in, a carefully groomed young man greeted us with cups of fancy licorice tea. I showed him my postcard and asked how it worked, and he took me over to a little set-up in the corner, where I was supposed to sit quietly in a chair and go through 12 different essential oil fragrances, breathing deeply whenever he instructed me to do so and saying "Yes" or "No" to each one. The "Yeses" went into a finalist round, and from there I narrowed it down until I had one I liked. I ended up with #12, a mint-eucalyptus-orange scent that coincidentally just so happened to be his favorite, too. What are the odds?

They ask you what you would use most (body wash, lotion, or body mist) and I chose body wash, so he dripped some into a bottle of unscented wash and shook it up, and presented it to me. I stuck around for a little bit to be polite, and he did keep showing me things and telling me about their products, but not in an excessively pushy way - but I'm not the kind of person who can be shamed into buying a $21 lotion just because I'm getting a freebie. They were actually very nice and service-oriented, and managed to hide their disappointment when I walked out without buying anything, though I do get the feeling that the b-day offer is intended to reward loyal customers (tip: don't be like me and blurt out, "I've never been in this store before!").

I was probably in there for about 15 minutes total, and I'm pretty pleased with my full-size free body wash. If you can put up with the "experience your sensory journey" spa-talk and a medium-hard suggestion sell, then you'll enjoy a very nice free gift from Aveda on your b-day.