I'm having my cake and shipping it too: My secret recipe for snagging the Summer Fridays US exclusive in Italy

Table of Contents

Start Your Buy For Me Request for Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm - Birthday Cake (2026 Anniversary Edition)

Merchant Summer Fridays Sephora US Kohls

Ship To Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d'Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Türkiye Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands

Your Email

Product Url ^*

Product Name ^*

Unit Price (USD)^*

EST Service Fee: $2.4 $1.2

Quantity ^*

Color

Size

Instructions

Submit your proxy shopping order now and enjoy 50% OFF the service fee.

Plus, get 10% OFF international shipping on your first shipment.

Submit Order

Just a moment, securing your connection...

• Why I fell for the 2026 Birthday Cake hype
• My secret to bypass the US-only shipping barrier
• How I avoid the dreaded Order Cancelled screen
• My estimated shipping breakdown for Italy
• A few words on Italy's import tax

Why I fell for the 2026 Birthday Cake hype

I woke up this morning to my social feed being absolutely plastered with the new Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Birthday Cake. This 2026 Anniversary Edition is everywhere, but there was one glaring problem: it is a US exclusive. As someone living in Italy, I knew I wouldn't find this on the shelves of my local Sephora anytime soon. The scent is reportedly a nostalgic vanilla-sprinkle dream, and the limited edition packaging is already becoming a collector's item among my friends.

Whenever I see us trends like this, I get a bit of FOMO. But I've learned that being outside the States doesn't mean I have to miss out. I decided I was going to get that balm to Rome no matter what. It's not just about the product; it's about knowing the right way to navigate the world of international shipping.

My secret to bypass the US-only shipping barrier

The biggest hurdle for me was that Summer Fridays and US Sephora stores don't ship directly to Italy. I needed a reliable freight forwarder to act as my middleman. I have been using comGateway for years because they provide me with a tax-free US address in Oregon. This is a huge win because it means I don't have to pay US sales tax on top of the product price.

When I shop US stores, I simply use that Oregon address at checkout. Once my Birthday Cake balm arrives at the warehouse, I get a notification, and then I can forward packages directly to my front door here in Italy. It makes the Atlantic Ocean feel like a small puddle.

How I avoid the dreaded Order Cancelled screen

I've had my heart broken before. I remember trying to buy a limited release with my Italian credit card, only for the order to be cancelled minutes later. Many US retailers, including big names like Sephora, often block international credit cards or flag addresses associated with a package forwarding service. It is incredibly frustrating when you are ready to spend your money but the system says no.

This is why I now swear by the BuyForMe service. Instead of me trying to force my card through, I let the experts handle it. I just send them the link to the Birthday Cake balm, and they buy it on my behalf using a US domestic card. This proxy shopping method is the safest way to guarantee my order doesn't get caught in a cancellation loop. It’s an assisted purchase that saves me the headache of wondering if my balm is actually on its way.

My estimated shipping breakdown for Italy

Before I commit to a haul, I always use a shipping calculator to see what the damage will be. Since the Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm is a small item, it’s actually quite affordable to ship if you know what you're doing. Here is what I estimated for this specific 2026 edition:

I usually wait until I have a few items to ship together. By consolidating multiple purchases into one box, I can significantly lower my international shipping rates. If you're just getting the balm, it's light enough that the cost is manageable, but adding a few more 2026 beauty drops makes it even better value.

A few words on Italy's import tax

I always remind my friends that when you're doing international shipping to Italy, you need to account for the import tax and VAT (IVA). Since 2021, all goods entering the EU are subject to VAT, regardless of value. For my little lip balm, I expect to pay the 22% IVA plus a small administrative fee from the carrier like DHL or FedEx. I find it's better to be prepared for these shipping fees upfront so there are no surprises when the courier rings my doorbell.

I've found that the total cost—even with the shipping and taxes—is worth it for a product I simply cannot get anywhere else. There's a certain satisfaction in having that Birthday Cake scent on my desk while everyone else is still waiting for a global release that might never happen. If you're eyeing this 2026 anniversary drop, don't let the borders stop you. Just use a pro strategy like I do!