I love shopping online for a few reasons. First, I research a lot before purchase (ingredients, swatches, prices) and it's easier to shop and research online at the same time. Second, it's easier to compare products online. Third, I can shop multiple stores at once, which means less travel time and hassles!
However, there are two big downsides: you can't swatch or try out the products before you buy it, and shipping fees and return policies can be a huge turn off.
I absolutely hate paying for shipping and crappy return policies. With that being said, I'm going to recommend some of my favorite websites to shop and most of them have it all covered!
Nordstrom offers the best shipping and return policies. The shipping is absolutely free, no minimum $. If you try the product and don't love it, you can return it for a full refund or exchange for something else. The return process is super easy. Did I mention that you don't pay for return shipping? They also have a lot of brands that Sephora doesn't carry.
Brands to check out: MAC, Burberry, Estee Lauder, Chanel, Kevyn Aucoin, Jouer, Giorgio Armani, Jo Malone, Diptyque, Lipstick Queen
ASOS is a UK retailer. I love ASOS because they offer free shipping and free return shipping. They can also do full refund on returns within 28 days after placing the order. The shipping is relatively fast for international shipping to US. Unlike other UK websites, for some reason I've never been charged for a currency exchange fee. I love ASOS for both fashion and cosmetics products, especially UK cosmetics brands. They sometimes run really nice sales, too!
Brands to check out: Bourjois, Barry M, Daniel Sandler, Illamasqua, Lord & Berry, Models Own, Rimmel (for UK exclusive items)
Brands to check out: Bourjois, Barry M, Daniel Sandler, Illamasqua, Lord & Berry, Models Own, Rimmel (for UK exclusive items)
Sephora.com
Sephora is great for their loyalty program (Beauty Insider). Earning points is easy and the points are basically your token to get free things (samples, minis). Beauty Insideres also get free birthday gifts! Beauty Insiders who spend $350 a year are qualified to be VIB. If you spend $1000 a year, you are a VIB Rouge! For benefits details, click this link. They offer free shipping on orders over $50 and free return shipping and refunds. You can also return the products in stores. I prefer Sephora.com when the products I want are available there and total over $50 because I can earn points and pick up some deluxe samples and use the promo codes to pick up even more samples! They also offer a lot of brands and keep expanding their product lines.
Brands to check out: Buxom, Becca, Bite Beauty, Boscia, Bumble and Bumble, Cover FX, Dr. Jart, Edward Bess, Josie Maran, Illamasqua, Hourglass, Kat Von D, Korres, Make Up For Ever, Marc Jacobs, NUDE, Nails Inc, Soap & Glory, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
Sephora is great for their loyalty program (Beauty Insider). Earning points is easy and the points are basically your token to get free things (samples, minis). Beauty Insideres also get free birthday gifts! Beauty Insiders who spend $350 a year are qualified to be VIB. If you spend $1000 a year, you are a VIB Rouge! For benefits details, click this link. They offer free shipping on orders over $50 and free return shipping and refunds. You can also return the products in stores. I prefer Sephora.com when the products I want are available there and total over $50 because I can earn points and pick up some deluxe samples and use the promo codes to pick up even more samples! They also offer a lot of brands and keep expanding their product lines.
Brands to check out: Buxom, Becca, Bite Beauty, Boscia, Bumble and Bumble, Cover FX, Dr. Jart, Edward Bess, Josie Maran, Illamasqua, Hourglass, Kat Von D, Korres, Make Up For Ever, Marc Jacobs, NUDE, Nails Inc, Soap & Glory, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
Dermstore carries a ton of skincare brands and some makeup brands. They also offer free shipping on any orders. The return process isn't as easy as Nordstrom's, but the return shipping is free for an exchange or store credit. I love to come here for french pharmacy brands. It's a good place to go if you're looking for certain ingredients in your skincare because you can shop by ingredients.
Brands to check out: Embryolisse, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, Juice Beauty, Dermalogica, Avene, Nuxe, DHC, It Cosmetics, Tarina Tarantino
Feelunique is also a UK retailer. They offer free shipping, but no free return shipping and can only return if items are unused. I'm obviously not a fan of their return policies so I mainly shop here for products that are either hyped or highly recommended by my favorite bloggers. They sometimes offer really good prices on some European and Australian brands. I've been charged for currency exchange fees (about $5 per transaction, check with your bank). I know this website doesn't sound very appealing compared to other brands, but I do love it for brands I can't find anywhere else.
Brands to check out: Emma Hardie, Caudalie, Melvita, Antipodes, Daniel Sandler, Trilogy, Dr. Hauschka
Brands to check out: Emma Hardie, Caudalie, Melvita, Antipodes, Daniel Sandler, Trilogy, Dr. Hauschka
These two sites are 2 websites 1 bag and offer free shipping over $35 (both sites combined). They both offer really good sales. Drugstore.com often has 20% off or buy one get one 50% off. Beauty.com often offers $10 off $50 purchase; however, I've found the promo hard to work with sometimes because it doesn't combine with other promotions. So if you already have a promotion in your cart it's almost impossible to switch promos. But if it works, it's definitely a great deal, especially on high end brands like NARS, Tarte, Urban Decay, etc. In terms of return shipping, Beauty.com offers it for free but Drugstore.com doesn't.
Brands to check out: Malin & Goetz, Mally Beauty, Kevyn Aucoin, It Cosmetics, Lipstick Queen, Z Palette, theBalm, By Terry
Brands to check out: Malin & Goetz, Mally Beauty, Kevyn Aucoin, It Cosmetics, Lipstick Queen, Z Palette, theBalm, By Terry
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