Buying Makeup Online

Back in India buying makeup meant to go to a fancy store, or a departmental store, or sometimes a mall coz there was no such thing as buying makeup online. After coming to US, I discovered that actually buying makeup online is cheaper and you have access to a lot of products online than in-store. Also there's the free shipping and zero tax depending on which state you live in. So the idea was new to me and I was very keen on trying it but sadly none of the ladies I knew had any experience with buying makeup, let alone online. So I had to try it out for myself with hit and error methods, and finally came across some really good websites which I can now say are the best and trusted online stores for buying makeup, beauty, and skincare products.

Here's the list if you're new to US and would like to try them out:

Amazon: Yes, they actually sell a lot of makeup, beauty, and skincare products a lot cheaper than stores. And they are all the same branded products that we get in stores.

ELF: This is a brand that you do not find in many stores. Thankfully they have an online store with great pricing. Sign up for their newsletter for great offers and discounts and you'll never be disappointed. Seriously, their lip-glosses are $1, can anything beat that? Right now they have an offer going on for a $20 purchase which is a free $20 value mystery gift bag, plus you might be one of the lucky 4 winners to receive a $100 elf gift card. It is so tempting :) I love their mineral makeup, eyebrow kit, and nail polishes.

Avon: One of my favorite brands which was only available through avon representatives, and a few stores a few years back, but now they have their online store, so buying avon products is easier. Reasonable prizes and great offers/discounts. Love their glazewear lip-glosses.

Beauty: A part of drugstore.com, shopping here is just like buying makeup, or beauty products in any local drugstore, only its online. Great prices, and many offers and discounts. They also let you know whenever there is some sale going on in the local drugstores/pharmacies when you subscribe. They also allow us to select 3 free samples with every purchase. Mostly there is no shipping and/or tax. I recently bought NARS orgasm original here.

Sephora: A huge collection of brands that I've never even heard of. A little pricey compared to the above stores, but they have great offers, discounts, and markdowns so we have to be on the lookout. Sign up to be in the loop. And again samples, samples, samples :) who doesn't like a freebie.

Ulta: Name a famous brand and you can find it here. They have these reward/beauty points based on our purchases and we can later exchange them for any of their products. Like Sephora, a little pricey. Has offers and discounts though, so its better to sign up.

CherryCulture: I didn't know about this until I came across some beauty bloggers, and vloggers online. This online store carries a lot of reasonably priced brands and has sales, and discounts very often. It is worth checking out. Sign up for their emailing list and they'll notify you of offers, sales etc.

CoastalScents: This is the place for you if you like buying makeup in palettes. They have a very good collection of beautiful lip colors, and eye shadow palettes. They also have a nice collection of mineral makeup pots that are available in both sample and full sizes.

Etsy: Yes, its not just for handmade crafts but also for homemade makeup products like mineral eyeshadows, foundation, and sometimes lipglosses too. Since they are not company based there are no huge taxes and hence the cost is low but I'm not sure how well they work.

Ebay: There's everything on ebay, just like amazon. Only problem is you have to be alert with biddings, have a paypal account, and sometimes returns are not accepted. But if you're lucky and don't mind these issues then you can bag stuff for the cheapest price in the whole world, sitting at home.

The only problem when buying makeup online is that the colors may not always be true to their original color. You will have to get a clear understanding of that and know what suits you before ordering and do not always go by WYSIWYG.

In stores you can try buying makeup/beauty products at your local drugstore/pharmacy like CVS, and Walgreens. You can also go to discount stores like Target, Sears, and Walmart. Other than these you can go to groceries like Dominicks, and Jewel Osco and check out their pharmacy sections. Also, you can try malls like Macy's, Kohls, and Carsons. Some other stores you might wanna go to are H&M, Forever21, and Nordstrom. They carry a lot of reasonably priced brands and also have free gift bags with purchases sometimes. When you sign up for their store cards in any of these stores, you will be eligible for instant discounts, and they will mail you coupons, offers, sale notifications etc., to your home.

Do you shop at these places? Or do you have any other favorite online place for buying makeup/beauty products? Please do share and let me know why?

Happy Leap Day! I think this is the first time I posted on a leap day.