As most of us know, buying beauty products in Australia can rack up a hefty bill. We often pay two or three times the amount for the same products as our friends overseas!
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Besides the competitive prices, other factors such as convenience, availability of certain products and better range has made us Aussies rely on our credit cards and computers to satisfy our makeup cravings. Here we’ll share with you some tried and tested online websites that offer both affordable and luxury products that can be shipped and delivered straight to your door.
Beauty Bay (beautybay.com)
What can I say about good ol’ Beauty Bay? The site is the UK’s largest independent online beauty retailer and I can see why! This frequently browsed online favourite of mine offers popular luxury brands such as Too Faced, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Stila, Urban Decay, Mario Badescu, bareMINERALS, ZOEVA and more, for a fraction of the RRP charged in brick-and-mortar stores here in Australia. If you weren’t already sold, the store offers free international shipping over $20 AUD and complimentary samples to choose at checkout. Standard shipping time, from experience, is anywhere between 7-14 days – pretty impressive, right?
Beauty Joint (beautyjoint.com)
This tried and tested website is my go-to for affordable US “drugstore” brands that we can’t get our paws on down under such as NYX, Wet N Wild, Jordana, Milani and others. They also have well-known brands like theBalm, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Mehron and Sugarpill for a fraction of the asking price in Australia. Shipping time to Australia is generally 2-3 weeks, and shipping cost is estimated by weight.
iHerb (iherb.com)
Another fantastic bookmarked favourite is iHerb, which is best known for being one of the few trustworthy websites that stocks cult favourite makeup brushes, Real Techniques by Samantha and Nicola Chapman for a fraction of the cost. For example, the site offers the Real Techniques Your Base Flawless Core Collection for $18 USD ($22.24 AUD), whereas Priceline asks a ridiculously marked-up price of $44.99 AUD for the same set.
iHerb also offers popular brands such as ELF Cosmetics, EcoTools, Physician’s Formula and others, with a focus on organic or natural brands. Shipping prices are extremely affordable through Australia Post and generally deliver in less than 2 weeks to Australia.
ASOS (asos.com)
Besides being a hub of fashion forward trend pieces, ASOS is certainly an amazing website to source hard-to-get UK beauty brands. The familiar online store stocks products from Rimmel London, Illamasqua, Korres, Lord & Berry, Eyeko, Bourjois, Paul & Joe and others, at a lower price point than asked from Australian retailers. As you all probably know, ASOS offers free international shipping over $40 and generally lands on your doorstep in 7-10 days.
Top tips for shopping online
- Make sure prices are in AUD – sometimes with conversion rates and additional shipping costs, what seems like low prices can end up being more expensive than if you purchased the products from a physical Australian retailer. Always look out for that little Australian flag!
- Why not place an order with a friend in order to split shipping costs? This is a fabulous idea if you’re both placing large orders, as it lowers the overall costs significantly.
- Don’t always trust the photos – if you’re unsure about a certain shade for a product (especially with face products), look up different swatches in different lighting to make sure you add the right shade to cart.
- Look for discounts – always try looking for coupon codes that can provide a discount on your order. For example, sites like ASOS work in conjunction with myunidays.com to provide discounts to Australian university/TAFE students.
- Additionally, websites tend to have amazing sale events to take advantage of around special occasions such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.
- Be careful – do your research and make sure you can trust the website. Read up on reviews or check out videos to make sure you’re giving away your details to businesses that are legit. Where possible, checkout using PayPal to protect your personal details.
Images via huffingtonpost.com, priceline.com.au, iherb.com, beautybay.com, asos.com, beautyjoint.com.
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