By CountryDutchess.com Have you noticed that when it comes to beauty products, now-a-days you can pretty much buy anything on line? It's true! What's more you can also net yourself some substantial savings in the process.
Indeed, from product manufacturer sites offering coupons and rebates to beauty supply discount houses that offer huge cuts on name brands, you can save a ton-o-bucks on both skin care and make up alike.
BUT … ( and you knew that was coming! ) if you don't play your beauty cards right you could also end up losing money – and worse still, adding to that vanity drawer of products you'll never use.
To help ensure that you get the right products at the right price - here are some tips for cosmetic shopping online!
1.Lipstick Google
Never thought of using a search engine to buy a lipstick? Try it! Just enter the brand and even the color and you'll be amazed at the vast array of price points that will pop up. Our quick “Google' of the term “ Loreal Lipstick Pink” brought us price points ranging from $6.47 (Walmart) up to $18.87 ( Amazon) – for the same product!
2Avoid Budget-Buster Shipping Charges - Getting a $20 lipstick for 8 bucks isn't a bargain if it has a $12 shipping charge attached! In our online research we've found shipping as low as “free” to as high as $12.00 ( for a $5 lipstick!) , which are price points that can really determine if your bargain is a bargain! How to find the best shipping deals? Again, Search engines are a girl's best friend! Try this search term: "Cosmetics + Free Shipping". You will NOT BELIEVE the ton of offers that will pop up! In fact you can even enter the name brand of the product you want and add “Free Shipping” and you'll find out who is offering the best bargain that day!
3.Reduce Return Policy Nightmares: A beauty buy bargain is really only a bargain if you use it, right? So for this week's moment of truth, raise your hands: How many have more than 5 beauty products in their “mistake” drawer? How many have more than 10? We thought so. Indeed, even when you make a hands-on selection in your local store, color as well as product performance doesn't always translate well from the counter to your face. Well there are ways to reduce some buying mistakes ( see tip # 4), but when you can't, a stores Return Policy can go a long way in keeping that “mistake drawer” from overflowing. While some online shops have a strict “NO RETURN” policy on make-up, others offer a generous return policy, so be sure to check it out before you buy. Also important: Find out what the store does with returns. Most dump them. But some recycle the products back into stock – which means you might end up with someone else's mistake in your make up bag! UGH! To be sure, check out the return policy and if it's not clear how they handle used products, send em an email before you buy!
4. Avoid Color Mistakes- After taking a quick, unscientific but very revealing poll, we've discovered the biggest online cosmetic buying mistakes are color related. In short, because no two computer monitors display color in the exact same way, pink is not always pink! Complicating things further: Cosmetic companies which insist on using non-descriptive phrases for color choices ( Really, what the heck is the color “ Passion” or “Goddess” ? ). So,to cut down on color mistakes you can do one of several things. First, find a product you already own on the site where you plan to shop - and compare how the color rendition looks to the real thing. Is the picture lighter, darker, more vibrant, deeper than what you see in person? If so use that as a way of judging how other products you don't own will look by comparison. If you can't color -compare to something you own, at least compare swatches online. To do so always select the option “ View all colors” - and then see how different shades stack up to each other. The more shades of each color there are ( 5 shades of pink, 6 shades of red, 4 shades of peach) the more likely you are to find “light pink” or “dark pink” simply by comparing the swatches to each other.
5.Look for Beauty Bonuses! While product price and shipping are often the determining factors as to what makes a bargain a bargain, so do “freebies” - and by that we mean the 'extras' that many companies now toss in as incentives to buy. This can include anything from one-time use samples, to full sized free products! How to find the best bargains? Again, a search engine will do it! Simply enter “ Cosmetics + Free Offers” or specific terms such as “Clinique + Free Offers” or “ Prescriptives + Free Offers” - or even try store names such as “Sephora +Free Offers” and you'll be AMAZED at the bargains you will find!
Indeed, from product manufacturer sites offering coupons and rebates to beauty supply discount houses that offer huge cuts on name brands, you can save a ton-o-bucks on both skin care and make up alike.
BUT … ( and you knew that was coming! ) if you don't play your beauty cards right you could also end up losing money – and worse still, adding to that vanity drawer of products you'll never use.
To help ensure that you get the right products at the right price - here are some tips for cosmetic shopping online!
1.Lipstick Google
Never thought of using a search engine to buy a lipstick? Try it! Just enter the brand and even the color and you'll be amazed at the vast array of price points that will pop up. Our quick “Google' of the term “ Loreal Lipstick Pink” brought us price points ranging from $6.47 (Walmart) up to $18.87 ( Amazon) – for the same product!
2Avoid Budget-Buster Shipping Charges - Getting a $20 lipstick for 8 bucks isn't a bargain if it has a $12 shipping charge attached! In our online research we've found shipping as low as “free” to as high as $12.00 ( for a $5 lipstick!) , which are price points that can really determine if your bargain is a bargain! How to find the best shipping deals? Again, Search engines are a girl's best friend! Try this search term: "Cosmetics + Free Shipping". You will NOT BELIEVE the ton of offers that will pop up! In fact you can even enter the name brand of the product you want and add “Free Shipping” and you'll find out who is offering the best bargain that day!
3.Reduce Return Policy Nightmares: A beauty buy bargain is really only a bargain if you use it, right? So for this week's moment of truth, raise your hands: How many have more than 5 beauty products in their “mistake” drawer? How many have more than 10? We thought so. Indeed, even when you make a hands-on selection in your local store, color as well as product performance doesn't always translate well from the counter to your face. Well there are ways to reduce some buying mistakes ( see tip # 4), but when you can't, a stores Return Policy can go a long way in keeping that “mistake drawer” from overflowing. While some online shops have a strict “NO RETURN” policy on make-up, others offer a generous return policy, so be sure to check it out before you buy. Also important: Find out what the store does with returns. Most dump them. But some recycle the products back into stock – which means you might end up with someone else's mistake in your make up bag! UGH! To be sure, check out the return policy and if it's not clear how they handle used products, send em an email before you buy!
4. Avoid Color Mistakes- After taking a quick, unscientific but very revealing poll, we've discovered the biggest online cosmetic buying mistakes are color related. In short, because no two computer monitors display color in the exact same way, pink is not always pink! Complicating things further: Cosmetic companies which insist on using non-descriptive phrases for color choices ( Really, what the heck is the color “ Passion” or “Goddess” ? ). So,to cut down on color mistakes you can do one of several things. First, find a product you already own on the site where you plan to shop - and compare how the color rendition looks to the real thing. Is the picture lighter, darker, more vibrant, deeper than what you see in person? If so use that as a way of judging how other products you don't own will look by comparison. If you can't color -compare to something you own, at least compare swatches online. To do so always select the option “ View all colors” - and then see how different shades stack up to each other. The more shades of each color there are ( 5 shades of pink, 6 shades of red, 4 shades of peach) the more likely you are to find “light pink” or “dark pink” simply by comparing the swatches to each other.
5.Look for Beauty Bonuses! While product price and shipping are often the determining factors as to what makes a bargain a bargain, so do “freebies” - and by that we mean the 'extras' that many companies now toss in as incentives to buy. This can include anything from one-time use samples, to full sized free products! How to find the best bargains? Again, a search engine will do it! Simply enter “ Cosmetics + Free Offers” or specific terms such as “Clinique + Free Offers” or “ Prescriptives + Free Offers” - or even try store names such as “Sephora +Free Offers” and you'll be AMAZED at the bargains you will find!
For the best bargains on costume and fashion jewelry and accessories be sure to visit us at CountryDutchess.com – or for round-the-clock money-saving beauty and style advice visit
CheapChicDiary.com – Your Source For Beauty On A Budget!
Copyright by Colette Bouchez 2009 - All Rights Reserved. In addition to US Copyright, the text of this CheapChicDiary article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.
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