Treasure Island: A Guide to Overseas Online Cosmetics Shops
Russian beauty market is full of plenty, but a lot of religious and just great marks have never reached us. If you like cosmetics and do not want to be limited to the nearest stores, we advise you to master the skills of shopping in foreign online stores. We collected information on how and where to buy cosmetics in the Internet space and - most importantly - how to spend less money on it.
Text: Roxana Kiseleva, author of the telegram channel godblesstheconcealer
How to buy?
In most cases, buying a cream in a foreign online store is no more difficult than ordering pizza from a nearby pizzeria. You will need a card with the ability to pay online, access to the Internet and voilà, you are in business. Ignorance of the English language can be a small obstacle, but for this case there are instructions on the Runet for ordering from almost any site. Just keep in mind that all data must be entered in English, and in which case write in support with the help of an online translator. Do not hesitate - you will understand and try to help.
Some US online stores (Sephora, Ulta) do not deliver to Russia directly, but you can use the services of intermediaries. Here are the services personally verified by the author: Shopfans, "Beauty Mail", "Parcel Post". If the store does not accept Russian cards, pay for purchases through PayPal, and the option "help with the purchase" will also help you out (the store will do everything for you). It is also useful when the retailer does not deliver purchases to the warehouse - the service employee will place an order at his personal address. In some cases, you even need an anonymizer or VPN to just go to the store's website. Yes, sometimes it is almost more difficult to order lipstick than to buy a weapon. But conspiracy theories should be put aside. Thus, shops simply block the flow of unnecessary requests, so as not to spoil the statistics of attendance for their marketers. To begin with, we chose eight reliable online stores, in which there seems to be everything.
Cultbeauty
WHAT TO BUY: photogenic candles Overose; fours of shadows and blush Charlotte Tilbury; soft gel for washing without soap Indie Lee; styling bleach london; palettes of shadows Viseart; Surratt Lash Curler; sculptor and glitter for the eyes Kevyn Aucoin; the best in the world (according to the author) cleansing balm Farmacy; finishing powder Hourglass, as well as many other things.
Online store with user-friendly interface, generous promotions and a luxurious range of niche brands. Free delivery of your purchase by courier with an order amount of 40 pounds, and when ordering more than 50 pounds, they will also put probes in the package. Please note that for some brands (Zoeva, Becca, Huda Beauty) the delivery to Russia is closed due to an agreement with their official representatives, but for us there is a nice bonus: for orders outside the EU, the European tax is deducted from the amount ( about 18%). So, Verso face cream will cost you one and a half times cheaper than buying from a Russian distributor.
Space nk
What to buy: Malin + Goetz, Chantecaille and Aesop cosmetics are cheaper than Russian distributors; Diptyque candles; tools popular in instagrame brands Herbivore Botanicals and Drunk Elephant; lipstick Ilia; Susanne Kaufmann ultra-luxury bath oils; Windle & Moodie hair cosmetics.
Another British store with niche brands, pretty limited sets of collaborations with beauty gurus and generous promotions. The assortment is generally similar to Cultbeauty, but the tax when ordering Space NK is not deducted.
Cocooncenter
What to buy: Phytophanere legendary vitamins for hair growth; Kneipp relaxing bath products; creams and serums SVR; Bioderma micellar water and Filorga mesomask at good prices; Yogi tea and Durex condoms abroad (they are said to be better than Russian).
Online store with an assortment of classic French pharmacies. Any "pharmacy brand" like Vichy and Lierac here if not worth much cheaper, then just sold for some stocks like "1 + 1 = 3". Shipping cost is calculated based on the weight of your order and is not at all small in itself, but in such cases you can divide the order with the girlfriends and save.
Lovelaula
What to buy: French clay cleansing mask Kimberly Sayer; Hope's Relief products for very dry and atopic skin; German cosmeceuticals Dr. Hauschka; Balm Balm Flower Water; Ooh oils !; cosmetics for hair René furterer.
Collection of organic, budget and not very. For those who are lost in the assortment (and he really is huge) and wants to try everything, the store has beauty boxes: every month you will receive a surprise box with full-sized tools and miniatures. For Russia, it is possible to subscribe only for three months (52.5 pounds) or a year (210 pounds), and you can see the contents of the previous boxes here. Delivery to us is free when ordering 15 pounds, but a problem may arise: the store does not provide buyers with tracking codes for a parcel and there is a risk that it will be lost somewhere along the way. In such cases, LoveLula always returns money, so you can not worry too much.
Loookfantastic
What to buy: night oil and cream Aurelia Probiotic Skincare; Omorovicza sets; Alpha-H Acid Serum; Christophe Robin, Sachajuan and Original & Mineral; Dr. lip balm Lipp; Marvis toothpastes; body products with aromatherapy fragrances Rituals; auto tanning Tropez; RMS Beauty highlighter and concealer; Pai Skincare Rosehip Oil; Jurlique flower waters; hand creams Crabtree & Evelyn.
Here are collected almost all popular British brands and many other interesting things. There is a version in Russian and Russian-speaking technical support. Every day there is a new nice promotion or promo code for a discount - as long as you buy more. Full list of offers you can find here. The store also has a service for beauty boxes, but keep in mind that, having subscribed for three months, you will not be able to cancel it earlier than in three months. And it is automatically renewed, so do not forget to turn off the service when you get tired of it.
Sephora
What to buy: lipsticks and lip pencils Bite Beauty; Sephora Favorites sundry thumbnail sets; DevaCurl curly hair care products; Bumble and bumble beach spray; Tatcha and AmorePacific luxury skin care; palette shadows and highlighters Pat McGrath Labs; Philosophy body fragrance; Elizabeth and James fragrances; Artis brushes; lip balms and tonic with fresh rose petals; whatever, Fenty Beauty and Milk Makeup sticks.
Congratulations to the local beauty junk with the arrival of Sephora in Russia. So far, the assortment in our stores is identical to European Sephora and therefore is quite modest when compared to the chain stores in America. But we are waiting and we hope that something else outlandish will be brought to Russia. In the meantime, you can order products from the US site through an intermediary. With each purchase you get points that you can spend on something pleasant, and two samples to choose from. Additional information about current promotions like “buy cosmetics for $ 20 and get a miniature perfume” can be found in the “Offers” tab. Important point: your intermediary should have the option "help with the purchase", because sephora.com does not accept Russian cards, and also does not deliver orders to the addresses of warehouses or hotels.
Beautylish
What to buy: Wayne Goss and Chikuhodo brushes; palettes of shadows Natasha Denona; Coola Sanskrins; shadows and lipstick sugarpill; RCMA make-up powder and Lit Cosmetics universal glitters.
American online store, adapted for Russian-speaking customers. The cost of shipping to Russia is $ 20 for orders less than $ 100, higher is already free.
Beautyhabit
What to buy: lipsticks and lip pencils Rodin Olio Lusso; Egyptian Magic healing multitask cream; nice little things Rifle Paper Co .; Bachca hairbrushes; Saipua soap; cosmetics in cute packs Paul & Joe; oils and shower products Aromatherapy Associates.
American pharmacy with niche brands, gifts and a large olfactory collection. If you are fond of perfumery, take a set of samples - be sure to find something cool and new. Delivery to Russia is (cost - $ 50), but it is better to share it with a friend or send an order to the address of the intermediary.
How to save money
Watch for discounts
Many online stores have a year-round "Sale" section, where everything that could not find the owners for the full price is collected. And on holidays (Christmas, or Labor Day and Thanksgiving Day in the USA) and Black Friday, online retailers launch additional sales with big discounts. Sometimes sales happen and just like that - we recommend to subscribe to the newsletter of your favorite online stores in order not to miss the palette of shadows that interest you at half price.
Use referral codes
Some stores, such as Morphebrushes.com, iHerb, Glossier, provide referral codes. What this means: a blogger or a regular customer receives his personal discount code (as a rule, he acts on the first order), which he shares with his friends and subscribers. With each order, the owner of the code receives a commission, and you - the opportunity to buy a product a little cheaper.
Buy mini-formats
If you are not sure that you need another can of cream, but you still want to try the novelty, buy it in miniature. Often brands collect mini-versions of their bestsellers in travel kits, and this is a win-win situation: for a reasonable amount of money, you receive several funds at once in an amount that you can accurately use until the expiration date. Take a closer look: for Christmas, many brands have released limited sets for every taste and wallet. For example, now on sale you can find a collection of Drunk Elephant hits, the best Omorovicza products in mini-versions and a set of excellent Caudalie hand creams for gifts to colleagues. If you don’t need a whole set, look for miniatures of masks and serums on ebay.com.
Receive gifts for purchase
Before ordering, look for whether the online store tabs "Offers". Usually they throw out special offers like “buy two and get the third product as a gift” or “buy cosmetics of the brand N for a certain amount and get some kind of thing”. Some stores (especially often members of the Hut Group) sometimes donate sets of thumbnails and samplers for large orders. Nothing fancy, but nice.
But the most important promotions of each season are the so-called goodybags. The nearest will be in the first days of December on Cultbeauty and Space NK. What does it mean: by collecting an order for a certain amount (150 and 170 pounds respectively) you get a “bag” of gifts, as in the photo. Understandably, you should not spend money on unnecessary cosmetics to get a gift. Better to simply plan your purchases in advance and place orders during discounts and promotions.
Subscribe to useful blogs
In the Russian-speaking space, your guides to the world of online shopping are Plush_Koala in LiveJournal and Julia Ulyanova in Telegram: the girls quickly collect information about discounts and special offers in popular online stores and share honest reviews on cosmetics. And for new products and discounts from American retailers, you can follow through instagram Trendmood.
Photo: Space NK / Facebook (1, 2)