The best beauty sites
Where to find great deals on cosmetics, perfumes, and more
For discontinued items and custom colors
The site reproduces discontinued lipsticks for $55 plus shipping for two tubes. It’ll also copy foundations, powders, blush,
and eye shadow. Simply mail a dime-sized amount in a plastic bag. It takes about 10 days, but once the formula is on file,
shipping is faster and orders cost $10 less.
For unusual finds
Benefit Cosmetics made its name with products like Benetint cheek glow, $28, a long-wearing cheek stain, and Hoola bronzing
blush, $26. One cool new product is Get Bent mascara, $19, which has an angled wand for easy application. Just one bummer:
Shipping can add up--it’s $4.49 plus 99 cents per item.
For specialty items
Here you’ll locate lots of hard-to-find beauty products, like Rosebud Salve Lip Balm, which comes in a nice old-fashioned
tin, and La Roche-Posay sunscreen (see “The latest sunscreen craze,” page 67). Prices of many products are slightly lower
at this site than at other sites. And the selection is impressive. Shipping is about $6 unless your order is more than $100.
Then it’s free.
For great gifts
Here you’ll find lots of nice gift ideas, like a fancy goody bag from the luxury fashion company Tocca that includes a candle,
body wash, and body lotion for $40. And since you can get same-day shipping of in-stock items, it’s fine if you wait until
the last minute, though it costs up to $23. You get free regular shipping when you spend over $75--an incentive to add some
extra items to your shopping cart!
For perfume
This site offers more than 800 brands of perfume, including discontinued scents. Track down an old favorite with a search
function that lets you shop by the decade it was launched. Perfumebay often undercuts department-store prices. Just one warning:
The site also sells discounted “tester bottles,” but they’re not the deal they may seem to be. So stick with full-size perfume
bottles.
Avoid these!
This site claims to offer discounts on major drugstore brands, like Neutrogena and Cover Girl, but by the time you factor in shipping, the savings are paltry or nonexistent. A Neutrogena bronzer was advertised at 33 percent off, but when we clicked on the item, the price wasn't the teased $8.52, but $12.79. While it was still 20 cents less than it sells for at CVS, the savings was far lower than the site claimed, and shipping is $5.95. You're better off hoofing it to CVS.
Hairy hair supplier
The name implies discounts, but many sites have better deals. The company says it'll match any price, but you have to submit
proof by e-mailing the link to the site where you've seen the product cheaper and wait to see what price Beauty Depot will
give you. A better bet: www.salonsavings.com.
| Click any of the links below for a selection of articles from the August/September 2007 issue of ShopSmart;) Editor's Letter Greetings from ShopSmart Editor-in-Chief Lisa Lee Freeman Your worst shopping mistakes You bought that? Tell us about it--or better yet, send us a picture! How to spot a fake Think that designer jewelry is a steal? It might be a scam. See our tips to avoid getting taken. 11 ways to slash your grocery bill Finding cheaper stores, fake-outs to avoid and other shopping tactics. What's cooking online Need a recipe? Turn on the computer instead of cracking open a cookbook. A day in the life of a mystery shopper Where to find great deals on cosmetics, perfumes and more. Sunscreen dos and don'ts Get it right for maximum protection from UV rays. Can't find ShopSmart in your local bookstore? Order it online or call our toll-free number to get your copy now. |
