I did an Instagram poll not too long ago asking if my audience liked to purchase their skincare/beauty products online or instore and surprisingly, a lot of them preferred to shop online. As a fellow beauty lover, I am quite the same. I prefer to not have any real-life interactions and prefer to shop freely. There are countless online shops everyone seems to shop at. My favorite online stores to shop at are:

Amazon
Yesstyle
EBay
Jolse

There are other shops I do shop at however, I prefer shopping from these sources because I usually can find products I enjoy at a very fair price.

My tips finding a good bargain or a hidden gem:

• When shopping anywhere, see if there is a drag box available on the shop menu where you can ascend items from lowest to highest price.
• Always look for a sale tab to check out what the store has promotions/offers for that week.
• Coupon codes are usually available on the front page of the website, sent to your email (be sure to double-check your junk mailbox), and also, some online reviewers may have a discount code for you to use to look around before you check out.
• Take your time and look through categories on the shop because unlike instore, we won’t be followed around and asked if you need help so you can self serve and also do your own research prior to committing to a purchase.
• If you shop on eBay, sometimes sellers give you the option to “make an offer“, which means you can haggle your way to finding the best price for your item. I believe you get about 3 chances so make some reasonable offers because the seller needs to make money as well.
• I always get excited when there are new releases, specifically if they’re from my favorite brands. Most online stores have a “NEW” items tab for you to check out their new store releases.

Watch out for counterfeits!

• It’s really difficult at times because sometimes when a brand is really well-known and popular, you may come across a counterfeit. There are a few ways you can dodge counterfeits on eBay and Amazon.
• Do your research, always look up comparison photos between the authentic and counterfeit because you would be very surprised how well these items can be replicated.
• For eBay, check for reputable sellers with a HIGH amount of orders and reviews. Be sure to look specifically at the negative reviews to sell what people were complaining about to avoid the same issue occurring to you.
• For Amazon, it’s a bit different simply because eBay tends to be a platform with resellers while Amazon actually has retailers and also third-party sellers. If you were to purchase from a third-party seller and they were fulfilled by Amazon, the third-party seller ships the product to Amazon then Amazon ships the item to you. This does not mean that Amazon will check if whether your item is authentic or not.
• If you’re really unsure, search up the seller’s name on google to find any additional feedback or reviews on their products and legitimacy. I would look into finding long, detailed reviews and ones that provide actual images, rather than generic answers that are short and sweet. Don’t be fooled with the “verified purchase” beside their names because some businesses actually think they’re sneaky enough to hire people to create fake accounts, purchasing their own products and writing an amazing review.

In no way, I am trying to scare you all but rather share some precautions I take when online shopping because you truly never really know. If you have any further questions, please feel free to drop me a comment below or DM me on instagram!