I am impatient when I wanted something badly. If I can choose I would prefer to get my beauty fix from retailers directly. But no matter how bad I wanted that something, I will stop and think if it’s worth to pay premium. To my own surprise I do have a pretty good shopping restraining mindset. After all I’m no longer 18 years old impulsive shopper. When it comes to expensive counter brands, I turned to my usual local online beauty stores. I happen to know a few local online seller that is selling at 40% – 50% lower than retail. If these seller doesn’t have the stuff I wanted, I turned to these 3-Online Beauty Stores.
Here is my Top 3 Favourite Online Beauty Stores in no particular order.
Best Buy World Malaysia (http://my.bestbuy-world.com/)
Best Buy World (BBW) is probably my favourite online store for deluxe and miniature counter brands. Whenever a brand launched a new product, I will turn to BBW for deluxe size before purchasing full size from the counter. This is because I would rather pay for a sample to try than asking from the counter. The array of brands and products is so huge. BBW also carry full sizes at discounted price and they offer customized sets and sales from time to time.
BBW offer free shipping for puchase of RM150 and above. It used to be just RM100. Certain areas in Klang Valley is also eligible for Cash On Delivery (COD) deal.
So far I have make numerous purchase at BBW and I don’t encounter any issue like fake products, expired products or delay in shipping. You can read about my Best Buy World shopping experience here.
Luxola (http://www.luxola.com/my)
Luxola is the most addicting beauty store website of all! The company itself is quite new, I think it was probably established 2 years ago? What I like about Luxola is the international brands that they carry, which is not available in Malaysia directly for example Sigma brushes, Sleek, Konjac Sponge, BECCA Cosmetics, Beauty Blender, Face Atelier, the recent new addition Zoeva and many more.
My first purchase was alright. The parcel was shipped from Singapore and it arrived less than a week. Nowadays it only took 1 – 2 days which is super awesome 😀 . Their free shipping benchmark fluctuate previously. Sometimes it’s free shipping for RM100 and above purchase, sometimes RM140 and sometimes RM40+. I’m glad that Luxola has now fixed the minimum purchase for free shipping at RM40 only. This is probably the main reason why I like Luxola.
Another main reason why me and everyone else like to get our beauty fix at Luxola is the sales period. I notice that Luxola is constantly throwing 25% or 30% discount storewide. I usually wait for 30% 🙂 . Certain low demand item is put on maybe 40% to 75% discount sometimes. However I have to warn you about the constant change in product price. My advise is don’t go back to check the price after you’ve bought an item because sometimes the price can be lower.
Supermodel’s Secret (http://www.supermodel2u.com/)
Getting gorgeous without surgery, that’s the motto of Supermodel’s Secret. Whatever you can think of, you will find it at Supermodel’s Secret. I happen to know the down to heart, sweet, kind and gorgeous founder and owner for this large scale beauty store. What I like about Supermodel’s Secret is the globe-wide array of products. The store carry brands that is not available on retail locally such as Elishacoy, Ardell, Carmex, Babyliss, As Seen In TV and many more. If you are following Korean or Japanese beauty style you will probably hoard every single item from this store.
Price wise, it’s quite reasonable. Supermodel’s Secret offer free shipping for RM100 purchase and above. It’s quite convenient to make a whole lot of purchase one lump sump from them rather than bit by bit from other individual online seller. I am too was into all this Korean beauty stuff. I used to buy a lot from a few individual seller. All the postage I have to pay. Phew.
Other than the above online beauty stores, I have heard a lot about other local and international website such as HiShop, Hermo and so on. I personally don’t shop at HiShop or Hermo as they don’t have the stuff I want.
Not sure if you have heard or buy from iHerb before. This online store name keep popping out everywhere from successful buyer. Most beauty blogger I know locally and internationally shop at iHerb. Their international shipping rate is quite low too, which is why the site is a favourite. I have yet to buy anything from iHerb. I probably don’t have the patience to wait for the shipment to arrive.
Among favourite among every beauty addict is StrawberryNET. The site never attract me to buy anything but I heard that you can try your luck in finding past season products or limited edition products. I find the site to be a bit crampy, the picture used on most product is old packaging and the price is not really that cheap. Sometimes it’s more expensive than counter too. Let’s take Clarins UV Plus HP Perfecting Cream High Protection BB Cream as an example. This BB Cream is retailing for RM158 for 30ml at local counter. StrawberryNET is selling the same BB Cream for RM183.50. Here’s the link. I guess shopper will need to keep an eye on sales.
Over the past few years, online shopping is slowly playing a major role in our society and everyday life. I am a fan of online shopping as I can get a better price and deal compared with buying directly from retailer. I still prefer online store that is based locally or a store that can ship out my parcel the next day. I have low tolerance in waiting for the parcel to arrive. Well, I get bored very fast and the hype will be gone if I were to put on wait 😀
Many people have ask me how to know if the seller is trustworthy. If the store offer feedbacks and rating system like eBay, read through all the feedbacks from other buyers. It will give you an idea on how fast the seller send out the parcel, how patience is the seller in answering your questions and if the products are authentic. If there is no rating system available, just do some googling on the store and on possibilities of a fake version of the product you are buying. This is what I usually do 😀 . Otherwise you can shop from my blog sales store. Ehem 😉
Are you an online shopaholic too? Share with me your favourite trustworthy online store, all the good and the bad. I want to hear it all from you!
Comments (25)
Hi Fiona,
Just dropping by to let you know that you should really give iherb a shot. I normally opt for express dhl shipping with tracking number and it normally only takes up to 5 days MAX to arrive. I’ve got shipments which i ordered on Friday and it arrived on Tuesday! (which is faster than some local websites. The express option is USD4 more, but it honestly isn’t much if you buy a few items.
Hello Verona,
Oh yea definitely. I don’t have anything urgent so I’m looking to purchase at iHerb. The stuff I want is currently out of stock. I’m waiting for them to restock lol. The shipping fee is quite reasonable. But I have heard some people lost their parcel even if it’s express DHL.
I have heard all of the websites you mentioned above but I haven’t tried buying from most of them yet. The online beauty shops I have had experiences with are Luxola, HiShop, Hermo, Natta Cosme and so far, all of them gave me excellent shopping experiences. But some of my friends said that they had bad experiences with some of these shops so, I cant say that they’re 100% perfect.
I say online shopping really depends on luck. I have bad experience with Kiss & Tell whereas everyone else had no problem despite numerous repeat order. I love my eBay seller to death but she stopped selling 🙁
Actually Luxola messed up my first order but they quickly rectified the problem right before sending out my parcel. Kudos to them for noticing before sending out to customers.
I usually get Ecotools and Real techniques brushes on iHerb. Wayyy cheaper than Shins. Worth the wait.
Joanne,
same here, i do get those brushes from iherb, worth the waiting..last year i got few RT brushes and ecotools.
This year i purchase ELF brushes and makeup products.
Thinking of purchasing rt brushes some more..LOL
Once you’ve move to RT, you’ll not go to ELF 😛
I’m trying to see if any local online seller is selling Real Technique brushes :). But anyhow the RT brushes I wanted is sold out in iHerb. Waiting for restock 😉
hi fiona, thx to u, i’m one of the successful buyer from luxola..haha
can’t wait for their sales some more.
i’ve made purchase from iherb twice…u r rite about the waiting, it tooks 2weeks for the item to arrive..
yet the price is cheaper compared to local store..
Haha you and Luxola 😛 . Hope you managed to grab something from the recent sales.
2 weeks for iHerb parcel to arrive? Wow. Verona said just 5 days if you opted for DHL Express. Which shipping method you took?
I bought from Qoo10 before. I like it because most of product is unavailable over here. It take up to 2 weeks to ship to Malaysia as most of the products are from oversea like Hong Kong or Korea. They have sale on and off and cheaper compare to other site.
I’m attracted to strawberryNET but haven’t bought anything before. I just like to go and search for products. They keep having sales which attract me the most. You can compare the price between Qoo10 and strawberryNET.
I’ve heard about Qoo10 before. Most people that wanted to get Korean beauty products for cheaper price will definitely haul from Qoo10 🙂 . 2 weeks is too long for me. I can die from the waiting LOL
I have yet to buy anything from Best Buy World Malaysia but recently bought the Sleek By 3 Blush from Luxola because they were having a very good discount. Plus if you are a first time buyer, you get a small discount too. Did not have to wait long for my purchase to arrive 🙂
I bought the Olay Pro-X brush from Supermodel’s Secret based on your recommendation and it was a good buy 🙂 Heard so much about iHerb but have not bought anything yet. I will probably buy the RT brushes from them because Shin is so overpriced.
Yes, 15% discount for first timer for Luxola. They are having Pop Up Sales daily now hehe. Started yesterday with Tool sales. Today is makeup 😉
Ahhh Olay Pro-X! I need to change my brush already. Watsons is having sales on the brush replacement. 2 brush for RM20++ if I’m not mistaken. I’m most probably going to buy RT from iHerb too. Shins is too expensive. I don’t mind geting Ecotools from Shins but RT is overpriced.
I have only had good times with Luxola and actually appreciate the range of brands they have and their ultra fast delivery service although I am committing myself only to shopping with them when they are on sale for 25% or more but I do consider them one of my favourite online beauty shops.
The iHerb shop is something I am a little afraid to try but the comments here seem to be okay with them. I have read a few horror experiences from other bloggers and that’s what is putting me off. Originally, I actually assumed this company only sold herbs and spices lol
I have not been attracted to Strawberry.Net yet because they’ve always been more expensive for all the items I’m interested in and I agree, the site’s a bit of a mess. Like an online night market!
There’s 25% sales at Luxola this whole week. The Mario Badescu trial kit set GWP is so tempting! You read my mind on iHerb. On one hand some bloggers raved about it while on another hand some bloggers have had bad experience with them. iHerb doesn’t stand out to me at first due to the site design. A little old fashion don’t you think? I’m never into StrawberryNET. So messy, all the old photo, price is much more expensive and it’s too crampy.
I love Luxola! Especially because they always have flash sales and now offer free shipping with RM40. <3
I’m waiting for tomorrow’s flash sales. That Mario Badescu trial kit looks good 😛
I love Iherb…have purchased quite a few times from them and mostly no regrets and infact very happy with their service. Once my parcel was ‘lost’ but eventually got it after 2 months. So I definitely recommend the DHL express delivery for 8USD instead of the 4USD for their regular shipping.
As for Luxola…I am addicted to it. Now with their ongoing giveaways daily, I keep checking to see what the deal of the day is. Last week I managed to get the beauty blender as my ‘free gift’ which was awwesome….plus the zoeva brushes…..Amazing…Love LUXOLA.
Have yet to ever buy anything off strawberryNET. Have you ever purchased anything from perfumestore.my? I am eyeing the kevyn aucoin sensual skin enhancer but it is quite pricy but I cant find any other local vendors. Unless you know anywhere in Malaysia (KL) that sells that brand?
I love iHerb too. I bought a few times and each time it’s getting better and better. Faster too. I managed to get the GWP Beauty Blender from Luxola as well. But they have forgotten to include it in my parcel so they have to resend again.
I’ve not purchase anythhing from perfumestore.my before. No idea as well who sell Kevyn Aucoin here. Perhaps it’s a good idea to get it from perfumestore since they’re the only one having it?
I had bad experience with BBW and Luxola. Let me rant about BBW first. I bought a Clinique sample pack and a Ralph Lauren perfume from BBW and upon receiving the package, the clinique sample broke and spoilt the “beautiful” perfume. I had wasted one sample! Later, I cleaned up the mess and opened the perfume. I sprayed the perfume and it is totally off! I have been using the perfume for many years, romance does not smell anything like that! Then I realised that the perfume romance was spelt as “RomanceS” with a S behind! BBW sells fake items. I emailed them and never got a reply since.
After the bad experience, I went on to Luxola, not minding to pay a premium for authentic products. Luxola is generally 20-50% more expensive than BBW. So I bought 2 SK2 treatment essence 215ml from them, and waited a few days before it reaches me. Unfortunately, only 1 came and so I called them and told them about it. They took about 1 week to check and confirmed that yes they have only sent 1 pc to me. Then they promised that delivery will be within a few days. I waited for another week before calling them again, which they then assured me again. This cycle repeated 3 times and my whole order only completed more than a month. despite the premium, Luxola still offered poor service and that disappointed me. All other shops are fine that I shop so that’s just my experience with these two shops sadly.
Hi Laura,
Oh gosh. I have bought from BBW numerous times and never one time they sent me fake products. But that was quite some time ago so I can’t really comment much on the recent. I would totally understand your disappointment.
As for Luxola, I’m assuming that their sales traffic are at peak so replies are very very slow. I had the same issue as well i.e. slow reply. Did they offer you any compensation etc? I would opt for refund if this were the case.
Any idea the sk II treatment essence selling by Hermo is authentic?
Hi Angela, I have no idea at all about the authenticity of SK-II products at Hermo. Perhaps you could check with them? 🙂
Sure. Thank you! =)