BARGAINS AND SNAKE OIL! (buycosmeticsdirect.com)

Member Name: Skyedame

Product:	buycosmeticsdirect.com
Date:	22/10/05 (820 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Branded cosmetics at rock bottom prices. Super customer service

Disadvantages: Beware the high priced 'magic' potions

Buycosmetics.com is an internet-based company offering huge discounts and special offers on cosmetics, toiletries and other health sundries.

The big brand names I saw on site included Elizabeth Arden, Christian Dior, Clarins, Decleor, Gatineau and Lancaster and with products such as lipsticks, eye shadows, moisturisers, perfumes, miracle eye-lifting gels and pain relief pens, you’ve plenty to choose from.

I’m always on the look-out for low-priced cosmetics both for myself and possibly as gifts for Christmas, so two months ago I decided to give them a click.

I’ve shopped with them twice now and am very pleased with their prices, service and the quality of cosmetics.


THE SITE:

Quick loading pages, simple to navigate. Clearly laid out and no extraneous advertising cluttering up the front page.

NAVIGATING

Straightforward. From the front page, you can search by brand or go straight for a general search in beauty products (eyes, skincare, makeup, fragrances etc) plus gift sets, hair care, hands & nails, sun care and men’s products.

Still on the front page, you will see their 3 for 2 offers, Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Clearance and New Products. Gift sets separated by price: under £5 to under £50.

PRICES:

Before I go any further, I must tell you that all cosmetics are full sized. Buycosmetics guarantee there are no sample sizes.

The prices vary from half-price or less for some items and approximately £1.50-£3.00 off r.r.p. for others.

Prices can be as low as £2.99 or higher than £30. Whatever you choose, Buycosmetics claim their prices to be up to 85 per cent cheaper than the high street.

MY EXPERIENCE:

On my first visit to Buycosmetics, I discovered Elizabeth Arden eye-shadows available for £2.99 and if I bought two, I could get one free. The r.r.p. for this particular eye shadow was said to be £12.99. I had to take their word for it, but even I know that Elizabeth Arden eye-shadows are definitely more expensive than £2.99 so, selecting two of the prettiest colours I’ve ever seen, I popped some in my virtual basket.

Amongst the other goodies I treated myself to was a Mac lipstick for £2.99 (r.r.p. £12.00),and a 3g pot of loose eye shadow by Madina for £3.99 (r.r.p. £20). Pausing just a moment here, I was very pleased to ‘discover’ this particular eye shadow. I have never heard of Madina before, but the colours on offer were gorgeous. The shadow comes in a little pot, which has its own pouch. I decided that at £3.99 it might be worth a try and if I didn’t like the colour I could always whack it on ebay. It turned out to be a great buy and I went back to Buycosmetics for more.

THINGS TO BEWARE OF:

A warning! The site does offer some excellent bargains but it also sells some very expensive lotions and potions with all sorts of cleverly worded claims promising the use of this lotion or that potion will make the years fall away. Have you ever seen a product where 100 per cent of women, rather than 98 per cent, found an improvement? No, neither have I. If they worked, cosmetic surgeons would be out of big business.

But I am a weak woman still seeking to turn back the clock and in a moment’s madness (having just given up smoking, I was in a mood to treat myself) I bought the Transformula EyeLifting Gel for £19.99 (r.r.p. £25) Actually I lie, I succumbed to the buy two and get the second for half-price. I have actually used this stuff before (which I the other reason I bought it) and it’s actually quite good. It’s not a miracle gel, but it certainly tightens and smooths the skin round eye area just enough to brighten my day!

I also bought a pain-relief pen for £9.99 (r.r.p. £24.99), which is supposed to work on the principle of acupuncture. I envisaged the arthritic pain in my wrists being magically vanished. Unfortunately, I have no idea if it’s any good because the instructions that came with the pen are quite useless. Of course, I could have returned the pen under the 30-day money back guarantee, but I forgot about it until it was too late. This may turn out to be my booby purchase if I can’t work out how to use it.

SELECTING AND PAYING FOR YOUR ITEMS:

Once all selections are made and added to your shopping basket, you will notice that if you have selected a special offer purchase, the basket shows clearly that you are paying for two and getting one free. You can add or delete items until you are sure of your purchases and then you click on the ‘Empty my purse why don’t you’ button. Actually, it says something like “Make Purchase” – but I know my own gullability.

Buycosmetics accept most major credit cards.


DELIVERY:

My first order took just under 1 week to arrive which, considering I opted for free delivery, was very impressive. The goods were well packed and nicely presented. I also received a free magazine telling me of further special offers and also a coupon which offered me £25 worth of free cosmetics if I placed a second order with them. This was an excellent offer. I double checked and there was no minimum spend. Remember the Madina eye shadow I liked so much? I decided to purchase another one for £3.99 to take advantage of this offer. I typed in the special code given on my voucher and, hey presto, I was sent £25 worth of free cosmetics. Eventually.

I’ll tell you about that in a moment.

DELIVERY COSTS:

There are two delivery options:

FREE – STANDARD DELIVERY – 5-21 working days (although I’ve received all my orders in 7 days at the latest)
Or
£2.99 – EXPRESS DELIVERY (if you choose this option, orders placed before 12 noon on a week day (excluding public holidays), will be delivered the following working day. Orders placed after 12 noon on a weekday, or any time on a weekend, or on a public holiday, will be delivered on the second working days. Express Deliveries are only delivered on weekdays and not weekends.

Frankly, unless you’re desperate for your item, I would say the free delivery is the sensible option to keep your spends down.

You can also opt for an 84p insurance cover, and I must admit I have requested that on both my orders because it’s worth it for the peace of mind.

SERVICE:

Excellent. I had to contact them on three occasions because I didn’t receive my free cosmetics with my second order. It took a month and three phone calls to sort out the problem but the operators I spoke to were very warm and friendly and most apologetic about the delay. Another plus was that I actually got to speak to a real-life human being - I was so surprised I nearly fell off my chair.


THE FREE COSMETICS:

The free cosmetics offer seems to be a permanent fixture with buycosmetics in one form or another. The cosmetics might be worth £25 - but would they be the sort of cosmetics you would normally use?

Apart from one item, there was nothing there that I would personally use. But I rather suspected that would be the case, anyway. The fact that there was no minimum spend (and don’t forget the free delivery), to get these free cosmetics and that I did want another Madina eye-shadow meant, to me, it was truly a bargain because I shall put the unwanted items up for sale on ebay and gather in a few extra pennies.

The cosmetics I received were kohl eyeliners in silver and gold, a pump action loose powder eye shadow in shimmery pink by Mary Astor, Max Factor translucent lip gloss and a Maybelleine eyebrow gel (like a clear mascara you apply with a wand). I decided to keep the eyebrow gel but hopefully some young thing somewhere will pounce on the other cosmetics when I get round to listing them on ebay.

With my free cosmetics I received yet another coupon which stated that if I bought £15 worth of cosmetics I would receive £25 worth of cosmetics free. I may, or may not, decide to go for this offer. But Christmas is galloping closer and I have a daughter and daughter-in-law who I will be buying for. I do know I want some more of that Madina eye shadow before it’s sold out!

But honestly, unless I particularly wanted to purchase certain cosmetics or toiletries and knew that the price I was paying for them would be cheaper than elsewhere, then coughing up £15 for the pleasure of receiving ‘free’ cosmetics I’d never use in a million years, is not sensible - unless I could be sure I could shift them on ebay!


MY OPINION:

I really am very pleased with my purchases. I think some of the prices are incredibly low and the fact that you can choose to have free delivery is the icing on the cake. For the purpose of this review I have logged onto this site three or four times over the past month; I cannot be accurate as to how often the front page changes but certainly, in that time the front page was only the same once. They seem to have their finger on the button as far as keeping customer interest, and certainly the discounts and 3 for 2 bargains etc appear to change frequently.

Buycosmetics boasts ten reasons why you should shop with them. Here are eight which will probably interest you most:-

1. Over 25,000 items in stock
2. 90% items delivered next day
3. 30 day money back guarantee
4. No samples - guaranteed
5. Up to 85% cheaper than high street (do note that "up to" - it doesn’t mean everything!)
6. Free delivery
7. Major credit cards taken
8. Guaranteed secure site

Top brand names at rock bottom prices? I certainly recommend you check them out. Just be wary of the ‘snake oil’ potions!

I think the most important thing for me though, apart from the low prices, is the wonderful customer service. Good customer service is so rare these days and even rarer is the opportunity to speak to a real-live operator when you have a problem. I think I would tend to give my custom to this internet company whenever I possibly can because the service I have received so far has filled me with confidence.

A big thumbs up from me!

Skyedame@dooyoo - 2005

Summary: Bargains to be found. Free Delivery. Fantastic customer service.