7 Disadvantages of Buying Makeup and Skin Care Products Online

Online shopping has now turned into a norm. We all see it as convenient because it requires no driving, hours of cart dragging and fighting with a crowd of people for the clear path. These days, it is possible to buy almost everything online. This includes even makeup and skin care products. Just with the help of a credit card or cashier’s check, they can be easily bought from any online stores. Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks or disadvantages of using such source for buying cosmetics and skin care products. Just see below:

1. The waiting period for receiving the product might be longer than expected: Online shopping cannot let you have the item in your hand right away. Yes, sometimes, if you agree to pay for the expedited shipping it might reach your home early, but some stores simply do not offer this feature. So whatever you buy ends up reaching your home after a couple of weeks.

2. Online picture of the product turns out to be deceiving: This happens. What you see on screen can turn out to be totally different in real life. So a lipstick that you thought was orange in the picture online might end up being ruby red once it is in your hand.

3. Delivery of expired makeup or skin care item: This hassle goes hand in hand with online shopping sometimes. Sometimes it is seen that the cosmetics and skin care products are delivered in their expired condition. It is possible that the sellers know about it, but feel that the buyers will not notice it. So it is important that as soon as you receive your online bought lipstick, lip gloss or lotion in your hand you check its expiration date.

4. Delivery of used/returned makeup or skin care item: This is another blooming case in the field of online shopping. We caught even Amazon sellers doing it. The item delivered turns out to be already returned or used previously. Perhaps, the seller is well aware of it, but thinks he can get away by sending it to another buyer.

5. The item might well be a counterfeit:  There are many producers who like to produce items that imitate products made by the original brands. Their items tend carry certain features of the originals ones. For instance, most often it is not possible to distinguish their packaging style, logo, scent and color from the real products’. But one thing that they lack is the effectiveness. Unfortunately, certain independent stores online do sell such counterfeit products. Being a little careless online shopper can easily make you their victim. By the way, these days, even Amazon and Ebay have become victims of fake products. You will find on those sites lots of listing of Estee Lauder and M.A.C products. It is better to not go for them.

6. The store owner itself might be a scammer: Most independent stores are questionable in nature. In short, they might be just scam sites in disguise.  How would you know it? The answer is quite simple. They will have a check out section where they will take down your credit card number. The money from your card will also be withdrawn, but they will not send your purchased item to your house ever.  This can turn into a big hassle especially if the said store’s owner turns out to be from a distant country. Under such circumstances, there is very little you will be able to do to regain your lost money.

7. Item can get lost on its way to the buyer's destination: It is best not to buy extremely expensive cosmetics and skin care products online, for they might not simply arrive to you at all. The reason behind this is that the postal officials sometimes are irresponsible. So they can easily lose your item. Of course, you can notify the seller about it, but there is very less chance that he will cooperate with you especially if the tracking number is absent in this situation. 

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Luscious Cosmetics Lip Polish Review

Three days ago, my little sister gave me a tiny makeup item.  It came in a tiny pink box. The name of this little makeup item is lip polish by Luscious cosmetics. To be honest, I never heard of this brand before. But its intention seems good. According to the lip polish’s label, Luscious cosmetics does not test its products on animals. In fact, they are very much in love with these species. Additionally, this lip polish contains Vitamin E and antioxidants.  Other ingredients include a wide range of oily compounds, vanilla, min and different kinds of seed extracts.  By the way, the one I have got has the color named as Bali. I will say it is a pale pink. Luscious Cosmetics reveals that this product can also be used for lip treatment. 

Now as mentioned in my previous posts, I always review a makeup product only after trying it out for 3 months. I will not do the same with this lip polish because it is just another lip gloss. So let’s begin with its benefits. Then we will jump to problems and verdict.

Benefits:

The tube of the lip polish is quite small. So it can be easily taken anywhere. Next, the color called Bali has a magical appearance. It reminds me of Britney Spears’ Oops! I did it video. I remember that she was one of the first people to promote the glossy lip trend. She just did it through that specific video.

Overall, the color of lip polish gives quite a good highlight to the lips. Just take a look at the gloss. It is so shiny that it is appearing blurry in the picture.

Apparently, the lip polish color is so thick that it can be taken as equal to a lipstick. At least when I wore it that is how I felt. Good news is that the color actually stays on the lips for several hours. So the lip polish can be taken as a great alternative to ordinary lipsticks.

I also think that the scent of the liquid is pleasing. It does not scream. Now there is something more interesting about this lip polish that I will share here. I noticed that it gives a cooling effect to the lips. I am guessing that it comes from the mint extract.

Problems:

Lip polish is sticky. It simply feels like thick glue on the lips. Does it heal cracks like lip balms? Unfortunately, no! My lip cracks actually went more visible after I wore it. They even seemed thornier.So I don't think that the healing properties Luscious Cosmetics used to make this item are utilized properly. Another negative thing that this lip gloss has is the applicator. See its image below.

It is just another brush whose soft bristles, during application, go here and there. I am quite sure it is something that will not last longer. The price of the lip polish is unfair also. It is $18. I don’t think such a tiny tube should be of that high price.

Verdict:

Luscious Cosmetics’ lip polish can be beneficial to all those who are looking for a product containing high volume of gloss and lipstick color. The cooling effect that this product gives is not unique, but very much needed for harsh lips. But again, it does not heal the cracks and thus, it cannot be used as a lip treatment product. Yet the color looks extremely beautiful. For all this, this lip polish gets a 3.5 star out 5 stars from me. 

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Makeup Brands That Do Not Test on Animals

We are aware of the fact that many cosmetics are tested on animals before they reach the stores. This testing has turned out to be a major issue of concern, for it does include animal abuse.  So far European Union is the only one which has taken an action against this by banning the entire process. But in America, it is not the same. Yet it must be mentioned that many American women now have made up their minds to not buy cosmetics that are tested on animals. This is definitely a good step towards awareness.  But the only problem is that many simply do not know how to find out which brands are really into animal testing. After all, cosmetics labels never mention anything about this. This, however, does not mean that the information is completely out of reach.

Actually, the record of every company testing on animals can be found at the official site PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).  If you are not aware of this site then you should take a few minutes to explore it. The people behind this only want to free animals from any abuse.But if you wish to just have the list of companies that are into testing on animals you should go here. This is a PDF file link from PeTA.

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Sneak Preview of Biggest Sale Event From Ulta Beauty

Did you receive a catalog from Ulta Beauty today? If no don't worry, I am going to cover it here now. There is really juicy news in it. Apparently, Ulta Beauty is going to have one of the biggest sale events from July 3^rd - July 23^rd. But no, it is not going to be online, but in real stores. So locate them in your area by using Google or Yahoo map. Now this sale event is not going to be an ordinary one. The more you will buy the more you will earn reward points which you can use again to get something for free from the store. Good news is that once you reach the store, you might not go empty handed because there will be just too many things on sales and some will have buy one get one free offer.  Now here are some examples of those sales offers right from that catalog:

Ulta brand cosmetics products:

They are quite cheap here ($1-$5).  The options are eye liners, mascaras, eye shadows, lip gloss, nail polish and foundations.

Ulta makeup kit of 58 pieces(aka blockbuster): 

Its regular price is $175, but during the sale event, it will be only $19.99. The same offer is found in their online store also, but the problem is that it comes with a shipping price of $5.95. So shopping for it from the local Ulta store is best. This specific makeup kit contains 38 eye shadows. That sounds great, doesn't it?

Two bare Mineral foundations: 

Both for a Price of $29.

John Freida Styling tools: 

They are new at Ulta, but buying one of them will let you have a free gift of cosmetics bag. It will contain John Freida Frizz- Ease Smooth Start Shampoo and Conditioner.

Pixel Nail polish: They are only $1.99 each. Originally, they cost $2.49.

Garnier and Maybelline hair care products and cosmetics: Here is another buy 2 get 1 free offer.

Fashion accessories: 

All of them are 25 percent off. The prices vary from $1 to $41.25.

The offers are almost endless. The catalog contains a coupon also, but the best is available at Ulta online store. Just print it out and take it to the store for extra savings.

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The Book that Every Teenage Girl Should Get for Skin Care

Being a teenager is not easy. During this time, one has to go through the traditional problem of fighting with acne and arguing in head as to how to appear to friends and strangers.  This post is about solving it all.

Now the solutions are found in the book called Teen Beauty Secrets: Fresh, Simple and Sassy Tips for Your Perfect Look by Diane Irons.  It is available at Amazon, but I believe instead of paying the full price for a new one you should go for its used paperback version. Otherwise, check it out from your public or high school library. This way you will be able to save the money and at the same time get the skin care knowledge you deserve. 

So why should you get it? Just as the title suggests, the book contains many secrets on how to solve acne, fashion, hair and other skin problems. Moreover, it gives tips in simple language on how to wear minimal makeup, carefully choose cosmetics and boost natural beauty through ingredients found in the kitchen. 

You can basically see a free preview of it at Google books.  By the way, at Amazon it has 4 and a half stars.  This is something not enjoyed by all skin care and fashion books. 

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