Madeleine Taplin
Those of us who have chanced purchasing makeup online will know the perils of buying makeup online without having the ability to try it out first. Whilst online shopping has blown up significantly over the past 5 years, with over 60% of people regularly purchasing clothes, books, music, movies and more online, very few people are comfortable with purchasing makeup or skincare products over the web. However, amid the pandemic, many of us have been forced to take that jump and purchase our beauty goods online.
Shop Around:
When purchasing online, the best thing to do is look around and find the brands that most suit your needs. People aren’t just shopping for the products, they are shopping for ideas, so make sure you do your research before taking the plunge into new products. If you are particularly interested in trying organic brands, do some research and create tables of pros and cons for each brand to help you find your niche.
Colour Matching:
Getting the right colour in terms of makeup is very important, yet it is difficult to see the ‘true’ colour of a product through a computer screen. Luckily for us, technology has come a long way, and there are now a range of brands and sites that focus on providing accurate imaging and colour matches for their products. Match My Makeup allows you to match your current shade of foundation to other brands and will also give you quality comparisons of products. Additionally, brands such as Maybelline offer a range of virtual makeover tools and quizzes to help you find the perfect product.
Recommendations from friends and family:
Ask around your friendship circle to get all the tips, tricks and lots of recommendations. It is incredibly likely that at least one person will have engaged in online makeup/skincare purchasing and will be able to guide you towards reliable brands, specific shades and more. Not only that, but they can also tell you some of their favourite brands to check out which takes some of the hard work out of the job for you!
Read the fine print:
Always read the fine print of a brand. It is in the fine print that you will find their returns and exchange policies that will make it infinitely less stressful to purchase online. Many brands will allow you to return an item if it hasn’t been used or allow you to exchange it for a better shade. Additionally, some retailers will send product samples to you if you cover the cost of postage, which allows you to test the product without opening the real item.
