Online Shopping – I (CherryCulture, CoastalScents, ShopCraze)

I have been doing a lot of online shopping recently. And Anamika suggested I do a post on the sites I’ve been using. So, here goes.

1. CHERRYCULTURE.COM

This was the first online store I shopped from. I had heard so much about NYX that I really wanted to try it out. But the prices in India were so ridiculously high, I just couldn’t bring myself to do so. So, I checked a few online options, and came across this site. I’ve ordered from them twice now. And I’m really impressed.


Good:

1. Website Navigation is great. You can shop brand wise, category wise. It’s extremely easy to find what you want.

2. Apart from NYX, they have a whole lot of other brands available. I personally have shopped only NYX, Jordana and Wild n Crazy.

3. They have year long discounts running on almost all products. During holidays, they have additional discounts too. Recently, they had halloween & thanksgiving 20% off over existing discounts. Christmas is coming, so I’m sure they’ll have on for that too.

4. Returns policy (subject to terms and conditions).

5. Packaging is good. Each of the individual products were separately bubble wrapped and packed in a cardboard box.

6. They have a variety of shipping options.

7. Customer service is prompt.


Bad:

1. I find the shipping cost a little high. Especially when you buy nail colors and palettes, the shipping costs sky rocket.

2. The swatches on their site are definitely not reliable.

3. They took over a week to ship the order. Its annoying.

4. I wasn’t very satisfied with their direct credit card payment. They only asked for card no and validity. No CVV no. Cashiers at stores I visit could have that information. I trust only Paypal.


2. COASTAL SCENTS

I have ordered from Coastal Scents thrice now. One order never arrived. But they said they’d shipped it some 3 days after I placed my order. So, I think its mostly the fault of Indian Postal Service.


Good:

1. They have a decent collection of products. And the prices are pretty good too. The brushes are the cheapest I’ve seen and the quality is pretty good for the price.

2. Well packaged in bubble wrap and pink paper.

3. Delivery time was pretty good. It reached me in about 10-14 days.

4. They have links to other websites (only for certain products) which have actual swatches which is quite helpful.

5. They have some discount or the other at all times.

6. The customer service was prompt.

7. Shipping costs are pretty decent.

8. They give a free eyeshadow sample with every purchase.

9. Returns policy (for false or broken items)


Bad:

1. When I informed them about my missing package 20 days from payment, they just told me to wait for it and no other response. But its mostly the Indian post’s fault. But their site says that they will reship missing orders (if not received within 42 days). I just mailed them. Yet to hear from them. Will update when I hear back.

Overall, except for the missing package (not their fault), it was a good shopping experience. I’ve been dying to buy their new Eyelash Curler.

UPDATE: I just got a mail from Coastal Scents and they said that if my package doesn't arrive by Dec 6, they'll either reship or refund the item. Now, I don't how long they'll take for that. But this is the first time an online store has taken responsibility for a missing package. I'm really impressed.

3. SHOPCRAZE.COM


I’ve only ordered from them once. But I was quite satisfied. This was actually started by a YouTube makeup guru MakeupSquare.


GOOD:

1. The prices are the cheapest I’ve seen anywhere.

2. They have fixed shipping costs for specific price ranges. And the shipping costs are quite low.

3. They ship it out in about 2-3 days and delivery was quite fast. Reached me in a week.

4. Packaging is very good. Comes in a bubble wrap envelope wrapped in those foam packets.

5. Safe checkout through Paypal.


BAD:

1. They currently only have MAC pigment samples, NYX and TrueFace and LA Colors Nail Art products.

2. The site design is quite basic.

3. No returns policy.

4. They don’t have all the shades available for a given product.

5. Unreliable swatches.

I would personally have preferred ShopCraze over CherryCulture. But the lack of brands and shades makes me gravitate more towards CherryCulture.

Since this post is already getting too long, I’ll continue this in the next post. Hope this information helped.

New love: Coastal Scents Camo Quad

 

A few weeks back I ordered some brushes from Coastal Scents. Along with those, I also added the Camo Quad concealer in Medium. I’d seen bloggers raving about it and I thought I’d try it.

I have very dark under eye circles (I blame it on the long hours spent in front of a computer) because I do sleep quite well on most days. A concealer has been my best friend from quite some time now. Without it, I look like I was hit by a truck. Not pretty. At all!!

My concealer requirements: Creamy, blends well, and gives good coverage (I hate foundations). Apart from concealers, I like to keep my skin natural.. So, I need my concealer to do all the covering.

Enough about me. More about the quad.

So, here’s the review.

Price: $7.95 or INR 350

What they say:

Camo Quads contain 4 cream concealers. These apply with a light feel and blend easily to cover imperfections of the skin. All 3 Concealer Quads contain a white highlight shade, this is used on the inner and outer corner of the eye to impart a bright and wide awake appearance to tired eyes. White can also be used to lighten and custom blend a shade in order for it to match your skin tone. We offer these in Light, Medium and Dark tone compacts. Use on clean, moisturized skin prior to applying your foundation and powder.

What I say:

I love how creamy this is. It blends like a dream and is very pigmented. Its quite opaque, so it does a good job of covering my dark circles. It does dry to a powder finish, but its never looked cakey nor has it flaked on me, in spite of my really dry skin (I do moisturize really well). The coverage is buildable. Does require a bit of blending though. I like that there are 4 shades. You can always mix it to get the right shade for you.

The white color in the quad may look scary to most Indians. But, if you blend it well, it does work well on the inner corners of your eyes. I use it on days when I have to go out somewhere early morning ( I am so not a morning person). The other 2 lighter shades are a little useless as concealers, but they work as good eye primers, and for highlighting. They make even not-so-great-quality shadows look really bright.

I think Medium was the wrong one for me (They look darker in the pan than they are on the skin). The darkest shade in the quad just about works for my under-eye area. But it’s still too light to use on my blemishes. (By Indian standards, I’m medium skin toned). I think Dark would be a better choice for Indian skin tones (Unless you’re really fair) because it does have lighter shades in it.

I’ve found that fingers work best with this one. Its a thick consistency, which I really like. I find that liquid concealers don’t give me enough coverage.

And I almost forgot, it has great staying power. I had it on me for 12 hours once and it stayed right where it was supposed to.

Overall, its a product I’m loving right now. I’ll continue using this one till I find something better, but I will buy the Dark one the next time. And for the price, I think its a great buy.

P.S. I’ve read a lot of reviews saying these quads melt in summer, so I’d suggest storing them in a cool place. Also, I’ve heard Coastal Scents doesn’t ship these in summer. So, if you buy it and you like it, I’d suggest stocking up for the summer, though I’m not sure how these will fare in hotter weather. But, it is quite hot right now where I live and it seems to be working fine.