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Jasmine Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Sephora (because there is no other option really, Ulta doesn’t have a good interface and Beauty.com doesn’t really do it for me either)
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Nordstrom
Online or in-store? In-store fo’ sho’

Erin Franzen Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer?
This will sound cheesy, but Amazon. Outside of other sites’ sale events, Amazon matches or bests their prices. Also, because I’m a student, I get a free / cheap Amazon Prime subscription, which means free two-day shipping.
Favorite in-store beauty retailer?
I like Ulta because they actually put items on sale and keep a lot more clearance merch on the shelf.
Online or in-store?
I have a whole process- It starts with reviews, then in-store swatches. Once I’ve found something I like in the color I want, it sits on my Amazon wishlist until a sale pops up or I come into extra money. Waiting for shipping can be a pain, but it saves money and makes my days sitting at home like Christmas when the package shows up.

Maria Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Sigma and Coastal Scents
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Ulta and MAC
Online or in-store? In-store because I get to play with everything 🙂

Tammie Avatar

Online: Nordstrom & Sephora are at a tie…I use Nordstrom more because I get points and they have everything I want but Sephora is great too.

In-store: Nordstrom Stanford Shopping Center…the SAs at Valley Fair drive me NUTS, I feel like shopping more online every time I go there. Now I only really go for returns.

Online or In Store?: In store because it’s instant gratification, although the anticipation of getting something online makes it that much better when it arrives hehe 🙂

Saffy Avatar

Online: Sephora.com
In-store: Sephora
Online or in-store: Online, given there are no crowds or sales people following you around. Receiving packages in the mail is always fun, too.

Kristabelle Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Definitely Sugarpill.

Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Ulta, because I don’t get bothered by salespeople as much there.

Online or in-store? Definitely online. I refuse to buy anything MAC instore because they’re so pushy and rude. For almost everything, I try it instore first, though.

Marian Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Beautyhabit
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Macy’s
Online or in-store? Both. Sometimes I can get things online that I can’t get in a brick and mortar store but sometimes seeing or testing a product in real life is a must

WARPAINT and Unicorns Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer: Sephora

Favorite in-store beauty retailer: The Eaton Centre Toronto. lol
I know that’s cheating but it have The Bay, Sears, MAC full store, Sephora full store and H2O+ flagship store along wigh more beauty stores to shake a stick at. So for a a 1.5 hour trip there on a Staurday morning is worth it for testing things out. ^_^

Online or in-store: In store! I test myself out of buying products that just don’t work for me that well this way in terms of colour and finish.

Anna Avatar

Sephora is great for the US, Look Fantastic is definitely the best in the UK/Europe.
I prefer department stores in Europe even though most countries have Sephora stores now – but customer service is nowhere near as good and helpful as in the States.
I would definitely prefer in-store shopping, but since a lot of brands are only slowly becoming available where I live, online shopping is a must for me.

Em Avatar

Favorite Online Beauty Retailer? Sigma
Favorite In-store Beauty Retailer? Sephora or Ulta
Online or In-store? Online is convenient at times when I know what I want, but I prefer going into a store to play with the products, especially one’s I’m unfamiliar with.

Leah Avatar

Online: Definitely Beauty.com………always has sales and free shipping at $25.

In-Store: Love Nordstrom

Instore for me….but I love online shopping as well.

kate Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Zuneta have the best service, best ship time and brands that can be hard to find in Canada. If they carried the “big” brands, I doubt I’d go anywhere else.
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Sephora & Holt Renfrew (Canadian only)- both have a wide variety of brands and the service at both near me is excellent.
Online or in-store? I’d prefer in-store, so that I can test products in person, but there are a lot of brands I can’t find in store…

Nicoco Avatar

Online: I don’t think I’ve used enough to say. Maybe PinkyParadise because it’s cosmetics I can’t get in the UK.
In Store: UM. Debenhams. It always seems less crowded than pretty much anywhere else that sells make up.
Online/In Store: In store always. I hate going through the fuss of returns.

Joy Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Sephora
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Ulta
Online or in-store? In- store because I tend to browse and buy if I find something fantastic.

Adrienne Avatar

In store: tie between sephora and Nordstrom. I’ll go to sephora first and anything they don’t have there ill go to Nordstrom. Although that may change because I’m about to sign up for nordies debit card and get points

Online: nordstroms because the free shipping. I won’t buy sephora online unless it’s an online only product and I’m spending enough for free shipping.

I can’t decide. I think I prefer in store. After I sign up for birch box I’ll get my mail excitement fix!!

Kacee Avatar

Online: sephora! They have a great website.

In store: ULTA! I love how they have drug store and high end! And they have many brands of cosmetics, hair tools, and etc. that you can’t find in normal drugstores, sephora, or salons. Looove ULTA so much.

Online or In store?: in store all the way!

Katherine Avatar

Favorite online: Sephora
Favorite instore: NEX (Navy exchange) while we are here on Oahu.
Online because if the NEX doesn’t have it I don’t want to fight traffic and crowds to try to get to the Honolulu shops.

Carrie Ann Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Sephora and Nordstrom.

Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Sephora. I also like my local MAC counter because the girls are so nice, but they always receive the collections at least a week late.

Online or in-store? Online, because they have a bigger selection and my Sephora is a few towns away. Nordstrom is even farther away.

Javacurls Avatar

* Favorite online beauty retailer? Nordstroms & Dermstore

* Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Nordstroms & Sephora

* Online or in-store? Both have their advantages… in store for seeing & testing the item in person but I find more sales and discounts online plus the online reviews are extremely helpful.

Sunny Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Beautybay.com. The price is correct (finally a company that can do currency conversion right instead of making people pay 25 euros for something that’s 25 dollars), and there is a good range of brands!

Favorite in-store beauty retailer? I’ll have to say Sephora. I went to some department stores and Sephora when I was in the US, but I do think the SAs at Sephora are a bit more relaxed and friendly!

Online or in-store? If I were in the US I’d have to say in-store, because I’ll get to try everything out. Since I am not however, I’ll have to live with shopping online!

Mariella Avatar

Favourite online retailer: Mac, because I know their stuff reasonably well and so know what I’m getting (more or less)
Faveourite in-store beauty retailer: Sephora! The variety of brands, the sales staff, their sampling program…I just love it there! To me, it’s sort of what Tiffany’s was to Holly Golightly!
Online or instore – definitely IN STORE. I need to see the colours with my own eyes, swatch things on my own skin, feel the textures and see how things work and feel for me. There are very few items I purchase online unless I’ve already checked them out instore first.

GlowMyWay Avatar

For all sorts, I guess I’d pick Sephora, but I’m in love with Smashbox.com because they give you lots of free gifts plus free US shipping on any amount.

In store would be Nordstrom’s or Bloomingdale’s.

I buy online mostly.

L Avatar

Online: Sephora
In-store: don’t really have one.. I like Nordstrom as a dept. store, but feel kinda meh about their beauty department
Online or In-store? Online 🙂

t_zwiggy Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Nordtrom

Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Sephora

Online or in-store? Online! (I hate crowded stores and aggressive sales people)

Victoria Avatar

nordstrom for all 3:

online: it has a very organized, easy to use website with clear photos. add in free shipping and it’s by far my favorite
instore: it wins customer service awards for a reason. employees are always professional, helpful, and friendly. the store/makeup counters are clean and organized with testers that haven’t been made disgusting by 11 year olds playing with makeup (cough sephora cough). plus very generous return policy and price matching (do they still do this?). plus they have CHANELLLL

love love loveee nordtrom i cannot rave enough about them. whenever I go to sephora/macy’s/etc I always regret it and end up going to nordstrom instead. i almost never buy from sephora in store

shelly Avatar

Online – Sephora. I also like beauty.com

In-Store – Given that I don’t live anywhere near a physical Sephora, Ulta, MAC counter or store, CCO, or department stores, I’d have to say drugstore/Walmart/K-Mart/Target by default.

Online or in-store – I do most of my makeup shopping online. Have to!

Lidalgirl Avatar

Online: love-makeup.co.uk, Meow Cosmetics
In-store: MAC Pro, Sephora
Online or in-store? I prefer see and try products on my skin, but: 1-the greatest part of mineral make-up is sold only online; 2-here in Italy we don’t have many good international brands as Nars, Bobbi Brown, Stila, Illamasqua etc. So my answer is online.

Adelita Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer?
» Beauty.com & Dermstore.com

Favorite in-store beauty retailer?
» Sephora, Debenhams, Seibu (Japanese company-department store) & Sogo (Japanese company-department store).

Online or in-store?
» In-store for the ability to try/swatch the product before purchase it, online to get various promo/sales.

Valerie Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Ebay and MAC stangely enough I by a lot of thing on ebay and I’m rarely disappointed
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Murale and Shopperdrugsmart they have most of the brand and I love they redeemed points (it is the BEST!!!!)
Online or in-store? Depends, I will by colours online that I will never buy instore (i’m more daring online LOL) MAC online, it is less overwhelming then in store as for the rest I prefer in store to see the colour and all

Caiti Avatar

Online retailer: Sephora, with Nordstrom a close second

In-store retailer: Nordstrom, with Ulta a distant second

Online or in-store: I have to test everything in-store to see how it will actually look on my wonky skin 🙂

Michelle Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? The one with the best prices?
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Ulta. When I lived in California, Ulta was the nearest beauty retailer to me.
Online or in-store? In-store allows me to try things on myself.

Lulle Avatar

Keep in mind that I’m in France!
Online: dior.com! I just discovered how they excell at providing luxurious customer service. Just Wow.
In-Store: Kiko makeup! For the quality, their prices are incredibly low.

In general I prefer to buy in-store, I like to swatch and test textures before I decide to buy something.

Violet Avatar

Are websites like MAC really retailers? I thought retailers were sites like love-makeup, Cherry Culture, Beautybay? Idk!

For reference, I live in northern Norway (EU), meaning; I’m secluded from a lot of stores.

Favorite online beauty retailer? I like Cherry Culture for the drugstore brands and such (Milani, NYX), but the shipping is steep! Love-makeup.co.uk has a nice collection of stuff (albeit somewhat random), as do Beautybay. For nailpolish, Transdesign or 8ty8beauty.

Favorite in-store beauty retailer? Kicks.

Online or in-store? Online, as otherwise, I’d be starved for pretty much *all* brands that’s not either luxury (Chanel, Guerlain, Dior) or drugstore by Norwegian standards (over-priced IsaDora, MaxFactor). It’s much cheaper for me to shop online.

Liz Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer? Sephora and Cherry Culture
Favorite in-store beauty retailer? this is hard. I have to go with Sephora because we only have Macy’s where I live, and they only have a select amount of high-end brands. WE also don’t have any Ulta within a responsible distance.
Online or in-store? 100% in-store. You can’t swatch a product online or see how it will work with your skintone.

Joan Avatar

Favorite online beauty retailer – Nordstrom since they’ve added free shipping

Favorite in-store beauty retailer – MAC. The staff at my local store are attentive and very friendly. Everyone of them approach just to say hello, even after you’ve started working with another MUA. They know what I like, anticipate that
I will preorder from a collection and reserve those products. I had heard about bad experiences from others, although
not this particular store. I was pleasantly surprised, and wouldn’t think of going elsewhere because they’re the best.

Online or in-store – It depends on my sense of urgency.

Lark Avatar

Online- Sephora, hands down.
In store? Sephora and MAC are next door, they share a wall! Dead tie here.

Definately an in store buyer if possible. Instant gratification! But big mail order backups are nice. Stores out? They’ll help you call it in and get you free shipping.

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