I thought I would put together a list of places I tend to shop at frequently as I mention some of them on occasion. Some are places you can get certain brands internationally that you can’t get here in the US. I will also add some comments about each and update this as I shop in the future as I’m sure I have forgotten many so far in this list.
Nordstrom
Nordstrom’s has long been a favorite beauty spot of mine for many reasons, free shipping, the mod card which isn’t a credit card, but uses your checking account, you get points and reward dollars by doing this without using a credit card. I buy from Nordstrom’s if I can, they also tend to sell out very quickly of limited edition items so you have to check frequently if there’s a particular item you want. They also have the best return policy hands down of the internet, no questions asked, no time limit, just mail it back even used makeup. I get Charlotte Tilbury here, Tom Ford and pretty much anything else I can.
Sephora
Sephora is an old favorite as well, I remember when it was a brand new website. Free shipping over $50, free returns, they take back used product. They have a large selection of brands. Their return policy is great, it’s not as good as Nordstrom’s, but it’s second best. They have rewards and point perks.
SpaceNK the US version carries some brands, I get Zelens or By Terry here, depends what you are looking for. They have a rewards program and an awesome beauty gift bag twice a year. They only take returns on unopened/unused items. The rewards do expire, and the selection of brands is small in general.
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury has a US official site now if you don’t want to use Nordstrom’s. I used to use their UK site to buy from before they launched here, but it no longer allows me to buy from the UK site, which is a bummer as they tend to get new items sometimes 6 months before the US leaving me to use Selfridges if I can’t wait 6 months.
http://www.beautylish.com/
Beautylish is a great US site, they ship superfast 2 day Fedex. They are the only place to get Wayne Goss, and they do carry select Chikuhodo brushes. They do have Charlotte Tilbury and a few other brands but it’s a limited brand site. No returns of used items accepted.
http://beautyhabit.com/
They have a limited brand selection, nice samples. This is one place where you can get Rouge Bunny Rouge in the US. They sell niche lines so I like them for a lot of things that I can’t get elsewhere. Their fun to browse for strange things you’ve never heard of before, Child perfume is exclusive here and it’s amazing.
Dermstore
Dermstore has a ton of skincare. They also have a lot of haircare and even makeup. They have high end brands and cheaper ones. If you add it to your favorites and sign up for a free account you get 10% off whatever you add to favorites then add to your cart. Even brands like Sunday Riley. They ship fairly fast, returns aren’t the best and have to be unused. I’ve gotten Drunk Elephant, Ilike Organics and many other brands here. They offer discount and codes but they do have some brand exclusions.
This is their official site. The main perks of buying from them is the samples and Pengo Points which is their reward system. You get points for everything you buy, then you can use them in the future to buy more stuff with points. Points don’t expire. They do have coupon codes and gifts, sign up for their newsletter. If you’re going over there anyway click through here: https://www.omorovicza.com/us/rewardsref/index/refer/id/9436/
Ulta
I tend to shop Ulta more in person, but they do have a better selection online. They have a point reward system. Their shipping is slow. They do offer coupons and gifts, most coupons only count on non department store brands, you get one several times a year for 20% everything even department store. I know some have difficulty getting these coupons, plus I’ve heard they changed to 10% for non platinum members, I always get them but I’ve been an Ulta member since 1997 and am usually platinum, so I’m not sure if that has something to do with it, or I’m just lucky.
https://www.reneerouleau.com/
This is their official site, I have never seen them sold on any other site besides their own. I can’t live without the Anti Cyst Treatment.
Paula’s Choice
You can get Paula’s Choice at other sites, I like theirs it has fast free first class shipping, they offer codes and you can get samples of their products from their official site.
Cultbeauty
Cultbeauty is hands down my favorite UK beauty supply website. They ship via Fedex if you pay that level, or registered airmail. They have awesome gift bags several times a year, frequent coupon codes, and they remove the VAT tax so their prices are lower for the US than on the website. They have a lot of new cool skincare. They have brands I cannot get here, and any UK brand such as Zelens or Omorovicza is cheaper to get through Cultbeauty than in the US, in contrast US brands like Tata Harper are more expensive to buy from them so I skip US brands from this site. I get Zelens, OSKIA, Omorovicza, Su-Man Skincare, Ling Skincare and other various brands. They do take returns from the US but you have to return it unused almost right after you got it, plus it will cost you an arm and a leg to return it with tracking, so best to research it before you buy it as you won’t be returning it from the US. *Edit to add you can no longer get Zelens shipped to the US from here per Zelens agreement as of 7/3/15.
Selfridges
Selfridges is a great UK site to get brands like Suqqu and other UK brands you can’t get here. They do remove VAT tax so the price is cheaper than it shows, which you need to make up for the extreme shipping cost it will cost you to get it here. Reduced to $30 to the US recently. Selfridges does also tend to get stuck in customs for messed up paperwork, but if you really love Suqqu or something else and this is the only place to get it, then you deal with DHL and paperwork every order. You cannot return to Selfridges from the US so research before you buy. You might be able to, but same as Cultbeauty the cost of airmail and tracking prohibits returns. As an update you can now get unlimited shipping to the US for $55/year that is a huge massive improvement! I just tried my first order lets see if it’s better through customs.
http://www.ormondejayne.com/
Ormonde Jayne has great niche fragrances they make, they ship to the US and have gifts on occasion.