A few months ago, I wrote on my facebook status update: "I wish Sephora would start shipping to the Philippines." Don't you just hate it when you know there are a lot of good stuffs out there but you can't have them because of geographical restrictions? When I tried shopping online at Sephora and MAC to have my orders delivered to a friend in Cleveland, my excitement went phloof when I learned that they only accept credit cards that are billed in the U.S. I guess a lot of online shopping companies still have trust issues on international customers.
My next best bet would be eBay but good luck on the mark ups or the bidding. The cult favorite makeup you've been eyeing on will either have skyrocketed its cost or have gazillions of bidders edging each other out til it reaches a price higher than its SRP.
Living in a city down south in the Philippines, I have been deprived of access to the best cosmetic brands that are only available in Manila. No fancy brands like MAC, Shu Uemura, Smashbox or Make Up For Ever here. At best, we have a Shishiedo counter at Limketkai mall. When a new collection comes out, I can only ogle at it from afar or use my deadly weapon in the form of a credit card to order online wherever available. That's how I mastered the art of online shopping.
My wish of Sephora extending its services to Philippine customers hasn't been realized yet, but TameraOnline is something which brings me closer to that hope. It is a newly establshed online cosmetic company owned by Tamera Szijarto, a former Miss Philippines Earth finalist. I checked out the site and I must say it's very promising. To date, the products are still limited (sorry, no MAC or Shu or MUFE) but they offer products that are hardly available locally. Benefit and Physician's Formula goodies are ready to ship anytime. Apart from these two, they also carry Neutrogena and Smashbox (at least the primer is in the catalog). Not to be missed are the Benefit brushes and tools.
For starters, check out Benefit Posie Tint which was recommended by celebrities Alex de Rossi and Ciara Sotto when I tweeted them asking what's their staple blush. The one available in the site comes in mini size but that should do for now. I think they are still filling in stuffs because some categories are left blank.
The good news is, they ship for free in the Philippines! Yayness. International customers are also welcome to buy. Prices are quoted in dollars and pesos. As a bonus, they throw in samples for every order above $35. Payment is through the trusty Paypal. No need to go to the mall to load your gcash wallet (Gcash being the popular mode of payment for most online sellers in the country). Since it is within the Philippines, local buyers don't have to wait for weeks to receive their orders. However, the prices are something they should work on. The Smashbox travel size primer that normally sells for $16 is sold twice its price for $32 on TameraOnline.
The store is fresh and I hope to see more variety in the cosmetics array soon. To ensure their success, they should offer competitive pricing of goods. Otherwise, customers could always turn to eBay or Strawberrynet which ships internationally for free. If any of you have tried shopping through the new online store, please don't hesitate to share your experiences. I'm not in any way affiliated with them so I would love some information too.
Can you tell me who did your layout? I've been looking for one kind of like yours. Thank you.
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