Spending time in the department store cosmetics section can be a real treat. The free samples, luxurious surroundings and cosmetic experts can add up to a great time and a great way to discover new products.
More often than not, however, reality clashes with the fantasy. Fighting traffic and crowds, circling for a parking spot and eye-popping prices are more characteristic of the department store cosmetics experience.
Is there a better way? A group of entrepreneurs from California believes there is. Observing how people were doing more and more of their shopping online, they decided to make the cosmetics shopping experience better by moving it onto the Internet. The result was a new company called Dermstore.com
That was just a few years ago, and today Dermstore is one of the largest sellers of premium cosmetics brands on the web, offering more than 300 brands.
According to Dan Williams, DermStore's President, "Our goal was to take what traditional retailers were doing well and improve on it, and to take what Internet retailers were doing well and bring it to the world of cosmetics and skin care. The only thing we can't do is let you instantly sample the product through your computer."
So how do they shape up compared to traditional beauty retailers?
Selection
DermStore offers a massive selection, from the global leaders to hot new up and coming and innovative brands and products, including cosmetics, skin care, anti-aging treatments and hair care. Regardless of what product you are using - chances are, they have it.
Freebies:
DermStore has an extensive gift with purchase program - so there is always tons of new freebies you can get along with your favorite products.
Ease of use
The design of the DermStore web site is generally excellent. You can browse products by brand, by product purpose (i.e. sunless tanning) or by skin condition (i.e. rosacea).
Value Pricing:
According to Williams, the pricing for most products is as good as or better than traditional retailers. The site never charges for shipping, and, if you're ordering from outside California, you won't pay sales tax.
We also discovered some great tricks on the site for saving even more. For instance, they allow you to set up a free favorites list and immediately give you a 10% discount on all the products you add to your list. There are also weekly deals, which are limited-time discounts on some of their most popular brands.
They also offer the choice of automatically receiving the products you buy on a regular basis. You just set the frequency of the shipments based on how often you need a new supply and they'll ship it out. In addition to the convenience, every 5th shipment is free - which translates to an additional 20% savings. Not bad for a few clicks.
Getting pampered at the cosmetics counter can be fun, but the smart move in the long term may just be online.
To check out DermStore, click here.