Cosmetic America

Full review
I am a cosmetic junkie as evidenced by my zillion cosmetic reviews. In the course of attempting to try one of everything made, I have shopped at many online stores with varying degrees of satisfaction. One site I recently had a positive experience on was Cosmetic America. This site is worth checking out if you like name brand cosmetics and perfumes at reasonable prices.

What the Site Sells

This site sells higher end cosmetics, skin care, and name brand perfumes. They recently added a bath and body section as well. Some names you will find on this site are Clinique, La Mer, Lancome, MAC, and Christian Dior.

Navigation and Variety

This is a simple site with a fairly limited inventory. You can choose to shop by category - Skin Care, Make Up, or Fragrances - or do a search for specific name brands or products. You can also choose fragrances by the first letter of the name of scent you are looking for. Across the top are tabs with categories as well and bath and body items can be found there although they are not added to the category list on the left hand side which leads me to believe that it is a new category.

Small photos show up with little titles and, if you want to investigate further, you click on the thumbnail photo and a larger one will appear with a description and price as well as shades if necessary. The photos aren't great but you get the idea. No ingredients are listed for the products which may be off putting for some. Descriptions are short and to the point.

If you want an item, click to add it to your cart. You will see your cart, a standard Yahoo one, each time you add to it. When you do add to your cart, there are several suggested products on the side and bottom for you to consider but there are no pop ups or flashing things to distract you.

When you have finished shopping, you will go to the checkout. There are several shipping options. Shipping is free for orders over $80.00 in the US and $5.95 standard for orders below that amount. You can opt to get your order faster for a higher shipping cost.

Only those residing in California are required to pay tax.

You will need to fill in your name and address et al and then provide a MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card number and expiry.

You will receive an email detailing your order immediately and then one with shipping details.

Your order should arrive in five to 10 days depending on your location with standard shipping and within the time frame you paid for with expedited shipping.

My Experience

I enjoyed browsing the site and seeing the higher end products offered. I had actually gone to the site for something that was out of stock. That is one drawback to this site. Quite a few items seem to be unavailable to purchase although listed. Being a shopoholic, I found a few other items "needed" and added them to my cart. The prices were slightly lower than on the manufacturer's site and they do have a 100% genuine guarantee which is quite important when buying expensive skin care or fragrances.

I found the items I wanted and added them to my cart. I didn't go over $80.00 so I was charged $5.95 shipping which I think is very reasonable. I was not charged tax.

I used my Visa card and everything went through smoothly. I joined their email program which sends notices of specials, coupons, and discount codes.

My order arrived in about a week, packaged securely. Everything was in fine condition and genuine and seemed to be fresh. I saved a few bucks and didn't have to run around to several websites to buy different brands.

I am satisfied with my experience at Cosmetic America. Not all prices are the very lowest you can find if you search through many websites but, in all, their prices are fair and discounted below what many other sites sell the same products for.

Shipping and Returns

Shipping is free for orders over $80.00 and $5.95 for orders below that amount. There are expedited shipping rates for those wanting their orders faster than standard delivery. They ship internationally.

You can return any unopened, unused product for a full refund. You cannot return opened and used items. They charge a 20% restocking fee which I think stinks and brings down my opinion of the site. After all, if we pay to send unopened, unused products back, why should we be penalized 20%? That could be a big amount if you purchase something like an expensive perfume as a gift then find the recipient doesn't like it or need it.

Contact Info

Phone:
Monday to Friday 9am -5pm (Western time)
In USA toll free 1-800-718-1388
Outside USA 1-323-796-8188

Email:
service@cosmeticamerica.com

Mailing Address:
Cosmeticamerica.com
220 W. Valley Blvd.
Suite 102
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Recommendation

This is a no frills site that sells higher end brand name cosmetics, skin care, fragrances, and bath and body products. The prices are discounted and the shipping is very reasonable or free.

Navigation is easy and checking out is even easier.

A few flaws mar the site though. They are often out of stock on popular products with no timeframe as to when the items might be back in stock. In addition, their returns policy is somewhat unfair. You're charged a 20% restocking fee although you have to pay to return an item and it has to be in 100% untouched condition. For that reason, I recommend that you buy only products you are familiar with and know you will keep. You can't return anything that has been opened so this isn't the site to experiment with products on.

Still, there is a nice collection of higher end products to choose from - not a huge one a fair number of popular items from each brand. Items are authentic and fresh and delivery is fairly quick.

I give this site 3 stars. It really is a 4 star site but the returns policy totally turned me off so I took a star off.

Still, if you like brand names and want slightly discounted prices, Cosmetics America may be just be site for you. I had no problems at all shopping on the site and I will shop there again. I just won't order anything I am unsure of or as a gift so I don't risk having to return anything.