ONLINE SHOPPING IS BLISS
Online shopping appeals to me for a lot of reasons. One of them is convenience. I can simply access my favorite and trusted online stores from my computer every time I have time available. In fact, I mostly purchase my makeup products online because it provides more comfort for myself: I can dodge the huge rush that commonly takes place outside the shopping malls, and I can avoid hovering sales assistants that sometimes give me too much unwanted attention.
Today, I am so excited to share with you my first online shopping experience at BeautyMNL. I will also be allowing you to take a peek at my BeautyMNL purchases at the end of this post. Let’s start the ball rolling, shall we?
BEAUTYMNL SHOP REVIEW
LAYOUT: Layout is very simple, clean, and straightforward — I love white background websites! The most obvious decorative element of BeautyMNL is its logo, which makes the whole website appears lighter and more polished. It loads fast, which is a good thing for shoppers like me.
NAVIGATION: BeautyMNL uses clear and descriptive link titles and uses the same navigation system on all pages. These navigational links are currently situated horizontally across the top, vertically down the left sidebar, and at the bottom. Everything is categorized: Skin Care, Makeup, Hair Care, Organic, Nails & Scents, Accessories, Essentials, and Brands. This helps a shopper or user guess at first sight where desired products are located. Another navigation feature I love that they have is the Bread Crumb Trails. In layman’s terms, these link trails simply give shoppers a way to know what page they are on, how on earth they got there, and how they can go back to a previous page if they failed to find what they’re looking for. Neat, huh?
SHOPPING CART: The best part is adding the items inside your shopping cart. Agree? For some reason, this thing is soooo therapeutic for me. BeautyMNL’s shopping cart system is self-explanatory: You pick the items you wish to order and click the “Add to Cart” button. There will be a pop out page every time you add items. Its size is something that I disapprove because it’s kind of big for my taste — I prefer smaller ones — But at least every time you add things in your shopping bag, you don’t go straight to the checkout page, that would be more annoying, right?
ADD TO WAITLIST. Okay. This one is a brilliant idea. If an item you love is out of stock, just click the “Add To Waistlist” button. It’s like signing up for a restock notification and letting BeautyMNL know if you really need it. I guess, they reorder items based on feedback and demand. You see, our voice is very important to them! Super sweet! In fact, I recently received an email telling me that they just brought back my waitlisted item, which was NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska, but guess what, I refused to act on it and it’s OOS again.
PRICES: Makeup can be quite expensive but BeautyMNL offers a wide variety of beauty brands from drugstore to high end. If you choose to shop with them, you get the same prices that you do in traditional stores. My proof: I recently purchased my Maybelline Hypercurl Mascara for P199.00 at SM Beauty and BeautyMNL carries this mascara, too, with the same price.
PRODUCT REVIEWS: I may be gullible sometimes but to be honest, product reviews whether positive or negative have a great impact on my buying decisions so it’s great that BeautyMNL has this feature on their shop. To add, if you become a Top Reviewer, you get to enjoy PHP500 worth of credits for every 35 reviews you successfully complete. Be sure your reviews are helpful and informative.
PAYMENT OPTIONS: Gone are the days where the only payment option available was bank deposit. *ROFL* BeautyMNL offers payment options like Credit Card, PayPal, Bank Deposit and Cash-On-Delivery. If you are nosy, I paid via credit card with my first online transaction with them. It’s very safe!!! They have the SSL seal and every information you provide is encrypted at checkout.
THE DELIVERY & PACKAGING
I ordered my items at 12 midnight of Oct 19. I read that they normally deliver items on the next day but since there was a typhoon, the shipment of my items were slightly delayed. My items arrived on Oct 21 and came to me in a small plastic bag. Everything was individually wrapped with bubble wrap except for the eyeliner. I forgot to take pictures because I was so excited to unpack them. *laughs*
THE ANNOYANCE
One major thing that continuously bugs me is the sub menus. Why? Every time I unconsciously hover my mouse on the menus, it totally disturbs my view of the item. It’s too big and it occupies a big space. I hope they can tweak that and make it similar to Nordstrom. My solution: I just have to remind myself that I need to avoid these links especially the top links when viewing a product. (BTW, I usually access BeautyMNL via my laptop)
And where is the “Add to Wishlist” button? Sad.
THE MINI HAUL
I received Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Dulce De Leche, Tony Moly Lovely Eyebrow Pencil in Latte Brown, and Kleancolor Nail Lacquer in Sheer Pastel Gray.
CONTEST ALERT
If you like taking selfies (hihi we looove selfies!), join BeautyMNL’s #selfieMNL Contest! Get a chance to win a Printster polaroid of your pretty face and a PHP200 BeautyMNL Gift Certificate. Click here for the complete details.
To wrap this up, I love BeautyMNL! It’s my new go-to shop for makeup and other beautiful things! I hope they carry more brands like my so-loved LORAC Cosmetics! I hope you find this post very helpful! Until next time!
Shopping online is really convenient.
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Looks like a great place to shop for your favorite brands! And girl, you must get your hands on the NARS TM ASAP! Great stuff! Although I wouldn’t call it a TM myself since it has crazy coverage almost like a true foundation! 🙂