A Quick Beauty Tip – Shop at Stores with Excellent Return Policies

I love trying new products — it’s the best part of being a beauty addict! However, when a new shampoo, skin cream or cleanser doesn’t work for me, I don’t want be stuck wasting money on a product that I don’t like. I usually buy products at the store and not online because for me, a big part of the experience is being able to smell and see the texture of whatever I’m buying. Plus, I like being instantly gratified. =)

I do three simple things to maximize my beauty dollars.

I keep the packaging.

I keep my receipt.

I only shop at beauty stores where I can get a full refund.

If there’s no packaging and only a price sticker I’ll make sure to keep product out of the shower so the sticker doesn’t melt off. Also, I try to be realistic about the return. If I don’t like something, I’ll return it within 30 days or within the store’s return time frame. I’ll also never return products that are more than 50% used up. That’s just tacky.

Here are a few stores that I like to shop at that have always given me a full refund for products I was unsatisfied with:

Sephora
Nordstrom
Pure Beauty
Macy’s
Sally Beauty Supply
Rite Aid
Walgreen’s
Long’s (although returns at my nearby store seem to take an usually long time and can be somewhat unpleasant – the cashier usually freaks out because there’s a ton of paper work to fill out, people behind me in line start tap-tap-tapping their toes … )

I shop at the beauty stores listed above because I like having the option to return my products, but I try to choose them carefully and don’t abuse the refund system. I don’t advocate continually buying things just for fun and returning them just because the stores have to take your used product back. I’ve read stories about stores who see the same women who come in over and over and who continually purchase and then return products. This is so not cool. Not only does this abuse the store’s policies, but also wastes product. When most stores take back beauty products, they usually throw them out because they can no longer assume that the product hasn’t been tampered with. It’s seems a shame to throw it out, but it’s for consumer safety.

It’s been a crazy busy week ya’ll! I’m still doing re-writes on a Hawaii travel story and I’m working like a fiend to get it done so I can go and visit my mom on Sunday. May 13th is Mother’s Day, so if you haven’t purchased a lil’ something for your mom you better do it now!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen