Step One – sign up with Hop Shop Go. Hop Shop Go is my favourite parcel forwarding service. I know Australia Post offer something similar, but I’ve heard enough nightmare stories from people of their parcels going missing and Australia Post not doing much to help them out that I’m happy sticking with what I know. When you sign up with Hop Shop Go you’re issued a postal address, and you’ll need this for later. Please note: to use Hop Shop Go you will also need a PayPal account.
Step Two – sign up as a Sephora member. Sephora have a great rewards system, and you can accrue points to exchange for sample sized products and additional benefits (if you get enough points under your belt).
Step Three – get shopping! Hop Shop Go will not ship aerosols or nail polishes. So no perfumes, sprays, or the Sephora for OPI range for us. I’ve also found I have a much greater success rate with orders that fall under US $100, so I always stick to that. If you’re unsure what to buy from Sephora, see here. Please note: if your order gets cancelled, Sephora will hold onto your money for a few days. So if you’ve been squirreling away your pennies for a little splurge on makeup, you may have to wait a few days longer if your initial order is cancelled.
Step Four – time to order! As you progress to the checkout you’ll be asked for an address – this is where the Hop Shop Go personalized address comes in handy. When placing the order, I always use a VISA. Again, I’ve had more of a success rate with this so it’s what I stick to now. You should get a confirmation email regarding receipt of your order, and then a second email when your order has shipped. These usually come within two or three days.
Step Five – forward that parcel! You’ll receive an email notification when your order arrives at the Hop Shop Go facility. At that point you can log onto the site, click on ‘Ship + Track’ and go from there. My orders usually arrive within a week and are delivered by DHL.
To give you an idea of what a typical order will cost, I’ve broken it down for you. As I mentioned earlier in the post, the Australian dollar is performing terribly at the moment. This plays a big part in whether orders from the US are worthwhile.
Total cost of products at Sephora: $87 USD ($117 AUD)
+ Shipping (this is calculated on the weight of your package): $23.13 USD ($31 AUD)
Total = roughly $148 AUD
Total cost of products in Australia (with no shipping cost): $140.51
One of the big benefits of ordering from Sephora is the range of products available. The fact that I can order the only foundation I use from the site, but cannot find it anywhere in Australia is a big selling point for me.
And now for what I ordered! The main reason for my order was to pick up another tub of the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder, but I thought I’d pop another couple of staples into the cart to make shipping worthwhile. So I also grabbed another tube of my holy grail mascara – Lancome Hypnose, and my favourite go-to lip shade – the Fresh Sugar Tinted Lip Conditioner in Rose. I was also gifted three free samples but I only picked two, the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, and the NUDE Skincare Progenius Omega Treatment Rescue Oil. Using my Sephora reward points I also picked up a deluxe sample size of Dior’s ‘Diorshow’ Mascara, and Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Shadow. Now I just need to sit back and wait for them to arrive!
