Another shopping op – and this time a real gem of a site! I only stumbled across it recently after reading about it in a magazine. Why was I so tempted (apart from the fact I could utilise my credit card!!)….I have been having problems finding a new shampoo and conditioner after my beloved Pantene changed its formula. I have always been tempted by salon formulas but I detest the way in which you have to go through the hard sell in hairdressers in order to get your hands on a bottle (plus it is also expensive after they have added their commission to it). So with hair knotted to my head…I sat down to surf this site.
Basics
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The site is owned by a collection of hairdressing and
beauty groups and consists of salon exclusive brands – not only hair products but
make-up too (ok, guys you can skip through it now!). You won’t find any of the brands in Boots or Superdrug, the only other ways you will get your hands on the stuff that this site sells is via the relevant companies direct, in a department store (then you get the hard sell) or in a hairdressers/
beauty salon (again the hard sell). What is equally good about the site is that most of the products are cheaper than you pay in the
shops or in a salon.The Products on Offer
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There seems to be the full ranges from a number of beauty and
hair care manufacturers:
- Kerastase
- Paul Mitchell
- Wella
- TIGI
- Redken
- Aveda (a Ciao favourite!)
- American crew
- St Tropez (MY FAVOURITE!!!)
You get the option as to what size you would like to buy and then it tells you the price. The prices are generally 15% cheaper than you would normally pay although they also do some great offers that you probably wouldn’t see in the salon/shops.The Prices
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Ok, just to give you an idea of the prices, they aren’t particularly cheap brands but you won’t find them cheaper than on this site. I purchased 250ml
Aveda Shampure for £8.50 as opposed to the usual £9.75. I also purchased a
Redken All Soft duo pack (300ml & 250ml
shampoo & conditioner) for £10.90 (it is almost double that to buy separately in a salon). My final product (I was quite reserved with this shopping trip!!) was a
3 pack Wella deal for £14.55 (usually about £25!).
Since my last order they have also linked up with St Tropez (a favourite of myself and Trampus!) who produce the most amazing fake tan stuff ever. This is also slightly cheaper on this site so I’m a truly happy bunny!! Plus they do the whole range which I am equally excited about (my fingers are reaching for my credit card as I speak!).
The Site
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The site is extremely easy to navigate around and reasonably fast, although there are quite a few graphics that slow it down as all product photos are shown. The first page is the most eye-catching as this is where you can find any special offers. At the moment they are doing TIGI
hair product packs and a Wella Posthouse Hotel offer. Listed down the right hand side is a link to a specific area. So if you don’t want to just browse you can head straight off for the Aveda
cosmetics bit (which is new!
), the suncare range or the styling products. You can also click on the manufacturers links at the top of the page – if you like Aveda stuff, click on it and you will be taken to the first of many Aveda products (and there’s loads!).
There is also extremely useful information on this site, ranging from info about product suitability through to choosing the right products to get a particular hair style (complete with hair photos for you to click on). There’s also a list of guides: shaving (just to get blokes interested!), shampooing, conditioning and treatments. Basic, but interesting information. Did you know:
“………it is also best to shave after breakfast since you have used your facial muscles which help lift the beard away from the face, facilitating whisker-removal.” (a quote from the site)
You will find the guides under the ‘Services’ heading and here you will also find all the information you could possibly want when using this site. You do have to register to be able to buy anything but they don’t spam you with junk – and you can choose whether or not to receive their monthly newsletter. You can also check your account status at this point and update personal information.
Ordering & Delivery
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You ‘wander around’ putting things in your virtual shopping basket like you do on most sites. It is extremely quick to process your order and they take most major credit/debit
cards. Ordering is extremely flexible – you can
telephone, go
online,
fax or post an order through to them (they will even take a cheque if you post an order). I used the online facilities (including a secure server) which is approved by the Which? Web Trader code of practice. This took a matter of seconds and they e-mailed me an invoice immediately.
Delivery cost is the only down-side to ordering on this site as it is quite expensive if you just want one item. However, the good news is that they count any special packs (even if they contain four bottles) as one item. Delivery is a standard £2.00 for the first item and then 50p for every additional item. So if you buy 2 special packs containing 8 bottles, it will only cost you £2.50. However if you purchase 8 separate bottles it will cost £5.50 p&p. So watch out for the packaged specials to save money.
I was amazed at the speed of delivery – I ordered Thursday night and it arrived Monday morning – excellent! It states that it take 1-2 working days to deliver but I always take these claims with a pinch of salt. My package arrived securely and was delivered by courier rather than
Royal Mail. They had even sellotaped the lids down so they would not leak in transit (that’s attention to detail for you!). They also state that they will soon offer an ‘Express
Courier Service ‘(that I expect you will have to pay extra for), but why bother when it only takes a couple of days. Surely
Fairy Liquid on the scalp will suffice!!!!
Niggles
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I struggled to come up with anything here. I suppose in an ideal world I maybe would like to see the prices of all the sizes displayed on the first page of each product rather than having to click through to a separate area.
In reality I don’t suppose this is feasible – there are just so many products and different sizes on this site that there isn’t room for everything to be on the first page.
Conclusion
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One of the best sites I have come across on
my shopping expeditions across the web! The choice is superb, the information given is extremely helpful and it is so easy to navigate through to what you want (the search facility is excellent). I am usually so critical of shopping experiences having studied a Retail degree but I am completely astounded by how well this site organises it operations!
And do you know the best bit of my whole experience??? I now do not have to do into a salon or a department store and subject myself to the sales patter of some white coated bimbo (no offence if you wear one of these in your job – I am just generalising!!!) telling me how great a particular product is just to get a bit of commission. I can browse, and read all the information I want to about a product in the comfort of my computer chair! Bliss!
© moose
Shave AFTER breakfast guys 
