When I found out the Sephora USA site was now shipping to the UK I literally ran to my computer to see what I could buy. You think i'm joking but I assure you I am not. On my last trip to New York, over the course of 4 days I made about 6 trips to Sephora and came away with multiple items on each visit - such is my love for the place, and for the US prices.
Sadly as I clicked away on the site, my excitement slowly dissipated. There are a lot of brands that do not ship to the UK, including Hourglass, Laura Mercier, Kate Somerville, NARS and any nail polishes. The other annoying thing is it doesn't alert you to the fact that it can't be shipped to your location until you hit the check-out screen. On the plus side Clinique does ship as does Marc Jacobs Beauty. I wanted to pop a few Clinique products in my bag to see how the prices compare once you add in the taxes.
I have been lusting over the All About Shadow palette by Clinique. It retails for £32 here and the online Sephora price is £22.82. I also did a price comparison on the Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey which retails for £17 in the UK, the online Sephora price being £9.51.
Marc Jacobs Beauty is still not available to purchase in the UK, so buying this online is obviously a big bonus.
Sephora are charging a £10 flat rate shipping fee if you spend over £75. The important thing to note is that they still apply duty and tax to your order at the check-out. I was charged an additional £20.97 for my order on top of the shipping fee, making it an additional £30.97 all in (ouch). You can see the breakdown below.
It's a shame but not a surprise that this was too good to be true. I am still really excited to receive my order but I won't be placing future orders unless it is for something truly exceptional that you can't buy in the UK.