Sometimes there’s nothing better than shopping from the comfort of your own home. Your favorite products are usually in stock, you can get reviews and tips from other buyers on new products and you don’t have to get all dressed up to go shopping. For me, the best is benefit is having the option to have my go-to products readily available. Here are some sites that I have visited in the last 60 days:



BeautyEncounter.com – Over 1,300 fragrance, hair and skin care and beauty accessory brands can be found. The BE Steals are the best, offering products up to 90-percent off. Right now, Beauty Encounter has a Back to School special going on, quite early I know, but you can get 10-percent off. It’s here where I picked up my wonderful Spa Sister Overnight Softening Socks and adorable Bouffant Shower Cap for under $20. They also carry hair color, tints and dyes that are often sold out at my local CVS and Rite-Aid, like Wella Color Touch Shine Enhancing Color 1:2.  



Thebodyshop.com – I’m putting this one in here because quite honestly they deserve a mention. They create their own natural products (The Olive and Almond Body Butters are a staple.), and they always give you incentives to shop. Over the past week, they’ve offered 40-percent off storewide and they have a section dedicated to really good specials, like the Aloe collection of skin care products. I haven’t tried the makeup just yet, but just like Sephora and Drugstore, you can read reviews from others to help you make a decision.  



Drugstore.com – Speaking of local shops, drugstore.com is CVS, Walgreens, Target and Rite Aid wrapped in a neat little package. Those individual stores do have their own shopping sites, but they don’t hold a candle to drugstore.com. Not only can I order my laundry detergent and refill my contact lens prescription at the same time, I can also place items on auto-ship so I don’t forget! This comes in handy when I’m down to the last toilet paper roll, the last bit of toothpaste or my last energy bar. Yup, drugstore.com even carries fitness bars. I love the free shipping for orders over $25, and they have a very nice return policy on makeup. It’s called the 100 Percent Color Price Guarantee.  If you buy a color with the guarantee label and it doesn’t quite match with your skin tone, they’ll gladly take it back. Nice and Easy!



Makeupalley.com – This Web site doesn’t necessarily sell products, but you can gather a lot of information on up-and-coming brands. You can click through to Web sites that feature the products you’re researching. I found Nars the Multiple by reading all the frank and realistic comments on that bad boy. It’s the highlighter extraordinaire! Makeup Alley lets you search by skin type (dry, combo, etc.) and skin tone. It’s a breeze getting a well-rounded view on makeup you’re looking for.



Saks.com – OK, a little random, but Saks.com has a special place on my list because they carry my tried-and-true lip gloss by Chanel. Between the Lèvres Scintillantes Glossimer and the Aqualumière Gloss High Shine Sheer Concentrate, the color combinations are endless. Chanel is pricey, $25 for a tube of bliss, but a little goes a long way, and they last for months. Chanel’s colors are very versatile for all skin tones. I’ve never been let down by them. Saks.com seems to always the newest colors and hardly ever is out of stock. Try walking up to the counter and buying High Shine Hirondelle and you’ll be surprised … almost no one has it.  



Sephora.com – I think it goes without saying that Sephora is the leader in makeup accessibility. They carry big brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Dior to hip brands like Bourjois, Benefit and Fresh. One thing that I love about Sephora’s online experience is being able to purchase Web-only exclusives. It’s here that I found the beautyblender brand. beautyblender, a hot pink makeup sponge that is ergonomically designed, ensures even coverage of your makeup. Wide at the bottom for blotting and pointed tip at the top for eye application, this new product has been helpful for me in blending eye shadows.