Sephora.com: Doesn't Live Up to Their Reputation
Written: Jun 29 '04
| Ease of Ordering: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Selection: |
|
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
|
|
|
| Full Review |
Ever seen a Sephora store featured on a television show? Wish that the super-store of high-end cosmetics was in your area? Well, wish no more, because Sephora.com brings the virtual Sephora straight to your door.
~&~ The Basics ~&~
Sephora.com offers high-end cosmetics, skin care, and cosmetics via their online store. With their trademark black and red design, their home page has tons of information, and beware if you have your resolution on your monitor set very high; because this web site crams so much into a small space, the text is very small, and sometimes hard to read.
Navigation is simple; along the top you have links for My Account, Shopping Basket, Sephora Stores (store locator), Catalog (shop by catalog, download the catalog, or sign up for a catalog), and Help. Below this menu is a search option, and left-side navigation includes links to shop by category (Makeup, Skincare, Fragrance, Bath & Body, Hair, Tools, Men, and Gifts) or by Tips & Trends, What's New, Beauty To Go, As Seen In, and Gift Card.
Delivery options are UPS Ground, USPS Priority, FedEx Two-Day, and FedEx Overnight. Payments accepted are Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Card. UPS Ground shipping is free on orders over $75.00. Three free samples are available for your choosing from a list of about 12 at checkout with every order from Sephora.com.
Gift packaging is available for free, and you have your choice of a black felt satchel with red drawstring, or a black gift box with red ribbon. In addition, Sephora Gift Cards are available in denominations from $25.00 to $250.00, and come packaged in a black dual-mirrored compact.
~&~ My Experience ~&~
My sister is moving out to California with her family at the end of the summer, and I wanted to give her a birthday gift signifying such a big move. I chose the Caudalie The Grape Escape spa set, as well as a Gift Card that she will be able to use at one of the Sephora stores near her new house.
Of course, me being me, I waited until the last possible second to decide what I wanted to get her for her birthday, and by the time I made my final decision, I needed to have her gifts shipped overnight to make it in time for her birthday celebration, which would be on a Sunday. For some unknown reason, Gift Cards ship separately from regular products from Sephora.com so I actually incurred TWO separate overnight delivery charges: $12.95 for the Gift Card, and $17.95 for the spa set.
The packages arrived on time, and seemed to be packaged well, however, the Caudalie The Grape Escape Spa Set box had been damaged at some point, either prior to shipping or during shipping. I had no time to contact Sephora.com and just had to give it as a gift explaining a shipping problem. The products were totally fine, but the box they were presented in was broken in two spots.
The samples I had requested were Dessert's Creamy, Chanel Gardenia, and a mystery sample. I received what appeared to be a full sized Cargo lip tint, the sample of Creamy, and a sample of Chanel No. 5. I had no interest in Chanel No. 5, after all, if you haven't smelled it by now, you must be living in a cave.
~&~ Overall ~&~
The selection at Sephora.com is impressive, carrying all my favorites, from Urban Decay to Philosophy to their own branded cosmetics. Shopping there can be dangerous to those of us addicted to higher-end products. However, my first experience ordering from Sephora.com was somewhat of a disappointment, and if I do order from them again, I would do so making sure I had enough time to get items corrected if they arrived incorrectly or damaged.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? gift card, gift set
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
pippadaisy
|
 - Top 50 |
|
Reviews written: 1086
Trusted by: 177 members
About Me:
Divorce seriously cuts into the amount of time for reviewing.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.