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We all know that there’s a cash crunch at the moment, which means splurging on the sort of high-end gifts you might usually buy for family and friends – a bottle of their favorite designer perfume or a pot of that expensive moisturizer you know they love – is tricky.
The good news is that there are a number of places you can go to get well-known beauty brands – from Rimmel and Revlon to Elemis and Elizabeth Arden – at knockdown prices.
We’re not talking about rummaging round a market for misspelled rip-offs or buying on online auction sites where, in the past, big-name bargains that looked too good to be true have turned out to be counterfeit.
Instead, with a bit of insider knowledge you can hunt down hauls from the shops and sites that will buy in end-of-line products, limited-edition gift sets, unique combinations of products, discontinued products or products in old packaging, and then sell them at lower prices.
All the stores listed below are legit – but stock can move fast so there’s no guarantee you’ll find everything that we managed to scout out. And do always do a quick check to make sure you really are getting a bargain – just because a product is listed as showing a discount on these sites, it doesn’t always mean you can’t get it cheaper elsewhere.
Use price comparison sites such as pricerunner.com, pricespy.co.uk, and kelkoo.co.uk as well as Google Shopping. And, if you’re shopping online, do check to see if postage and packing is included as that can hike up a price quite considerably.
Here are some of the crackers we found while hunting around…
Brand Alley
brandalley.co.uk
Lots of higher-end haircare and skincare brands including Elemis, Molton Brown, Philip Kingsley, L’Occitane, Ren and Living Proof. There are brand sales that are live for a given period of time – when we checked there were dedicated ones for Espa and Neom – but there are also more generalized beauty sales. The downside is a £5.95 delivery charge, which bumps up the price, but that’s per order rather than per product, so less of a concern if you’re buying a lot.
Best bargains:
Elemis Energising Cleanse & Tone Supersized Duo, £79. Individually they’d be £162, packaged together on the Elemis website, they’re £119, so you’re saving £40 or 34 per cent.
Buy for £79 from Brandalley
Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Therapies Carabao Mango and Hibiscus Elasticizer 1,000ml, £50. The cult Elasticizer in a limited edition jumbo size at just under half the original price of £101.
Buy for £50 from Brandalley
Espa Fitness Bath Salts, £19, a 43 per cent saving on the £33 they cost on the Espa website.
Buy for £19 from Brandalley
TK Maxx
tkmaxx.com
The shops can be a bit hit-and-miss but it’s worth keeping an eye on the website as it often seems to have Elizabeth Arden, Liz Earle, Illamasqua, L’Oréal, Miller Harris and more in stock. The drawback is that some Brands aren’t searchable so you might have to trawl through thousands of products to find a steal. Delivery is from £1.99 for click and collect.
Best bargains:
Illamasqua Coloring Eye Pencil, £3.99, originally sold for £16, a saving of 75 per cent, and the cheapest we found it anywhere else was £9.60.
Buy for £3.99 from TK Maxx
Pixi Pink Pixiglow Cake Powder, £6.99, a saving of 71 per cent on the RRP of £24.
Buy for £6.99 from TK Maxx
Miller Harris Le Pamplemousse Eau de Parfum, £29.99. It’s £95 on the Miller Harris site, so you’re saving 68 per cent and getting a high-end fragrance at high-street prices.
Buy for £29.99 from TK Maxx
Beauty Outlet
beautyoutlets.co.uk
With stores across the country, Beauty Outlet claims to be ‘the fastest growing beauty retailer in the UK’. Weirdly its website is plural even though its name isn’t, but don’t let that put you off as you’ll find products from nail brands including OPI and CND, through to cosmetics from cult names such as Jessica Alba’s Honest, and Stila. Delivery from £2.99.
Best bargains:
Honest Beauty Gloss C Lipgloss in Poppy Topaz, £3. With a RRP of £16, you’re getting this vegan gloss at a saving of 81 per cent.
Buy for £3 from Beauty Outlet
CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in Art Basil, £1.99. These long-lasting DIY polishes (which don’t require a UV lamp) usually sell for £8.99 so you’re saving 78 per cent.
Buy for £1.99 from Beauty Outlet
Stila Heaven’s Hue Highlighter in Bronze, £14. While some of these highlighters are on sale for half price on the Stila site, this shade is still £30, so you’re saving 53 per cent buying it here.
Buy for £14 from Beauty Outlet
Secret Sales
secretsales.com
Contains a load of big-name brands including Mac, Clarins and Lancôme. However, not everything is hugely discounted so this is one where it’s definitely worth checking on a price-comparison website before you buy. But there are still some great money-saving offers.
Best bargains:
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion +, £22. This cult product normally retails for £35 so you’re saving 37 per cent.
Buy for £22 from Secret Sales
Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Moisturizing Lipstick, £8. Available in a range of shades that you’d actually want to wear, at a saving of 64 per cent off the RRP of £22.
Buy for £8 from Secret Sales
Filorga UV-Bronze After Sun, £15.82. Winter is often a good time to stock up on sun care products and this French brand has an excellent reputation — plus you save 37 per cent on the £25 RRP.
Buy for £15.82 from Secret Sales
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