Cosmetique Feeds My Makeup Fetish. Surprise Cosmetic Kits in the Mail. Wheeee!

Cosmetique

I was shopping on a clothing site when I was asked if I wanted to try Cosmetique free for just shipping and handling charges. I knew all abut the service and was a member years ago so I clicked yes.

And the rest is history.

I get kits every 60 days, some of which I don’t love, but some of which I really enjoy.

Cosmetique Online Service is a sort of two-fold site. You can use it to adjust your shipment dates, color selections, cancel your account, and other customer service things, and you can also buy products from the site — whether you are a member of the club or not.

I’ll quickly go over both parts of the site.

What the Site Sells

Cosmetics, skin care, and bath and body products from 11 designers, none of whom are mainstream. They sell products individually as well as give consumers a way to sign up for their club and change their preferences. They now have a skin care line kit as well.

Navigation and Ordering

For non-members, you can just go through the 11 designers’ products and read about them and order the ones you want. You can also browse by category of products.

Ordering is as simple as adding items to your cart and paying with a major credit card. You can opt to register with the site or not. Registering gets you some promotional email and sale notifications.

Your products will arrive nicely packaged with a ton of promotional material basically chatting up their club.

Club members get a 20% discount on all products sold on the site but they must be registered with their club ID to do so.

As for the Cosmetique club, you will choose how often you want a kit and choose shades that you prefer. If there are certain cosmetics that you never wear, you can tell them at that time but they often send stuff you ask them not to anyway.

You can then change the dates of your kits, switch color preferences, and ask questions about your kits.

Kits cost $19.95 plus $5.95 shipping and generally come every month. I have mine come every two months because, honestly, just how much of the same kind of makeup can even I have?

For both individual product orders and the club, customer service is attentive and they really don’t hard sell you that much. Obviously, they want you to join the club but they don’t make you insane if you say no or want to cancel.

Navigation and ordering in general is very simple and free of snags.

My Experience

I forgot all about signing up for this service and then my first kit showed up. It wasn’t bad. All products are full sized and you definitely get a good deal if you like the items. You generally get between five and eight products per shipment, mostly eye shadow pallets, lip products, blushes and bronzers, pressed powders, mascaras, and hand and body creams or nail products. I have never gotten a foundation in all the months I have been a member.

The price of the kit is discounted by at least 50% off the retail prices, sometimes more. If you like everything, you can get a good deal. Often, you won’t like everything though and will end up giving away some of the stuff.

If you want to send a kit back, it’s painless. Just seal the box, write the word “Continue” or “Cancel” on it and drop it into a mailbox. They will send you another kit on your next due date or cancel your subscription if you said to.

I have never returned a kit. I’m too lazy. I have makeup all over the place I don’t use and really should give to someone.

At any rate, the whole premise of “surprise” cosmetic kits arriving every month or two is both intriguing and sort of cheesy. Still, I have had no problems at all with the service. I liked many of the items I received and I even liked one item enough to reorder it!

The brands are: Arabella Stuart, Cadette, Cinema Beaute, Cosmetique, Diandra, Madeleine Mono, Princess Livia, Rubigo, Sara St. James, and Sistina. They have a new skin care kit program with Energie Vitale anti aging products. I did get a special kit with this skin care but really didn’t pay it any mind.

As you can see, the brands aren’t drugstore, department store, or any brands I have seen anywhere else except for Rubigo which I used ages ago and is excellent. Still, they are somewhat high end as far as quality and you definitely get your money’s worth if you like to play with random cosmetics.

The Kits

Cosmetique sends the kits in a box and, inside that is ether a pretty gift bag or a cosmetic bag. Each product is wrapped in tissue paper like they are gifts. Inside the box are brochures about the designer’s products — both the ones included and all the others they sell. You can order from a form in the box or online if you like a product or want to try something from that or another line.

You are charged before shipments arrive but will be refunded in full if you return a kit.

I added up my last kit’s contents against the retail prices and I saved 65% over buying the products initially. That was great but I only liked about half the products. What a web, eh? Still, for a cosmetic junkie, it’s a fun and not too expensive club. You can always give the items you don’t like to people for gifts!

Shipping and Returns

Shipping for the kits is a flat $5.95 per shipment. If you buy products on the site, shipping costs depend on the total or your purchase. There is no shipping chart that I could find on the site. You know when you get to your cart.

For returns, if it is a kit, you simply drop the box in a mailbox and they pick up the tab for mailing the kit back. For individually bought items, you send them back but at your expense. You will receive a refund minus shipping costs.

Conclusion

Cosmetique Online Service is an easy way for club members to change shades, shipments, and even cancel the service as well as to buy products that you tried and liked or from a line you like.

I used to belong to Columbia House Record Club and I went crazy with them sending me shipments and not canceling my orders and hard selling me.

Cosmetique doesn’t do any of that. They don’t make you purchase a minimum number of kits, you can return any kit for a refund, and they don’t inundate you with too many kits if you don’t want them. I am going to a 90 day plan because, while I like fun makeup, I have more than I could use in a lifetime. Every three months is a nice timeframe to get new cosmetic treats.

Customer service on the site and by phone has always been friendly and all my questions have been answered in a timely fashion.

I’m not disappointed in the service or the site.

I wish they had MAC, Bobbi Brown, Tarte, and other great cosmetics in their kits (I would be willing to pay more for kits like those.) but the designers they do have range from youthful and fun to classic. I really have no problem with quality.

The site itself is fine. It’s easy to navigate and easy to order from. It serves a good purpose for club members and is also a stand-alone store for anyone.

I give the site and service 4 stars. It’s not top of the line stuff they have on there but it’s not junk either. You get what you pay for and then some.

Recommended:

Yes

–P. Therre