Three of the best

I’m often asked where I shop for my natural beauty products: while of course I enjoy visiting beautiful stores and having the chance to sniff and play, I find online shopping tends to be a more accessible reality. It’s not uncommon for me to place a swift order late at night in the comfort of my PJs. I’m particularly fond of shopping sites that allow you a selection of brands in one shopping basket.

For those new to naturals, or unsure where to shop online, I’ve compiled some information on three of my perennial picks. So, in no particular order…

LoveLula

Established: 2006
Retailing: 94 brands
They say: “6 years old this July, LoveLula is your one stop shop for all your beauty questions and needs.”

USPs:

• First Look Lula: LoveLula’s new service introduces exciting new brands to customers at a discounted rate. Those that prove most successful may find a permanent home on the site.

• Shopping Points: the site offers its own shopping points system, rewarding you for your loyalty.

• Tailored advice: customers have the option to email or use social media to seek personalised product and beauty problem advice.

• Nationwide model search: an annual search to find the faces of LoveLula, making true natural beauty lovers the face of the brand.

My experience:

LoveLula was my first natural shopping site experience and it didn’t disappoint. Nor has it since. Before placing my first order, I used the advice service to great results and the answer introduced me to the moisturiser that’s been my staple ever since. I love that you can select up to three free samples with each order (over £5). I also love the fact that each purchase arrives safely wrapped in eco-friendly materials. There’s a lot of attention to detail: the great product catalogue, the ‘angel card’ featuring a sweet quote and little touches like a couple of truffles with your Christmas order. This personal approach makes it no wonder that this site has won so many awards, and no wonder that it’s a site I’ll always return to.

http://www.lovelula.com

Content Beauty/Wellbeing

Established: 2008
Retailing: 78 brands
They say: “Content is at the forefront of the move towards natural and organic skincare and complementary therapies.”

USPs:

• Lifestyle centred: Content Beauty/Wellbeing is the first site to offer ‘shop by ethos’ filtering, allowing you to find those items that fit your values.

• Innovation: targeted at those who like to ‘shop ahead of the trends,’ with a focus on creative design and high quality ingredients. The first to launch many of the brands stocked, including RMS Beauty, Vapour, Strange Invisible Perfumes and more.

• Lifestyle Blog: the blog introduces recipe ideas and spotlight ingredients amongst its beauty posts.

• Charity: Content supports the cancer charity Yes to Life by hosting wellbeing morning tea events for women undergoing cancer treatment.

My experience:

Content Beauty/Wellbeing is the only of the sites featured to also have its own offline clinic and store. For the purpose of this online shopping feature, I won’t go into detail on this other than to say I’d really like to pay it a visit! Content is my most recent shopping discovery and one that highly excites me for its focus on the most niche beauty and design offerings. My first order arrived with a few well-chosen (beauty and tea) samples and a thank you card offering 10% off my next purchase (thank you Content!). Content really gets the visual element and publishes the most beautiful mini magazine that introduces other lifestyle features alongside its beauty offering; far more than a PR material, you will really want to read this! Having garnered the attention of the glossiest publications (Vogue, Wallpaper and Elle among others), this ‘new contender’ is making some very mighty footprints in the industry.

http://www.beingcontent.com/

Naturisimo

Established: 2008
Retailing: 110 brands
They say: “Naturisimo is a global online retailer of natural and organic beauty products offering over 3,500 product lines across skin care, cosmetics, hair care, fragrance and well-being.”

USPs:

• The professional chemist: a UK Royal Society of Chemists member screens each product for harmful ingredients prior to inclusion.

• Delivery: a fantastic free, first class, worldwide, delivery service.

• Rapid response: all customer queries are guaranteed to be dealt with within 24 hours.

• Product selection: a whopping 4000 items are featured on the site.

My experience:

Naturisimo has an overwhelmingly good selection of stock from which to choose (in a nice way!). Think online natural superstore and you’re not far off. Products featured are often a pound or two cheaper than RRP, which makes all the difference when it’s an item you frequently purchase, or you’re watching your purse. You have the choice to buy up to 5 samples with your shop; starting at 50p each. It would be nice to see the return of some free sampling, but at the same time I appreciate the benefit of picking those samples you truly want to, and will, use. I can’t get enough of the vast brand choice, which caters to every budget from scrimping necessities to luxury gift. A site that in many ways is more about the behind-the-scenes than the little extras, it’s always sure to lure me back.

http://www.naturisimo.com/

I hope you will go on to browse each of my favourite sites and get a feel for their wonderful differences yourself. Be sure to bookmark them for later and let me know where you’ve been/will be shopping (and what you’ve been buying)!

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