Guys, I’m sorry.  It’s just too busy right now (we moved in yesterday – incident free, and the new place is AWESOME, but DA-AMN my legs/body is sore!!!), and guess what?  No internet hook-up until July 6th – right now I’m having brekkie (no food yet either lol) and chillin’ at Starbucks.  So it’s doubtful you’ll hear much from me until then.  However, I will leave you with a few li’l things before I disappear for a week – shopping sites!  OMG. Its a really scary day when you start shopping online, everything is at your disposal, and it can be either totally awesome — or totally horrible (hello?  Shade matches? Massive costs for shipping?).  Anyway, I have found a couple sites that I really enjoy, and I thought I’d pass the *shopping fun* along

1) BEAUTYBAY.com

Claim to fame: Free shipping worldwide.  Yea, you read that right.  I looked for a loophole or a glitch but it seems pretty straightforward.  AWESOME.  I just stumbled upon this site last week and haven’t had a chance to do any real perusal or shopping (probably for the best), but some of the brands include: China Glaze/Deb Lippmann/Essie/OPI/Orly/Poshe/Nubar/Nails Inc./Models Own (phew!) for polishes, and bare Minerals/Cargo/DuWop/Jemma Kidd/Paul & Joe/Stila/Too Faced/Urban Decay for makeup, along with a slew of skincare brands.  I’d say it’s pretty darn sweet!

2) Beautyhabit

Claim to fame: All the fabulous non-mainstream (plus some more familiar) luxe brands you can imagine. I recently ordered from there for the first time, and not only did it come faster than I expected, but there were little personal touches that I was totally surprized and pleased by, considering the site has been in action for well over 10 years. An establish company that still gives customers that ‘you are special’ feel?   What’s not to love?  Shipping rates are according to weight – Canadian shipping starts at $12.95US, which is a tad pricey but not unreasonable – and they email you the amount before processing your order, so if you don’t want to pay that much, you can always opt out.  I have my eye on a number of items that just scream fabulous.

*image source

3) NailPolishCanada.com

Claim to fame: Um, have you BEEN to the website lately?  What polish brands DON’T they carry??  When I read the announcement that NPC was going to start carrying the brand a-england, it pretty much sealed the deal for me then and there that this is THE polish site to end all polish sites.  I’ve purchases from them numerous times, and have not once had an issue.  Aside from the fact that they carry a ton of brands I love, I also really like the way the website is set-up – it feels fresh and fun, and you can see at a glance all the seasonal collections that have come out (which for the most part they receive on a timely basis), which makes keeping up on the current trends super-easy.  Shipping in Canada is still $5 for orders over $29 – though that appears to be changing and is now only for a limited time – and within the US is only $12 for orders under $50 (free for orders over $50).

4) Fresh Faced

Claim to fame:  Offers the best in green beauty products that are free from sulfates, synthetic chemicals, parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, and other compromising ingredients.  Again, another website I happened to stumble upon by accident last week, so I haven’t had much chance to browse around, but the fact that they sell only brands that are made without toxic or harmful ingredients is SO impressive!  I tend to use a mix of both eco-conscious and ‘regular’ brands, but opt for green whenever I can when its proven to work.  I also like that this is yet another new Canadian e-tailer – we’re finally coming up in the world!

 5) Neiman Marcus

Claim to fame: You want something?  They pretty much have it all – and faster!  First of all – I’m fairly certain that Neiman’s ALWAYS has free shipping, which saves a bundle in and of itself.  Also, since our dollar here in Canada is about on par with the US, prices are often cheaper as we don’t have to deal with all the jacked up costs we get when the product is sold here.  Also, several brands that we are yet to have in Canada are sold at Neiman’s – Le Metier de Beaute, namely.  Unfortunately, brands like Burberry and Tom Ford have restrictions that don’t allow them to be sent internationally (yet??), but often the launches by brands we DO have arrive sooner at Neiman’s (for example, I just happened to see that the new Chanel Fall collection is now available!!).  The website has almost replaced Sephora for me in terms of beauty ogling.

So there you have it – all the websites where I spend my days drooling over product and sometimes indulging far too much in pretty things   I’m sure some of these sites are not news to you, but nonetheless they do have some serious merits, and if you’re at all willing to buy online, they’re more than worthy candidates.

I have a handful of fabulous beauties to show you, but sadly it will have to wait until another date (although I’m kind of diggin’ soaking up the Bedford atmosphere here, so I might be back!).  In the meantime, I hope everyone is doing well, having some fabulous weather, and for all my fellow Canadians – Happy Canada Day weekend!!!!!  We have a BBQ for the first time, so you know what I’ll be doing!!