Cons of being a Sri Lankan MAKEUP JUNKIE

This tropical island being a paradise for most reasons can turn into quite the torment for makeup junkies or even aesthetic seekers. The limitations followed due to being a developing country in South Asia has experienced a fall over the years, yet it still remains for some of us.

Getting makeup down

This for most of us requires relying on resellers, who indeed can be distrustful, especially considering being a part of this type of business in today’s time has become a trend. It requires finding the right one, with the right price and lowest waiting time.

Solution: Skip the middlemen or look for UK/USA based sellers

Try to get your products down directly from their main website; You then don’t have to worry about originality or dealing with amateur retailers. Times have gotten better, quite a selection of them now ship to Sri Lanka. Or there’s UK/USA based certified retailers that have a range of products from different brands, that are often trustable. The biggest dilemma here remains for those of you who don’t own a debit/credit card, you're all set if you get this sorted. It’s pretty easy to attain a debit card from commercial bank, they provide an excellent scope for online shopping. For those of you, sceptical about providing your card info, it’s always as simple as signing up for Paypal.

Brands that Ship to Sri Lanka:

Anastasia Beverly Hills Bh Cosmetics

Retail Techniques:

They do not ship directly but their website provides recommendations.

Colourpop Cosmetics

Verified resellers:

Cult beauty Beauty Bay Asos

High-profit margin

The fact that it requires selling a kidney in order to be able to get down some of these products can be aggravating. I mean some of these high-end products are already expensive now there’s the added cost that completely blows your budget off. Solution: Split the cost with a friend or wait until you have enough products to qualify for free shipping.

Make sure you go for verified UK/USA sellers as they do not have to deal with getting the product down to Sri Lanka like most of these Instagram retailers instead it’s directly shipped to you. In fact, some of these brands are partnered with these sellers. For instance: Cult beauty sells all products available at Morphe.

Swatching products

This happens to be a major problem faced by most of us. How can you possibly purchase a foundation without getting it tested on your skin, a lipstick shade that always looks different on every different skin tone or experience the odour of a certain product?

Solution: Watch/read reviews on online

Technology has become a true hero, specifically Youtube. A large number of people are reaching out, particularly women of colour, making life for the rest of us easier. Subscribe to their channels or blogs, and keep up with their work, try to find someone close to your skin tone in order to get reviews most efficient for you. Of course it’ll never be accurate but definitely a step better than going in blind.

Waiting period

They all have a waiting period of at least 2-4 weeks. This includes both Instagram retailers that work on pre-order basis or verified UK/USA sellers. Therefore, you can never truly get a product down urgently unless of course you're willing to pay the most often 30 US dollar DHL shipping cost.

Solution: Pre-plan your purchases

If you think you’re going to run out of your product in two-three month’s time, order it. By the time it gets to you it’ll be exactly when you need it. Forgot to preplan it but need a mascara in time for your cousin’s wedding? Try messaging Instagram/ Facebook retailers to find out what they have in stock, you never know what you might find.

Uncertainty despite all the research

You put in a lot of time, effort and money yet this problem remains. In reality, there isn’t a solution to this, but with time you get used to and sometimes better at ordering online. Most of all, let’s just keep hoping someone decides to bring down these outlets to make our lives easier.

If you think you’re going to run out of your product in two-three month’s time, order it.