'I'm an avid online shopper: These are my top sites to buy beauty products.'

If online shopping were a sport, I’d surely win gold at the Olympics. 

Finding the best deals, scouring high and low for hard-to-find products, adding items to my well-curated wish lists… I’ve put in countless hours of training. 

I do probably 80 per cent of my shopping online – I find it easier to compare products and prices, and far less fussy than traipsing through the crowds on a busy Saturday morning. 

Watch: How I shop when Priceline has a sale. Story continues below.

Being the profesh online shopper that I am, I’ve purchased my beloved beauty products from all over the web.

I’ve experienced the good (speedy shipping, free samples, epic deals) the bad (snail mail dispatch, extra taxes) and the ugly (spending literal hours trying to find a site that will ship that product I saw on Instagram to Australia). 

After my years of trial and error, these are the sites I always go back to for some add-to-cart happiness. 

A quick reminder to always have your wits about you when you shop online. Research any sites you haven’t used before, check the site is secure, and check out the returns and refunds policy. 

There are other helpful tips on the eSafety commissioner website. 

Mecca.

Let’s start with the obvious: Mecca is a dream to shop online. My parcels get dispatched at an almighty pace, samples come with each order, and Mecca has one of the best selections of Australian beauty retailers. 

Hourglass, Drunk Elephant, Sunday Riley, Charlotte Tilbury… so many international icons are just a click away. Plus, all the Aussie superstars: Frank Body, Go-To, and Alpha-H just to name a few. We really are spoilt for choice! 

Online orders are a minimum $25, but standard shipping over this price is free (hurrah!). Mecca’s price promise means that your fave US products are price matched when converted to $AUD with GST factored in. 

Plus, the Beauty Loop loyalty program means that each quarter I get to try a bunch of new goodies. 

My fave products to shop at Mecca: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light ($75), Sunday Riley Good Genes Lactic Acid Treatment (30ml, $128). 

Catch.

Get ready to bag a bargain. Catch (FKA ‘Catch of the Day’) runs short time deals on a whole assortment of products, including beauty. 

The makeup and skincare offering on Catch is vast: MAC, Clinique, Urban Decay and Anastasia Beverly Hills products are all featuring great prices as I write this.

However, the inventory and prices on Catch change regularly, so you need to keep an eye out to get your hands on what you’re after (I find the best way is to add products to my account’s wish list).  

I’ve shopped some epic beauty deals over the years on Catch, picking up bargains on products by Nars, Dr Dennis Gross, Patchology, Karuna and Pixi. 

My fave beauty products to shop at Catch: Dr Dennis Gross Extra Strength Daily Peel Pads (30pack, currently $99), Patchology 3-Piece FlashMasque Perfect Weekend Sheet Mask Kit (currently $16). 

NET-A-PORTER.

NET-A-PORTER is the online home of luxury goods, and it’s no different for beauty. Augustinus Bader, Balmain Paris Hair Couture, Victoria Beckham Beauty, and SuperGoop! are just some of the luxe labels you can browse and shop (which also aren’t currently available in-store in Australia). 

Express delivery is a $10 flat rate for Aus (unless your order is over $300, in which case it’s generally free), and my orders always seem to arrive in under five business days. We love to see it. 

NET-A-PORTER also does an epic end-of-season sale a few times a year, which always includes a handful of beauty steals (I once scored a Marc Jacobs Beauty travel-sized mascara for $12 during a sale, before Marc Jacobs broke my heart and stopped doing beauty). 

My fave beauty products to shop at NET-A-PORTER: Olivia Palermo Beauty Matte Lipstick ($59) and Balmain Paris Hair Couture Leave-In Conditioning Spray ($50). 

Adore Beauty.

Free TimTams. Nuff said. 

But for reals, I can see why Adore Beauty is the one-stop-shop for many beauty lovers. Ranging from cheap ‘n’ cheerful (The Ordinary, Bondi Sands, BOOST LAB) to high-end bougee (Dior, Burberry, Elizabeth Arden), there really is something for everyone. 

Standard shipping is free over $20, and express shipping is free over $65. Every order scores a TimTam (an undeniable highlight of the unboxing experience) and orders over $50 also score two free samples. Adore also regularly runs sitewide sales, gifts with purchases, and spend-and-save style offers. 

My fave beauty products to shop at Adore: The Beauty Chef Supercharged Essentials Kit ($95) and La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 Balm ($19.95). 

Revolve.

I was looking at cute dresses when I stumbled across Revolve’s beauty section. Silly me hadn’t known it existed! This is a great site to get brands that aren’t currently offered in store in Aus. Think: Versed, Tower 28, Herbivore Botanicals, Allies of Skin, Youthforia, ROEN, and more. 

Orders under $100USD cost around $15 to ship, but those over $100USD get free delivery. You’ll need to keep in mind the fluctuating exchange rate, but all the goodies do include tax in the listed price, so there’s no major shock at check out. 

There are a few brands which Revolve can’t ship here (like Summer Fridays) but you’ll get notified when you try to add it to your cart. 

My fave beauty products to shop at Revolve: Versed Weekend Glow Daily Brightening Solution ($29.36), Tower 28 Bronzino Illuminating Bronzer ($32.62) 

The Iconic.

Known and loved for their impressive selection of apparel and accessories, the Iconic has only added beauty into their arsenal fairly recently. And thank gosh they did.

The beauty selection does not disappoint, with faves like Grown Alchemist, Ultra Violette, YSL, and Benefit on offer. 

Lots of the makeup, skincare and kits get included in The Iconic’s regular sales, and the same free shipping over $50 applies (with some areas able to access same day delivery for an extra cost). 

If you add goodies to your wish list, you can get notified when they go on sale (and then stock up accordingly).  

My fave products to shop at The Iconic: Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF50+ ($47), Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base ($89). 

Direct from site.

There are a bunch of other brands that I love to shop direct from their own site, either because it’s the only way to get them in Aus, or because the perks are just so perky.  Here are a few: 

- Paula’s Choice: super quick shipping, and super regular sales going on for members. 

- Go-To Skincare: the whole peachy offering including exclusive gift packs, plus extra goodies for members (think: peachy hair ties, pens, hats and more). 

- Kester Black: my fave colourful, delightful nail polishes. 

These sites have made adding beauty goodness to cart a breeze, and I keep going back for more. 

Shopbop has recently also added beauty to their offering, so I better go check out what’s on offer! What’s your favourite place to stock-up on beauty goodies online? 

Please note: References to shipping prices, conditions, and duties are accurate at time of writing.

What's your favourite online beauty site? Share with us in the comment section below.

Feature image: Supplied; Hannah Rabbitt.