Beauty, answered: Is it actually worth shopping beauty products in Amazon's Spring Sale?

Hi beauty friends, and happy Friday afternoon. Welcome to Beauty, answered, a place where I delve into all the burning questions you have about everything to do with beauty.

With the annual Amazon Spring Sale in full swing this week, I'll be addressing the age-old online shopping question - is it actually worth buying beauty products in Amazon's famous sales events?

My fellow woman&home editors have been loving the Amazon Spring Deal Days for health, homes and even fashion picks, but for me, shopping beauty deals at Amazon is a bit less straightforward. Here's how to make the most out of the convenient eCommerce site...

Short on time? These are the only beauty products I would ever buy from Amazon

Is it actually worth shopping beauty products in Amazon's sale?

While, collectively, our favourite thing about Amazon is likely that it makes for an easy, simple, straightforward and convenient shopping experience, it might not always be the best option when it comes to purchasing beauty products.

There a few reasons for this, so let's dig into them...

Prices aren't always reliable

One of the main reasons for avoiding Amazon's beauty offerings is that the pricing isn't always consistent. Often, the RRP displayed on Amazon will be different to what the actual RRP of the product is - meaning they can make it look like you're getting a discount, even when you're not.

For especially cheap products, the platform may even charge you more than you'd be charged elsewhere - or even only give you the option to buy in bulk, though not necessarily save money against shopping at an in-person retailer, for example a high-street pharmacy or supermarket.

There's less safety around products - and sellers

The products sold on Amazon aren't as regulated as products sold elsewhere, meaning if a product is recalled, for example, that might not make it through to Amazon's product pages - a concern when we're dealing with formulas that are used on your body.

It's also important to pay attention to who is selling the products. Sometimes when shopping, you can find various product pages for the same product, and usually only one of those will actually be directly from the brand you think you're buying from.

There's limited product offering

If you're looking to browse a brand's entire offering, chances are, you won't find it on Amazon. When it comes to beauty product lines, the retailer tends to offer a relatively inconsistent collection, often selling a line's bestsellers and a few similar products, but perhaps not always the exact product that might work best for your needs.

There are so many better alternatives

Perhaps my main gripe with shopping for beauty products on Amazon, is that there are so many incredible alternatives to choose from.

My top picks? If you're looking for a quality and considered beauty shopping experience, these are the retailers I would recommend.

Best places to shop beauty:

• Boots: Best for everyday essentials
• Cult Beauty: Best for niche beauty products
• Currentbody: Best for beauty tech
• Face the Future: Best for premium skincare
• Lookfantastic: Best for trending products & regular discounts
• Sephora: Best for a wide product selection
• SpaceNK: Best for luxury beauty buys

For beauty tech especially, it's important to shop at a reputable retailer, so you could even go straight to the brand, like Dyson, ghd, Therabody or Shark - who also often hold their own (really great) sales.

Why is it better to shop at a specific beauty retailer?

• You'll get the most up-to-date pricing
• They offer the newest launches, editions and reformulations
• Products are always the best quality - and never fakes
• They often offer really good discounts and run great sales,
• Most have loyalty points systems that can save you money in the long run and offer rewards here and there
• They offer a more premium shopping experience - including nicer packaged deliveries, which often come with small freebies so you can test new things
• They offer better shopping interfaces with features like wishlists
• They usually have beauty experts writing their product pages, so offer well-researched information about the products with expert scientific backing, and good advice about how to use the products
• They often offer exclusives, limited editions, great product edits or beauty boxes, and nice gift sets

The only beauty products I ever restock during Amazon sales

While I obviously advocate for shopping on beauty-specific retailer sites where you can, there are a few selected groups of products that I think you can get away with shopping at Amazon. This is everything I tend to buy in their sales...

Facial sunscreen

If there are any products you use a lot of, Amazon sales can be a really good opportunity for restocking your supplies at a lower cost. For me that's always facial sunscreen and hyaluronic acid. Amazon offers a range of different options to buy at good prices. After trying truly dozens of sunscreen and hyaluronic acid formulas during my time as a beauty editor, I can safely say that these are some of the best and the ones I always rebuy from Amazon.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid serum is probably the beauty product I go through the quickest, my beauty empties are utterly full of them. So, in all honesty, with the amount that I use, it's not a product I can afford to buy expensive options of, meaning I'm usually straight on the app when an Amazon sale hits. A reliable HA serum that's under £10? Straight in my basket it goes. These are the ones I tend to refill.

My budget favourites - with an even lower price

I love a reliable budget product as much as the next person, but why would I not wait until the sale so I can get even more money off? These are the first bits I usually add to my basket during any Amazon sale.

My everyday staples

Three products that I won't go any day without using, these are ones I always replenish during Amazon sales.

Helpful practical essentials

For practical essentials that you know you'll use at some point, Amazon's sales are a great opportunity to save a bit of money in the long run.

Anything new I want to try

Korean beauty is everywhere at the moment, and I've seen so many Korean skincare products around that people are using to quench and hydrate skin. These are the ones I've bought this week, to see if all the fuss is worth it.