Where to Buy Real International Brands in South Africa

It's really hard to be a makeup junkie slash hoarder when many international makeup brands either don't ship to South Africa or have crazy expensive shipping costs that make it unrealistic to actually order yourself. I'd like to give you a few names of international makeup resellers that actually sell real products. There are so many people that sell fake brands advertised as real and this really gets to me because you pay the amount that you do for quality, not to be ripped off and upset when you receive a fake product, expecting a real one. I'll list some resellers that I've personally bought from and had good experiences with below and I'm also going to list which brands do ship to South Africa and which brands are already sold in South Africa.

Internation Makeup Resellers in SA (That I have ordered from):
La Boutique on Instagram
I just recently bought an eyeshadow palette from them (my Violet Voss Holy Grail palette for R850) via Whatsapp. I paid a small deposit on it and they put it aside for me for a little while as I saved up for it. They gave me a month to pay the remainder of the amount, and I did so within two weeks.  The palette came really well packaged in a large envelope and tonnes of bubblewrap. They also slipped in their business card on top that included all their contact information. The parcel came within two days after payment and I was extremely happy with the process and the great service.

Muse Beauty SA - They also have an Instagram account
I ordered my Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette (R1000) from Muse's website and I was shocked at how quickly it came. I'm not even joking I ordered it at about 11 pm on a weeknight and it came the next day about lunch time. Muse is based in Durban, and I'm in Durban so it does make sense, but I've ordered from other people here before and it still takes a day or two to get to me. The palette was packaged amazingly and I was so happy with the service. Muse has a bunch of different international brands to choose from. A huge thumbs up for Muse SA!

Samika
I ordered my Carli Bybel Deluxe Edition palette (R650) from her website and it was a breeze to order. I was extremely happy with the packaging of it, it was packaged with lots of bubble wrap and it got to me within two days. Samika also has a wide array of products to choose from and I definitely recommend her. Just go check her website out you'll be on it for ages, or is that just me..

Makeup Bowtique on Instagram
I bought two sets of Colourpop lippies sets (R510 each for five lippies) from Makeup Bowtique and I was also very happy with the service. I ordered via Whatsapp and my order came within a day or two. I was very happy with how friendly and helpful they were to me. They also have a beautiful original brush set (a set of 15) for R750 that they sell.

VanityLine on Instagram
I ordered my Colourpop Aquarius Bundle (R470) from Amber at VanityLine. I got it within two days and I was extremely happy with my purchase. I will definitely order from her again. Happy customer over here! Vanity Line also manufacturers and puts together beautiful vanity sets, including tables, mirrors, etc.

Cosmetics Distributors - They also have an Instagram Account
This brand stocks TamBeauty Products which include I Heart Makeup and Freedom Makeup which are brands under makeup revolution. I've ordered a few of their chocolate palettes and they were extremely inexpensive (R160 each). The quality is amazing! I want to buy all their products (Told you I'm obsessed). I'd especially like to try their cream and powder contour kits and setting sprays.

Internation Makeup Resellers in SA (That I haven't ordered from):
Beauty Bay
Beauty Bay is a UK website that you can order a lot of international brands from. This website is amazing because they have the "International Saver" shipping option that ships for free to SA if you spend over $20. I haven't ordered from them yet but I am dying to. They have products such as Violet Voss, Morphe, Zoeva, etc.

Pink Cosmetics - They also have an Instagram Account
This brand is owned by Janet Pink in Cape Town nd I've heard amazing things from people who have ordered from her before.

Fashion Police
This brand is owned by Paula Bornman and I've also heard great things about her service from people who have ordered from her before.

Makeup Shmakeup on Instagram
I haven't heard too much about this reseller but I've seen a couple of good reviews and have heard a couple of people say they have ordered from them before with a good outcome.

Makeup Shack - They also have an Instagram Account
I haven't heard much about this reseller but I would like to try them out myself.

My Vanity ZA on Instagram
This isn't really makeup but this brand in SA make and sell absolutely stunning vanity mirrors. I actually just saw them now as they followed me and wow there was even a marble Hollywood style mirror. I definitely need to save up for one of those.

International Makeup Brands that do ship to South Africa:
Tarte Cosmetics
I've ordered from Tarte Cosmetics twice now and have had no issues. If you spend over R1000 or so, you get free shipping to South Africa. Customs isn't too bad; the first time I ordered it was about R200 and the second time was about R300 (although I did order bulkier products the second time). This is perfectly fine with me considering I paid R610 each for the Tartlette and Tartelette in Bloom palette instead of R1000 and R320 for my Shape Tape concealer instead of R650 from resellers. The products came beautifully packaged in a Tarte branded box and had lovely tissue paper wrapped around the products; the order took around two weeks to get here. I can't wait to order from them again, Tarte is one of my top favourite brands.

Colourpop
Okay, I know many, many people who have ordered directly from Colourpop and have had no issues which is great. They do ship to South Africa and their packaging is amazing. I don't know if you've noticed but earlier I mentioned I bought my Colourpop products from resellers (VanotyLine and Makeup Bowtique). This is because I have ordered from Colourpop before and my order that cost me R800 got lost in transit. I waited for more than two months for my order and I did email them a couple of times and was told they couldn't track it and it's on its way. Finally, I complained a fourth time and they told me it must have been lost in transit and I could either have a refund or I can choose to have the products sent again, although if they were lost again, I wouldn't qualify for a refund a second time. I obviously chose a refund. I was quite upset because I was really excited to get my lipsticks. Nevertheless, I have been too scared to order from Colourpop again even though I love their products because of my bad experience and that's why I don't mind buying Colourpop products from resellers.

Juvias Place
I love Juvias Place products, I have two of their eyeshadow palettes and I can't wait to get more. They are actually really reasonably priced although there is one minor problem. The shipping fees to South Africa is INSANE. It costs around R600 or more to ship to South Africa. Shipping also takes quite a long time. The way I got around the high shipping fee is I found two girls in Cape Town who also wanted to order straight from the website and we all ordered together and split the shipping costs. This made the order a lot more pocket-friendly and I bought two palettes for around R700 instead of paying R900 - R1100 for one palette here in South Africa.

Morphe
Morphe does also ship to South Africa, their shipping is also a little pricey and shipping can take a little while but their products are very inexpensive. Morphe also has the rights to sell a couple of other makeup brands that do not ship to South Africa, for example, they stock Jeffree Star Cosmetics and Z palette magnetic palettes that hold individual eyeshadows.

Zoeva
I'd really like to try Zoeva eyeshadow palettes and I want to order from their website too as they do ship to South Africa.

Anastasia Beverly Hills
I'm not really into highlighters so the only product I wanted from ABH was the modern renaissance palette and I ordered it here before I knew ABH shipped to SA. So I probably won't order from them unless they come out with a new eyeshadow palette which I will snatch up as soon as it launches.

International Makeup Brands that are already sold in store in South Africa:
Benefit
MAC Cosmetics
Estee Lauder
Clarins
Smashbox
Chanel
Dior
Inglot
NYX Cosmetics
Essence
Catrice
Revlon
Loreal 
Physicians Formula
Wet n Wild
Lancome 
Bobbi Brown
Inglot
Black Opal
Clinique
Yardley
Urban Decay
The Balm Cosmetics
Bourjois 
Almay
Maybelline
Max Factor
The Body Shop
Rimmel

I hope this super long post was helpful to any of you makeup junkies that were looking into buying international branded makeup.

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