A lot of people still don’t know this, but you can order ColourPop cosmetics and have it directly sent to you in South Africa. Say goodbye to all of those mail and package forwarding compares (well, for this online store at least).

Yes, you can totally order ColourPop Cosmetics from South Africa. If you’re wondering what in the world they are, they’re the closest dupes to majority of the Kylie Jenner lip kits. It turns out they use the same factory – it explains a lot really. At practically a quarter of the price of most brands, with insane quality ColourPop is really worth the wait. Also, they collaborate with a lot of cool people for various collections including Karrueche, Amanda Steele and even Sanrio’s Hello Kitty.

 

So how does it work?

The ColourPop website works like any other online store, choose the products you want and checkout. Delivery costs aren’t too bad: US$9.99 (ZAR132) for orders under US$50 (ZAR658) and free shipping for orders over US$50.

What should I buy?

When it comes to shopping I often take a look at the sale section because you can get some really good deals on product bundles (mainly the matte lipsticks with a liner duo or even trio). I highly recommend the ultra matte, ultra glossy and lippie stix products. I’ll be reviewing these so expect an update with the links.

How long does delivery take?

I won’t lie, I was hesitant to order. I shop online often, but when products come from the USA it seems to take longer compared to the UK or even certain countries in Asia. Surprisingly, I did’t wait too long for these. Each order took between 7 – 8 weeks to arrive since the e-mail confirmed it was shipped out.

Once your order is ready for shipping, you’ll be sent a tracking number for the package to be tracked on the USPS website. It’s really efficient because you can see once your package has left the dispatch and each point of it.

But…

The problem comes in when the package leaves the USA, you can’t track it – or at least, I couldn’t for both. Once that point arrives I’d become quite frustrated because I wouldn’t know where in the journey my package was. Granted, the package arrives in South Africa a few days after, it’s just a matter of getting through customs which can take weeks it seems.

What about customs?

I ordered two packages from ColourPop in the last four months. Order 1’s total came to US$34.59 (about ZAR455) with the shipping free included and order 2 was a combined order with some friends that came to US$71.20 (about ZAR937) with free shipping.

I was not charged customs for order 1 but when order 2 came, I was charged about ZAR360 in customs – nearly a third of the package. I asked the guy at the South African Post Office why I was charged customs for order 2 and not for 1; his answer simply was that it depends on the customs office and when the package arrives. My general rule of thumb is that if I order for under ZAR500 I never get hit by customs and if I order for considerably more, I can expect to pay a percentage – granted, you never know how much because nowhere is customs explained online to us. We kinda just have to accept it.

Were the packages opened?

Actually, I think so but it’s hard to prove if it was sent that way or if it was SAPO. Order 1 was pretty much perfectly intact with the individual products as is with minor damage from the journey. With order 2, I couldn’t help but notice quite a number of the lipstick packages were not sealed properly which means they were indeed opened. Why were they opened? I’m not sure, but perhaps for security purposes from SAPO and customs. The main packaging was then resealed with a lot of ugly plastic and tape – ugh, sorry Instagram. I need to point out that nothing was removed or stolen. I’ve never had any part of my package stolen since my years of purchasing internationally online and I hope that will never be the case – I’ve heard the stories.

What about refunds?

Based on their FAQs, ColourPop do offer replacements on their products that may have arrived damaged but they do not offer returns. Replacements are considered within 14 days… SAPO would take 14 days to just look at my package to get sent out possibly so I won’t be considering this ever. Any damaged products I may receive would have to just be considered a loss sadly. 

Will I order again?

Yes! I have my eyes on a few products and with winter knocking on America’s door, I’m sure all of the summer colours will go on sale soon. When you think about it 7 – 8 weeks for an order delivery is really not bad at all.

Overall

Generally the experience was great and I urge others to try out ColourPop and buy some of their products. It’s not the shortest wait time for a package but it’s definitely worth it as a little surprise that will end up at your door (or technically the door of SAPO where you’ll get it from).