IHerb vs Vitacost

As I said previously, I live in Québec, Canada. Saddly, the market here for natural/organic items is rather small, and without competition of any sort, the prices tend to rise, so I've found that it's cheaper and also easier thanks to the large selection of goods to buy online and, more precisely, from the United States. When I first started lookig for my monthly dose of beauty products (I'm a junkie when it comes to those babies) I stumbled upon a rather popular site, IHerb. I was rather impressed by all the products on display but please - please keep reading. I do not wish to make them any publicity at all as I was more than disappointed by their services.

First order
After a little while, I decided to give it a try. I created an account, chose a bunch of stuff, paid. And started waiting. I'll give them that, they're fast, which is one of the only good points they'll get from me. Couple of days later, the package comes in. I was awaiting fees since it's from across the border but on a 80$ order, I didn't expect a 30$ breakage fees! At that price, buying from here would have been cheaper.. Anyway. I waited a little bit before I tried again.

Love a the first sight
Before I went back to IHerb, I looked around a little bit to see if I could find something better. And to my awe, I did! You might have heard of Vitacost, IHerb's baby brother? The selection was smaller, but so were the prices. And when I got my package (which took longer to get by, but still) I was pleasantly surprised bu the total absence of fees! Nothing, nada! That meant 30$ back in my wallet, and when you're a student, that's a really nice bonus you get there.

Second IHerb order
For a reason that I still can't grasp, I gave a second chance to IHerb. Probably because of the impressive selection, and because some items that I really wanted weren't on Vitacost. Anyway, I gave them the benefice of the doubt, and tried again. I waited for a couple of days (still shorter amount of time than Vitacost) and received it.. Alongside another 30$ bill. But when I opened the package.. There was an item missing! I contacted them and, yeah, sure, theygave me a refund. But they only gave back the amount of the product, before taxes, shipping fees AND the ridiculous fees that I do not get when I order from Vitacost (note that both of those sites are from the same country and yet, I only pay fees for one. This is a mystery.) So basically, I still paid for an item that I never received. How hard is it to double check the orders?! I had like.. 7 to 8 items at MOST. Very dissapointed.

Never have I had such a problem with Vitacost, and I also would like to point out the fact that their selection grows by the day and that most of the stuff that was only on IHerb at first is now on Vitacost.

To wrap this up quickly, I won't be buying off IHerb anymore. It's not Canada-friendly since a lot of their goods can't be shipped here, they have bad customer care and their transport/breakage fees are just too expensive. I'd also like to point out the fact that I've waited up to 6 weeks for their out-of-stock items, before giving up.

I don't know how they handle their USA customers, but if you're Canadian like myself, there are better options out there like Vitacost (my favorite) or Well.ca.

So that's it, I hope this post helped you a little bit. Take care,

F.B

My new blog

Hi everyone out there!

I'm guessing few people will ever read this introduction, as this will probably be one of my most boring posts! That's quite alright, but I still thought a proper "Welcome" on this page was in order.

First, a little bit about me. I'm a 21 years old girl, from French Canada (so yeah, my mother tongue isn't english, please forgive any mistake) currently studying psychology. I've always had an interest in beauty products and cosmetics, even though I'm a firm believer that you should feel beautiful without any of it, and it's pretty much a paradox in me, but I still like to indulge, buy and try new stuff.. Yep.

Currently, I'm all about natural stuff. I put so much money on companies that would put any kinda shit in their creams and soaps and  everything else.. But when I realised that nothing worked on my acne-prone skin, that my hair was still dry and greasy at the same time, and that none of their sugar-coated promises came true, that I started learning about what was in all those small and expensive containers. Sulphates, SLS, silicons, parabens.. When you learn what they're truly about, you just throw every single one of your beauty essentials in the thrash can where they belong and start anew.

Yes, natural products might be a little bit more expensive (and when you know where to look, it doesn't get that pricey) but think about it that way; would you rather give your hard-earned to companies who don't care about neother you or your health, and on dozens of products who won't do you any good, or on a slightly more expensive product that will actually work?

To me, the answer became obvious after spending way to much money, saddly. This is why I'm restarting this whole blog; to prevent other ladies from making the same mistake and give them honest reviews about everyday products and health tips!

With that said I hope that a bunch of the reviews and tips here will be helpful to some of you!

Take care!

F.B