I ordered my sigma brushes from the Sigma site based in America. Here's a link; http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=283873
The Sigma brushes are also available online here in the UK at Love-Makeup and Cocktail Cosmetics;
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I had my eyes on the Sigma brushes for a very long time but was never too sure on which brush to order. Not being able to see them myself made it hard to see and feel the quality of these brushes. So I read many reviews and watched many YouTube reviews till I finally decided to place an order.
The reason why I placed my order on the American site was because I wanted to place a big order and the UK site didn't have all the brushes I wanted. Thats the only problem with the UK sites, they don't always have new stock and when they do they go FAST! Also, at the time the total of the brushes and delivery in US Dollars was pretty much the same as British Pounds so I didn't see any reason not to place my order.
Price
So my order came up to $170 and I chose to have USPS Priority Mail International which was $52.40, a total of $222.40. In GBP this came up to £146.85 at the exchange rate of 1 British Pound = 1.51447 US Dollars. Exchange rate is the value of a Pound in Dollars and this changes all the time, it is also dependent on the method of payment you choose.
As I said there really wasn't much of a difference in price... the only time you'd see such a difference is if you were to place a massive order like for hundreds of Dollars. But if you wanted just the 1 or 2 brushes then its really not worth buying from the American site.
Delivery
Sigma offer 3 types of international delivery;
- USPS First Class: No tracking number and you have to allow at least 13-31 business days
- USPS Priority Mail: Inc tracking number and allow 10-15 business days
- USPS Express: Inc tracking number and allow 6-10 business days
- USPS Priority Mail: Inc tracking number and allow 10-15 business days
- USPS Express: Inc tracking number and allow 6-10 business days
The price for the above delivery methods depends on the total of your goods I believe...I strongly advise choosing a delivery method with a tracking code as this will ensure you receive you parcel. I chose the USPS Priority Mail International and my parcel reached Britain in a week.
Now for the sad news......:( when receiving parcels from abroad, the customs in your country may or may not hold the parcel to check it and find out where it came from and if its all legit basically. They then slap a customs charge on you, which when paid will your parcel be released. Sigma did say on their website that they are not liable for any customs charges so its not their fault at all but the annoying British Customs :(.
Knowing my parcel reached British customs in a week and was not with me hurt me a lot :( it then spent another 10 days in customs, during which I had a number of conversations with customs to find out why and how long it was going to be there. If i'm honest they explained why but I didn't understand and I just really wanted my parcel. So I was told that I would have to pay a further £32.40p to have my parcel released from customs :( which could take up to 2 weeks. The letter with the charge details actually came through with in days and I paid the fine and was able to choose next day delivery. Finally I had my Brushes with me and was very :).
Service
I had no problems at all with the service I received from Sigma. They were really helpful and answered all my question quickly.
The good that came out of this was that I was able to purchase items that aren't sold on the UK sites but the obvious bad was that I lost out on around £20 all because of customs.
Hope this explained everything well for you all... don't let customs scare you as I have heard that it doesn't happen all the time. I was just one of the unlucky ones :(
If you have any questions then please leave a comment below and I will reply as soon as x
