There’s been a lot of hoo-ha of late on the telly about Aussie retailers making a big deal about us consumers shopping online and avoiding the GST. For my international readers who aren’t aware of this, here’s a summary. In short, Gerry Harvey, the executive chairman of Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd, is playing the leader to other retailers, whinging about how unfair it is that people are shopping online, how unfair it is that they are not paying any GST, that it’s unfair that other online retailers can charge lower prices because they don’t have any overhead to deal with. At the time of writing, GST only applies to orders over AU$1000.

Now this really got my (and my husband’s) blood boiling. Other than the fact that the fellow is a billionaire moaning about people not paying GST (i.e. not shoving more money into his already very fat wallet), it just insults our intelligence as consumers to have to listen to this dribble. How much overhead and import taxes do these giant retailers like MYER and David Jones have to pay to justify massive price hikes in the goods they sell? They make millions every year. What savings are passed on to the consumers? Nothing.

Right, let’s not talk about electrical goods. We’re beauty fanatics, so let’s talk about beauty products. Friends who haven’t the opportunity to visit Australia frequently request that I get them certain beauty products, in hopes that they are cheaper in Australia, especially if the item was an Australian brand. I often had to tell them the sad truth, that it’s probably cheaper to get them anywhere else BUT Australia. Even Aussie brands.

Here are a few examples of price comparison between the same products sold in Australia, and in the US. Some prices are not significantly increased, but most are. With the strong AUD, the price difference is ridiculous.

Benefit Benetint – AU$55, US$28
NARS blush – AU$62, US$26
Bobbi Brown Modern Classic Lip & Eye Palette – AU$160, US$75
MAC Duo Fibre Brush #187 – AU$85, US$42
Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer – AU$68, US$39.50
Bloom (Australian Brand) Lip Gloss – AU$24, US$19
Becca (Australian Brand) Beach Tint – AU$42, US$25

That is just the tip of the iceberg. Is it any wonder that most of us prefer to shop from websites like Kissandmakeupny.com, Strawberrynet.com, etc rather than Mecca Cosmetica? We even go through the hassle of employing the services of mail-forwarding sites like HopShopGo just to buy from Sephora. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we could just buy them from a shop locally and be done with it? Of course it would. But to have to pay over-inflated prices for it, we’d rather trust our semi-reliable Australian Post with our packages from the US. Get my drift?

I wasn’t at all excited when I heard rumours of Sephora launching in Australia. I had the strongest feeling that the prices will be massively increased compared to their American counterparts. What’s the point? It would just be another Mecca Cosmetica or Kit Cosmetics selling pretty much the same products, at the end of the day. Not much competition there, since product prices are controlled.

They say we have to support Aussie retailers, support Aussie-made products. As much as I want to, I don’t think I can, when it’s so much cheaper to get them elsewhere. It’s my hard-earned money, I have the right to spend it wisely, to stretch my dollars as far as I can. We’re savvy consumers. Where it’s cheaper, we go. It’s only common sense.

I would love someone from the beauty industry’s take on this, as to why prices of cosmetics are so high in Australia, and some facts and figures to support the claims. If you are, please share with us in the comments, or feel free to email me anonymously.

So until these giant retailers reduce their prices, we will continue to shop online where it’s cheaper. After all, it’s only fair that we get the most out of our money.

Fair’s fair, right, Mr Harvey?

Note: See Miss Prissypants‘ take on this issue.

This was something I picked up at Priceline when I ran out of facial cleanser. I like trying out new cleansers; it causes less harm to the skin for something to simply try out (since it’s easily washed off) compared to moisturisers. You’d think I stumbled upon something good, eh? Oh well, read on.

Description:

A dual-action creamy cleanser formulated to remove make-up and surface grime delivering clean skin and moisture at the same time. Enriched with nourishing jojoba, avocado and sesame oils with shea and cocoa butter to leave skin soft, leaving no oily residue. Free from sulphates and harsh chemicals that can leave your skin feeling tight and dry.

The cream cleanser is pretty thick in consistency, and smells a bit like biscuits to me. I can’t pinpoint which type of biscuits though. It’s not sickly sweet, which is good. It also does not contain any of the potentially harmful shizz to the skin like SLS, mineral oils, parabens, etc.

And THAT is about the only thing good I can say about this cleanser. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I didn’t like it at all. Everytime I cleansed my face, it left my skin feeling oily, as though unwashed. To make matters worse, it made my skin very dry after each cleanse, giving me peely cheeks. My skin improved very soon after I stopped using it.

I left it in the bathroom, hoping Tim would, y’know, finish it up so that it’s not wasted (that’s what men are for, right? To use up the stuff we don’t like? Ahem). Even he, the person who can’t be arsed about skincare, didn’t like it. That’s sayin’ something.

So now, I’m not sure if I even want to try out anything else from the Sukin skincare range. What do you think? Give it another chance on, say, the body wash?

Sukin Cream Cleanser retails at AU$9.95 for 125ml and is available at leading pharmacies and health stores.

What I like about it: Does not contain potentially harmful chemicals. Smells very biscuit-y. Very affordable.

What I do not like about it: Leaves an oily film on my skin after cleansing, gave me dry patches on my cheeks.

Happy 2011, people! How did you ring in the new year? Watched the fireworks? Partied with your mates? Got drunk and spewed all over your favourite couch? 😛

Unfortunately, my celebration of the new year was quite dull. I did none of the above. My in-laws left for Malaysia yesterday afternoon. Tim and I were simply exhausted after two weeks of traveling, shopping and way too much eating. In the end, we simply ate leftovers, sprawled ourselves on the couch reading, and went to bed at 11pm. A couple of old fogies we’ve turned into, eh?

New Year resolutions? I think I’ve pretty much given up on new year resolutions since I never seem to keep them. Still, I would like 2011 to be a healthy year for me. I would definitely like to keep a good health this year (forget all that celebrity diet nonsense. I like to eat. Period). Which means, I endevour to exercise at least 3 times a week. Note I did not say exercise more, simply EXERCISE. I’m a lazy bugger, I am.

So, for 2011, I hope to eat healthier (less choccies, more vegies), exercise, and get fit. Realistic, achievable goals, right? Fingers crossed I’ll keep to it this year.

On the blogfront, I would certainly like to post more often. I’m also in the process of working on a new design for the blog. I know I changed it not long ago, but I’m just not feeling the current theme. I’ve been looking at many blogs and came up with a few ideas. Who knows, I might just get it professionally done this time *ooooh*. What else? Oh yes, meet more of you lovely bloggers and readers! I’ve met some this year, who turned out to be such amazing people. I’m really looking forward to meeting more this year.

Any new year resolutions for you? Or will you just wing it this year? 😉