Thanks be to Gods who are happy with us beauty junkies and fashionistas of the world right now, as we have so many brands, so many options, so many ways of indulging in some sweet shopping therapy. Online shopping has made our lives much easier but then again, some issues persistently plague us, such as - the risk of getting a fake brand or buying a much-touted product that does not suit our skin one bit and then going through a hellish process while returning it. So, it is always a relief to come across any website that promises to be different and proves to be so in action too!
It was a stroke of good fortune that I got a chance to review Aplava, a name I had heard circulating in my beauty junkies circle for past few months. Expecting it to be just another beauty website, I logged in and was in for a big surprise. It seems to be progressing into one-stop destination for all our beauty +personal care needs, that too personalized!
Need wide range of beauty products,including international luxury brands? Head to Aplava
Need guarantee of only authentic brands? Aplava it is
Quick shipping, tempting sale offers, easy returns policy? Yes, yes, and yes to all at Aplava
Most importantly, want to get personalized recommendation from the cozy confines of home? Aplava at our disposal yet again :)
Logged onto Aplava.com and was impressed to see their approach to beauty and personal care. They don't just present a bouquet of brands in categories ranging from Skincare to Mom & Baby, rather they have a personalized questionnaire to know exactly what products suit our skin, handpicked by a team of dermatologists and beauty advisors! This questionnaire is pretty detailed and takes into account all the major concerns we face nowadays, whether it be dull skin, dandruff, pigmentation or even high sweating tendency. And Voila, 1 minute spent in filling up the questionnaire and we get personalized beauty recommendations :)
The brands stocked by Aplava range from drugstore (Pond's, Olay) to high end luxury ones (Natio, Dermalogica) and since they deal directly with manufacturers/ authorized distributors, there is no chance of any fake brand duping us.
We can also chat with professional beauty advisors and dermatologists and ask them questions related to beauty and personal care!
One step further, we can use the Follow the Price feature to find the lowest price for any product and wait for the best deal before buying it.
I also love their blog with some pretty useful beauty tips,tricks and techniques, it feels like a close-knit community already :)
Need something else to sweeten the pot? They have an Aplava Prestige loyalty program where every purchase accrues us points which we can redeem on further shopping. Finally, there are amazing sale offers going on which will warm the hearts of any shopaholic.
Shopping on the site is easy breezy. The website interface is clean and fast. Easy search options for any brand in any category, a wide variety of brands available in all price ranges and a variety of payment options (from cards to paytm to cash on delivery). We can also buy gift cards which I find to be extremely useful for gifting to my besties so that they can indulge in whatever they want for themselves :)
I was so excited to browse through this treasure trove that it took me a long time to decide what to actually order. I especially browsed through eye cream for dark circles (been plagued with these for some time now), face whitening cream (got to take care of dull darkened skin thanks to regular pollution and sun exposure), a range of shampoos for my dull,dry and frizzy hair and finally some heavy duty hair conditioners! Yup, just ordered a big fat hamper for myself and expecting delivery for same within next 3-4 days :)
YES
- Aplava has a wide variety of brands from drugstore to high-end luxury
- Delivery all over India, even to places where no store would stock Natio or Dermalogia
- Along with beauty and skincare, personal care products ranging from mom & baby products, candles, products for men etc. are also stocked
- There are attractive sales,discounts and samples offers
- Follow the Price feature makes it easy for us to get best deals
- Personalized beauty recommendations make it a unique beauty destination
- Wide variety of payment options
- Aplava Prestige loyalty program rewards customers every time we make a purchase
- Option to choose gift cards as best presents for friends to let them indulge in whatever they want
- Speedy delivery and easy returns policy
- Aplava Blog and ability to talk to professionals regarding beauty queries is a bonus :)
NO
- More drugstore brands could be included, I believe this will happen with passage of time :)
- Minimum shopping of 999 needed for free shipping which could be reduced to 500
- They say 'complimentary samples' on every order, but I know quite a few people who have not gotten any free samples, so this can be fine-tuned :)
All in all, I think there are quite a few wonderful reasons to get hooked to Aplava.com and I am waiting to see how this pans out into a full fledged beauty/personal care movement :)