Beauty & Health

Skincare, makeup, hair care, fragrance and personal-care devices from partner stores, with last-checked prices.

Buying beauty and personal-care products online safely

Beauty is the category where a low price most often means a counterfeit, an expired product or one stored in the heat for months. None of that shows in a photo. The checks below cost a minute and remove most of the risk; for anything you put on your skin, they matter more than the discount.

Authenticity and sellers

Well-known perfumes and skincare brands are among the most copied products online. Prefer the brand's own store, an authorised retailer, or a marketplace seller with a long history and high positive feedback. A price far below every other listing for a sealed, current product is a warning, not a bargain.

• Compare the box, batch code and bottle shape with photos on the brand's own site.
• "Tester" and "unboxed" perfumes are usually genuine but have no retail box and cannot always be returned.
• Be wary of listings that use only stock photos for a high-value item.

Expiry, batch and storage

Most cosmetics carry a period-after-opening symbol (an open jar with "12M" or similar), and sun creams and actives such as vitamin C or retinol also have a use-by date. Ask the seller for the batch code or expiry when it is not in the listing. Heat and sunlight damage formulas; a product shipped in summer from a hot warehouse may already have degraded.

Ingredients, allergies and devices

If you have sensitive skin or allergies, read the full ingredient list (INCI) rather than the front of the pack, and patch-test a new product on a small area for a day or two. For hair dryers, straighteners and electric toothbrushes, check the plug type and voltage for your country and whether replacement heads or parts are sold where you live.

• Products sold as medicines or with medical claims follow different rules in each country; buy those locally.
• Refills and replacement heads are often cheaper than the device suggests; check their price before choosing a brand.

Total cost and returns

For buyers abroad, shipping, import duty and VAT are added at checkout, and some carriers do not ship perfume or aerosols internationally. Opened cosmetics usually cannot be returned for hygiene reasons, so read the return policy before buying, not after.

How this page works

Products from our own partner feeds appear first, in our usual order. Live eBay listings are shown in a separate, labelled section in eBay's own order; commission never changes either order. Prices come from the store at the time shown, and the store page has the final word.