Price Comparisons

I recently went shopping for my first MAC eyeshadow and realized all over again how terrible our Australian prices are, if your curious i was looking for the eyeshadow "Violet Star" and was planning on purchasing a refill ($22AUD) however in Western Australia there are no MAC 'stores" only counters. Counters as i found out do not sell refills meaning my only choice is to buy offline. Here's the kicker; buying a refill online costs $22 + $10 shipping = $32 OR i could buy the same eyeshadow, as a full size product in pot for $33 at the counter. CRAZY! Why would i ever do that? Not to mention the absurdity of a eyeshadow even costing that much?

 So i thought i would like to take a look at how drastic some of the price changes are, how by crossing international waters products somehow magically gain extra value, here is a breakdown of a few of the most common/most popular products and the price difference which we are forced to endure. 

I think looking at the chart below it's clear MAC and OPI are clearly the worst offenders and LUSH is probably the least terrible, overall though we are getting very much ripped off; there is no reason why the exact same nail polish is worth $20 in Australia and only half that price in the US. Does it magically gain some sort of properties that mean it should cost a customer double the original amount? Keep these prices in mind next time you want to buy these products at a local level.

For reference $10 AUD equals to $10.30 (usd) or £6.80 (atm)

* All prices based on official sites from that country or Priceline (AUD) Ulta or Saphora (USA) and Boots (UK)

By the way, i did not end up buying the eyeshadow; i'll wait till mum goes to Singapore this month to pick it up for $10 less then it costs here.