Does Ulta Ship to Australia? How to Buy US Beauty and What Can Actually Fly

Does Ulta ship to Australia?

No. Ulta's own Guest Services page says ulta.com ships to US addresses, US territories and military addresses, and not to international ones. So if you're in Australia, the only way to get an Ulta order is for someone with a US address to buy it and send it on. That's what we do from our hub in Austin, Texas, and below is how it works, plus the part most people miss: not everything on Ulta's shelves is allowed on a plane.

There's a quick store-by-store answer on our Ulta to Australia page. This post goes further into the products themselves.

Why you can't just order it yourself

Ulta's checkout wants a US shipping address, full stop. Some Australians try a parcel forwarder's US address, which gets past the address field, but then the card step becomes the problem: plenty of US retailers decline cards with a non-US billing address, or accept the order and cancel it a day later. We wrote up the mechanics of that separately in why Australian cards get declined on US checkout.

With Personal Shopping, the store never sees an Australian anything. We buy with a US card, ship to our Austin hub, and to Ulta it's one more ordinary domestic order.

What ships easily, what we check first, and what can't go

This is the section worth bookmarking. We ship on FedEx Express, and air freight has its own rules on top of anything Australian customs cares about. Beauty is one of the categories where those rules bite most often, because so many products are pressurised, flammable or both.

Usually straightforward:

• Creams, moisturisers, serums and cleansers
• Lip products: lipstick, liner, balms, glosses
• Powders, palettes, blush, bronzer and foundation
• Brushes, sponges, lash curlers and other tools
• Non-aerosol shampoo, conditioner and styling creams

These are light, they pack small, and they're the bulk of what a typical beauty haul is made of. Several brands from Ulta and other US stores can share one box, which keeps the shipping cost per item down.

We check these before you buy:

• Perfume, body mist and fragrance sprays. They're alcohol-based, which makes them flammable liquids as far as an airline is concerned. Small quantities may be accepted. A full-size bottle or a gift set with several often can't go.
• Nail polish and polish remover. Same problem: flammable. Ulta itself restricts these when shipping inside the US.
• Anything high in alcohol, like some setting sprays and toners. We read the ingredient list before we quote.
• Cordless hair tools. A cordless straightener or styler has a lithium battery inside. A battery installed in the device is a different case from a loose one, but we still need the model and its watt-hour rating before we can say yes.
• Sunscreen. Australia regulates sunscreen as a therapeutic good, so check the TGA's personal import guidance before you add it. Spray sunscreen also falls under the aerosol rule below.

Can't go:

• Aerosols. Dry shampoo, aerosol hairspray, spray mousse, spray sunscreen and aerosol deodorant. A pressurised can is a hard no on our flights, whatever the brand or size. Our prohibited items page has the full list.

One more thing that isn't a shipping rule but catches people out: US corded hair tools are built for 120-volt power and Australia runs on 230 volts. If the label doesn't say dual voltage, the tool needs a proper converter, not just a plug adaptor. Check the listing before you send it.

How a Personal Shopping order works

1. Send us the links. Ulta, Sephora US, a brand's own site, a mix of all three. Paste them into the quote form with your postcode.
2. We check and quote. We confirm price and stock, read each item against the rules above, and price the order: item cost, US sales tax, the retailer's shipping to our hub, one Personal Shopping fee and FedEx freight. If something can't fly, we tell you then, not after it's bought.
3. You approve. Your card is authorised, not charged. We only capture the payment once we've actually bought the items.
4. We buy, inspect and ship. Everything lands at the Austin hub, we check each item against what you ordered, pack it into one box and send it on FedEx Express.

US sales tax applies like it would to any US shopper. It's on the quote as its own line, never hidden in the total.

What it costs

The Personal Shopping fee is one flat fee per order, based on the order total before US sales tax and shipping: $15 up to $99.99, $25 from $100 to $250, $40 from $250.01 to $1,000, and $50 flat over $1,000. It's never per item.

So a $72 haul of skincare and lip products carries a $15 fee. Add a $40 palette and the order is $112, which moves it to $25. If you're near a band edge, it can be worth adding the thing you were on the fence about.

Freight is the other big piece, and beauty is kind to it. Here's a live FedEx price for a typical small haul:

That's freight only. Your quote adds the items, US sales tax, the retailer's shipping to the hub and the fee. For how customs and GST work on the Australian side, read the customs section of our guide to buying from US stores and shipping to Australia — it covers the A$1,000 line in detail, and we'd rather point you there than repeat it badly.

A few habits that save money

• Batch your brands. One order with Ulta and Sephora US links is one fee and one box. Two separate orders is two of each.
• Skip the aerosol version. Most dry shampoos and setting sprays come in a pump or powder format too. Buy that one and the whole question goes away.
• Watch for value sets. US stores sell jumbo sizes and holiday sets that don't always reach Australia, and they often cost less per millilitre than buying the pieces. Our list of things Australians can't buy without a US card covers more of these.
• Ask about anything liquid and fragrant first. Checking a link before you buy is quick. It takes a lot longer to sort out a bottle that can't fly once it's at the hub.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ulta ship to Australia?

No. Ulta's Guest Services page says ulta.com ships to US addresses, US territories and military addresses, not to international addresses. To get an Ulta order to Australia, someone with a US address has to buy it and send it on.

Can perfume and nail polish be shipped from the US to Australia?

Sometimes, and only after we check. Both are flammable, which makes them dangerous goods for air freight. Small quantities may be accepted; larger bottles often can't fly. Send us the link before you buy and we'll tell you whether it can go.

Is the Personal Shopping fee charged per item?

No. It's one flat fee per order, based on the order total before US sales tax and shipping: $15 up to $99.99, $25 from $100 to $250, $40 from $250.01 to $1,000, and $50 flat over $1,000. Ten lipsticks from two stores in one order is still one fee.

If you've got an Ulta cart sitting there right now, paste the links into the quote form or see what else we ship from the US to Australia.