Style

Instagram Is About To Make It SO Much Easier To Score The Products In Your Feed

If there's one thing makeup fans need, it's a way to purchase makeup faster, easier, and, well, more often. Unsurprisingly, the social media app of our generation, Instagram, has answered the prayers of beauty addicts all over the U.S. recently, by introducing a feature that allows you to buy makeup and other products directly from the app. But when is Instagram Checkout coming to the UK? And will we ever be able to buy the likes of Huda Beauty and Anastasia Beverly Hills without even having to stop scrolling?!

While I've reached out to insiders at Instagram to get the full low down (no word yet), it seems unclear exactly when — if ever — us Brits will have access to Instagram Checkout.

A blog post by Instagram seemed to clear things up a little, by explaining that currently, it is only available in the U.S. They did not make mention of if or when it will roll out to other countries, but it did state: "Checkout on Instagram is currently in closed beta for businesses and available to people in the US," before cryptically adding, "more will be coming soon!"

Hmmmm...

The post did, however, explain how this new function works, and how it can be used. So at least, if it does eventually come to the UK, we'll already be absolute experts.

When you spot something you like and want to buy on Instagram, all you have to do is tap to view a product from a brand's shopping post, and click on the "Checkout on Instagram" button. Select your size or colour, then proceed to the payment section without leaving the app. You'll then need to enter is your name, email, billing information, and shipping address.

After your first purchase, your information will all be stored securely so you can easily buy more through the app in future. You can also get updates and notifications about the status of your order from within the app. Pretty genius, right?

The really exciting bit, however, is the brands that have already signed up. With the beauty industry continuing to grow year on year, and beauty brands and influencers flourishing on Instagram, it makes sense that the app has gone down the route of getting a number of top makeup brands on board.

Already available to American Instagram users are products by Colour Pop Cosmetics, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Huda Beauty, KKW, Kylie Cosmetics, Mac Cosmetics, NARS, Nyx Cosmetics, and Ouai. In short, it's the who's who of Insta famous beauty.

As well as beauty brands, an impressive list of fashion brands have also already gotten involved, including Adidas, Balmain, Burberry, Dior, H&M, Michael Kors, Nike, Oscar De La Renta, Outdoor Voices, Prada, Revolve, Uniqlo, Zara, and Warby Parker.

Speaking about the new feature, a representative of Instagram said:

“Checkout is just one part of our long-term investment in shopping. We’re excited to introduce even more ways for people to enjoy shopping on Instagram this year.”

So, while it's unclear whether we Brits will have access to Checkout any time soon, I think we can be pretty hopeful that, if all goes to plan, we'll be buying our Huda Beauty palettes via Insta reaaaal soon.