Why I used a freight forwarder to brew up some Summer Fridays Iced Coffee savings

The caffeine hit my vanity needed

It is April 2026, and if your social media feed looks anything like mine, it is currently drenched in shades of mocha and cream. Ever since the 'Espresso' aesthetic took over, I have been hunting for the perfect lip pairing. When Summer Fridays dropped their limited edition Lip Butter Balm in 'Iced Coffee' earlier this year, I knew I had to have it. The TikTok reviews from the US were glowing, describing the scent as a perfect morning brew with just the right amount of tint.

Start Your Buy For Me Request for Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm 'Iced Coffee'

Merchant Summer Fridays Sephora US Revolve

Ship To Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d'Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Türkiye Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands

Your Email

Product Url ^*

Product Name ^*

Unit Price (USD)^*

EST Service Fee: $2.4 $1.2

Quantity ^*

Color

Size

Instructions

Submit your proxy shopping order now and enjoy 50% OFF the service fee.

Plus, get 10% OFF international shipping on your first shipment.

Submit Order

Why New Zealand prices left a bitter taste

As a Kiwi, I am used to the 'New Zealand tax'—that lovely little premium we pay for living at the edge of the world. I checked some local boutique importers and the prices they were asking for this 2026 limited edition were frankly staggering. We are talking nearly double the US retail price. I realized that if I wanted to join the Iced Coffee club without draining my savings, I had to look directly at the source: US retailers like Sephora and the official Summer Fridays site.

My strategy to shop US stores from my couch

The problem is that many of these brands do not ship directly to Auckland, or if they do, the shipping fees are more expensive than the balm itself. To get around this, I signed up for comGateway. They provided me with a tax-free US address, which allowed me to shop US stores just like a local. By following their step-by-step guide, I was able to send my Iced Coffee balm to their warehouse in Oregon, where sales tax is zero.

How I bypassed the dreaded "Order Cancelled" email

Here is an insider secret I learned the hard way: some major US retailers like Sephora, Nike, or Apple are notorious for being picky. They often block international credit cards or automatically decline orders that are being sent to a freight forwarder. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a "Transaction Declined" notification when you know the item is in stock.

This is where I used the BuyForMe service. Instead of me trying to force my NZ credit card through a US checkout, I let the experts at comGateway handle it. This proxy shopping solution means they buy the item on my behalf using a US domestic payment method. It is the safest way to guarantee that my order actually goes through and does not get cancelled by a finicky merchant system. If you are struggling with a store that won't accept your card, this assisted purchase is your best friend.

Getting my package across the Pacific

Once my Iced Coffee balm arrived at my US address, I had to decide how to get it home. I used the shipping calculator to compare my options. Because the lip balm is light, I actually waited until I had a couple of other US orders arrive and consolidated them into one box. This is a huge money-saver when it comes to international shipping.

I chose a reliable international shipping service because I didn't want my limited edition goods getting lost at sea. Whether you prefer DHL international shipping for speed or FedEx international shipping for reliability, having choices makes the process much less stressful. You can view all the international shipping options available to New Zealanders through the portal.

Staying ahead of the import tax

Before you click ship, we need to talk about the boring stuff: import tax. In New Zealand, the rules for GST on low-value goods mean that for most items under $1,000, the tax is often collected at the point of sale or handled during the shipping process. I always make sure to factor this into my total cost. Even with the GST added, my total spend for the Summer Fridays balm was significantly lower than buying it from a local boutique importer here in NZ.

My package arrived in Wellington just a few days later, perfectly packed and ready for its social media debut. If you are tired of missing out on the latest 2026 beauty drops, stop waiting for local stores to catch up and start shopping the US directly. My Iced Coffee balm was worth every bit of effort!