Thursday 11 February 2010

Holiday shopping























A post on Lipglossiping about Hei Poa Monoi Oil got me thinking about the products that I love to stockpile when I'm away. Even though you can probably source most of them here, products seem all the more alluring when you discover them abroad. I remember visiting virtually every pharmacy in Milan with a fashion ed colleague, intent on tracking down a new RoC retinol product. When she found out Boots stocked it, she promptly lost interest. In Italy, I look for Marvis toothpaste, particularly the pink one, (Liberty sell it now, but at the inflated price of £5.95), I figure if my other half is always going to leave the toothpaste out, then it may as well be in a lovely-to-look-at tube. In New York, I go for the Duane Reade drugstore staples, like the biggest size of Cetaphil, a super-mild rinse-off cleanser. Hei Poa, the gorgeously-scented multi-purpose oil (which I love mainly for the packaging!) you find in French department stores and pharmacies, as well as online here. I also like Le Petit Marseillais liquid soap. Do you pick up products abroad, or stick to online shopping instead?

4 comments:

  1. I used to love the whole going abroad and discovering new products. This happens less and less as we become more globalised (read that as homogenised). What ever happened to national identity damn it! Now the only products you can't find here are the ones that don't make it past the EU regulations...so probably best to avoid...

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  2. HEI POE is made in France and is not a genuine
    MONOI de Tahiti.
    please read your labels:
    Monoi de Tahiti has an official Appelation d'Origine(certificate of origine) and is made in Tahiti.There are countless named brands that use the word MONOI and are in fact not Monoi products.
    please visit our site and read about true Monoi de tahiti.
    We guarantee our products are 100% natural Monoi de Tahiti from Tahiti.
    http://www.ddbeautyproducts.com

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  3. I love to hear about what people buy when abroad.

    I always do the whole Bioderma thing when in France... and Klorane are a great French brand, but I think you can get their products over here now too.
    I like Botanicus who have a few stores in Prague (soaps and lovely smelly things).
    When I was on a stopover in Seoul, I tried to track down some Banila Co (unsucessfully).

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  4. Alexia, hmm, good point, I suppose the flip side is that even if we're not travelling we can still find some quirky products online.

    DD products, thanks for pointing that out, I did not know it was an Appelation d'Origine. I will def check out your site.

    Lipglossiping I like Klorane too, will check out those other brands, you are a true global beauty afficionado!

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