We have a question for the globetrotting shoppers amongst us from reader Mariam:-
Anyway on an unrelated matter, can I ask have you been to China before? What do you think of their cosmetics and skincare scene? Coz i will be studying there starting this September. And any input on their makeup and skincare would be cool cause I will be exploring on uncharted ground here because I bet Malaysia and China stuff are very different right?
Mariam is going to Beijing to further her studies and she’d like to know about the cosmetics and skincare scene there.
I visited China a long time back and cannot remember the shopping scene but I do remember reading that Western brands tend to be more expensive there compared to here – rather like in Hong Kong. However, I’m not sure about Korean or Japanese brands or where one should go to buy them legitimately.
So if anyone can help Mariam out it would be great! We could all learn a thing or two about what we could buy or to avoid buying while in China 😀
What cosmetics and skincare should one shop for in Beijing, China?
Stay beautiful,
Paris B
Hi, Mariam & Paris.
I think some of the local products are quite good. Depends what price range you are looking for, “????”brand is very affordable, and under supervision of a medical university. For this brand, I tried the mask before, it’s a herbal product.
Anyway, if you look for products like L’oreal and other familiar brands, better buy and bring there, as the price for these products are very high after tax.
But you could always find good products in comestic and beauty shop, their Watsons is huge too. 🙂 good luck.
There are still a lot of international brands for cosmetics sold in Department stores, though they are way more expensive compared to the neighboring countries, it’s worth it still rather than buying those from non-department stores. Could be fake! I remember there are so many sales, it goes up to 50%! So you can still purchase branded cosmetics at an affordable price like Maybelline and Loreal 🙂
The weather goes really crazy, summer is super HOT and winter goes SUPER COLD! So if you could prepare a skincare line for both temperatures..it’ll be great 🙂 Buy lotions that are meant for extreme dryness especially winter! Now i’m getting off topic lol
Taoba (kinda like chinese ebay) is very popular in Beijing right now, so definitely check that out! I know there are some physical Taobao stores in Dong Si (In one of the shopping malls, i’m not sure which, but its def the not so department ones lol). They sell a lot of japanese/korean skin care and makeup and as well samples 😛 I’m not sure the price compares in Malaysia since I’m situated in Sydney, but you should be able to buy them at a bit under normal RRP. Good luck! When I went back to Beijing at the beginning of last year, I bought a Lunasol palette for 230yuan, and a MJ Lash expander for 75yuan.
Hope it helped! and how exciting it is to study in Beijing!
Oh yes, i forgot to mention! Do your homework before hand! Make you sure you know your products well! I remember asking how much this MAC blush was ..and she replied me 25yuan -_____-“.
They have chinese ebay there? Omg, i better watch out for my purse or i might go crazy shopping online, hehe. MAC blush for 25yuan? That is cheap considering that if converted to Malaysian ringgit that would be RM12.50. But maybe goods that cheap means that it is fake coz you cant even find MAC blush in Malaysia for that price. Anyway thanks for the ebay thingy. Looking forward to trying it out myself.
i used to study in shanghai for sometime, so i guess i can share something here:)
there’s a japanese cosmetic brand counter available in china called ‘opera ???’ apparently it belongs to the same company that produces dejavu mascara. and yes, opera’s mascara is really good, it lengthens your lashes, and does not smudge at all. it costs around rmb 60.
there’s this hydrating masks available in supermarkets called ‘dr. lee’ , which is really good as well. price very reasonable too. cant recall the exact price though, prob not more than rm50 for pack of 6.
the local chinese-medicine base brand ‘xiang yi cao ben ????‘ works as what it claims too. i especially love the silk-protein toner. it really hydrates and lighten the skin. i used it during winter, as it could be too heavy during summer.
imported brands are much expensive in china dued to their overcharged import tax. loreal hydrafresh essence costs rmb120, which is madness? so i used to stock alot and brought it over from msia.
I don’t know much abt China’s cosmetics but there is this one cream that is really REALLY amazing… It’s called Bao Fu Ling and it helps reduce scars and redness… I love it sososo much =)
The demonstrators will ‘burn’ their hands with a lighter and then apply the cream just to prove to you that the cream is effective… I haven’t seen this for myself as I haven’t been to parts of China that sells them… My friends and parents have seen it and that’s the reason why they bought the cream…
When u apply, it’s cooling cuz of the menthol and it doesn’t smell very bad, just smells like some chinese medication…
Wow! Thanks a lot for all your helpful comments/tips/advices. I will be sure to stock up on things like shampoo and body wash but the skincare and cosmetics, i might try the local brands because it seems to me that they are not all bad. It just that i am used to wearing western brands that are plentiful here that i grow a bit suspicious of new and unknown stuff. But since ya’all said that some of their brands are quite good especially Bao Fu Ling (my face is hopelessly riddled with pimples and scars sooo….cant wait to try it, hehe).
On the plus side, since they have four seasons so i must used skincare products that are suited for that particular seasons so what better way to do it by trying the local products, right?
All i can say is thank you again to Paris B and the rest of you for trying to help me. I really appreciated it.
I don’t know if what they have in Beijing is the same as what we have in Hangzhou, but you can find L’Oreal and Maybelline almost anywhere. And there’s the China-only line of Shiseido which is pretty affordable (Urara) as well as Za.
For cheaper brands, Garnier is available (Aqua Defense, True White, Pure lines), There’s also the cheaper China-only (I think) Garnier sub-brand Mini Nurse which have similar products as the Garnier lines I specified but they’re cheaper. DaBao products are also good. It’s owned by Johnson & Johnson. Speaking of J&J, you can get Clean & Clear as well. And Biore, Olay, Ponds, Nivea, Avene, La Roche Posay, Vichy, and Eucerin. Most of these can be found in big supermarket chains, department stores, and Watson’s. We have Sephora in Hangzhou so I’m pretty sure there should be one in Beijing somewhere (since HZ is a second-tier city). I do know they have Etude House in Beijing and Shanghai. Stuff like Revlon, Benefit, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Kose, Dior, Laniege, Clarins, MAC, etc are available at the big department stores. They have their own areas/counters and the prices are astronomical compared to their countries of origin (stupid import tax). People have been talking about the Chinese version of eBay – TaoBao. I’d advise against it. Lots of counterfeit MAC and Clinique on there. If it’s cheap, it’s probably fake. By the way, they put little holographic silver stickers on products that are genuine. Go to the expensive counters in the department stores and learn what the stickers look like so you can differentiate between real and fake products.
Please be careful when you buy cosmetics/skincare in China, especially liquid. I saw on the news that the airport staff took those liquid stuff which are thrown away by passengers who forgot to check in, to sell on the streets. They are opened and half used, etc.
I studied in Beijing about a year ago and most of what Joyce listed is pretty correct. There is Sephora and most of the internationally known cosmetic brands are available. IHowever, you have to remember that even if it’s a western brand, what they sell might actually be different from one country to another. Like, the Shiseido moisturizer I use is pretty much available anywhere in Asia but not in China. So, if you have a pretty sensitive face like me though, I would suggest that you make sure to bring enough of your basic facial products to last you for 2 months (if you plan to be there for a year). It’s pretty hard for me to experiment on my facial wash, moisturizer and suncream-foundation so I made sure to stock up on those. Mostly because I didn’t want to risk having a major break-out problem in a foreign country and.. more importantly, because I couldn’t buy them in Beijing/Shanghai.
And yes, you might have to use different moisturizers (for your face and body) during Summer and Winter season but it really depends on how your skin reacts to the weather. For some people it might not be necessary^^
And~! If your into Skin Food, they were definitely cheaper.. I can’t remember for the other Korean/Japanese brands though^^