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The Duty Free Shop: A Makeup Melting Pot

by 35 Comments

Hiya, ladies! Now here’s something I didn’t expect to find: a HUGE range of travel exclusives, and by range I mean drugstore brands to high end, all sitting beside each other in perfect harmony on their shelves. Duty Free stores are like makeup melting pots, with row after row of discontinued/limited release products like travel exclusives, and they can make that trip to pick up your cousin from the international terminal well worth your time.

L’Oreal travel exclusives sold alongside brands like Guerlain, Dior and Chanel? Weird, huh?

Prices vary WILDLY! There are deals to be had, but not everything’s a bargain, that’s for sure. In this case the L’Oreal products are substantially more than they would be back home, but some of the higher end stuff looks inexpensive, relatively speaking. Of course, many of the products are things I’ve never seen before, so it’s hard to say what some of the shrink wrapped boxes actually contain.


Today €49.50 works out to about $66.60, I think.

Eh, I left empty handed… Math hurts my brain today.

I hope your Tuesday got off to a good start. 🙂 Be seeing you soon!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. One of the best things about traveling internationally is duty free shopping. I always get some fragrances because they seem to be cheaper there than in the US.

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  5. In europe, make up is more expensive anyway, I think. I read that in the usa, you pay 13 euros for a mac blush, while here you pay 18!
    And i think it sounds cheap, but it isnt, because you think in dollars.

    Reply

  6. Airport shopping rocks! I was at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok last night on my way home to Manila and got the Nars Plein Eté Mini Multiple Set and a Dior Cannage Color Collection Eye Palette. From now on, I will make sure I have plenty of time to go airport makeup shopping during trips abroad! 🙂
    Christine recently posted … Nissan Sentra Print Ad

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  7. I’m heading to Iceland/Scotland/Sweden next week, and my heart is already half broken as I know I won’t be able to purchase even 10% of any good cosmetics/skincare I find due to weight restrictions. Ohhhh, the troubles of the makeup aficionado.
    Glad the trip went well, hope you were able to pick up some Pupa and Collistar, my favourite brands.

    Reply

    • get a bunch of tyvek or bubble wrap large envelopes before you go and print out address labels with your home address.

      when you finish making your purchases, wrap them in the local newspaper and take a trip to the local post office & mail them back to yourself.

      it’s what i did when i traveled overseas for work.

      Reply

      • Y’know, I did something similar many years ago (except I had to ship actual boxes, I’d bought so much), BUT I sent it to my family in Spain (so only a few countries away, not crossing any oceans).
        It’s an excellent suggestion, I think I may just try that. My only concern is the price of shipping all the back to the US!
        I think I need to develop a more discerning eye, as well, and not give in to every temptation. My last big trip overseas I purchased … 52 bottles of product. I didn’t even realise it until I unpacked at home.
        Thanks again!

        Reply

  8. I always wondered about duty free shops. Only once did I have a chane to visit one but it was only for ten minutes because I was about to board a plane back to the U.S. (I did pick up some travel bottles of rum and hot sauce–I was coming back from Jamaica.) Can one visit a duty store at the airport if you don’t have to catch a flight?
    BrooklynShoeBabe recently posted … The Big Fall Round Up

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    • You have to be traveling internationally in order to purchase items at the duty free shops. They check your passport & boarding pass when you are paying for your purchase. Such a bummer!

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  9. I love duty free exclusives! I did a post on that Guerlain palette on my blog but it only costs $52 at SFO! I bought it having just seen the shrink wrapped box, no swatch or even a chance to see the insides. I love it though! Here it is if anyone’s interested: http://themakeupobsessed.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-only-duty-free-purchase.html

    It’s so interesting that L’Oreal seems like a high end brand next to all those products! I know in Asia they actually sell L’Oreal at counters with testers and everything.
    Nancy recently posted … Revlon Crazy

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  10. Haha…When I first glance at the last bottle of EL perfume, I thought it read “Basil Dream” instead of “Brasil Dream.” I was thinking….errr….that must be different!

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  11. Oh I love duty free shops!!! At least two products…each way. I know, I know, it’s not that much cheeper, but, between nothing to do and being excited about my new destination/going home- I never seem to control myself.

    It helps if you take the duty free catalog, so you don’t really shop mindless, and know the prices&how much are you planning to spent. Some bigger airport have it online too!

    Reply

  12. Those LOreal travel exclusive palettes are pretty! That Matte Harmony powder also looks interesting.

    Ive asked my sister to visit the MAC DFS counter @ LAX to grab me a tube of the MAC BB Cream. I dont know if she will. 😀

    Safe flight back, Karen!~ 🙂

    Reply

  15. Don’t worry I’ve been in Germany 7 months now and I still don’t understand the EURO. People claim the dollar is hurting but it’s so much more expensive here than home in the U.S. I hope you had some fun though.
    Faye recently posted … Dior Smoky Eye Shadow

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  16. Interesting products! Gotta love seeing the different products that are available in other countries. I know what you mean about a lot (if not most) of the cosmetics at the duty free shops being the same price or even more expensive than regular stores. Hope you had fun in Italy and I hope to see some hauls of the stuff you bought! Have a good flight home Karen!
    Caitlin recently posted … Fab or Drab Volume 1

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  17. Hey! A Duty Free! I heard that 1 Million was the best selling fragrance there. 😉

    I’ve been dying to tell you that I’m rocking the disco peacock today, sort of. UD Jackpot on the upper lash line and Electric on the lower. One of my boys told me I had “clown eyes” this AM. He meant it as a compliment. No one else has given me any looks, so Day 1 with Color has been a success so far. 🙂

    PS It’s my first Faux Cils day too and I think it beats Hypnose on length, hands down. I’m on the fence about volume though. I’ll have to give it more time (and get used to the wand) before my final opinion. The Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is getting a thumbs up too, so far. I’m so overwhelmed with new make-up; I don’t know how you do it!!!!

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  18. Duty free shopping is cheaper when you leave in some countries where cosmetic prices are almost double of what you pay in the US. The prices are pretty consistent across different airports. Of course exclusive products have their typical charm.

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  22. I live on a border town in Canada and I have to say I love shopping for skin care and make-up at the Duty Free. Our tax here is quite high so even if I can save a little on the tax it helps.

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  23. This has nothing to do with duty-free shops, specifically.. But all I can think of after seeing this post is how much I love airports. I know it’s strange, but there’s something about them that I cannot resist. If I had the money, I would blow it just to hit all the airports dining and shopping (weird? Meh!). This also makes me kind of sad. The summer before last I saw so many stores and so many airports around the country and Europe, and every time I found myself a little sad because I was in too much of a rush to even stop and look.

    Clearly I need some longer layovers. (;

    xoxo

    Reply

  24. The last duty free store I was in, my dive partner had to literally pull me away from the Chanel wallets. Good thing for my wallet. I feel slightly discriminated against by the L’oreal color harmony though. What about us red heads!? lol
    Rachael recently posted … Time for Cuteness

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  26. speaking of prices here, i live in finland and prices are crazy high here! for example, low end mascaras are like $20 (in us dollars), even 25, whereas high end ones like lancome or dior are around $45.. i could complain about this forever lol

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  29. Actually, here in Israel there are Dior, Chanel and Guerlain next to L’Oreal. We just don’t have the more exclusive stores, so they mix the brands together. It’s really quite nice that there are discounts on every single brand, though it is more expensive here than in the US.

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  30. It’s really interesting to see how much things cost in other countries. Koren (EnKoreMakeup) was talking about all of the makeup he saw on his trip to Australia just recently, and I found it to be amazing how expensive things are over there. NARS Sheer Glow is $100!!!! And it’s only like $42 here. And at first, I thought THAT was expensive lol. I’m glad I live here 🙂

    Reply

  31. If I lived in a country where makeup was super expensive, I’d totally buy it on eBay… The S&H costs would be worth paying if makeup is really as expensive as I hear it is in other places…

    Reply

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