spain

[jessenia2]

Any recommendations if what to buy whilst in Spain? mainly beauty wise but any good clothing shops to look for?
Will be in Madrid and Barcelona possibly onto Valencia too

anybody

Bumping for you as I was about to post the very same question!

I bought this last time I was out there. It takes a bit of practice but it gives you fabulous 1960s lashes like Twiggy.

www.flormar.com/high-performance-rotating-volume-mascara-black-classic/

I have no idea about beauty, but look into shoes (e,g. malababa, uttu) and boots. There are a lot of small and medium shops there than you can walk into and do old-fashioned shopping :-)

Shoe shops are, or can be wonderful, as Spain has a big leather industry. I had some great slippers with a hard sole and a tweedy upper that I mourned when they wore out. Leather goods are generally of good to high quality. Adolpho Dominguez (or similar, I don't remember exactly) is a lovely but not international designer range.

When are you going? There are end of the sale bargains to be had in Bimba y Lola (clothes and accessories) at the moment but it won't be going on much longer and it's really over priced otherwise. I've had some good lipsticks from Flormar too (I think they're a Turkish brand). Kiko also great for make-up.

Not sure flormar still have shops in Spain but if they do then yes their makeup is fab. Pharmacy skincare is also a little cheaper and if you go into their pharmacies they have lovely stuff really beautifully packaged and really cheap - hand wash, bath oils etc

Anyway onto the luxe stuff, Loewe is Spanish but I only look at it, have never bought it! I'm more of a lefties which is Zara's cut price bargain basement shop 😁

They definitely do have shops in Spain.

Mango and Zara will be much cheaper than here. Bimba y Lola as already mentioned and Uterque definitely worth a look, esp for leather goods. In Barcelona there's a great shopping street up from Pl Catalunya called Passeig de Gracia that you can just amble up and see what takes your fancy (similar feel to Regent St, IMO, but much nicer!). Kiko, Sephora, El Cortes Ingles and pharmacies are all good for beauty. Have fun!

thank you so much guys, I'm going next month, I can hardly wait now.
I love a good mascara so will look out for flormar and I love Zara.

Oh I'm quite jealous, March is a great time to visit. Definitely wander up one side of Passeig de Gracia, cross over and then wander back down the other. Don't forget to look up too - there are some great Gaudi buildings on the street and you'll see (and hear) the parakeets in the trees overhead. From one corner of Pl Catalunya is P de Gracia and from the opposite corner is the Rambla, so you can amble down that when you're done with the shops. I love Barcelona in the Springtime!

Mercadona (supermarkets) for cheap and surprisingly good cosmetics and toiletries (own brands Deliplus and Dermik). Mascara maxi volumen, nail treatments, anti-aging serums, oils, etc.

Shoes - Spanish brands are much cheaper in Spain. Look for Pretty Ballerinas, Ursula Mascaró, Vialis, Chie Mihara, Pura López, Camper, Jaime Mascaró, Vialis, Rebeca Sanver...
If in Madrid, go to Calle Augusto Figueroa for outlets specialised in mid to high end shoe brands. This is in Chueca, at the back of Gran Vía, Hortaleza / Fuencarral area, so easy to find.

Clothes - there are plenty of multi-brand boutiques. In terms of clothes shopping Madrid is much better than Barcelona. Depending on what you are looking for, the best shops are, imho, around Calle Almirante, in the area between Chueca, Alonso Martínez, Recoletos and Gran Vía. Another interesting area is the 'callejones' in Calle Jorge Juan, to the south of the Salamanca district.

Handbags - if Loewe is expensive, try Salvador Bachiller or Piamonte (in Calle Piamonte) for inexpensive stylish leather goods.

If you go to Valencia, do not forget to drink horchata, tigernut milk. Simply delicious!

Some great suggestions here, I'm off to Madrid next week and Barcelona next month.

What on earth is tiger nut milk?!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horchata

Read the bit about horchata de chufa or tigernut milk.

Rude Health has a watery version (Waitrose, Ocado...) but they say it can be drunk hot, which I find sacrilegious (I'm originally from Valencia, hence the sin).

Lefties is fab (primark or h&m type high street shop). Leather goods are much cheaper.

Lefties is Inditex's (Zara) cheapest brand. Years ago it was Inditex's outlet but now they also have own collections. Very good for basics.

From cheapest to most expensive...
Lefties
Stradivarius
Pull & Bear
Bershka
Zara
Massimo Dutti
Uterqüe

They also have Kiddy's Class (children), Zara Home (ditto) and Oysho (underwear and loungewear).

Everything is cheaper in Spain (usually what is £29.99 here is €29.99 in Spain; sometimes even cheaper) but I would go for Uterqüe and Oysho, as there are no stores in the UK, afaik.

I also like clothes from Intropia, U de Adolfo Domínguez, Adolfo Domínguez and Purificación García. They have several stores in Madrid, BCN and Valencia.
Cortefiel is also good for quality basics on the cheap, if you like smarter clothes.
For a one-stop shopping spree go to El Corte Inglés (department store). The ones with more fashion / brands are Castellana (Madrid), Pl. Catalunya (Barcelona) and Pintor Sorolla / Colón (Valencia). But it is not the same, I prefer window shopping and smaller stores and boutiques.

Retirides. (Retin A)

There's a Mango Outlet in central Barcelona at Carrer de Girona 37.

Also a fab handmade espadrille shop with hundreds to choose from - www.lamanualalpargatera.es/?lang=en

Castañer espadrilles - used to go to Madrid twice a year as my cousin lived there and I’d always go to the Castañer shop in Calle Claudio Coello. You can buy the shoes on the Matches website but they’re cheaper in Spain. I second Purification Garcia and Intropia, which used to be great for dresses/occasion wear. No idea what it’s like now. Ahhh, happy days!

ooh definitely will get some retin A, ive been looking into it recently as im getting under eye lines, sob, but hadn't thought of getting it from Spain so thank you Bringmetea.

Cost me about 15 euros. And if you don’t speak Spanish here is my failsafe sentence:

Hola! Lo siento, no habla Espanyol. Tienes Retirides. (big smile).

I know kinky bit of Spanish but I will learn that sentence off by heart .
Definitely looking forward to getting the retirides, I was putting off using any before my hol as obviously I'll be in the sun but I've been researching it for ages.

oh dear, I know a TINY bit of Spanish not a kinky bit