As a makeup enthusiast, I’ve come to know a lot about shopping for makeup. But let me stop and rephrase, I’m no enthusiast actually I’m a makeup “addict”. There I said it! So I’ve been living in Bangkok for almost a year now and have visited here many times in the past as a tourist too. And I absolutely love it here, especially the shopping. Don’t you agree that this is definitely the place to come on a shopping spree? Well, makeup is my area of expertise; I’m a YouTuber and beauty blogger. I’ve always been passionate about beauty and now I’ve made a career out of it. So I’m going to give you all the information on the places you must visit for all your makeup shopping.
HIGH END – MID RANGE MAKEUP
All department stores like Zen, Robinsons, Central, and Isetan, etc. all have a beauty section where you can browse through many brands such as Clinique, Dior, Shu Umera, Nars, Benefit, Givenchy, etc. They usually always have a 10% discount from the department store, so don’t forget to check that out. You can buy any of your products from these department stores and be sure that they are in fact originals and not fakes. And let’s talk about all the fakes available in Bangkok in just a little bit. But first, where can you find these department stores, well if you’re new to Bangkok or a first-time visitor then all you need to know is, any of the malls have the above-mentioned department stores.
The next place is my go to and I always buy my makeup from here. It is Sephora! I’m sure if you love makeup then Sephora feels like heaven! I spend hours in a Sephora swatching every single makeup product and come out looking like a crazy person after about 3 hours in there! Anyway, that’s me, but you can get all your makeup shopping done at a Sephora and no, it won’t take 3 hours! You can pretty much browse through all the brands in one place and get your makeup and skin care, nail care and hair care fix from a Sephora! There are some brands like Smashbox, Huda beauty, Anastasia Beverly hills which are not available in Bangkok but they do carry many brands such as makeup FOR EVER, NARS, Stila, Too Faced, Benefit, Dior, Lancome, Hourglass, Marc Jacobs, NYX, Clinique, Urban Decay, Kat Vod D etc. So you really do have a lot of choices. I particularly like the staff at the Mega Bangna store, central world store and the Emquartier Sephora. I’d stay away from the Siam Center outlet because I’ve always found the staff to be very rude, so if you have a choice I’d recommend you go check out the other stores.
‘Eve and boy’ is another option and similar to Sephora, it’s a Thai version of Sephora I think. But I’ve actually never bought anything from here, although I have gone to the one at Mega bangna, there is also one in Siam square. This place carries a lot of brand including the balm, whole range of NYX, Milani, etc. which you may not be able to find at Sephora. So it’s worth having a look if you’re looking for a particular brand.
LOW END MAKEUP AND FAKES
So this is a huge market in Bangkok, but I’d be very careful when buying fake products because this is going on your skin and I wouldn’t personally recommend it. But maybe for something like nail polish or whatever it’s alright. But anyhow I thought I’d include this section. Before we go ahead any further, know that if you find any brand which is sold NOT at a department store or the above mentioned big chains, then it is most probably fake. And you find a high-end brand at a lower price and you think it’s too good to be true, you’re absolutely right! So know what you’re getting yourself into. I particularly am careful in those stores that tell you it’s the original and sell it to you at a discounted price. It’s one thing buying a lip cream for 200 bhat which is dirt cheap and another when they say it’ supposedly original and sell it to you at 600 bhat, whereas the original is 900 baht. Is it really worth it? I’d say no!
Having said all that, all wholesale malls and lower end malls such as Platinum fashion mall, Seacon square, Indra square, etc. have these kinds of stalls that sell you various fake makeup products. And another popular shopping destination for fake makeup is the night markets. Although I wouldn’t buy makeup from there, it’s definitely worth visiting, cause the atmosphere of these train markets are an experience!
Having said that there are proper low-end affordable brand like Loreal, Maybelline, Nessychoice, Cathy doll and golden rose which have some great products and you can find them at any supermarket and even at some department stores. Some popular places to but drug-store makeup is Big C, Tesco, Max Value and Central supermarket etc.
Hope this article helps you! Happy shopping and don’t forget to check me out on youtube and any social media platform as ‘Beauty by Rosh’. And if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask! I’m happy to help.