Duty Free Shopping in Singapore - Changi Airport

To 99.9% of travellers leaving/arriving Singapore by air, there is only Changi Airport (Seletar Airport is private jets only).

Typically, most airports only sell items at tax-free prices (downtown price less the sales tax). Not at Changi! They go one better and sell items at lower prices. These lower prices are not limited to the pricey departmental store brands.

Is it any surprise then, that Changi Airport is one of the best places in Asia for duty free shopping? In fact, my Taiwanese friend expressed her regret at not buying SK-II from Changi Airport.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain selling at S$12.20 at Changi (compared to S$18.90 everywhere else). 

Lancome's Teint Miracle selling at S$53.50 at Changi compared to S$66 downtown

As if the lower prices weren't enough to encourage spending, the duty free Changi stores have also cleverly managed to secure limited edition versions of products or travel retail exclusives for sale. 

Kose Sekkisei Lotion Limited edition 500ml bottle selling at S$125/ (a better price per ml compared to its usual prices/sizes)

Changi Airport has just launched a new website to cater to those leaving Singapore. You can now shop online, add products and pay for them and collect items 60 mins before your flight departs Singapore.

Nuance Watson operates the Perfume & Cosmetics stores in Changi Airport and their website offers a similar order before you fly option.

If you're intending to shop before your flight, do take note of the time your flight departs.

I took an early morning flight out once and only 1 Perfume & Cosmetics store was open at a central location (as opposed to the many closed Perfume & Cosmetics stores on the way to the gates). In fact, I discovered that most stores in Changi were only open at 6 am.

Although the draw for duty free shopping are its lower than downtown prices and exclusives, duty free shopping means that they don't have the full range of products that the downtown stores have. For instance, Lancome's Mat Miracle was not available at Changi in April although departmental stores had been promoting it by then.

There is also a lack of time to try and test out products as you have a plane to catch. I've found shopping at Changi to be most efficient when I know what product (and shade) I want. The duty free shopping then becomes 'pick-and-go' and the non-shopaholics will thank you.

That is unless you get tempted by their GWPs and have to spend some time thinking about how to add enough to your basket to get those minis.

Tangs and Takashimaya

I'm no stranger to online shopping (hears scoffing in the background). In fact, I love online shopping, especially in the hours that I can't sleep. However, I've been conditional online shopping recently. Instead of buying makeup from the US and having them shipped over, I've been looking at buying them locally where possible. I still shop online for the brands or products which are not here yet.  

One reason is that I've realised that online shopping is not as cheap as it looks, even when I shop during sale times. The international shipping charged by consolidators can be high if you're only getting a few items. And there's the wait. 

Another is that more beauty brands have established themselves in Singapore, taking the distance out of overseas brands. We still don't get the full collection (for example no eyeshadow palette from MAC's All About Orange collection) nor all the shades (for example Revlon's ColorStay Foundation) but things have been improving.

I love to wander around the beauty halls of departmental stores but I spend much more time at these two compared to the rest.

MAC All About Orange collection launched in Singapore before US/UK

Tangs (I go to the Tangs Orchard store) stocks Aveda, Sulwhasoo, NARS, Giorgio Armani, Burberry Beauty just to name a few brands. Tangs holds members' closed door sales a few times every year where they give a whopping 12% rebate off your purchase. In their recent members' sale, they were also giving away a $25 beauty voucher with a minimum spend of $250.

NARS GWP offer at the Tangs members' closed door sale

Other than the usual departmental suspects (Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Dior, Lancome, etc), Takashimaya stocks several Japanese brands. Think Albion, Lunasol, Kanebo, Cosme Decorte AQMW and Kose. There's also the Watsons flagship store, Aveda/The Body Shop/Kiehl's/MAC stores within Ngee Ann City which is a 2 mins walk away from the Takashimaya departmental store.

Lunasol GWP offer at the Takashimaya sale

I wasn't able to make it down when Tangs did their members' closed door sale earlier this month but I made my way to Takashimaya on the first day of their sale (members enjoyed an additional 10% off all prices during the first 3 days of the sale). 

Cosme Decorte GWP offer at the Takashimaya sale

It was then that I realised that although the beauty brands had published their GWPs offerings for the sale, the brands were having discounts/rebate vouchers alongside which was not stated in the brochure. One brand was offering a $15 voucher with every purchase of $100 and another was doing 20% off with a minimum spend of $500. And Takashimaya cardmembers got to enjoy an additional 10% off on top of these vouchers/discounts. 

Considering that the 2 brands having the offers were brands not found at duty free stores in Singapore, it was an amazing deal! I was mighty tempted to stock up but stopped myself by insisting that I shop my stash before I get any pricey products.

It's easy to support the local retail economy when stores like these are getting really smart with their pricing and offerings!

Sales in Singapore - May 2013

The departmental stores in Singapore are starting to kick off The Great Singapore Sale season.

Robinsons

15-17 May - Cardmembers' Preview of The Great Singapore Sale. The DM sent to cardmembers came with coupons for 

a) $10 voucher with mini. purchase of $100

b) $30 voucher with mini purchase of $180

c) $50 voucher with mini purchase of $250

Isetan

17 May - Private cardmembers' sale.
Additional information can be found here.

Like the private sale in March, 10% of purchase amounts would be given in the form of vouchers for beauty purchases.

Update: Just found via facebook that Ettusais will be giving away luggage as GWP upon purchases of S$180 of ettusais products. The luggage looks lovely and is likely to go out in a dash! 

Takashimaya

Quite frankly, I am waiting for the Takashimaya members sale (also known as Taka Day in late May, typically after Mother's Day). 2013 is Takashimaya's 20th year anniversary and I do believe they might go beyond the usual discounts. 

Beauty shopping - country: Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a destination I travel to almost every year (sometimes more than twice in 6 months). Mr Effort's family speaks Cantonese and love food, so it is no wonder that whenever we discuss where to go for a extended family vacation, Hong Kong typically comes up on the shortlist of destinations.

Beauty shopping country: Hong Kong

Cities/areas of reference: Hong Kong is widely known to be divided between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island (we'll leave the New Territories out of it for now). 

Causeway Bay & Central are on HK Island, Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) and Mongkok are on Kowloon.

Departmental stores in Hong Kong with extensive beauty departments:

1) Sogo departmental store (2 branches in HK, mtr stations: Causeway Bay/East Tsim Sha Tsui)

2) Langham Place (closest mtr station: Mongkok)

3) Lane Crawford (4 branches in HK)

4) Hysen Place (closest mtr station: Causeway Bay)

Drugstore chains in Hong Kong (equivalent to USA's Walgreens/CVS and UK's Superdrug/Boots)

1) Watsons (see my post on beauty shopping in Taiwan here)

2) Mannings

3) Sa Sa

4) Bonjour (there are some who claim that Bonjour is cheaper than Sa Sa. I am unable to verify this, but if you have time to comparison shop, you might want to try)

5) Colourmix

Other beauty shopping outlets

1) Joyce Beauty

Joyce Beauty is the beauty/cosmetics offshoot of the Joyce retail speciality. Joyce Beauty (9 branches in HK) stocks Lipstick Queen, Deborah Lippmann, Bumble & Bumble hair care, By Terry makeup among others. 

2) Upstairs shops

The upstair shops that I've seen in HK stock skincare and nail polishes (read my blog post here). However, it does take effort to search for them.  

Websites (multi-label/brand cosmetics)

- Yahoo HK shopping. Various sellers, various sellers' ratings. 

I was unable to find many multi-label/brand cosmetics websites which would accept non-HK credit cards and which would deliver within HK (excluding official drugstore websites like www.sasa.com, etc). Several websites I came across required payment via HK bank accounts, which is not available to the average tourist. A HK acquaintance shared with me that domestic HK online shopping is not predominant, that she tended to shop online with overseas (e.g. US) sites.

Where to go 

If you only have one day

If your accommodation is on HK Island, Causeway Bay is the ultimate stop. If you're staying on Kowloon instead, go to Mongkok. 

There is a Sogo branch at Causeway Bay. Exiting Sogo via the doors nearest to the MAC store-in-store, you can walk to Lockhart Road which is peppered with Colourmix, Bonjour and a Skin Food store. Hysen Place has Joyce Beauty, its own beauty floor and various Korean brands like too cool for school, Holika Holika and the saem. Innisfree has also opened up a store just diagonal to Hysen Place (the store is on the small side and there is a queue to get into the store). There is also a Sasa (2 floors) store at the Goldmark just next to Hysen Place if you don't want to dash to Hang Lung Centre. Cher2 also has a Causeway Bay branch.

Innisfree store in Causeway Bay

Once you exit Causeway Bay (mtr exit E), you will see an Etude House and Bonjour branch. Leaving the exit, there is a big Sasa shop at the ground floor of Hang Lung Centre, Paterson Street and Mannings is conveniently located 1 floor above Sasa. In Windsor House (the building next to Hang Lung Centre), there is a big Watsons store at the basement floor as well as Kiss nail store. In Times Square, brands like Jill Stuart, Fancl, ettusais, L'occitane, Jurlique can be found as well as Lane Crawford's own beauty hall.

Mongkok, Kowloon is one of the busiest areas in Hong Kong for shopping. Be prepared for jostling in the stores. I do like Langham Place and you can easily find various drugstores just minutes away from Langham Place (all of the 5 I've mentioned above). 

If you only have one weekend

I would recommend doing the same, but at a far more relaxed pace. I have visited Causeway Bay or Mongkok over a few days simply because I needed time to think about whether or not to purchase the product.

If you have one weekend and are visiting Causeway Bay, I do recommend adding eslite at Hysen Place. eslite is a famous Taiwanese book store chain and its first foray overseas is in Hysen Place. The eslite store has a tea salon and carries tea, skincare, bodycare products alongside books and magazines. 

If you have one week

I would recommend getting a Chinese facial/massage. I simply never have the time whenever I'm in HK but I have done Chinese facials (in Singapore) before and it is different from the 'Western' type of facial treatments. Alternatively, you could have a Bliss Spa facial at the W Hong Kong. 

When to go

Hong Kong due to its proximity to China gets a huge influx of China tourists. On one hand, retail stores run promotions to cater to this influx of tourists (lower prices, packaged deals etc). On the other hand, the jostling in the streets can get quite maddening. The peak China tourism periods in Hong Kong are just before or after Chinese New Year (in 2014, Chinese New Year falls on 31 Jan), the first week of May and the first week of October.

Hong Kong runs their summer sale typically in July, although they have been known to stretch this period longer and longer in recent years. It might start from mid June and end only in September but the steeper discounts are typically in July. 

HK vs Taiwan

Having travelled to both countries in the span of 2 months, I can safely compare them in terms of beauty shopping. Taiwan is highly influenced by Japan in terms of beauty shopping. Many Japanese beauty brands have chosen Taiwan as their first choice to sell outside Japan and many beauty bloggers have commented that the same beauty product could be cheaper in Taiwan than in Japan (the release date in Taiwan is typically later than Japan). Following the global trend, Korean skincare and cosmetics have also entered the Taiwanese market, but is still not as prevalant as Japanese brands. Taiwanese skincare brands also have made a name for themselves internationally, with Naruko, Beautymaker, For Beloved One, My Beauty Diary, My Scheming being the forerunners.

HK, on the other hand, has lots of beauty stores peppering every street (and sometimes 2 branches of the same chain on the same street!). These beauty stores carry an amazing variety of brands from all over the world, including China brands. Mannings also stocks Boots (UK) items, so it is easy to pop in and buy a Boots item replacement if you're from UK. Among the brands I spotted in Watsons HK (but did not spot in Watsons Taipei) were Max Factor (a full display, similar to Maybelline New York) and Racinne Skincare.

I would say offhand that there are more Korean skincare and cosmetics brands (both official and unofficial stores) in HK than there are in Taipei. Other than Sulwhasoo and History of Whoo (which are in both HK and Taiwan), I came across another LG Beauty store in HK which stocks Isa Knox and Cathy Cat.

Max Factor limited edition collection with mascara, eyeliner and 3 nail polishes

If you have any questions, do let me know and I will try my best to answer them.

Shopping trend in Hong Kong - upstairs shops

Due to high rentals in Hong Kong, there have been more and more upstairs shops in recent years. These are stores in mostly nondescript commercial buildings and may not have a street level signboard. The upstairs shops may not be limited to retail and restaurants are common (this article features a selection of upstairs restaurants, bars and art galleries). 

they're not on strike, just holding advertising placards

The upstairs shops typically advertise by distributing flyers and people holding advertising placards in busy areas.

 Sample flyer with map of stores

Sample flyer with shop outlet address

I have found pretty good deals at some of these shops before but it is very often hit and miss. Not all stores sell genuine products, so you do have to know what to look out for. Some of them are actually very good copies (typically for bags etc). The beauty upstairs shops I've personally been to sells nail polishes, Hong Kong domestic brands and Korean skincare brands (not available outside Korea). 

These shops are usually at non-touristy buildings, so if you're interested in the brands after taking the flyers, it's best to ask the person distributing the flyer where exactly the location is. A Hong Kong acquaintance  I was speaking told me that some upstairs shops may only stay in a certain location/space for 6 months, so if you had fun shopping at any particular store, it's best to get their Facebook page or website so that you can be informed of any move. 

Due to the space contraints, the upstairs retail stores tend to be bare bones - think simply painted walls, movable shelves and display counters and a cash register. Some may only accept cash in Hong Kong dollar or their local bank network cards (EPS), so it's best to prepare Hong Kong dollars before shopping there.

I have more pictures and details of one such upstairs shop (Cher2) here. 

Recap of sales in Singapore - March 2013

I haven't been paying close attention to the shopping seasons in Singapore, but sorting my mail and throwing old mail, I realised March is actually a good month for beauty shopping in Singapore!

Tangs
14-15 March - 12% rebate for Tangs cardmembers and Citibank credit & debit cardmembers as part of Spring 2013 campaign. They were also having special beauty deals/sets/GWP/PWPs and giving away a $25 beauty voucher with a minimum spend of $250.

Takashimaya
14-20 March - a mini beauty fair. I threw the flyer away but am certain of Lancome's promotion (because I went to the Lancome counter).

Purchase at least $200 and receive a 6-piece gift set (worth $177). Top up to a minimum buy of $280 and get an additional lipstick or eyeshadow set. The eyeshadow the sales associate showed me was the Tresor Hypnose Ombre Monos which were released for Christmas 2012. The lipstick set was 3 individual lipsticks, full-sized.

Top up your purchase to $320 and get a $30 voucher on top of the gift set and lipstick/eyeshadow set. It was very tempting, if I wanted to get Lancome products.

*Bi-annual Takashimaya Baby Fair was from 6-24 March 2013.

Isetan
28 March - Private members' sale. 10% of purchase amount given in the form of vouchers for beauty purchases. Each time, the Isetan private members' sale has been jam-packed. I remember going once with a colleague a few years ago and it was simply insane!

OG
20 March - Cardmembers sale of 20% storewide. At OG Orchard Point, they were offering 20%+10% off.

This was the queue outside Orchard Point 30 mins after the store had opened. One line was simply not moving at all!

Watsons
27 March - Members only closed door sale. Makeup/skincare brands were going up to 25%+5% off. 25+5% off brands: Boujois, BYS, Canmake, KATE, L'Oreal makeup, Majolica Majorica, Maybelline, Pupa, Revlon, Sally Hansen, Silky Girl, Star Lash, ZA, Bio-essence, Ginerva, Formula 10.0.6, Skin79.

Beauty shopping - country:Taiwan

It was 2009 when I headed to Taipei for a holiday with my sis alone, 2 of us, without the distraction of family or friends. I had started to get interested in makeup by that time and Taipei was an excellent choice to go beauty shopping! To add to the fuel, I had discovered PJ's blog and more importantly, the beauty city guide on Taipei.

In a way, this blog post is a tribute to PJ's original post, the one which sparked it all off. Thanks, PJ!

I've decided to deviate from PJ's post format a little as I will be touching on some websites based in that country and how you can receive items as a tourist (as opposed to having a residential/ business address in the country).


Beauty shopping country: Taiwan
Cities/areas of reference: Taipei (mostly), Yilan, Hualien

Departmental stores in Taipei with extensive beauty departments:
1) Sogo Zhongxiao (closest mrt station: Zhongxiao Fuxing)
2) Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi (closest mrt station: Taipei City Hall). Do take note that Mitsukoshi Xinyi is split between 4 buildings (yes, 4 7-storey buildings!). Not all beauty brands are in each building, so please check the store directory before alighting from a taxi or starting to shop. But the buildings are linked together via sheltered walkways, so it is still fairly easy to get to the right building if you're looking for a particular brand in another building.
3) Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (closest mrt station: Taipei Main Station). This is in fact the original downtown Mitsukoshi (the Xinyi one is newer). If you're staying in the Ximending area or have decided not to venture to the Xinyi area for any reasons, you might want to check out this Mitsukoshi instead.


Countrywide
Drugstore chains in Taiwan (equivalent to USA's Walgreens/CVS and UK's Superdrug/Boots)
1) Watsons. This is, in fact, owned by a HK conglomerate and you will see Watsons stores everywhere in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and HK. In my Taipei post trip blog entry, I found a 24-hr Watsons in the Zhongxiao Dunhua area, which is excellent for time squeezed travellers.

Updated 4 April 2013: Looking through my Watsons Taiwan receipts and thinking back, Watsons must be the king of pricing in drugstores in Taiwan.

One particular visit had the following price promotions:
a) Buy minimum of NTD588 on drugstore makeup and get NTD100 off the bill immediately (strangely, the definition of drugstore makeup was brands like ZA, Majolica Majorica, Integrate, KATE, 1028 Cosmetics but did not apply to brands like Solone)
b) Buy 1 piece for selected makeup/ skincare products, get the 2nd piece at 38% off (I tried buying a skincare lotion and getting the skincare essence at 38% off but no go. Only the moisturiser, essence and night cream from that particular skincare line were on 38% off the 2nd piece. You really needed to see the fine print to figure out the promotion applied for which products)
c) If total spend in store exceeds NTD2000, receive NTD200 in Watsons store vouchers (to be used another day).

This includes promotions (a) and (b), so you could buy toothpaste/shampoos etc to make up the balance. Their inhouse sales system must be very advanced to be able to keep track of all these promotions and reflect them properly on the bill.

2) Sasa (actually a HK company. They have made serious inroads into Taiwan in the past 2 years).

3) Cosmed

4) Mirada. But most Mandarin-speakers in Taiwan will know them by "Mei Hua Tai" (Not technically a drugstore, and they only have stores in the Taipei area). But by golly, what stores they are!

They may be drugstore in appearances but some of the brands stocked at the stores can be as pricey as the ones in departmental stores. In fact, some of the bigger Watsons stores I have been have a 'store-in-store' concept where the same departmental brand have a sales rep there to serve you.


Websites (multi-label/brand cosmetics)
1) www.payeasy.com.tw. Ships products locally (Taiwan) within 5-7 working days if they have stock(but personal experience says better to allocate more time for their delivery). They can deliver products to a convenience store of your choice (if you decide not to give them your hotel/accommodation address). You do not need Taiwanese identification (ID) to buy from this site. Non-taiwanese credit cards are accepted. Also ships selected product lines at different pricing internationally.
2) www.jpmon.com. Ships products locally within 3 working days if they have stock. Like payeasy, they can deliver products to a convenience store of your choice. You do not need Taiwanese ID to buy from this site. Non-taiwanese credit cards are accepted. Also ships internationally.
3) Yahoo Taiwan shopping. Various sellers, various sellers' ratings. Typically the major sellers will deliver products to a convenience store but at an added delivery fee. You do not need Taiwanese ID to buy from this site.
* special mention: www.naruko.com.tw. This is by Robin Niu, possibly the most famous skincare guru in Taiwan. He is known in the media and by fans as "牛尔老师" or Teacher Niu Er.This web-shop holds all his skincare lines; ampm, Naruko and NRK. Ships products locally within 4 working days if they have stock (but their website says longer). They can deliver products to a convenience store of your choice. You do not need Taiwanese ID to buy from this site. It is far easier to buy his products online than to buy from Watsons (it's exclusive to Watsons). I went to several stores in Hualien, Yilan and Taipei but did not manage to find the full range of his products anywhere. In the end, I gave up and ordered online. 


I have not included some web-shops as you need to have a Taiwanese identification number as part of the registration and verification process. As travellers, it could be difficult to order items online knowing that you will not know your room number at the hotel before checking into the hotel.

The Taiwanese online shopping experience takes this uncertainty away! I have picked up items from the convenience stores before and typically, the items are either stored behind the cashier or in a locked cupboard with the key only held by the staff. The staff would also typically ask you for your full name and contact number as a cross-check before releasing the products. I have found online shopping to be a joy in Taiwan and a boon for time-scarce travellers!

If you have any questions, do let me know and I will try my best to answer them.