Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t go abroad without visiting a local pharmacy or beauty shop. I love nothing more than spending time checking out the items you can and can’t buy over the counter, as well as observing the local beauty trends through the products on the shelves. It is such a good indication of the beauty standards and needs, as well as the different ingredients available depending upon each country’s rules and restrictions.
For example, in the US there are far more acne fighting ingredients such as adapalene and high strength benzoyl peroxide, which you can buy without prescription, as well as melatonin (which I found you can also buy over the counter in Turkey too) known for its sleep-inducing properties and exclusive US-only makeup products.
I’ve also noticed the dupes can look, feel and smell, extremely similar when you’re abroad – often at half the price too. This was particularly the case in Turkey where I found some of the best loved products well worth picking up if you find yourself visiting soon.
Read on to find out why I stocked up on a £3 face mask and how you can buy a famous body oil for almost a quarter of the price.
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PS Photography/Lauren Ezekiel
Bioxcin Gold On Skin Body Oil
If you’re thinking this Bioxcin Gold On Skin Body Oil looks familiar you would be correct. It did also make me chuckle that the pharmacy placed it directly next to the original Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Shimmering Multi-Purpose Dry Oil too. However, this dupe is not only double the size it is half the price. The pharmacy was selling this for just over £11 and when I compared them on my arm there was no noticeable difference.
I did manage to source Bioxcin Gold On Skin Oil (£19) in the UK, which is still less than the original but no where near as good value as picking it up whilst in Turkey itself.
PS Photography/Lauren Ezekiel
Agarta Homemade Soap
This may look like soap similar to something your granny would pick up in a local corner shop but it is so much more! These locally sourced soaps contain 100% natural ingredients and have a wide range of uses from hydrating to peeling and even hair growth. Leaning on the long ancient tradition of Turkish baths, where a therapist will use the foam of a soap to scrub your body, it is not like any soap I have tried before as it doesn’t leave you feeling dry and taunt. I found it also left the delicate scent on my skin all day. This cost around £1.50-£1.75 and I would recommend buying a few if you see them whilst abroad, particularly Agarta Natural Handmade Turkish Bath Soap (£8) as the scent is divine and leaves skin feeling so soft and clean and the Agarta Natural Homemade Bittem Soap (£8) as its known to help with acne, especially on the body and scalp.
I’ve had a look online and there are some retailers selling the soap for £19, which seems completely outrageous, but also made me wish I had bought a few more!
PS Photography/Lauren Ezekiel
Enterogermina Probiotic
Ok, this may sound like a weird one but beauty starts from within and for me this includes a good probiotic. Over the years I have tried hundreds of probiotics, not just for myself but also for my children, and I have always found that the options available abroad are far more effective than some of the high street alternatives in the UK. I have also found it to be far more reasonably priced. I picked up these for £12, which I will be storing away for one of the inevitable winter bugs or post-antibiotics situations you tend to face in the winter months.
I have found Enterogermina Probiotics (£41) on amazon for almost four times the price.
PS Photography/Lauren Ezekiel
Collagen Glitter Face Mask
This one was more of a novelty purchase as my daughter has recently got into skincare, like every tween it seems, and I thought this would be a great product for us to have a play with during a pamper session. It is made by the same company that produced the original 7th Heaven sachet face masks, which we all used as teenagers, so I knew it would be safe for her skin. This tube cost me around £3 and I have one very excited child counting down the days until she can peel off the glitter mask.
I couldn’t find this exact product in the UK but you can buy a one off Montagne Jeunesse 7th Heaven Glitter Peel-Off Face Mask (£3) if you want to get your glitter on too.
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Dermoskin BB Cream
There’s nothing like a multi purpose product to get a former beauty editor excited. This BB cream contains everything you would want from your serum, including vitamin C, E and A, as well as sodium hyaluronate, which is used to repair broken or irritated skin. It also has a slight tint to it, similar to the Eborian BB Cream (£37) and SPF 50. I can’t find this anywhere online, so this is definitely one to pick up if you see it abroad, especially as I paid £11 for it.
Lauren Ezekiel is an associate editor at PS UK, where she writes about all things beauty and wellness. With a degree in journalism and 12 years’ experience as a beauty editor at a leading Sunday supplement, she is obsessed with skincare, hair and makeup, and is often found offering advice to innocent bystanders. Her work has been published in Grazia, OK, Health and Beauty, The Sun, ASDA, Dare and Metro.
