Phuket: Where to Buy Thai Cosmetics
Thai cosmetics are a classic souvenir from a trip to Thailand. Therefore, it is useful to know where to buy quality care products at a reasonable price. We will tell you about the pros and cons of the main points of sale in this article.
Thai markets
Although the rows of colorful jars and packages look attractive, it is important to remember that Phuket is located in the tropics. The street heat does not go well with the requirements for storing cosmetics: the threshold of 25-26 degrees Celsius is constantly violated here, unless you use a refrigerator. This is especially important for medicines. Teas should also not be bought at the market, but not because of the temperature. Vendors often sell ordinary grass with branches and garbage under the guise of selected tea leaves for 100 baht for 3 packs (photo below).
If you decide to buy tea at the market, choose transparent packaging and study the composition. Counterfeits have not bypassed Thai balms: more than once, cunning sellers have sold jars of multi-colored Vaseline instead.
Products on sightseeing tours
Guides swear: counterfeits are not sold on excursions. And this is true, but the price for such cosmetics is greatly inflated. Manufacturers enter into agreements with travel agencies, and the latter receive profit from sales. The price markup reaches 50%. This topic is covered in more detail in the article "Sightseeing tours in Phuket".
Whether to overpay or shop at bargain spots for locals and expats is an individual choice, so we won’t try to convince you.
Pharmacies/ Pharmacy
In any regular drugstore, you will usually find shelves with skin care products and dietary supplements, and the pharmacist will be able to help you if you have difficulty choosing (of course, their medical education is local). The help of such a specialist is especially valuable if you need to buy medicine. To find a common language with the pharmacist, you do not need to know special terms in Thai - show him the name of the active substance in Latin.
Chain supermarkets
Networks with a good selection: Big C, Tesco Lotus, SuperCheap. A reduced assortment can be found in 7/11 and Family Mart. Such stores will offer both original compositions and well-known foreign brands.
Specialized cosmetics stores in shopping malls
Boots, Watsons, Pure, Oriental princess, Cutepress and others. The choice here is the widest - from the usual decorative and care cosmetics, products for specific tasks and gift sets. There is no need to doubt the quality of products from certified stores. Before the pandemic, Fruit Paradise stores were popular (we hope for their return, so far only the store near Jungceylon on the third line of Patong is open), which in addition to their own brand also distributed products from other companies.
Cosmetic points near hotels
Although they are found at every step, it is impossible to make a clear conclusion about all of them. In some, the quality and price are absolutely inconsistent, while others are quite decent and do not deceive customers. Which one you get depends on luck and your vigilance. Pay attention to whether the store has a refrigerator or at least an air conditioner, whether they observe hygiene. In addition, it never hurts to check the expiration dates on the jar.
Pharmacy of Thai medicine Dr. Holland
From experience we know that many tourists prefer this pharmacy because of its territorial accessibility - between the beach complexes of Kata and Karon, where it is convenient to get by taxi, for example, by ordering a car in the BOLT and InDriver applications - it will be cheaper than using a local taxi. Prices in Dr. Holland are close to the prices of non-tourist pharmacies, but purchases there are more profitable than in souvenir shops for visitors (usually visited during sightseeing tours). Many people find it important that this store speaks Russian and can provide instructions for use in it. The assortment is diverse. Our readers can take advantage of a 5% discount (save a screenshot of the discount card under the article).
Location (click and open in maps)
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