Does anyone know how/where to buy European beauty products in the US?
 

While in Frankfurt last month, I bought some Loreal Elvital shampoo and conditioner. It is absolutely amazing. So good, in fact, that I am contemplating a trip back to FRA to load up a suitcase.

That seems a little extreme, even for a crazed FlyerTalker, so I started to wonder, is there a way to get these products without flying to Europe or driving your your European friends or relatives crazy with pleas to send them to you? Ideas?

Probably not a big help, but you can get this in Scandinavian countries too.

I do buy things from German websites pretty frequently (I get Geldifa yarn for about half the price it is here). If you find the shampoo on a site and they don't have shipping info to the US on the website, write them and ask if they'll ship. ebay.de often can be a source for things like this too.

L'oreal was one of the sponsors of Zach's event in New York weekend before last and we met the US president or L'oreal. If I'd known then I could have asked about other sources for this.

I often pick up skincare for a friend whenever I go overseas.. mostly because they are products that aren't sold/marketed in the US.. or because the prices are better in other countries.

Aside from going back to FRA, it's worth surfing the net and comparing prices. In addition, there might be some specialty stores that stock these products but the markup can get brutal. NYC might be more reasonable.

http://www.smallflower.com/ - I've purchased some stuff from them. If you type a country name in their search box, you'll get all the products they carry from that country.

Thanks for the sites. It appears, however, that neither of them sells the Elvital.

Two good things happened today. My grand-nephew who is living with us during medical school advised me this morning that he has to fly to London tomorrow on a research project and will get me one bottle of shampoo, one bottle of conditioner and a can of hairspray. That will hold me until I find a better solution.

I think that living with us has started addicting him. When we were discussing the fact that I needed European shampoo, he said, "Well you could always go for the miles". :D

I also met with a client today who used to be in the cosmetics business. She gave me the name of a friend of hers who imports beauty products from Europe into Canada and then drives them across the border. She also advised that the reason Europe has such superior beauty products is that many of the ingredients they use are forbidden by the FDA in the US, which is what I had suspected.

Maybe I will become an ex-pat retiree.

Google turned up a collection of shampoo commercials:
http://www.xtremeinformation.com/sho...?quote=1290426
but no links to US stores selling it. Hmmm, maybe you can find a EU FTer who wants something shipped from the US & do an exchange -have them mail you the shampoo, you mail them something in return- and to get miles, use a CO Mastercard at the Post Office for double miles. ;)

Punki,

Elvital looks a lot like the loreal vive product. I wonder if you can schelp down to Bartells, open up a vive shampoo and take the whiff test.

If so, you are in luck.

I just checked boots.co.uk and they are not shipping outside the UK.

I may be going to London in April, if one shampoo bottle or conditioner jumps into my bag, its yours. :D


lala
whose bag this trip will be filled with marvis toothpaste in mint, nivea deo and maybe some botanics stuff.

Thanks, lalala. Do you work for Loreal? That is exactly what they suggested when I called them to inquire about how to acquire these amazing products in the US. I have tried Vive. Close, but no cigar--not even a cigarette butt. :(

Maybe there will come a time when my old friend TWIZ will have some spare time to investigate the FDA and discover whether or not this practice, of restricting the really great beauty products from the U.S., is a secret plot to make American women less attractive than European women. ;)

What will I do if he discovers that the FDA has valid reasons for restricting these products. YIKES, would I sacrafice great hair for environmental protection. I have already given up meat and would happily give up driving a personal car, but, WOWSER, giving up great hair is an entirely different story. :D

It is pretty funny what we'll do for great hair. Two people in this household travel 1000-2500 miles to get their hair cut and styled (and considering the third doesn't have much hair to style it's pretty easy to guess who the two are), someone on this thread goes across the Atlantic for cuts and you're considering the same for shampoo. :)

When you mentioned the FDA thing it did make me wonder what might be in that shampoo. It never dawned on me that that's the reason why there are beauty products we can buy in Europe, but not here. I've long boycotted L'Oreal and Lancome products because they refused to stop doing the Draize eye test on rabbits when most other cosmetics companies had given it up long before. But if it's the FDA prohibiting the product it's likely (allegedly) for your protection and not the environment's. If you feel like writing down the ingredients post them or send them to me and I'll pass them on to Zach and see what he comes up with.

Thanks, letiole.

Here are the problems I encountered in attempting to write down the ingredients:

1. They are in German, which probably doesn't matter much.

2. They are written so small that neither of us can read them, which is a huge impediment.

Can I send him an empty bottle, after I have carefully parcelled out each last, precious drop? :)

Sure thing.

It looks like I will be in Sweden in April. You can PM me if you want me to pick some up for you.

Punki,

I don't work for Loreal (I would if it paid better, trust me). I do know they sell the same shampoo in London and the ingredient list is in english. I buy the same stuff for my aunt, she loves it.

I'm not sure how much room I have in this next trips luggage, but tell me what type of of Elvital you need and I'll see if I can track some down.

Is it me, or does the name of this shampoo sound like something a US drug manufacturer would use for an antidepressant or viagra-like drug? :D

lala

We're having the same problem as you! My wife likes a shampoo called Timotei that I think is also made by Loreal. We are making yearly runs to Switzerland in order to replenish our supply. I've looked all over the US and even tried the Loreal web site but no joy.

I guess we're stuck going to Switzerland once a year.

900at, they sell Timotei in England, so maybe you can vary your trips a bit! I know they used to stock it in my local Sainsbury's and Boots stores in London. I also used to use Timotei back in my poorer college days, because it was a brand that was stocked in Big Lots (then Pic n' Save). You might try stopping into your local Big Lots to see if they still have it! (I really love the smell of Timotei, btw - very herbal and grassy.)

On my home computer I have a site bookmarked that imports stuff from the UK - when I get home I'll take a look to see if they sell either Timotei or Elvital..