Sydney shopping question

Hi. Quick question of anyone can help. Husband and I are flying to Sydney and have a few days there before our cruise. I am a cosmetics/make up/smellies nut and when we are in the states I live in sephora and bath and bodyworks. I know nothing about the shopping in Sydney and wondered if they had anything similar to those shops?

We are about a 5 minute walk from the Westfield so I guess of I'm likely to find make up and beauty shops anywhere it would be in there, but I don't know what even the shop names are I should be looking out for.

And if not a beauty specific shop then perhaps somewhere that has a good sized range.

Thanks,

Gemma

Hi. Quick question of anyone can help. Husband and I are flying to Sydney and have a few days there before our cruise. I am a cosmetics/make up/smellies nut and when we are in the states I live in sephora and bath and bodyworks. I know nothing about the shopping in Sydney and wondered if they had anything similar to those shops?

We are about a 5 minute walk from the Westfield so I guess of I'm likely to find make up and beauty shops anywhere it would be in there, but I don't know what even the shop names are I should be looking out for.

And if not a beauty specific shop then perhaps somewhere that has a good sized range.

Thanks,

Gemma

I would say your best bet would be a store called 'The Bodyshop'. But be warned that cosmetic prices in Australia are more expensive that in the US.

Chez

Ok we have Lush, (Bondi Junction) Bodyshop L'Occitane etc.

groudn floor David Jones might suit but be aware it is all $$$

Ooh. Lush. Ok, I'm happy :)

Sounds like I have a good few options. Thanks.

If you are only 5 minutes from Westfield in the centre of Sydney you are in the right area. In Westfield, which is the newish big glitzy shopping centre in Sydney, try Catwalk and Hair, Body Skin. Check out the ground floors of David Jones and Myer - both large department stores and connected to Westfield. Lots of smells and offers of free consultations in both stores. Explore the Queen Victoria Building and the Strand Arcade for small specialist shops. You may be tempted to buy but the prices will probably put you off unless you land during a promotion. Local Tip : Try out in store, enjoy the experience and buy on line.

Wow. See what you mean about prices! Just checked the lush site as I know the UK prices well. Something that costs £1.99 here is the equivalent of £6.70. I think I may sadly just be looking. Wow!!

If you stay at the Westfield in the central Sydney, you can walk to Pitt Street shopping mall.One of the shop names"body shop" is in the middle of shopping mall.

There are plenty of body essential products.

Wow. See what you mean about prices! Just checked the lush site as I know the UK prices well. Something that costs £1.99 here is the equivalent of £6.70. I think I may sadly just be looking. Wow!!

Yes. I'm learning that now. Called up shop lists from the Westfield site and I can see a few familiar names, but mostly I don't know them. I'm sure we will still spend an afternoon having a look around the shops anyway.

A store similar to Sephora (though much smaller) is Mecca Cosmetica - there is one in Myer but also others in the city and one at Bondi Junction.

Hi - yeah, if you're a beauty nut then our prices will really disappoint you. Few brands are on par with international prices (Illamasqua and some Revlon being the one exception)

However, places to play in that are located in either the Pitt St Mall, Westfield or the QVB building are

Priceline (our version of drugstore beauty)

Mecca Cosmetica (The Galeries Victoria) - this has boutique overseas brands and makeup, the hard-to-find things.

David Jones beauty dept, Myer beauty floor. Myer also has a small Mecca concession in the corner. KIT Cosmetics concession (Myer) is fun too.

Jurlique - highly recommend, Australian brand, famous overseas.

Perfect Potion QVB - australian branded natural makeup

Lush/L'Occitane/Aesop which aren't australian brands but nice to browse.

Thanks a lot. Will check out as many of the places as I can that we pass. No idea of the area, so replying on travel apps and maps. So I'm sure we will get totally lost wandering about. A few of you have named the same couple, so I think I will try and check those out first. Even if it is just for a look and see. Think I might be relying on the airports this time sadly. If prices are any better there.

From those of us from the USA, the potential good news for shopping in Sydney has been the drop in the value of the Aussie dollar versus our currency. In the past month, there has been about a 10% drop. Currently, the Aussie dollar costs $0.9627 to buy for us. Was up around $1.05 in early May. Currently one Aussie dollar costs you .64 UK pound.

We are looking forward to our first “down under” visit, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Celebrity Solstice sailing, departing Sydney, going from Australia to Auckland/NZ doing 14 days on this ship we loved in the Med in June 2011. Plus, doing some pre-cruise options for Cairns/Port Douglas, the Rainforest and Great Barrier Reef, then Kangaroo Island near Adelaide before departing from Sidney’s scenic harbor. And, doing the mid-cruise ship over-night trip to and in Queenstown and then stopping in Hawaii on the way home to break up that long, long flight back. We have a nice and super active roll call going at:

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Welcome to any who want to join us for this trip and/or travel along via the web as we get prepared for that "adventure".

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 131,454 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

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Hi Gemma - Perhaps my comments might be considered to be a bit "un-Australian", given that we should be encouraging visitors to spend their hard-earned cash here, but the products you are interested in are quite expensive in Australia.

I am guessing that you will be having a stopover (even if only a couple of hours) somewhere between the UK and Aus. This will possibly be Dubai, Hong Kong, Bangkok or Singapore (depending on your airline). I suggest that you check out the duty free stores in the stopover airport. You will probably get better prices.

If your stopover happens to be Singapore, then the shops in Changi Airport are fantastic.

Shopping at the airport Sydney not much different from shopping in town.

You can ask the shop assistant how much you should spend to get a tax refund at the airport.Keep all receipts and get refund before you pass the immigration.

Goldygolfer. We fly in through Abu Dhabi. I don't think there's much there, but I looked a week or so ago at Singapore as we have two days there in Dock before flying home. The airport looks amazing. There are so many shops! I don't know how expensive it'll be but for once I won't mind the three hour wait in the terminal. I just hope they will be open as it is late when we leave. I should imagine so.

Mackay12. Thanks for the tip. I'll have to google the tax rebate. I had no idea about it. Though as we don't leave via Sydney or anywhere in Australia I don't know if I would get anything. The ship goes from Australia to Bali to Singapore, so sadly I doubt it would apply.

Singapore airport open24 hous, heaps of shops and goods you will enjoy.

If you stay at the Westfield in the central Sydney, you can walk to Pitt Street shopping mall.One of the shop names"body shop" is in the middle of shopping mall.

There are plenty of body essential products.

The Body Shop is from the UK (assuming the same chain) and the OP is from the UK.

The Body Shop is from the UK (assuming the same chain) and the OP is from the UK.

Its a World wide franchise.