Dani June

Hola chicaass y chicos!

Perdone para mi silencio en mi blog! He estado muy ocupado.

This blog post is going to be my break down on all the best places to go to buy beauty products and tools when in Madrid, as a woman and a woman of colour.

So this is going to be more relevant to the guys than girls, but equally I know it’s 2018 and guys can wear just as much make-up as girls (and they do it better than me most of the time haha).

For me, being of woman of colour in a predominantly white European city was at first quite a shock to the system. I’m used to walking down oxford street and seeing every colour skin you can think of and I love that.

But here I became aware very quickly that I would more often than not, be the only person of colour on the bus, metro, train or even in my work place at times.

This hasn’t been threatening, but it has been strange at times when you catch someone staring at you for the whole bus journey out of pure curiosity I imagine and hope.

It became an even stranger experience for me when I started to run out of my foundation, concealer, contouring palette and highlighter and thought crap I don’t know where to buy any of this stuff here!

Sephora I hear you shouting at me from behind your screen but, alas I’m a woman on a budget. I needed some more affordable brands like I’m used to at home such as Maybelline, Rimmel and Barry M.

So I’ve been on a long and exciting journey over the last 8 months (I KNOW 8 MONTHS!), to give you some insights into the best shops to buy all your beauty necessities. Yes concealer is a necessity when you’re an ESL teacher.

5. In at number five is KIKO Make Up Milano.

One of the great things about Madrid is that most make-up brands both affordable and high-end have large, individual stores rather than having all their products crammed onto one shelf in a department store.

KIKO is absolutely everywhere in Madrid and is excellent for having an amazing range of base products (all the concealer my heart desires). However, they do tend to have only a few shades for each category of colour, light, medium, and dark.

I know that they cater for their clientele but it just doesn’t have enough variety for my skin tone.

GO to KIKO for all things lips, their lipstick tubes are so gorgeous and feel and look really expensive, and eyes, like all the foil, glitter, matte shades of eye shadow you can handle.

4. Coming in fourth place is the Body Shop.

You know the name you know the deal. Body Shop has all the things a person needs for the bathroom, cleansers, masks, shower gel, body butter, perfume, and lots of make up options.

I was impressed with their shade range in foundation and the price was an affordable 22 euros a bottle.

The stores in Madrid are constantly have some sort of sale and there are always sets of bathroom and make up products being sold on offer. They’re a little pricey sometimes but with the deals you can justify your Rose scented shower gel just as much as me!

3. Third place goes to NYX.

The holy grail of liquid lipstick, and lip products in general.

I have heard amazing reviews of NYX control drop foundation and I personally use their conceal and contour kit on a daily basis and it is the best. Here you will definitely find your shade no matter what cool, neutral or warm tone you are.

The only downside is this is of course only one brand in one shop and so you may want a bit more variety in your beauty diet.

2. The runner up in the list is Sephora. SHOCK.

Sephora is an incredible shop yes and does also have a variety of brands that will cater to my (and probably your) skin tone. However, all the brands at Sephora are high end and in a nutshell too expensive for my budget!

Don’t write off Sephora no, no, no. I do adore the shop and often go in for their own brand face masks which are heavenly and for when I want to treat myself to a luxury item or two!

Also of note is their own brand Sephora makeup which is much more affordable than the other brands in the store and are still very high quality products. The 10hr foundation comes in a plethora of shades and tones and is an extremely affordable 15 to 17 euros a bottle!

So definitely if you can visit the iconic beauty store and enjoy all the beautiful products they have to offer.

and so number one on the list of recommendations is and probably the unknown dark horse in this competition…

1. PRIMOR…

Que? I hear you say. Well let me tell you about Spain’s best beauty supply – kinda rivals boots – but doesn’t have a loyalty card-and it does perfume – store.

You can buy dry shampoo here! I repeat you can buy dry shampoo here!! The only other place in Madrid that I’ve found dry shampoo is Primark and it’s too tempting to buy the rest of the store when I go in there.

Also the variety of brands will have you in this shop for hours on end as you can buy everything from face/body wash, face masks, hair treatments, waxing strips, all the creams, and perfume too.

Make-up is just one part of Primor but it’s best part in my opinion. It’s the only place in Madrid where you can find a lot of British make-up brands such as Rimmel, and even Makeup Revolution which isn’t even available in Boots yet in the UK.

With such an array of brands you can find foundations and other base products to suit most skin tones HURRAH.

Only downside is again sometimes it is a little difficult to find as shade as dark as me, let alone darker, if they are short on stock. However as the store has A LOT of brands you’re more likely to find an affordable foundation at Primor than in any of the other stores.

 

So that’s my breakdown of what I consider to be the best shops in Madrid to buy beauty products for women of every colour! Hope this is helpful if you find yourself in Madrid and have forgotten your foundation at home, or are new to Madrid and need to get your essentials fast!

DaniJune