Shiseido in Japan is like Nivea in Europe. Outside of Japan in particular, Shiseido products have that very special oriental luxury aura, usually found in the expensive sections of the huge department stores across the world. Having visited Japan, I was hoping Shiseido is cheaper there than in the rest of the world and I could stock up with some Shiseido’s for the following year or two. To my surprise, price differences, if any, have not been significant and certainly not worth the trouble of bringing them to the other side of the world.

I came across a great discovery in a totally different side of the world though.

USA famous outlet stores – TJMaxx and/or Marshalls– often have quite some Shiseido stuff for some very good prices! You will more likely come across Shiseido in these stores outside of the New York City, and I have noticed plenty of Shiseido regularly appearing in California’s TJMaxx and/ or Marshalls.

It is likely that boxes will be scratched or similar and items presented in really unattractive manner, but otherwise the products are of the same Shiseido quality as you could expect while buying in a regular store. I bought my Shiseido at US discount stores numerous time and never had a bad experience.

The prices are fantastic: around 50% of original retail value! Check out those samples.

Of course, you will not find the full collection of Shiseido, and there is a certain luck factor too as Shiseido’s seem to get sold out quite quickly, but do keep an eye on these while shopping in those great stores (my earlier post “The US Trinity of Bargains” is all about these).