[DizzyF]

One for the girls really....can you let me know what clothes, shoes, beauty products you find hard to get or too expensive in NZ so I can stock up the container...should be plenty of room as OH knows I am panic shopping already!

[Jalapenocheese]

I lived in NZ for eight months back in 2005 so I'm not too sure of the prices anymore, but in any case, I find shopping for clothes/shoes too expensive. So I'd suggest to stock on them! :)

[klicker]

Hi, I dont know, if its true, but i ve heard, that the deodrants in NZ are not very efficient ??? So mayby stock up on your fave one?? Also heard painkillers and sore throat tabs are cheaper and better in the UK ?? Leather shoes are expensive and trainers are ok but not much of a choice ??also thights or stockings and M&S underwear !!I would also stock up with nice fleecy blankets , thick duvets and hotwaterbottles, as the winters are very chilly in the eve !!Hope that helps...

[shakyle2906]

HI

Stock up on NEXT clothes if you shop there............one thing i miss huge! ALso M&S!

It all depends on what products you use - certian things are quite expensive especially when you earn $ and spend $............if that makes sense!

A bottle of aftershave is $120 minimum, perfume $100 roughly. Clinique which we used in UK is fairly expensive $42 for a lipstick, just paid $42 for sunspray!

Shoes can be expensive too i have found. I have cheated once or twice and bought cheaper - to be caught out and returned them!

I agree also, bring blankets and bedding as these can be quite pricey.

Basically, if you have the room, make use of it!

HTH

Sharon
x

[Familyofmonkeys]

Personally I find that it's not so much the lack of clothing shops that is the problem, but the poor quality. Even a lot of the more upmarket shops seem to be ful of clothes with poor stitching and poor quality fabrics. We never really bought many clothes in UK compared to most people, but here find that if you want something better made....it's gonna cost you unless you earmark things you want and wait until the sales. There are plenty of places selling Jeans for example, but almost everything is one leg length....so if you're tall that could be an issue, or if you're short like me then everything needs taking up. My mum now asks me what I like on-line from Next/Fat Face etc in UK and she will get me some clothes in the sales as Xmas/Birthday presents......nice arrangement :)

This is even more the case for shoes.....IMO a lot of the shoes/boots available are not great....plenty of choice of fashion styles but most are not the greatest quality. You will be fine if you are one of those people who wears out shoes pretty quickly anyway and buy a pair of shoes expecting them to only last a couple of years.......but if you want something more robust that will last several years the prices are quite high e.g. a pair of knee high boots can be anything from $250 to $500 in NORMAL shoes shops outside of sale time. One things there is in abundance here though is trainers/sneakers.....fantastic choice and even The Warehouse has a reasonable selection of well known brands at silly prices.

Underwear......there is Bendon which is very much like La Senza, but there isn't really an equivelent of M&S underwear. Farmers have a reasonable selection and K-Mart have started selling a couple of well known brands like Triumph and Sloggi, but only a small selection so far. The warehouse get a lot of their stuff from the same manufacturers as Tesco....so if you were happy with Tesco knickers you will be fine buying there.

I've got no idea about make-up as I have never worn any, but most cosmetics seem to be a little more expensive than UK when you do the £/$ conversion....things like razor blades are a lot more expensive. Supermarkets have recently started selling generic ibuprofen and paracetamol (not as cheap as Tesco, but not bad price) but if you get some from a chemist prepare to pay through the nose. Antihistamines are very expensive over the counter...but if you get some on prescription you can get about 4x the quantity for about $3 charge and the same applies for painkillers/childrens liquid painkillers too:nice1

We've had no problems getting hold of decent quality duvets. The bottom of the range ones are really cheap and nasty, but even in The Warehouse you can get hold of decent wool/microfibre/cotton duvets.....not sure how prices compare though. Fleece blankets/throws we've seen in abundance......practically every homeware type shop will have plenty in autumn winter.....although some in very strange colours and patterns. Surprisingly (for a country full of sheep) but it is much harder to get wool blankets :confused: Duvet sets seem pretty expensive though.....but if you were buying a bed/matress you could probably get some thrown in for free if you asked.

[Familyofmonkeys]

Hi, I dont know, if its true, but i ve heard, that the deodrants in NZ are not very efficient ???

Might be more to do with it being much more humid (in Auckland and further north anyway) compared to UK. You can get most of the same main brands here that we were used to in UK.

[Parsley]

Fleece blankets/throws we've seen in abundance......practically every homeware type shop will have plenty in autumn winter.....although some in very strange colours and patterns.

As a slight aside, I found that when buying swaddling wraps for my sis's wee guy, they had the most bizarre selection of colors and pattern. I felt like I was looking at a cross between mad IKEA fabric and upholstery fabric. It was really strange, cos I kept thinking "who the hell would wrap a baby in this?!"

:eek:

/thread hijack ends :D

[Lara Croft]

Anything you would normally buy from M&S (undies, tights etc). Tights here are not as good, so stock up if you wear them.

I particularly liked the Aussie haircare range in the UK, and that isn't available here, so I stocked up.

Make up does seem a lot more expensive, but a lot of brands are familiar: Clinique, Estee lauder, Clarins, Lancome etc.

We also did a big Costco shop before we packed, and came armed with Fairy washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, ziploc bags etc. The washing up liquid here is dire, so weak and watery....

Hope this helps!

J

[DizzyF]

Wow...think I will have to take a trip to Ikea for bedlinen. Difficult to know what to buy as we don't know where we will be living in NZ!! We have a fab new duvet from John Lewis we got as a bargain in sales so will bring that though my OH (Kiwi) seems to think Fairydown good in NZ.

Noticed that Victoria's Secret ships to NZ...lived in US and always loved their undies...recommend to anyone in NZ as prices are good and lots of choice.

Think I will just shop online and get my mum to ship stuff out.


Thanks!

[Jacqi B]

Make up does seem a lot more expensive, but a lot of brands are familiar: Clinique, Estee lauder, Clarins, Lancome etc.

We also did a big Costco shop before we packed, and came armed with Fairy washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, ziploc bags etc. The washing up liquid here is dire, so weak and watery....

Can you get the L'Oreal Age Perfect or Revitalift moisturisers over there?

I did wonder about going to Costco before we leave.

Thank you.

[Pollyanna]

Definitely raid M and S for underwear, there's nowhere over here that's as good, particularly for tights. I find it hard to get decent boots too. I don't know if it's just the case in Dunedin, where we are, but I find it really hard to get decent handwash (except for Dettol stuff), shower gel and body lotion - I really miss not being able to get nice stuff in Boots and Waitrose. I brought enough toiletries to last till the next millenium, my husband thinks I'm mad for doing it but I'm really glad I did as the things that you can get here are much more expensive than in the UK.

[Kate D]

Definitely, definitely M&S! You can never have enough undies/tights and especially hold-up stockings which seem to be a) very difficult to get hold of and b) really expensive here!

For toiletries, lotions/potions, etc try strawberrynet who have a pretty big range - coincindentally recommended to me by a bloke who liked to look after his tender, babysoft face:)

http://nz.strawberrynet.com/main.aspx?region=NZ

Kate