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Sometimes you think that things are relatively easy. For example buying certain stuff. Let’s say, nail polish. You go into a cosmetics store or a drugstore, take the bottles you like, pay, and off you go.

But not in China. And not even in Shanghai, which is the most modern city in whole China. Not even Beijing comes close, and Hongkong is not actually China. So just follow me on a trip through China in search of nail polish...

Little did I know that the trend of nail polish hasn’t yet arrived in China. Women hardly seem to wear any nail polish. I saw it only very rarely in the Metro or in the streets. Also the retail system works a little bit different here. They have way more nail salons/studios where you can buy nail polish and get your nails done at the same time. The prices though are relatively high: A bottle with about 15ml costs about 100 RMB (~10 Euro). In some of those nail spas you might find brands like OPI or Sally Hansen, but keep in mind that bottles might be fakes.

So what about other stores? Drugstores do exist, but don’t offer a wide range of products.

Drugstore brand No. 1 in China is Watsons. I don’t know where they actually come from but their website also exists in English. They mostly carry their own brands like Watsons Rose Skincare, Lavender Haircare, Bird’s Nest Skincare etc. They also offer products by Garnier, Olay, Neutrogena and Nivea. The range of make-up is rather limited. I’ve seen Maybelline and L’Oréal counters, which was about it. The range of nail polish was ridiculous. Even in one of the biggest Watsons stores I could only discover two bottles of Mini Colorama glitter polish at the Maybelline counter.

Mannings is another drugstore chain that seems to be pretty new here. However, the store I was in looked less clean and shiny than the Watsons stores I went to. They offer about the same range of products as Watson. No nail polish though.

So, where to go if you want to find nail polish? You can try your luck in a large mall. And trust me, there are plenty of enormous malls in Shanghai and other bigger cities. If you are lucky, you can find a Sally Hansen counter there. The Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear series retails here for 55 RMB (about 5-6 Euro), Insta-Dri polishes cost about 88 RMB (9 Euro). I got three of the Hard as Nails for 100 RMB altogether, an ok price. But beware: the colour range is small and there will always be two or three saleswomen swarming around you, trying to get you into buying something. Don’t let yourself get talked into anything...

After days of frustrated searching I found a good source for my addiction: The Sasa store. Basically, Sasa is a make-up store chain with more of a medium price range. Sasa stores can be found in several Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore. The range goes from high/medium price like Revlon and Seventh Sense (their own “premium” brand) to low price like Sasa. And they have nail polishes, yay!

Most of those nail polishes are kept in a huge pile in a basket next to the entrance. German speaking readers might be familiar with the term “Grabbeltisch”. They lie in a relatively chaotic manner thrown into the baskets.

Their own brand is called Sasa/Sasatinnie, in addition to that they have polishes by Revlon, Arezia, Suki and some others that I forgot. They cost about 20 RMB/bottle, with chance of discount if you take two. Needless to say that I bought about ten bottles... Do I have to start worrying about my polish addiction?...

Until next time!

“Philipp, I’m Asian. Still people are gazing at me…” (naekubi is annoyed)

“That’s because you are with a westerner.”

“So?”

“People think immediately that you’re Chinese and my girlfriend. So their conclusion is that

a) you are rich (normal Chinese people don’t go where westerners are)

b) you are funny and entertaining (because westerners have high standards)

c) you know English since those stupid westerners don’t know any Chinese

Actually, from their perspective, you made it. You are one of the successful women here.”

“Ok…”

Hard to say who the “trophy” is here…

Before arriving in China I had hoped that I could roam the streets freely with nobody staring at me, as it is the case in my German home town. Japan was a dream come true: I did enjoy belonging to the majority of the population, at least from a superficial point of view.

But alas, this is definitely not the case when I’m walking around with Philipp. People would first look at him, then look at me, then back at him.

In Shanghai, it seems not completely normal yet to have Asian-Caucasian relationships, but you do see white guy/asian girl couples fairly often. The other way round is rarely to be seen in the streets. I’ve seen it once since I arrived here.

Having a relationship in general is quite difficult here, especially for the younger crowd. Most people live in small flats with very little space, so privacy is not easy to obtain. So if you are from Shanghai, you will most likely live with your parents. If you are a student coming from outside Shanghai, you will most certainly live in a shared dorm with another student.

Couple at the metrostation of Tongji University

So what to do to have some privacy? It is paradox, but you have to go outside. Restaurants, malls, cinemas, metro stops are the places to be if you want to have a couple life. This is also why you see a lot of couples kissing and hugging (very passionately) in restaurants or other public places. A million people might pass you by, but at least chances are low that someone you know might see you.

According to Philipp, dating takes about three to six months until you can continue to second base (i.e. having intercourse *coughs*). I do wonder though where they do that. Public areas are completely out of the question, of course… There are no love hotels, either. The only option I could think of is: you don’t do it until you marry. Nooo, that can’t be it…

Organising food is one of those things we have to do a lot. Especially since Philipp’s flat is super non-equipped with pots, cutlery and plates. Not to mention food supplies. There’s not much in the house except some yoghurt and cup noodles.

Mostly we ate in Japanese chain restaurants like Aisen Ramen or Yoshinori, but we also tried some genuine Chinese restaurants.

This is quite new to me because normally, I don’t go to Chinese restaurants in Germany. Most of the time they are run by Vietnamese people and I don’t see the point paying for something I can get for free at home or at my parents’.

Anyways, the last days we went to restaurants with different regional cuisines. Although Chinese cuisine has quite some things in common with Vietnamese food, there are differences of course.

Here’s an example of average everyday food. This is a dish with fried wheat noodles, traces of chicken (I hope), sprouts and green spinach-like vegetables. The yellow thingies must be some kind of beans. Soups with all kinds of noodles are very common, too.

The next pictures were taken in a restaurant close to Tongji University. It’s a Chinese restaurant with higher standards and better cuisine. I’ll try to remember what it was…

Appetizer… sweet-sour pickled vegetable, hot:

Tofu very soft and jelly-like (yummy) with spicy hot sauce. Hard to eat with chopsticks because it falls into pieces as soon as you touch it.

Chicken (or pork? dunno) with green beans and red pepper. We ordered this dish in a not so hot version because my two companions are not too keen on hot food. The sauce that’s on the food seems to be the same always, but it’s not. It’s just hard to describe.

Some fried cauliflower. It was a bit too salty for my taste. As a topping on rice this works quite well.

Eating out in China follows the same etiquette as at my parents’, so it felt a tiny bit like home:

Everything is served at a time.

Everyone eats from every dish. You have your own little plate and rice bowls.

You eat with chopsticks.

You can slurp your noodles as much and as noisy as you want.

There is always plenty of food. You are not supposed to finish it. Anyways, this is impossible for average stomachs. (American eaters might think different.)

Something you will never find in Chinese cuisine:

Fresh salads or raw vegetables.

Vegetarian dishes.

Stay tuned for more reports from Shanghai, like: „Why do people still stare at me?“, „The Futile Quest for Cosmetics and Beauty Products“ and „China is not Japan – and vice versa“

Abonnieren Posts ( Atom )

The Futile Quest for Cosmetics and Other Beauty Products – Part I

Das aktuelle Nagelstudio #21

“Why do people still stare at me?” or: “Relationships in Shanghai”

Food…

In Shanghai