Greece has a tremendous selection of high-quality toiletries and beauty products, made locally and with indigenous ingredients. If you are traveling with carry-on luggage only, you may want to stock up on these once you arrive in Greece, then pack and check your luggage on your return trip from Greece. Most are available in Greek pharmacies and small tourist-oriented markets.
In general, try or sniff before you buy when you can. Pretty packaged items for tourists are expensive and often not that great – don’t stick with something you won’t use.
Remember, these products are all manufactured to the strictest European Union standards, which excludes many ingredients commonly found in American brands from being too toxic, which may be another reason to stock up.
If you are buying larger items in duty free stores, more than the 3 oz carry-on limit, remember that if you have a connecting flight once you return to the United States, you will have to put your items duty free. in your checked bags when you pick them up to clear customs. Don’t risk losing your new purchase! The Duty Free Bag will not get you through security once you are in the United States.
Sun Carroten Products
Carroten used to be my secret weapon against the high costs of sunscreen, then they got tired of being the 6 euro alternative alongside the competition of 14 and 18 euros. Now your prices are about the same, but your product is excellent. No, they won’t make you orange like a carrot, but keep an eye out for their orange packaging. It is generally still priced slightly lower than imported brands. Her lip balm is said to be one of the few that stands up to the Greek sea and sun.
Apivita skin products
Apivita first caught my eye because they offered a free Minoan-themed screensaver that I found lovely. On my next trip to Greece, I bought his basic skin regimen at the Athens airport pharmacy for the princely sum of 19 euros for two jars of cream, one for general use and one for the eye area. Both are absorbed quickly and I had very good results with them, equivalent to much more expensive products. But her refreshing and stimulating foot and leg mask destroyed my overly sensitive skin. Apivita has now crossed the ocean and is available in the United States at Ulta beauty stores and elsewhere.
HerbOlive Body Butter with Olive Oil
This decadent body butter is made with organic olive oil and is irresistible. A yoga teacher turned me into this brand. I bought a large jug for less than 6 euros and bought a second to take home intact. I have also used their foot cream and hand lotion, all with excellent results. Many brands sound similar: this is “HerbOlive” as a word with a leaf design. This is often found in small markets in Greece. The Greek company behind this line is Madis, based in Crete.
Clean Skin Olive Hair Mask
This is another high-quality plain wrap brand with low prices and good products, with many olive-based items. The hair mask, for some reason, almost everything is a “mask” in Greek beauty products, it seals and conditions the hair and gives it more volume.
Korres Lotions
I love the scent of Korres lotions which are wonderfully attractive. However, for my very sensitive skin, I found the concentration of essential oils to be too strong. Unfortunately, I gave up my lotions because they irritated my skin. You probably won’t have this problem, and I envy you! Its aromas of cedar and amber are great. This line is also sometimes available on home shopping channels in the US, and they also have some exclusive stores in the US.
Korres shampoos
The pharmacy near Gate 4 in the arrivals area of the Athens International Airport has a great selection of health and beauty products, with knowledgeable employees to assist you. I love the Korres line of shampoos that are so effective and rich that you won’t need to stick with a conditioner. A bottle costs around 6 euros. My favorite? The «Sage and Nettle Shampoo for Oily Hair». It is excellent and I am accumulating my last bottle until I return to Greece. Yes, you could buy it online now, but that’s the beginning of the thing.
Macrovita Waterlily y Pearl Lotion
This is expensive, about 16 euros a bottle, what really makes me sad is so excellent. I was using it without thinking and suddenly realized that the skin on my legs had improved tremendously after just a couple of days of use. It is widely available in Greece and is also marketed in small markets. The same company also produces the Olivelia line. Your website has an attractive background soundtrack of Greek bird tweets that also amuses my cat. So far their products are only available in Greece.
Chews toothpaste
This toothpaste is flavored with a resin from the island of Chios that has proven to be very beneficial for the health of your mouth. The taste is unusual but easy to use. It is available at the Athens airport in Mastica Shop (which is a national chain that you can see elsewhere as well) and in local pharmacies and some markets. You will also find sweets, lotions, soaps, and other putty-based products.
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Greek olive oil soaps
This is a great souvenir item so please buy a lot. Some are packaged with magnets or metal medallions as an added incentive. Most of the brands are similar, so take a smell, see what the best price is, and enjoy. Do not pay more than 2 euros per bar; you can find it for much less a little off the beaten path, or in markets where the Greeks shop.
Olympic olive leaf extract
Here’s a reasonably priced olive leaf extract from Olympian. Fans demand all kinds of benefits for the substance, which often demands much higher prices.
More about health and beauty souvenirs from Greece
Constantine Cavafy is one of the best known poets of the 20th century, an Alexandrian Greek who lived and wrote in Egypt, but whose works are known throughout the world and loved in Greece. In his famous poem on the meaning of travel, “Ithaca,” there is a line that I carry with me in my head as I wander the narrow paths of Greece in search of a way to capture the essence of Greece so that I can take it home. with me. In “Ithaca”, which describes a long journey that he advises to extend as much as possible in both time and distance, Cavafy also encourages the purchase of smells, as many fine smells as possible. I was on something; Smells seem to be especially related to our memory power, and the right smell can stimulate our memories of that great trip to Greece. This is what I recommend taking Greece home with you, sniff by sniff. (Unfortunately, there is no easy-to-buy version of outdoor lamb roast on a rotisserie – you’ll have to figure it out yourself at home.)
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Essential oils
In recent years, essential oils have become much easier to find and many of them are processed from the local herbs, flowers and fruits of Greece. Essential oils are generally used in aromatherapy, and many Greek spas use these local oils in that way as well. Since they are so concentrated, they cannot be used as a perfume directly on the skin, although they can be diluted if desired. Depending on the variety, they can range in price from a few euros for a small dropper bottle to around 20 euros for rarer oils. In general, essential oils should not be ingested and some can be toxic or cause allergic reactions or sensitivities in some people.
My personal favorites among essential oils are:
- Dittany of Crete (the most expensive but practically unavailable outside of Greece)
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Cedar
- Wise
- Laurel
- Salty / Thymbri – Also rare outside of Greece and one of the scents from the Greek hillsides that you enjoy without realizing what it is
- Clary sage
Oddly enough, I rarely see basil or oregano oil, both of which would be nice additions to this list.
I keep all my Greek essential oils in one chest and the scent of all of them instantly takes me to Greece.
Apivita, Korres and BioSelect offer essential oils. Some of them are combined into mixtures for specific purposes. Many other companies also offer essential oil scented products.
Herbs
The fragrance of herbs in Greece is recognized: the hot and dry climate tends to concentrate essential oils and make them more powerful and fragrant. Check your country’s import regulations, but in most cases, dried herbs are acceptable. Most herbal stores will also carry natural soaps and other Greek herbal body products. One of my favorite herb stores in Greece is Maravel Herbs in the town of Spili on the island of Crete. The owner makes many herbal products, including creams, lip glosses, and fragrance sprays.
Nor can Greece be beaten by buying saffron: it may have been originally discovered and propagated by the ancient Minoans of Crete. These days, the Kozani region is famous for expensive grass. It is of high quality, with much less undesirable white portions in the saffron threads than I have seen in the highly touted Spanish saffron sold in large US retailers. Secret tip? Buy it from a grocery store, the more Greek the better, rather than a souvenir shop. This is good advice for buying almost any herb in Greece. They will often have been better stored and fresher than the souvenir store stock.
Greek Teas
I love Greek mountain tea, which can be bought in souvenir shops like dried herbs or in grocery stores for about one euro for eight or ten tea bags. It is supposedly a panacea for most ills and is said to give strength to climb mountains, which is useful for the more vigorous tourists.
Dittany of Crete can also be purchased as a pre-made tea bag or in bulk bags.
Sal marina
In many places, the locals use ancient salt flats to collect sea salt. This will often be packed, sometimes in a standard Ziploc type bag, and sold to tourists. It’s wonderful – don’t miss out on bringing something home if it is offered to you. Shine like diamonds in the sun. It really tastes like seawater you accidentally swallowed near shore.
Religious products
You don’t have to be Greek Orthodox to enjoy the many scented products from monasteries and convents in Greece. Look for myrrh oil and rose frankincense, frankincense, and myrrh resin to burn over charcoal. You can also find wonderfully fragrant pure beeswax cone that will immediately remind you of all the little chapels you will have visited during your trip to Greece.
Perfumes
At Athens International Airport, you can take advantage of the duty-free shopping areas on large varieties of internationally famous perfumes at a discount. While few of them have a direct Greek connection, they still comply with Cavafy’s advice. Remember that the usual carry-on restrictions may apply, so choose smaller items or do your shopping before checking your luggage.
If you are at the airport and want something more authentic Greek, stop by the pharmacy in the arrivals area to select body products with various Greek scents and essential oils, or visit the Korres body products store or the Mastica store which offers dozens of Products made with the rare and fragrant resin from the Greek island of Chios. I like toothpaste, sweets, and essential oil, which can be used sparingly to cook some Greek specialties.
Spirits
While these can be a challenge to pack safe enough to take home, the islands of Greece offer a number of fragrant liqueurs that can evoke Greece through taste and aroma. Some of the ones to watch out for include Mastica flavored liquor from the island of Chios and Dicémon liquor from the island of Crete; the latter is supposedly an aphrodisiac and is sometimes sold under the herb’s alternative name, which is convenient enough. for such marketing purposes it is “Eros” or “Erodes”.
Metaxa is also flavored with herbs and rose petals, with a strong flavor that may not work for some. Try it in Greece before taking a bottle home.
The king of Greek-flavored liqueurs, anise-kissed ouzo, is available almost everywhere and packed in souvenir-sized bottles. While anise is the dominant flavor, it actually contains other herbs as well. The strong flavored clear Raki is also found in smaller bottles, but again, give it a try before you buy. There are versions of Raki flavored with honey, cinnamon and fruits (including local blackberry) that can please more palates than simple raki sometimes strong like moonshine.
