Adjusting to Life in Spain: Damn, I Can’t Find My Favorite Products Here!

Click here to read the previous post, Adjusting to Life in Spain: A Day Trip to El Escorial

After writing about trips to historical monasteries during a thunderstorm, private tours of the empty Museo del Prado after hours, and putting my introverted self out there to meet new people in a foreign country, it’s time to write about something really important.

Where the hell do I find all my favorite products?!?!

It took me years, nay decades, to find supplements, beverages, hair and facial care, and clothes that A) I love, B) fit me, C) are important for my health and D) are reasonably priced. But now that I’m living in Spain, I have to start that excursion all over again. And by god I’m still exhausted from the last round.

Allow me to walk you through a few examples.

1) Socks

Yes, socks. Calcetines. Ordinary, everyday footwear-adjacent clothing items.

In the U.S., or at least in L.A., if you need a new pair of socks, you just walk into any Target or CVS and buy a six-pack for twelve bucks (or even Lassen’s if you’re looking for bamboo socks).

In Madrid, I’ve yet to find a Target equivalent. And pharmacies here are either farmacias (for prescription medications and other pharmaceuticals) or parafarmacias (for non-prescription health products), but neither sell anything even close to clothing.

There is a major department store here called El Corte Inglés (The English Cut, as in Savile Row) which is considered a one-stop shop – unless that one-stop shopping item is socks! In Madrid’s el centro (central Madrid) there are four El Corte Inglés buildings with between one and nine floors per building. But the only socks I found were in the sports department and all had sports logos on them and cost roughly €12 ($13) per pair.

SOLUTION: I just discovered Primark, a “discount fashion chain offering clothes and accessories for all ages, plus homewares” where I stocked up on a couple of five-packs for €3.50 ($3.80) per pack!!!

2) Cream

Ok, this isn’t a product I can’t find for home use; this is something that doesn’t seem to exist in cafés and restaurants.

I like my Earl Grey tea or, on the rare occasion I order it, coffee with cream. Not milk. Cream. And not half and half with a splash of Polysorbate 80. Actual cream.

But café con crema (coffee with cream) seems to be some kind of fancy booze-infested dessert drink or custard-like cream.

And when I asked for café con nata (coffee with cream), I got whipped cream:

I’ve been asking friends here what I should order, and the answer is either “leche” (milk) or “no sé” (I don’t know).

SOLUTION: Drink matcha instead. 😜

3) Matcha Powder

Everyone knows I’m a matcha enthusiast (read: freakin’ obsessed fanatic who won’t stop talking about it). In Los Angeles, Lassen’s sells a very good quality matcha powder, but even Trader’s Joe’s has some surprisingly good matcha (in single-serve packets, no less!).

Here in Madrid I went to three different tea or otherwise alternative-type shops, bought three different tins or pouches of the green powder (all running between €20-27), and then shoved them into the back of my cupboard three different times. They all tasted awful.

SOLUTION: One day I was strolling through Chueca, a barrio (neighborhood) in the northern part of Madrid’s el centro (historical, cultural and commercial heart of the city). Ooh, fun fact: Chueca hosts the annual Madrid Pride (Orgullo) celebrations, which is one of the largest Pride events in Europe.

But I digress…. As I was strolling, I happened to pass a small Japanese market run by a Spaniard, popped in, and discovered that they sold matcha té en polvo (matcha tea powder). And for only €13.50! Back home I eagerly whisked up a cup and voila! Delicious. A week later I went back and bought two more tins, telling the guy he’d be seeing me on a regular basis.

4) Modifilan

I have been taking the natural supplement Modifilan for almost twenty years and, fortunately, never had to think twice about it as it made in and shipped from the U.S.

This natural, whole-food extract from brown seaweed contains organic iodine, alginates, laminarin and fucoidan, which help boost the immune system, protect against cancer, decrease high blood sugar and cholesterol levels, detoxify the body from radioactive elements and free radicals, such as are deposited in the body from chemotherapy and radiation, and improve the function of the gastrointestinal tract.

And I can’t find it anywhere in Spain, online or in real life.

SOLUTION: Finally, I called the company that makes it in the States – and, as an extra bonus, spoke to the same person I spoke to 20 years ago who patiently answered all my questions back then! He agreed to ship it to me directly and, because we both anticipated the shipping process to be a pain in the butt, I purchased a one-year supply of it.

After two weeks, the package crossed the Atlantic (which I knew thanks to the handy tracking number) and then I got a knock on the door from the Post Office with a letter from Correos Aduanas, Spanish Customs, advising me that they required several different documents before they would release it to me. I went to the website and after trying to make head or tails of what I was supposed to do (both in Spanish and in English), I Zoomed with my Spanish teacher for her help in deciphering the overly wordy and underly clear instructions.

It took the two of us about half an hour to figure it out (including the part where my documents wouldn’t upload until I decided to try a different browser). I was super relieved until the next day when I received an email saying that one of my documents was not acceptable. One of the documents that I downloaded from the customs website (where it said “Download this document, fill it out, and then upload it”) was not the right form. What the shit?!?

I took a chance and uploaded a different document (not one from their site, but an official doc I’d received from the government about my right to live and, apparently, have packages delivered to me, in Spain), and that one was accepted by Customs. A day or two later I got yet another email (“Oh for crap’s sake, NOW WHAT???”) from them: I had to pay their custom fee of €95 ($104). The best part was the follow-up email that cheerfully told me I was getting “free shipping” for this package from the customs office in Madrid to my apartment in Madrid.

Two weeks went by and I didn’t hear anything. And then in the middle of my online Spanish class, my doorbell rang. I excused myself with my teacher and jumped up to answer the door – it was my package!!

All I can say is: Thank god I bought a year’s supply of it!!!

5) Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is one of those things I always had in my medicine cabinet in the States.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a chemical compound consisting of two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, and is a mild antiseptic. I use it as a disinfectant for cuts on my skin, as a rinse or gargle for mouth and throat irritations, and in my ears to loosen ear wax and clean the ears. I also use it as a general household cleaner, especially for sanitizing surfaces and cleaning minor stains. And in the past, I rubbed it on my hair and then sat out in the sun to lighten my hair color.

It’s cheap, safe and effective. In fact, here are 50 uses of hydrogen peroxide!

But I couldn’t find it anywhere in Madrid. In fact, no one had even heard of it.

SOLUTION: One day I mentioned it to my Spanish teacher. She hadn’t heard of hydrogen peroxide either, but when I described what it’s used for, she said, “Oh! That’s called agua oxigenada here.” Lo and behold, it’s sold everywhere here!

6) Hairspray

What kind of uncivilized country doesn’t sell hairspray?!?!

Ok, Spain does sell hairspray, but ONLY in aerosol cans, not pump sprays.

Why do I care?

Aerosol hairsprays used to contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were harmful to the ozone layer, and CFCs (and their use as aerosol propellants) were banned under the Clean Air Act in the 1970s in the U.S. Since then, manufacturers have reformulated aerosol hairsprays to use other propellants, such as hydrocarbons or compressed gases, which are less harmful to the environment.

However, aerosol products, including hairspray, are still regulated (regulated!) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. to make sure they meet certain safety and environmental standards. Which, if you know anything about big industry, they very likely don’t.

So this is why I’m not too keen on using aerosol hairspray. Also, as a follow-up complaint, in Spain these cans of hairspray come in one size – huge (no tossing a mini bottle into your purse for touch-ups).

SOLUTION: Grin and bear it for now. And try not to get knocked backwards by the sheer force of the aerosol propellant.

7) Skincare Products

And the last “Damn, I Can’t Find My Favorite Products!” item on this list is actually several skincare products. Over the years I’ve found perfect (for my skin type and color) products that I use daily and have taken for granted because they’re so easy to find in the U.S. But, alas, no more.

One is a face lotion with SPF. As a very pale Caucasian, I use sunscreen on my face every day of the year, rain or shine, sleet or snow. And as a gal with combo dry/oily skin, I need a lotion that is neither too oily nor too drying. (God, what a tough life, huh? ← That’s sarcasm, by the way.) Plus, who wants chemicals and other garbage in your face products? Enter stage right: Andalou Naturals skincare products.

Another is an undereye concealer – specifically a yellow concealer. Because I’ve been blessed with dark purple shadows and puffy bags under my eyes, without using concealer, I look like I’ve just lost a fight. Seriously, when I don’t use this correcting make-up under my eyes and go out in public, I regularly get asked if I’m sick or I’ve been crying. Enter stage right: Maybelline Cover Stick Corrector (Yellow).

And, finally, lip gloss with color. It took me years to find a lip product that wasn’t drying, like most lipsticks, but that had a nice color, unlike most lip balm, and wasn’t sticky, like most lip gloss. Enter stage right: Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer, fig colored.

These three products seem like they’d be easy to find here in Spain, or certainly the equivalent from another brand. So far that is not the case.

SOLUTION: I sent images and names to my mom to purchase half a dozen of each item and then bring with her when she comes to visit later in the month.

So, I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Target. The ability to buy a lot of different things in one store was definitely a convenience. However, I am determined to adjust to life in Spain and if that means crisscrossing the city to visit six different stores each time I’m looking for something specific, then so be it!

Click here to read the next post, Adjusting to Life in Spain: 5 Days in Galicia

Note: All photos taken or created (using DALL-E) by Selena Templeton, unless otherwise noted.

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