Category: Shopping

IKEA and electronic music artists Swedish House Mafia have teamed up to make everyday life easier for those who produce, perform, play, or listen to music. They’ve come together to launch the OBEGRÄNSAD collection which contains more than 20 products (including a record player) that are being launched globally this month. IKEA Kuwait confirmed their products will be launching here soon but hasn’t shared a date.

Personally, I need to pick up a couple of the records stands to replace the current IKEA wooden crates I’m using. They also have a cool records bag which I might pick up. You can check the full collection on the US IKEA page here.

You can also access the IKEA Kuwait OBEGRÄNSAD collection page but there isn’t anything there yet. Here is that link.

Since the British Pound is so low right now I figured I’d post a reminder about the fact that you can order stuff from Amazon UK to Kuwait directly.

Why should you order from Amazon UK?

• As of this post, 1KD = £3
• When you ship stuff to Kuwait directly, the 20% VAT is removed reducing the price considerably
• Even after shipping and local customs, the price pretty much evens out to the UK listed price

This works best with expensive items since the more expensive the item, the more money you save with the VAT removed. The money saved with the VAT you then put towards the shipping cost. This obviously doesn’t work on everything but its worth giving a shot.

Urban Outfitters the lifestyle brand is opening its first store in Kuwait at The Avenues after opening in the UAE and Qatar. I actually passed by the one in Dubai yesterday and I’ve definitely outgrown the brand but, they do carry a good assortment of vinyl records so if we’re lucky those make it to Kuwait.

via @InspiredEdibles

The new iPhone 14 and 14 Pro will be available to pre-order on the Apple website in a few days and if you don’t want to wait for it to officially launch in Kuwait, you can pre-order the phone from Apple directly.

There are two things you need, a US forwarding address like Shop&Ship or MyUS, and a US Apple Store account.

US Forwarding Mailbox
This is something you most likely have already, if not you can get an account by visiting myus.com or shopandship.com and signing up for one. When ordering from Apple.com I always prefer to use MyUS due to the fact the mailbox is located in Florida and so all the items you purchase from Apple are tax free. The amount I save on tax I use to pay for shipping. Last year I paid 16KD to ship the phone from my MyUS mailbox to Kuwait using FedEx 1-3 Days Priority. If you don’t mind waiting there are cheaper shipping options available as well.

US Apple Store Account
Unlike what a lot of people think, you don’t need to have a US credit card to order from the Apple.com website. I have an account that uses my Shop&Ship address as my billing address and my NBK credit card for payments, and I have no issues purchasing laptops and phones from the website and shipping them to my MyUS address. I’ve been doing this for years now and just a couple of weeks back ordered the new MacBook Air that way.

Is it cheaper to buy the iPhone from the US? Yeah, it is. Depending on which iPhone you’re thinking of buying it could be a bit cheaper (and not really worth it) or a lot cheaper. Not only that but you could actually make a bit of money buying an iPhone by reselling it in Kuwait for more than what you paid for since demand, in the beginning, will be a lot higher than availability.

If you have any questions, let me know in the comments.

A Disney store is opening in Avenues Phase 4. I was aware Alshaya had gotten the Disney brand for the MENA region but supposedly just for shop-in-shops where they would open small Disney stores inside existing stores like Debenhams and Mothercare. But, based on the hoarding, looks like they’ll also be opening a standalone store.

I found out about the website and app Nabati from a vegan friend of mine, it’s an online grocery store that specializes in only vegan products. They check the ingredients for each and every product they sell to make sure that what they’re selling is totally vegan making the shopping experience super convenient for vegans.

My two best friends are vegan, well one is an ex-vegan now but I’ve spent a lot of time shopping with them to know it’s a slow process of having to read the ingredients of items they haven’t purchased before to check and see if they’re vegan or not. Having a store where you know everything they’re selling is vegan-friendly takes a lot of hassle out of shopping.

If you’re a vegan, check out nabatistore.com

Dry Drink is an online store that sells non-alcoholic drinks. It’s a UAE-based company but they do deliver in Kuwait by the next day so they must have a local warehouse. I have zero interest in non-alcoholic drinks and I don’t understand why people drink them (there are better-tasting drinks if you don’t want alcohol).

But, if you’re one of those people who enjoy the taste of non-alcoholic gin (🤢) or other drinks, Dry Drink seems to have a good variety of options, most of which I haven’t come across before.

They offer free delivery if you order 30KD or more worth of drinks and they offer taster bundles which is a good way to try a variety of different drinks on a budget. If you want to check it out, here is the link.

This is a very specific post to help anyone ever looking for Loctite products in Kuwait. If there is a specific Loctite product you can’t find at hardware stores like Ace, the Loctite distributor is located in Shuwaikh. A friend for example needed Loctite 660 and he couldn’t find it anywhere except at the dealer. The shop has a generic name and is called Al-Hashemi Const. Materials. They are also dealers for other brands including Devcon, Never-Seez and Moly Slip. If you try to find the place on Google Maps it will take you to the wrong location (their old shop), the actual location is here (inside this plaza).

The very popular luxury piercing studio Maria Tash opened in the Prestige section of Avenues right next door to Harvey Nichols. They opened a few months ago but I only just noticed since their location isn’t in a part of Avenues I frequent a lot. This is now probably the best place in Kuwait to get your piercings since they’re always pioneering techniques and have nearly 30 years of experience. They don’t have a dedicated Kuwait Instagram account but their main account is @mariatash

The Palestinian Culture Center has been operating in Kuwait since the early 1970s with the goal of preserving, developing, and disseminating Palestinian material heritage. They hold exhibitions yearly where they sell hand-stitched dresses, shawls, and cushions, as well as handmade ceramics, books, and food aimed to preserve the Palestinian national identity. But recently, the PCC launched an online shop where they sell the same items but minus the food. Their pricing policy is based on a formula where one-third of the price goes towards the cost of materials, one-third is the fee they pay the ladies doing the work, and one-third helps students and families in need.

Check out their website, your support helps sustain the livelihoods of more than 350 Palestinian refugee women and their families. Here is the link.

I’m a fan of Pelican products, I’ve bought two cases before and they’ve been indestructible while also keeping my gear very safe. The two cases I have, one I got locally from Al-Sabih Marine, while the second one from eBay. This past weekend I came across a local Instagram account that not only carries Pelican cases but also other Pelican products including backpacks and coolers. So if you’re looking for Pelican products, the Instagram account is @pelican.kw and their website is upay.to/kuwaitioffroad

If you haven’t been to Monoprix yet you’re missing out on a lot including their Water Bar. The Water Bar is their selection of premium water and it’s similar to how Dean & Deluca had a nice premium waters section when they first opened that looked like a vodka section. But, what makes Monoprix different is how expensive some of the bottles are with their most expensive one costing 40KD for a bottle of “handcrafted water” called Bling H2O which was voted the best tasting water in the world.

I’m not about to drop 40KD on a bottle to find out how good the water tastes but I might get a less fancy 5KD water the next time I get invited to dinner at a friend’s place. It could be the Kuwait equivalent of bringing a bottle of wine. Although, since we are on the subject of alcohol, Monoprix does carry a good selection of non-alcoholic wines, Champagnes, and even whisky.

Bakers’ Point is a new supermarket that focuses on everything baking-related. They describe themselves as “the first all-inclusive baking destination” and they might be just that. I passed by over the weekend and the place is pretty nice and fairly big for what is essentially just a baking supplies store.

The supermarket is divided into three essential parts. The first area is filled with all the different ingredients you might need (they have a huge variety of flour btw), the second section is frozen and refrigerated items, and the last section is baking tools and accessories.

It’s a pretty nice idea and a lot of the items come in wholesale packaging which is great if you’re a pro-hobbyist. They oddly don’t have a website but they are open daily from 7AM to 10PM. If you want to check them out they’re on Instagram @bakerspoint.kw and here is their location on Google Maps.

Basic Beach is a cool new and local sustainable brand with designs inspired and influenced by the oceans and its creatures. All their waterwear is made out of recycled material while their packaging is made of plants that decompose after a short period of time and can be used as compost.

Their first collection includes rashguards, swim shorts, surfsuits and fun t-shirts designed by local Kuwaiti artist @notnorrah. Their stuff isn’t too crazy expensive so if you want to shop their collection, they’re on Instagram @shop.basicbeach and their website is basic-beach.com

Yesterday Monoprix finally opened in Assima Mall so I passed by briefly today to check it out and wow. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but definitely not what I saw. Monoprix is easily the nicest looking supermarket in Kuwait right now. Like completely blows everything else out of the water.

Everything from the veggies section to the fish section looks incredible and its definitely going to be my new goto supermarket.

They have a shop and go service as well where you can shop for groceries and then have them deliver it to you later. While browsing the shelves I found a lot of brands I hadn’t seen anywhere else so it’s not just the same products in a nicer environment.

On the other hand, there aren’t any self check out stations which sucks. If you want to pass by check it out, they’re open daily from 9AM till midnight.