toiletries shop

[heyt]

Hello,

In Hungarian we use a given word for a shop that sells cosmetics and toiletries, and I would like to ask someone if there is a word for it in English as well, or if we should say ' a cosmetics and toiletries shop'.

Thank you very much,
heyt

[Ouisch]

In the US, such a shop would be called a "drug store." Grocery stores and department stores (such as Wal-Mart) also sell cosmetics and toiletries, but if a person wants a large variety of shampoos and soaps and eye shadow and lipstick and such from which to choose, he or she would go to a drug store.

[heyt]

Thank you very much.

Is drug store also the place where you can buy prescribed medicine?

In Hungary, shops that sell cosmetics and toiletres sell only medicine that are not prescribed drugs.

[SoothingDave]

Not a teacher.

"Pharmacy" is the fancy American word, but "drug store" is common as well.

In Britain, they call it a "chemist."

[emsr2d2]

Not a teacher.

"Pharmacy" is the fancy American word, but "drug store" is common as well.

In Britain, they call it a "chemist."

It's not quite as simple as that in the UK. A chemist's is mainly where you go to get prescription medication. Smaller ones literally only do that, and sell a small amount of non-prescription medication, things like First Aid items, condoms etc. Larger ones do stock toiletries, though not necessarily cosmetics.

Then you get to the chain store variety (Boots, for instance, which used to be called "Boots the Chemists") which do everything: prescriptions, opticians, cosmetics, toiletries, some electrical items (hairdryers etc) and even food and drink.

A shop which only sells toiletries and cosmetics, but no drugs? I can't think of a word which would describe such a shop. We would generally have to refer to it by the specific company name.

[SoothingDave]

Thanks. I wasn't sure if the British "chemists" had expanded their offerings like the drug stores in America. Some of them here even sell beer and milk and have blurred the line between drug store and supermarket.

[SoothingDave]

Thank you very much.

Is drug store also the place where you can buy prescribed medicine?

In Hungary, shops that sell cosmetics and toiletres sell only medicine that are not prescribed drugs.

Yes, in America it is common that the place for prescribed medicine also sells what we call "over-the-counter" medicines (no prescription required) and many other things. The presence of a licensed professional pharmacist is the reason for the store. But they offer many other medicinal items. And, increasingly, cosmetics and food items, candy, small gifts, newspapers, etc.

[BobK]

Not a teacher.

"Pharmacy" is the fancy American word, but "drug store" is common as well.

In Britain, they call it a "chemist."

Not just 'fancy American'; I'd say it was Global English. Many languages have a cognate for 'pharmacy', and maybe a better-hidden one for 'chemist' if any at all - e.g. Fr pharmacie (with chimie, phonetically more distant anyway, leading the student down the wrong semantic track anyway; in the 1950s I had a chemistry set with instructions that said I could buy extra chemicals from a chemist, but not many chemists do that any more - try going into Superdrug and asking for a gram of Potassium Permanganate!).

Besides, because the USA owed so much to immigration, Am English tends to favour more widely accessible vocabulary. It may sound hi-falutin to a Br English ear, but it's not.

b

[emsr2d2]

try going into Superdrug and asking for a gram of Potassium Permanganate!).


b

Ha ha!! Now you've made me want to try that! Potassium Permanaganate was my favourite chemical at school - just because it burnt purple, my favourite colour!

[Ouisch]

Not a teacher.

"Pharmacy" is the fancy American word, but "drug store" is common as well.

It's not a "fancy" word, but rather a legal term. For example, in the US a drug store under construction (even chains like Rite Aid or Walgreen's) have to cover up the "pharmacy" part of their "Coming Soon!" outdoor signage until the store has been inspected by and approved by the state's Board of Pharmacy. A pharmacy indicates that there is a board-certified pharmacist on duty who is licensed to dispense prescription drugs.