Watt Brothers

Watt Brothers is proof that tight-fisted old Scottish Grannies have got it right.

From the delightfully cheap towels and bedding to the very reasonably priced luggage and - of course - the deliciously thrifty end-of-line make-up that they stock, you can't beat this place for a bargain.

Yes, it's a bit dingy and scabby, but that's just part of the experience. I'd advise you to go when it's quiet, but the ting about pensioners is that they don't exactly wait til their day off to go shopping.

It's very outdated, and it's not at all cool. But... well, it does the job!

Watt Brothers is an absolute gem of a shop for stocking up in big brand makeup and beauty products. I really do wonder why I ever went anywhere else. There are shelves stacked with all manner of products from Urban Decay lip gloss to Maxfactor
compact powder (including the hilariously named shade: gay whisper).

There are several floors including a towels and bedding section, where you can get good quality bedding and towels for around a fiver each.

You will have to dodge some doddering grey haired grannies to bag the bargains, but If it's where the grannies are at then you know it's good.

Don't be put off by all the...how shall I put it...older than average customers piling into this store or the 'bargains' advertised in the window. There is much more to it.

The beauty section is a must for any beauty-obsessives - you will find brands such as Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Urban Decay and YSL with big discounts. I always buy my YSL touche eclat here for a bargain £17.50 - exactly the same quality for a fraction of the price. Get yourself down here pronto.

Be aware though - the layout of this store is tres confusing (split levels and the like) but it's worth the hassle.

The Watt Brother's is one of these shops that looks like a hole, and probably full of tat. Well, as the other reviewer notes, looks can be deceiving (it's not all crap in this shop). On several of the occasions I've been in, the shop has held many offers - it often has Lindtt chocolate on special (and in date. Always a bonus!), perfumes for cheap (no knock offs, genuine stuff, honest guv) and cosmetics (Maybelline, Dior (!), Clinique, Benefit). Pretty decent, eh?

Sure enough, you can still find tat - if that's what you're looking for. Whilst searching through the store, I have found such lovely items, like garden gnomes (creepy. Really creepy), old fashioned granny knickers (literally called "Granny pants" - Bridget Jones would have been proud) and of course, no shop is complete without those scary little figurines/ornaments that look like they belong in some horrible fairy tale (one was a two headed cat in a cat basket, no joke... or those creepy fairies which sit on those weird toadstools - quite gothic and creepy though, not the nice-looking ones!).

The store also boasts many, many other items, so whatever you're looking for, they probably have it, or a version of it. Promise.

Now, from the outside of this shop I was under the (mistaken) impression that Watt Brothers was some sort of classy, old-fashioned department store. After walking past it with interest for some time now - I finally took the plunge and went inside.

And you know what? I was pretty seriously disappointed. The inside of the Watt Brothers store is badly decorated and kinda cheap looking to say the least. Yes, they sell perfume and make-up at discounted prices - but to me it seemed like the bulk of the cosmetics section was taken up by shelves and shelves of fake tan.

In fact, after quite a short perusal my boyfriend informed me that we had to leave - because he decided that just being in the shop was putting him in danger of becoming a chav by osmosis. Unsurprisingly, we didn't stay for too long after that.

If you were going to build a place like Watt Brothers today, 'you wouldn't start from here', as they say. It has the strange ability to appear smaller inside than it does on the outside, like an inverse TARDIS. Lots of rooms, lots of levels and corners mean that it's easy to lose your sense of direction, and there seems to be a distinct lack of fire exits by today's standards, leaving me always feeling just a tiny bit anxious and making sure I always know where the exits are when I'm wandering about inside.

The place looks like it's out of a time warp from the fifties, and probably hasn't been decorated since then either. It's one of the few stores left in Glasgow like this, and should be preserved as a national treasure on that basis alone; but it's the bargains and the eclectic array of goods that bring people back here.

It's a great first port of call if you're not sure where to find a particular item that the more generic chains don't stock. I've often spent ages wandering around other stores looking for something without success, only to find it in Watt Bros. They're particularly good for luggage bargains, and I've bought my last three suitcases from here as they're so much cheaper than elsewhere.

If you're looking for something, but don't know exactly what, this is the place. If you're not looking for something, and just want to wander round a shop that seems to be Tardis like in it's interior, this is also the place.

It's a very strange place to describe.

"What does it sell?" - Well, everything... and nothing. Everything you could possibly want, and tons of stuff that you never knew you wanted or need. Having said that, you will walk out with stuff by the ton.

Example: I needed to get a wedding gift for a friend. I don't have much experience in the way of the wedding gift giving, and panic set in. Then I remembered Watt Brothers. I wandered in, and within 15 minutes, I'd made my purchase - a nice little silver picture frame with a wedding ring theme. I'm a thoughtful kinda guy sometimes, and not even by accident.

That was the thing that I went in to buy.

I also left with several packets of Mint Poppets - the best kind, and if you say anything else, then you're entitled to your opinion, no matter HOW WRONG IT IS - some energy drinks, a couple of gift bags, a packet of dish scrubbing thingmabobs, and a packet of batteries.

It's that kind of shop.

It's somewhat of a Glasgow institution (branches in Hamilton and Lanark also, fact fans) and their prices are blindingly cheap on some stuff.

Got some time to kill, cash to spare and space in your home for a hundred and one things you never knew you needed? This is the place! Take a map, a compass and possibly a St Bernard with a flask of brandy round it's neck in case you get lost.

I think dismissing this grubby but well-loved store as being a dive full of chavs is both inaccurate and missing the point entirely. Watt Brother's customers might well be different to that of Frasers and John Lewis, they might indeed use the buses and come from some of the periphery estates, but there is nothing chavvy about the bargain hunting pensioners who shop here.

Admittedly there's little about the range of cosmetics and homeware that interests me on a consumer level, but the old-fashioned charm of the store and it's soon to be coffin dwelling clientele gives some much needed character to this city centre shopping street. Long live Watt Brothers, a store well loved even by those who never use it.

Shhh!
Don't mention a word of this to anyone!
You like make up, right?
What if I said you could get some Urban Decay for £2?

Watt Brothers is a sneaky wee place. It throws you off the scent by putting towels, bedding and other boring stuff in the windows, then plants little old ladies all over the place to make the young hip people like me ignore it completely.

Well, your secret is out!

There is a secret make up stash at the back of the ground floor of this place. You can see it from the door, assuming you are, like me, head and shoulders above all the slow-moving little grey heads. If you can manouvre round these pensioners without knocking them over or getting entangled in the zimmer frames, then you've made it!

Along with other brands where everything seems to cost 99p, sometimes big names can be found. One time I found Urban Decay lipliners and eyeliners for £2 each. Another time they had Benefit eyeshadows for £4. They seem to have a pretty regular supply of Bourjois, and the mascaras are always worth checking out too....

It's pot luck when you go in here, and sometimes there is nothing of interest, but it's kinda fun, and when you do find something, you leave with a little tight-fisted glow of happiness.

This store has a multitude of items at great prices.
I would recommend it to anyone that up for a barging. Quality products and nice staff.