Since getting back from Frankfurt, I've been chatting to a few of you about European beauty brands, discussing what you look out for when you go abroad and which products you pick up that you can't readily get hold of here in the UK. I love discovering foreign brands, so I thought I'd compile a quick 'top five' of the best beauty brands that you should look out for when you visit Germany. Where possible, I've also listed where you can get these brands in the UK too, but given the exchange rate, if you're visiting Germany anyway, it's probably going to be much cheaper to buy them there!
1. ARTDECO
ARTDECO is a very popular high-end cosmetics brand in Germany and is described as the country's No.1. It had huge displays in every department store that I visited in Frankfurt and is often available in higher end pharmacies as well. ARTDECO are well known for their 'beauty boxes' which are essentially make up your own palettes, and you'll often see women with one of these in their hands at the display stands as they pour over the shade selections. A beauty box is basically a sleek empty magnetic palette available in various sizes, which you can then customise with your own choice of eyeshadows and blushers. As you can see from the first photo above, there's an enormous range to choose from!
Aside from the beauty boxes, when I spoke to one of ARTDECO's make-up artists she said that the recent Dita Von Teese collection was also selling well, particularly the lipsticks . Prices for ARTDECO's products generally start from around £5-6 for an eyeshadow refill and go up to around £30-35 for a liquid foundation.
Available in the UK? Yes, you can purchase ARTDECO online via Debenhams, Beautybay & Tender Loving Skincare.
2. SANS SOUCIS
SANS SOUCIS is a German natural brand which uses thermal spring water from Baden-Baden (the much loved and revered spa town in Baden-Württemberg) in its products. It uses this unique selling point to mainly promote its range of botanical and mineral rich skincare line, but has also branched out into offering high quality natural cosmetics (as pictured). Prices are mid-high, but there are often good special offers on new products.
Available in the UK? I can't find anywhere that stocks SANS SOUCIS over here. If you know anywhere, please comment below and I'll add it to this post.
3. WELEDA
Oh Weleda! If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that I absolutely love Weleda. This Swiss/German hybrid of a brand is incredibly well known amongst fellow natural/green beauty lovers because Weleda have such a strong ethos about their products being natural and never being tested on animals. Their simple yet effective products come in many forms, with several ranges being available to suit everyone's tastes, and they stock everything related to bath, body, skin and haircare. I'm a big fan of their cult multi-purpose cream Skin Food and their Pomegranate range. Prices are mostly around the mid-high range mark, with skincare being on the higher end.
Available in the UK? Yes, Weleda are available in larger Boots and health food stores, as well as online (Feel Unique, Naturisimo, LoveLula etc).
4. DR. HAUSCHKA
I always like to think of Dr. Hauschka as a natural version of Clinique or Estee Lauder; their displays are very similar and I often find their sales assistants to have the same kind of mannerisms too oddly enough! Dr. Hauschka pride themselves on creating natural and sustainably sourced products that work wonders on the skin and its these ethics (and products that deliver real results) which has seen Dr. Hauschka become a firm favourite of royalty and many celebrities. Primarily known for their skincare and luxury bath products, they also have a make-up range which I really want to try out.
Dr. Hauschka's quality doesn't come cheap; prices start from around £10 for a body wash to around £60-65 for skincare treatments. That said, I always find that the SAs are more than happy to give you free samples of products to try if you ask nicely, and many of their skincare products are available to purchase as handy travel sizes.
Available in the UK? Yes, you buy Dr. Hauschka from John Lewis, Debenhams and Harvey Nichols to name a few, as well as the usual online sites like Feel Unique, and Beautybay etc.
5. LAVERA
Lavera are quite similar to Weleda, but better suited to those on a budget, with most things being very purse friendly typical high-street prices. They stock a fantastic range of great quality toiletries, so it's a good place to start if you happen to lose your luggage on the way to Germany! You'll find everything here from skincare, bodycare, haircare and all the things in between. Like Weleda, most of their products are set out in ranges, so you have their Basis sensitive range where I'd recommend their amazing All Round Cream, and then their Honey range, Rose range and so on.
They also have a good range of make-up which is well worth looking into as well. The prices for Lavera were significantly cheaper in Germany than in the UK, so I stocked up a couple of bits!
Available in the UK? Yes, some larger health food stores like Holland and Barrett stock it, as well as online via Pravera, Naturisimo and Cult Beauty.
I also want to give a quick mention to the budget make-up brand, Essence, who have a fab range of nail polishes for less than 2euros a piece!
Do you love any of these German beauty brands?
Have you ever visited Germany / would you like to?
