Berlin Beauty Shopping Guide

A beauty addict and visiting Berlin? Or a Berliner but just curious on a Berlin beauty shopping guide? As a Berliner for 8 years and a beauty addict myself, I thought I’d share my go-to spots for shopping for beauty items in Berlin!

I wish I’ve done this earlier, but to my defense, Berlin is a city that changes a lot. The startup boom, the hipsters, the shops! Back then we only have two MAC stores, and now we have eight! I feel like every time I was about to write a guide, a new shop popped up or a shop changed its location. Nevertheless, here is one now, and I will do my best to update it every now and then, and feel free to ask in the comment section.

First up, for more on how to beauty shop in Germany in general, you can go to our where to shop for beauty products in Germany here. There you could find the general drugstore, department store, pharmacy, German products kind of info. We also have a beauty guide in Frankfurt here, in case you’re having a layover there before going to Berlin ;).

Berlin Beauty Shopping

Berlin is one of those big city that doesn’t exactly have a single center. We have different neighborhood / Kiez, and each Kiez has its own personality. It is more or less reflects in the selection of beauty stores available there. Mitte tends to be hip and cool, Charlottenburg tends to be sophisticated and more brand oriented, Kreuzberg tends to be very bohemian chic, and Prenzlauerberg lends more towards somewhat mature, hip, yoga-ish (think Lulu Lemon).

But I understand that sometimes you don’t have that much time to explore AND shop, so I’m going to start you off with the one-stop-shopping options.

The Department Stores

There are two major department stores for beauty shopping in Berlin, KaDeWe and Galleries Lafayette.

KaDeWe

Address: Tauentzienstraße 21–24, 10789 Berlin, U Wittenbergplatz

KaDeWe, short from Kaufhaus des Westens is the epitome of capitalism in Berlin. It’s a major department store with (mostly) luxury brands and a really nice food floor (one to send your non-beauty enthusiasts travel mates to). Currently it’s undergoing a major renovation to modernize the shop, but you definitely still be able to shop there. It has the most beauty brands available : MAC, Tom Ford, Chanel, Dior, La Mer, Shiseido, Kanebo Sensai, Giorgio Armani, Bobbi Brown, Urban Decay, Yves Saint Laurent, Lancome, Kiehl’s, L’Occitane, Dr Hauschka, Aesop, Benefit, Bare Minerals, Clarins, Clinique, Korres, By Terry, and exclusive green brands like Ilia and Kjaer Weiss.

Galeries Lafayette

Französische Straße 23 – 10117 Berlin, U Französischesstr.

It’s tiny in comparison to the one in Paris, but it has a floor full of beauty brands. In my experience, the service is usually on the friendlier side, although sometimes they are understaffed so things could be slower. Apart from the usual high end brands like Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani, and Lancome, they also have Laura Mercier, Givenchy, and Bella Pierre.  They also have a great food section on the gourmet floor, with emphasis on the patisserie, cheese, and french wine (obviously).

Insider note: From time to time they are doing a 15-20% discount on beauty products. You do need to be a membership card (it’s free and perhaps you’d have an extra discount too when purchasing for the first time).

Other Department Stores / Shopping Malls

Adding a few here that’s worth stopping by if you’re in the area!

Galeria Kaufhof in Alexanderplatz

Alexanderstraße 9, 10178 Berlin, S+U Alexanderplatz

Even though it’s neither as impressive as KaDeWe nor unique like Galeries Lafayette, it’s located right in Alexanderplatz, and you won’t miss it when you’re there. It has a pretty good selection of brands, has some of the German organic brands, and OPI nail polishes.

Alexa Shopping Center

Grunerstraße 20, 10179 Berlin, S+U Alexanderplatz

Yes it’s not recommended to go to a shopping center in Europe. However, if you’re looking a one stop shopping for Kiko (), Yves Rocher, Rituals, The Body Shop, Fresh Line Cosmetics, Douglas, and Rossmann products, you’d have it there!

Mall of Berlin

Leipziger Pl. 12, 10117 Berlin, S+U Potsdamerplatz

It’s kind of a glammed version of Alexa. It also has Douglas, The Body Shop, and Rituals. It lacked brands like Kiko, but has a MAC store, flormar (a Turkish beauty brand), dm, and cosmo (for hair products). It’s located in Potsdamerplatz, which you’d be most likely going to when you’re visiting Berlin.

The Districts

The fun part of exploring the stores in Europe is to go on the shopping street. On these districts you’d find many dm-s, Rossmanns, and the pharmacies (Apotheke) to get brands like La Roche Posay, Avene, Vichy, Caudalie, and the likes. Here’s where to go to.

Kurfürstendamm in Charlottenburg

The whole street is just simply a shopping heaven! After your venture to KaDeWe, start walking up Tauentzienstrasse to the direction of Kudamm. Along the way you will find the more affordable brands on the way like H&M, Zara, Kiko, Rituals, passing one of the good Douglas store (where they have Urban Decay), & Other Stories, another MAC store, Aesop, and lots of designer labels like Chanel, Hermes, and so on. Popping by to the side street for Kryolan and Belle Rebelle.  Make sure you’re walking down until the Burberry store where they have their beauty collection.

PS: When the weather is nice, go to the roof of Bikini Berlin and do some monkey watching while sipping some coffee from Concierge Coffee!

Mitte – Hackeschermarkt

Mitte = Center, and possibly as you would have guessed, it’s where the trendy hip people are. There, the Berlin style tends to go more minimalistic (mostly black) with (sometimes) pops of color. Here you would rarely see people do a Kim Kardashian or Huda Beauty contouring style, but would totally rock a bold lip!

Around this area my favorite shop is Wheadon, which sells selected organic brands and offers beauty treatments. They stock Und Gretel, which is a luxury organic beauty brand from Berlin. Other prominent shops in this area: MAC Pro Store in Hackeschermarkt, Aesop at Alte Schönhauser Str. , and & Other Stories.

Tips: When in Hackeschermarkt, instead of Starbucks, grab the coffee at Ben Rahim! It’s my favorite coffee in Berlin :). Also, when walking along Alte Schönhauser Str., stop by at Paper & Tea (Berlin based!) for some exquisite tea collection and Zeit for Brot for cinnamon rolls.

Mitte – Friedrichstrasse

This area reminded me more of the banking center. It is where Galeries Lafayette are, and next to it is the Quartier 206 which carries some luxury brands like By Terry, Chantecaille, Und Gretel, Rodial, Uslu Airlines, Face Stockholm. Along Friedrichstrasse you’ll find the Douglas on the corner of Unter den Linden is pretty good too!

Quartier 206 is also very pretty on the inside. Usually on Saturday afternoon, the grand piano is played on the cafe downstairs (that happens to connect to Galeries Lafayette).

Prenzlauerberg

There are a lot of small boutiques and specialty beauty stores in this neighborhood. One of the favorites is Jack’s Beauty Department. It has cult brands like Und Gretel, Ellis Faas, and my favorite nail wrap from Berlin: Miss Sophie’s.

So there you go! I know I’m still missing a lot of places, especially in Kreuzberg (there should be some nice local perfumeries and organic stores there) and Schoeneberg/Steglitz. Currently those are my go-to for Berlin beauty shopping! Feel free to suggest your favorite places or ask in the comments, hope this guide helps you!