Frankfurt Airport is one of the biggest in Europe, it’s a well-known point to have a layover when you’re on a long journey, and it’s coincidentally the airport I know best. And because we all love a sneaky duty free bargain, why not have a look at my Frankfurt Airport beauty shopping guide?
Stocking up on beauty products at the airport
Frankfurt Airport has two terminals. The larger, Terminal 1, is the one we’re dealing with in this post. It is the one that’s not only the hub for Lufthansa, but also the terminal that Star Alliance airlines use. Nearly all flights to Asia and America depart from there. It ALSO has its own train station, a shopping and restaurant area above that (called the Squaire) and a few hotels. (Yup, it’s huge.)
And, coming for beauty shopping purposes, it has the biggest drugstore in the airport area, Rossmann. Not my favourite German drugstore, but it’s nice to stock up on travel necessities before you lift off. Please note that there isn’t a drugstore inside the terminal, so if you need something desperately, you better stock up there. Just follow signs to the Hilton hotels, and you’ll find it above the train station. Note also that the way towards the terminal is long, and you’ll need about 10mins or more to reach your check-in area. (If you’re headed towards Terminal 2, it’s even longer. Best check beforehand.)
How to get to the duty free area
Terminal 1 is huge (shocker), with four different areas (map): A, B, C & Z. My flights to Asia usually depart from area Z, so that’s what I’ll show you. There’s a big duty free shop (Heinemann), and some smaller ones in each area (A, B or C), and usually, you can’t switch between areas. You go through immigration and security that leads to the one your flight departs from, and that’s it.
So, if you go to area Z, you’ll go to upstairs, through passport control and security, and enter into that mecca of cosmetics called Heinemann Duty Free. It’s weirdly clinical looking with its white floors and wide corridors for easy passing through with a trolley, but it delivers the goods, and that’s what counts.
What’s Heinemann?
Heinemann is a chain of duty free shops, with shops in various airport in Germany, Austria, Poland, Italy, and Australia. As with all duty free shops, they offer the usual beauty products, tobacco and alcohol, next to various knick-knacks.
In Frankfurt, you can get all sorts of funny Germany paraphernalia – Bayern München football shirts, a meter long package full of mini Ritter Sport chocolates, and Lindt chocolates in all forms. SAs are usually bi-lingual, friendly and helpful. (I’ve heard them speaking German, English and Mandarin with ease, so don’t be shy if you’ve got a question.)
What’s there, beauty-wise?
If you’re looking for some travel necessities, they offer some tampons, plastic containers, pouches, water bottles etc., but there’s also a pharmacy just around the corner for your more serious needs.
Weirdly, Heinemann seems to have struck a deal with LVMH, because they don’t stock Lauder brands any more apart from La Mer and a few value sets (Clinique, Smashbox, Estée Lauder). No MAC, no Bobbi Brown. For me, it sucks, because I used to pick up Clinique and EL staples there for years with the discount they offer.
Makeup, hair, nail and skincare brands you can still find (and have their own displays): (in no particular order) OPI, Nuxe, L’Oreal, Artdeco, Maroccan Oil, The Body Shop, Tony & Guy, Sisley, Lancome, Urban Decay, Lipstick Queen, Tom Ford, Chanel, Dior, Guerlain, YSL, Armani, Sk-II and Helena Rubinstein. In the perfume section there’re a lot more brands to find (have a look at their site to check).
How to save
Heinemann’s prices are generally under the retail price in Germany. Given that, for example, the M2 eyelash serum is around 125€ at Douglas, the 98€ one at Heinemann feels like a steel. They have seasonal collections from makeup brands as well. Sometimes you can find sold out items there much longer than in a high-street store. What makes beauty shopping especially appealing, though, are two saving card programmes.
There’s the Frankfurt Airport card, which has a simple points system (1€ – 1 point) that you can redeem. If you shop in other stores a lot (Samsonite luggage or a tub of caviar, maybe?) it might be worth it, but I rely on Heinemann’s own card. They also have a points system, but much more interesting are the vouchers you’ll often get as a member. I get one approximately every quarter, and they’re mostly 15% off vouchers.
You also get a birthday gift card, which was 10€ the last year, and is valid for one year. For more details, have a look at their page. Also, you get vouchers for a free drink or discount vouchers for airport hotels and rental cars companies regularly. A free coffee is always welcome!
All in all, their prices, coupled with their regular discounts, makes it a no-brainer to shop there if you have a list of things you want to/need to buy, like staples, higher priced items like fragrances etc.
The beauty shopping opportunities at Frankfurt Airport are by no means stellar. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to save a bit on some great brands if you take advantage on the Heinemann rewards system. Not too shabby before you’ll experience the soul-crushing pain of being cooped up in a sardine tin with hundreds of other people, hurtling through the air!
