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What beauty brands are common to your country that visitors should try to find?
What beauty brands are common to your country that visitors should try to find? Share!
I think IT Cosmetics doesn’t have very wide distribution, and that’s definitely a brand worth looking for! Some of Sephora’s exclusive brands (Make Up For Ever, Kat Von D, Marc Jacobs Beauty) would be worth checking out, too.
Thanks to Anna for today’s question! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
Thailand
Mistine
Cosluxe
In2it 4U2
are awesome
Can anyone recommend something to look for while I’m in Australia?
Australis for makeup.
If you’re into skincare, Trilogy and for bodycare Aromatherapy Co. (they’re both New Zealand brands I think).
I got an Australis nail polish last time I was there. The brand seemed interesting, I think I’ll have to check more of their stuff out.
Lucky you, going to Oz!!!
You need to try skincare brand Antipodes (it’s actually from New Zealand – if you’re from the UK, then there’s no rush because I think it’s available there). I adoooore their Aura Manuka honey mask!!! You can find Antipodes at Myers in the major cities. I was also happy to find testers of Burberry make-up products there, because those are really tricky to find!
Jurlique is an Australian skincare brand and difficult to find (or excruciatingly expensive) where I live.
Have a great trip!
Cheers from Switzerland
Australis for sure! The Velour Lips liquid lipstick range is the bomb.com 🙂 Especially the newer colors (Doo-bai, Buda-pash, Shang-hi)
Definitely try the Natio line (in my comments below)
Head to Priceline or Chemist Warehouse.
Another line is the QV range for moisturizers and cleansers – absolutely fantastic and cruelty free.
What part of Australia are you heading to?
I think I bought a Natio nail polish last time I was there. I’ll be in the Sydney area.
Face of Australia! Their Face Base Primer is fantastic, and an exact dupe for Napoleon Perdis Auto-Pilot Primer (like the ingredient are identical) for a fourth the price!
Forest Essentials from the top of my head! Its ayurvedic, cruelty free, non-toxic and very luxurious and pure! Although its only available in bigger cities in India its available online as well!
Urban Decay. Love the eyeshadows. So pigmented and long lasting.
I agree, Urban Decay is my absolute favorite for eyeshadow and liners.
I’m not exactly sure what’s available or not in other countries but ColourPop (everything) , IT Cosmetics ( brushes, orig cc cream, bye bye undereye concealer, blushes, pot eyeliners ), and MUFE (shadows), are worth checking out
GOLDEN ROSE – they have lipsticks for 2$ but they are almoast the same as Mac ones, smeels the same, lasts similar.
(POLAND)
Golden Rose is the bomb! I have a lot of great lipsticks and nail polishes by them
Make Up For Ever has free standing boutiques in Europe!
probably because it’s a French brand. I know…the name doesn’t help.
In the USA: Smashbox, Lorac, Tarte, and generally American brands are much cheaper here than abroad when they’re exported.
In France: Garancia (skincare sold in pharmacies), Mavala (Swiss brand, makes great nail polish and also good makeup), Kiko (Italian makeup brand, some excellent products and very affordable), Institut Esthederm (excellent skincare) and most French mid-range/drugstore brands will be cheaper (Avene, La-Roche-Posay, Bourjois…). I also suggest getting Cottage shower gels from supermarkets, the scents are delightful, I miss them a lot!
I think the most popular swedish brand is Make Up Store. Then for more budget beauty, we have Isadora, Viva La Diva, Idun Minerals and Lumene which is a finnish brand.
If you come to the Netherlands, you should try out Catrice, Essence and HEMA! They are all budget brands and most of their stuff is really good. 🙂
I can only think of drugstore brands as I assume there isn’t that many high end brands that aren’t available in many countries. Drugstore- Makeup Revolution, Sleek Makeup, Barry M Cosmetics and Rimmel London. High end – Charlotte Tilbury, Smashbox, Stila.
Sorry! Forgot to say when in UK.
Kiko, Collistar, Deborah Milano, Madina; Neve Cosmetics. Can you tell I’m Italian? :))
I have seen some bloggers in my country talk about Deborah Milano and Neve Cosmetics, and of course Kiko. 🙂 Would be really nice to try!
I’d never heard of Collistar til I was on a flight to Rome in March. Then I saw it in all the pharmacies. I did treat myself to a trip to a Kiko store (actually, to two – one in Rome and one in Cagliari where I repurchased the same eyeshadow quad I got in Rome, only for my daughter!)
For Canadian brands, I would have to say Jouviance for amazing skin-care products, plus Marcelle, Vasanti and, of course, Lise Watier for both skin care and makeup. All of these brands (as well as Cover FX, and MAC, which started in Canada) have outstanding products.
I agree with Lise Watier. The baiser velours are hands down the best liquid lipsticks I’ve ever tried and the eye makeup, especially the liquid eyeliner, is superb. I always stock up on Marcelle micellar water when I visit my parents, and I would add Annabelle for drugstore makeup.
I live in Holland and the Brands Essence and Catrice are very popular. Als rituals is also a Dutch brand. At some stores you can request a message or facial with their products! So luxurious…
I totally agree on Rituals! Their shampoos smell amazing (try Brilliant Bliss), and skincare products are really nice (love the light green body scrub, can’t remember the name).
They also have a duty-free shop at Amsterdam Schiphol airport!
Cheers from a Dutchie living abroad
Loooooove Rituals.Only by going into one of their stores you forget the stress.
I’m from the Netherlands and I think the Make-Up Studio store in Amsterdam is definitely worth a visit if you like mua-quality make-up. If youre looking for budget make-up, visit a HEMA warehouse. There are a couple of stores in Germany, France and the UK, but the Netherlands are flooded by them. The blushes, nail polish and lipsticks are amazing! Every Dutch beautyblogger is raving over the new Matte Lip Balms.
I live in Switzerland and you should defenitely check out Catrice when you are here! This is a drugstore brand with excellent quality for most of their products. I think you can also get Catrice in Germany and Austria…
Pooh, I’m excited to see if anyone from France or Italy replies bcs I’m spending two weeks in both countries for my honeymoon in August!! As far as U.S., I would say Bite, but I’m not sure what their distribution is.
Check Lulle’s comment above for France! And also have a look at Lisa Eldridge’s blog, she made a video on her favorite products from France and the US.
I guess in Brazil I’d say the brand “Quem disse berenice” is a very good one. It’s affordable and great quality overall. There’s also Vult, Yes Cosmetics, O Boticario (which owns “quem disse berenice), Contem 1g, Tracta (they have the best under eye concealer in the country in my most humble opinion and also do partnerships with brazilian bloggers, which is pretty cool) and Natura.
Pupa Milano if you happen to stop by in Montreal..they probably have it elsewhere in Canada too. Great brand with fantastic quality products!
What do you recommed from Pupa? We’ve always had that brand here in Paraguay and I never got interested in it, and now they opened a new store in my closest mall.
I love their multiplay liners, their glosses, the baked shadow quads and their highlighting pen!
yay, thanks! I will try them 🙂
Lipstick Queen! Many unique offerings.
Sorry.. when in USA
When you’re in Germany, check out Catrice, P2 and Essence (drugstore). Also try Artdeco, Alessandro (nail polish) and Misslyn. For skincare, try Babor, Dr. Hauschka and Weleda. You can also get other European brands over here, like Kiko, Isadora and a lot of French pharmacy brands. Also genuinely German and with a long tradition (both brands are nearly 100 years old!) – Nivea (cream) and 4711 (colognes). A great drugstore chapstick is Labello!
I have used Labello for all of my childhood and teenage years, it’s the best! haha… I’m from south america. And also, we have just gotten Misslyn and I didn’t think it was a good brand, what do you recommend?
I’ll be in Berlin for the summer and these tips are great!
Dorit, where I live (in Canada!) we have a small chain of German grocery stores. There are maybe 5 or 6 of them throughout this area. They started as a sausage and deli chain but have grown into a European gourmet type store but they also carry household and beauty items. It’s where I get the “real” Nivea made in Germany, Melkfett cream by Ombra, 4711, Gehwol and also my Persil laundry detergent (pricey but worth it….I know it’s only laundry detergent but it’s the BEST). I was hoping they’d have Borlind skincare there as I really want to try the eye cream but they don’t carry that line…. 🙁
For Belgium I’d say BE Creative maybe. And for Switzerland I guess La Prairie, even though their products are often way overpriced for what they are.
FINLAND
You should try our one and only finnish makeup brand LUMENE. I have a few holy grails from them, love their stuff! Then we also have Make up Store which is a swedish brand but a very good one.
I easily agree with you, Christine. But, quite often when we look closely, we see the product was made in Italy. So what exactly is made in the USA exclusively? It’s difficult to discern.
It’s not about where it’s made – this question is about availability, e.g. if you live in Germany and were visiting U.S., what would be worth looking for that one couldn’t get elsewhere? Hope that clarifies for you!
Oh my! Well.. Whoops! Then.. I hear so many complaints about prices everywhere but in the USA, though they are still pricey to us here, so I’d say to those coming here to stock up on what’s not available where you are or what is but just outrageously priced! Brands like Becca & Hourglass are notorious for people still awaiting access and they’re amazing. MAC runs cheaper here. And pretty much any drugstore-street end brand can be bought easily. But I feel it’s up to the person to figure out. We have a wonderful resourceful tool called Google. 🙂
Can you believe that I’ve paid almost 100$ for Tartelette Palette here in Poland.
Oh, my dear Magda! When I read that, my eyes popped open wide! No judgement, but why $100 on the Tartlette? I mean, are there many alternatives or lower priced products that you can work? I’d have been happy to donate a package, saying this without knowing shipping, but still I think anyone of us could have pulled together for you. I’m very sorry. I do hope you’re enjoying it! 🙂 Awwww.
I thought MUFE was a French brand?
Anyway I have to second the two others who recommended to try Lumene if you visit Finland some day. As far as I know they’re nothing revolutionary in terms of formulation, wear etc but they have really been levelling up their products recently. The powder blushes and eyeshadows are silky (albeit a bit powdery) and pigmented and the eyeshadow duos and quads are well-coordinated. While I am not yet too impressed with their selection for oily skin, the Longwear Blur Foundation looks really natural.
Another brand that is widely available is the Swedish IsaDora. I think their Matte Chocolates eyeshadows easily surpass Urban Decay’s Naked mattes. We also get our fair share of bigger Euro brands in department stores, like Guerlain, Chanel etc. which is nice if you’re into that kind of thing. As far as I have seen, they aren’t much more expensive than overseas.
Beware though, darker foundation and powder shades are almost impossible to find in Finland. MUFE has one standalone store in Helsinki and MAC is available at Stockmann along with a few other brands that offer darker shades, but otherwise you are in mayonnaise land.
Sephora purchased MUFE a few years back, and unless it’s a free-standing store, Sephora is the only retailer.
Tarte as I’m not sure what the distro outside North America is. Maybe Neutrogena and Burts Bees for skincare
In Canada we have some French pharmacy brands that seem to be difficult to get in the States anyway (Bioderma for example).
I find it extremely difficult to find any Tom Ford Beauty (online to Canada) & wanted to hunt some down along with IT Cosmetics velvet brushes when I was in Las Vegas last weekend but we just didn’t end up having the time for it!
Holt Renfrew carries Tom Ford. I try to stay away from the counter when I am in Toronto or even at Square One in Mississauga (there’s a Holt’s there too….swoon….Jo Malone, Tom Ford….swoon).
I was always surprised when Americans would talk about how pricey Bioderma Micellaire Water was because here, it’s not especially pricey and there are frequently bonus sizes or “2 for 1” packages. That’s sure a change from how things usually are ($10 dollar markup on the newest Stila palettes, for example
I live in the Netherlands and we can’t get A LOT of US brands (like UD, MUFE, Hourglass, Tarte and many many more) BUT we do get Inglot, it’s a Polish brand that makes AMAZING eyeshadows and the most amazing personalized palette’s.
MUFE is a French brand with standalone boutiques around Europe, we even have one in Finland. Here’s the store locator, they seem to be in a lot of places 🙂 http://www.makeupforever.com/int/en-int/storelocator
I didn’t know it was French but Sephora left the Netherlands about 2 years ago, and those are the locations I get when I use the store locator :s. I can order from the French Sephora site though, but for foundations, etc, it’s not very useful. I did just hear a local store is going to be selling UD from the 26th of this month!
I live in Canda, and the Inglot store in downtown Toronto is worth checking out. Also Bourjois can be found at Shoppers Drug Mart! 😀
Canada*
I live in Canada. We can find a lot of “French” cosmetics/skin care it seems you can’t in the USA. I’m not too sure about the rest of the world so I’ll base my response on that.
La Roch Posay
Avene
Vichy
La Roc
Bioderma
Bourjois
etc…
These are all found at our drug store “Shoppers Drug Mart” which from what I can tell is not available in the USA.
“Shoppers” also has high end offerings such as Guerlain, Lancôme, Clairins, Dior, Stilla, Smashbox, etc. For you Canadians who may not be aware, Murale is the sister store for Shoppers and your optimum points works there too… in store you can get all of the above mentioned as well as YSL, Chanel, Bobbie Brown, etc. You can also check out their web site.
Not all the shoppers/murale carry the same brands. I have about a half dozen “shoppers” within a 10 minute drive from my house. So depending on which counter I want to purchase from, I go to the different shoppers. Different Murale locations will also have different counters. The web site has different brands available from what is in store too.
If ever you happen to travel to Canada do a quick search for all the locations near you and check what brands they carry as it is listed online.
as for CANADIAN BRANDS:
Lise Watier is a Canadian brand based in Montreal. Both skin care and cosmetics are pretty good. Not to sure about distribution, but if I were coming in from elsewhere this is probably the brand I would check out. Lipsticks are really good and black pencil liner is one of the best I’ve tried.
Smashbox, MAC, Cover FX all started out as Canadian Brands. (I think Cover FX has not been bought out yet… could be wrong). but you can get these off Sephora in most countries…. especially the usa.
Renee, thanks to SDM’s Optimum points, I have “purchased” so much stuff for “free” – all my latest fragrance purchases, Guerlain’s eyeshadow quad, the beautiful Cruel Gardenia highlighter from a few years ago, Meteorites, a new Stila palette (Spirit) as well as the 2 original ones from the “In the…” series, and a whole lot of other skin care and makeup items as well. When they have their “bonus redemption” days, you can do even better!
people don’t believe me when I tell them I redeem for a minimum of 1000$ a year there. FYI, if you register your card with your home addy and email they send you more coupons. You can use those on top of whatever event they have going on. So if it’s a 20x the points Saturday and they sent you a coupon for 18500 points on a purchase of 100$ cosmetics or whatever you get both the 20x and the 18500. you just won’t get 20x 18500… if you get what I’m saying. anyways LOVE shoppers. my collection really blew up after I really got into the points… buy toilet paper, redeem for chanel!
UK – It’s not a British brand but I love Bourjois, especially their lip products and foundations.
Germany – Definitely Catrice. I like their eyeshadows and blushes a lot. I liked their blushes so much and they were so cheap that I bought them all in one go!
Any recs for Mexico or Spain?
In Spain you can find all the brands available in the rest of Europe that are mentioned in other coments:
Essence and Makeup Revolution, for very affordable brands (although not my favorites).
Highly recommend Catrice, Sleek, Bourjois, Kiko and Flormar as drugstore price brands, and all the european luxury brands (Chanel, Dior, Lancome, etc) are easily available.
For body care, Ziaja (polish Brand) have very fun body products. Korres and Apivita, both of them greek brands, have wonderful natural products.
La Chinata is a spanish bodycare and skincare company with all its products based on high quality olive oil. It deserve more love.
Natura Bissé is a top skincare company, from Barcelona I believe..similar in price to La Prairie or even more expensive but most people who can afford them always speak favourably. I have seen them in Harrods- london uk.. and in ebay. Bella Aurora is a very old and traditional house… our grannies used to use their products. Affordable and good quality. Their anti-spot treatment is legendary. Then in the cheap supermarket line there is the Mercadona line ( called Deliplus) of everything from makeup remover to skinkare and colour cosmetics. There are many new indie companies now launching small organic lines and also there are products similar to those in french pharmacies selling items like Letibalm (lip balm), Biopel moisturizer ( used for babies nappy rash but favourite in make up artists for calming the skin), Xhekpon ( very moisturizer with colagen, aloe vera etc) Dersura ( for sufferers of Dermatitis) . The most famous perfume house is Myrurgia and they own the Maderas de Oriente line.. also very traditional.
I live in Brazil. I think visitors should look after Natura’s soaps and moistorizers. Some amazonian fruits and nuts are made into wonderful beautybars. I love the castanha-do-pará handcream. You can find it on cosmetics stores and with a lot of women who are Natura’s vendors.
When i got to the states I like checking out It Cosmetics, Sonia Kashuk, Lorac and elf
Hungary
Hungary does not have too many known Hungarian brands, so I am going to put in some non-Hungarian brands, too, which are not too common in other countries, as far as I know it.
Catrice – it is the sister brand of Essence, slightly more expensive, but top notch quality for the most part… their pot concealer is the bomb, lipsticks and lipglosses are amazing, foundations and powders are really good, the mono blushes are fabulous… and it has a lot of innovations a lot of other drugstore brands don’t have in Hungary (tinted brow gels, highlight pencils, nude eyeliners, great color selection in lip products)
Moyra – a really cheap nail polish brand that has really stepped up their game, and especially the newest polishes they put out… loads are opaque in one coat, they really follow the trends (liquid polishes, suede finishes, color scheme trends of the seasons…)
Kallos – it is an overall beauty brand which I have tried some really great products of, and they are really cheap. There face creams feel really luxurious for their price, and I also enjoy their nail polishes… loads of people swear on their hair products, too.
Own brands of drugstores DM, Rossmann and Müller (all of them are German, if I’m not mistaken). DM’s overall beauty brand Balea is pretty cool, their body washes are amazing – affordable and with compley, delicious scents… but its refreshing eye serum is pretty good, too. I do enjoy all of their chapsticks, too.
Miss Rose – “euro” (dollar) store brands. Their eyeshadows are pretty good, and I love their eye pencils… dirt cheap and amazing. I have the quintessential eye brightening liner from them.
There are also some true Hungarian brands (like Soliteint, Fabulon, Helia-D, Sophie Bello – she is an etsy-type bio beauty seller ) but I either have not tried anything from them, or from what I have tried, I have not fallen in love with anything.
Maybe is just a marketing tool but in UK they sell the top luxurious brand Omorovicza Cosmetics as hungarian. I haven’t used anything but they have a cult following.
When my nieces come in from Ireland they head right to the ELF store on Broadway in Greenwich Village…and then to Mac. Big big price difference…
Is there a Germany-exclusive brand, I would recommend? There was just an discussion on the blog “Magi-Mania” that Germany is lacking an interesting beauty market with independent brands and the whole rage of foundation shades (many brands do only sell the middle shades in Germany)
I live the suburbs of Portland, OR in the USA. Local brand shoutout: Pacifica for scents, lotions, body butters. Their eyeshadows are pretty good, as well. They’re natural and cruelty free. They can be bought online from their website, and Target carries them in-store and online.
I think it really depends on what country you’re from. I know some countries get almost everything we do, and some get hardly anything from anywhere. I’d hit Sephora or Ulta for high-end stuff that’s probably a lot cheaper here than abroad.
Drugstore: Nyx, Milani, e.l.f., Hard Candy, Profusion, City Color Cosmetics, Wet n Wild, Maybelline, Revlon, Covergirl, Physician’s Formula.
For the UK- Bourjois, Sleek and Barry M. I’ve only tried one palette but Make Up Revolution too.
I think
Kat Von D would be a great place to start. The cosmetics offer ease of application and great color pigmentation.
I’d have to say Colourpop for sure.
That’s a really good question because a lot of countries have some unique brands.
In Australia I would definitely recommend the Natio line – cruelty free, relatively inexpensive and their products suit all skin types. I have really sensitive skin and I can use all of their body products: bath and shower gels, body butters, hand creams, cleansers, moisturizers for different age groups etc. Often they have really good deals and are found in the major department stores, chemists and Priceline.
If I were over in England or the US I KNOW I would head to Sephora……
USA- Tarte and I agree with you Christine on IT cosmetics also!
Canada: Quo particularly for their brushes and Annabelle.
Also MUFE is not a Sephora exclusive brand.
As far as I know, aside from stand-alone stores, Sephora is the only retail outlet-as they acquired the brand a few years ago. What other retailers carry MUFE?
Philippines
My Top Picks for mid-end:
– Happy Skin
– Snoe
– Pixi
Other brands you might also like and affordable too!
– Kokuryu
– Jazzy
– James Cooper
– Pinkies Collection
– Shawil
– Ever Bilena
– Essence
– Fashion 21
– In2it
– Pinkies Collection
– Sassy
– Bobby Cosmetics
I think we do not have high end local brands yet
It seems most of US brands are available elsewhere, or at least the ability to get them is… However, for brushes, Sonia Kashuk is where I’d start. If you’re lucky, you may catch one of the larger sets, which average 8-10 brushes for around $30-35 USD.
If you’re ever in Los Angeles, we have the MUFE & NARS flagship stores, as well as MAC Pro all within walking distance of each other, as well as Tom Ford, Saks & Neiman not too far away.
if ever in Trinidad we have some of the international brands available here but you guys should check out local brands like SACHA Cosmetics which has some amazingly pigmented eyeshadows, blushes and powder including the much raved about Buttercup powder. Artista has some pigmented stuff too. They are made by Sacha Cosmetics as well.
Flormar and Golden Rose are popular in Turkey
Come to think of it, we have quite a choice of beauty products here in Russian Siberia (well, in its biggest city at least) 🙂 (we have Tom Ford, Armani among the usual like Clinique, Chanel and the like, MAC (expensive compared to the States, especially skincare), Inglot (overpriced a bit), Korean brands are also available (also a bit overpriced), Urban Decay is coming next month, lots of good drugstore ones like Bourgeois, NYX, Pupa, ArtDeco, etc.) so you might be pleasantly surprised for the choice and the prices on some brands (not MAC though 🙂 ) and do not have to worry if you forgot to pack smth. I wish we had Becca and Stila here, but I heard Becca is always ridiculously overpriced outside of the US, so maybe its not a big loss.
Anyways. Our cosmetic industry is not doing well at all in competing with all this in makeup department, so I cannot mention any, BUT! There are quite a few Russian skincare brands that are getting recognized here and perform well. Please come to visit us and, if you do, check out Natura Siberica for affordable skincare. It is cheap and works quite well. There is also lots of other Russian skincare brands , which are quite decent and are sold in supermarkets along with Nivea, L’Oreal, Garnier, etc.
I’m in the UK and I’d say definitely go to a Makeup Revolution/I heart makeup (both made by MUR) counter in Superdrug. They are prolific in the number of good quality dupe palettes and products they are producing. Also, although MUA have hit the states, they are much cheaper in the UK. Barry M for the nail varnish. Max Factor, especially for the Creme Puff blushes (amazing). Also, Kiko are excellent and very reasonably priced, if you can find a store. I also love Essence, Sleek and Bourjois. Also, Soap and Glory do an excellent makeup range in Boots in the UK & it’s often 3 for 2.
Thank you Christine for highlighting my question. I know many larger brands are sold in most countries, but in 2 weeks, I am visiting Ireland, the UK and France and have done many google searches, not really knowing which brands I should make certain to check out that I cannot get here in California. I cannot wait to research some brands that were mentioned that I never have heard of like Kiko, Collistar, Garancia, etc. Of course Burberry is already on my radar, but I hadn’t considered Antipodes? And has anyone purchased from Laduree? Its a Sephora brand in Europe that isn’t carried here in the USA. I’m looking at the face color rose petal blush, anyone have this item or love another item from this brand?
Here in California, some amazing brands that shouldn’t be missed are Body Time, 100% Pure, and In Fiore. Thank you Christine for a very informative post.
Hugs,
Anna M.
APIVITA is an amazing greek skincare brand! Just try it!!! Especially their face masks!