r/EuroSkincare

Hey everyone,

I will be moving to Germany next month from a country where DM and Rossmann don't have physical stores, so I'm walking in completely blind. I'd love to hear your personal favorites/holy grails from the major drugstores so I can build a routine based on your suggestions once I land rather than relying on trial and error, as I have no experience with in-store brands in Germany.

A bit about me/my skin so recommendations might be more relevant:

• 25M, I am quite pale with combination sensitive skin with an oily T-zone (gets worse in summer), but my face and lips dry out fast if I use anything too "strong" or actives-heavy. I used CeraVe Foaming Cleanser in the past and it was mostly okay. I also used isotretinoin when I was a teenager, I will still get an odd pimple here or there if I don't watch what I eat.
• My hands get dry and even crack in winter (as I tend to wash them a lot), so I much prefer a bar soap over liquid soap and I might need something really moisturizing for my hands to use at night before I go to sleep.
• I'm open to any type of product: face wash, moisturizer, sunscreen, retinol, shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, hair wax/fiber, hand/foot cream, lip balm, body lotion, deodorant, shower gel, grooming products. Anything works; feel free to share them even if they might not be relevant to me :)

Thanks in advance for your time and responses!

I’ve tried three different antiperspirants in the EU and all have caused very itchy armpits after a few uses. I could keep buying and trying different ones but that is wasteful and expensive so I’m hoping someone might have a similar issue and an appropriate answer.

I've tried: Nivea Protect and Care, Nivea Pure and Sensitive (jic it was the fragrance, didn’t make a difference), and Garnier mineral sensitive.

Deodorants do less than nothing for smell. they don’t make me itch, but I’d like something to prevent sweat and odor, so I’m looking for antiperspirants specifically. Thanks!

Last time when i visited Europe, i was rlly surprised how every makeup shop was filled with “k products”.
It was also kind of funny cause i’be never seen it before as a Korean girly.

What European brands do you think are still strong even with this shift, and what products do you think are worth the hype of K-skincare?

Trialing this at the moment.

On me it's as matte as G&G. But it's a very powdery drying type of matte from the silica in it.

It feels like I've excessively applied silica powder all over the face which makes it's feel a bit tight on my eye area (and accentuates smile lines).

Younger oily skins will probably love this. More mature oily skins may find it overly mattifying in an unflattering way. Drier skin types don't even bother.

There's a slight whitening effect on me too but emphasis on slight. It has tinosorb M at around 1-2% and tito2 at less than 1%.

Texture wise it's like a milky thin fluid which is nice. Similar to isdin fluids.

I'm on the fence with it. I actually find G&G less drying than this but dislike the thicker cream like texture it has.

But this does tie with G&G in terms of delivering a truly matte finish. I think I prefer eucerin oil control over both of these which delivers a more natural skin like matte without drying.

Worth checking out.

I’m 29F and have been consistent with my routine for months but haven’t seen much improvement. My main concerns are hormonal acne, uneven/dull skin and dark under-eyes.

I’ve used Differin 0.1% since March, usually moisturiser first, then Differin. Could buffering be reducing its effectiveness? My acne hasn’t improved much and has actually worsened recently.

I also use vitamin c serum every morning, followed by moisturiser & SPF, but haven’t noticed much improvement in brightness or discolouration??? I only recently realised the vitamin c should ideally be refrigerated. Mine has been at room temperature but is still pale idk

I’ve worn SPF daily for around 8–9 years.

I’m also considering GHK-Cu/copper peptides for texture, collagen and general skin quality, potentially replacing vitamin C rather than adding another active.

Would you keep this routine longer, apply Differin before moisturiser, or consider switching vitamin C for GHK-Cu? Has anyone used adapalene + GHK-Cu long term or noticed better results from copper peptides vs vitamin C?

i've been dealing with hair loss for about 3 years now and i've tried so many products. most of them are just expensive and don't do anything.

i've tried the pharmacy stuff, the drugstore stuff, the expensive salon stuff. some of it works for a little while and then stops. most of it doesn't work at all. i've spent so much money and i have nothing to show for it. my cousin works abroad and she brought me this hair loss shampoo and conditioner set when she visited. i wasn't expecting much tbh. but it actually helped. my hair stopped shedding so much and it looks fuller. now i'm trying to find something similar here in europe and it's impossible. everything is either too expensive or doesn't work.

the thing that frustrates me is that europe is supposed to have good skincare and haircare but i can't find anything that works for hair loss. like what am i missing.

anyone else struggling to find good hair loss products in europe? what's worked for you? i need some hope at this point.

I was blessed with above-average skin. I always get compliments on it.

However, something I’ve never liked is PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), or pimple/acne marks. I’ve had very few of them since I rarely get acne or pimples, but I still wanted to get rid of them. Plus, I thought, why not make my skin look even better if I could?

Now, I’ve been using Adapalene for more than 2 months and Azelaic Acid for around 2 weeks. I think I’m past the retinization stage, yet I still get pimples showing up every once in a while, something I rarely experienced before starting Adapalene.

Now, my real problem is that every pimple HAS to leave PIH.

I’m North African. My skin is light, but it’s very prone to pigmentation. I can literally get noticeably darker from spending just 5–10 minutes in the sun. So, whatever I get on my face tends to leave hyperpigmentation behind.

This doesn’t sit right with me, since I essentially started this routine to fade my existing PIH, and now I have more of it.

Do you think I need to give it a few more months to see if this will eventually work, even if that means risking the formation of more pimples and PIH in the meantime?

So my skin barrier was completely destroyed, then it healed after putting effort my routine now is 1-bioderma sensibo cleanser
2- bioderma moisturizer sensibo
3- in case of breakout I use Laroch cicablast
4- sunblock from cosrex
❗️my question: I have a lot of PIE , I am afraid of skinoren cuz it make purging, mentally I really can’t handle it
❗️can you please recommend gentle azeliac acid but effective one ?

Basically, I can't really travel to german now and I would really love to restock my Balea Expert Beauty products. Sadly, it seems like I can't get some product like the AHA and BHA soap wash and the jelly cleaner with BHA. I tried searching in physical store as well as online but all is unavailable and I don't trust other sites. Can I just use German sites and send it to Warsaw?

My derm recommended me to stop using my Cerave Blemish Control Cleanser and use Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser because I'm already on tret. I made the switch but now I'm getting a breakout on my chin, which I believe Cerave Blemish Control was keeping at bay. I also feel like Cetaphil doesn't clean my sunscreen completely, although I may be wrong!

Is there any other product you might recommend? I've heard good things about LRP Caring Wash but haven't tried it yet.

Country: UK

Skin type: Combination acne-prone

Routine AM:

Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser

Geek and Gorgeous Zero Feel Sunscreen

Routine PM:

Bioderma Sensibio Micellaire Water

Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser

Geek and Gorgeous Stress Less Serum

Tret or Azelaic Acid interchangeably

Geek and Gorgeous Hydation Station moisturizer

hey y'all! I'm really close to finishing my current moisturiser and I'm looking for recommendations since i don't wanna place an order and pay shipping just for one thing lol. I've been using korean moisturisers, now an etude soonjung one, and before that i used the s.nature squalane and dr althea 345 moisturizer, which i loved, but apparently they changed the ingredients and the packaging wasn't good.

i have combination skin, so something lightweight is best for me. i do also hate when something leaves a film on my skin because i have some sensory issues, so i just want something that sinks in quick but doesn't leave me dry or make me produce more oil throughout the day.

Hi! I’m looking for recommendations for an affordable repairing cream to use while undergoing acne treatments that leave my skin very sensitive. My main concern is that repairing creams tend to be richer than products formulated for acne-prone skin, so I’m worried that using one will break me out while I’m trying to protect/repair my skin barrier. Thank you!

Editing to add location: Portugal

Hello !

I'm starting to develop some brown spots after hitting the 30's, nothing major until now but I want to fade them, so I'm looking for the best azelaic acid, retinal or tretinoin, and Vitamin C,

I'm traveling to France soon and would like to buy these products.

I'm also into a minimalist routine so I don't want a lot of steps and not planning to use all products in the same time.

Also recommend me a good moisturiser with peptides.

Thank you !

I've a combination skin and currently dealing from mild roseca on my skin and pie/pih. My skincare is not good I use cerave foaming cleanser or dove soap for washing my face I apply nivea soft cream as a moisturizer, tir tir milky toner and beauty of joseon sunscreen. I have sensitive and combination skin what I can chamge, add to repair my skin barrier and have a glowing skin on a budget and products that can actually work.