The Best Greek Beauty Products to Buy in Greece
Everyone talks about French pharmacy finds. The internet is drowning in Bioderma content and Citypharma haul videos, as though Paris invented affordable skincare.
Meanwhile, the Greek pharmacy sits on a corner in Athens or Thessaloniki or a back street on Naxos, its neon green cross pulsing like a techno heartbeat, and nobody is making a documentary about it.
This is a mistake. Greek pharmacies are extraordinary. Part apothecary, part beauty hall, part consultation room. The pharmacists will assess your skin with the unsentimental precision of someone who has spent decades watching what the Mediterranean sun does to a face, then hand you something that costs eight euros and works better than whatever your dermatologist prescribed back home. The brands are formulated for the climate you are standing in, the water you are washing with, the light you are living under.
Here is what to buy, and why the Greek pharmacy should be the first and last stop of any trip to Greece.
Best Greek skincare brands to look for
Before we get into specific products, these are the Greek skincare brands worth knowing. You will see them in every pharmacy across the country, from Athens to the smallest island.
Korres is the one most people recognise. Founded in 1996 out of Athens' oldest homeopathic pharmacy, Korres uses Greek botanicals like olive oil, wild rose and volcanic minerals. Their skincare is solid, but their fragrances are where they quietly excel (more on that below).
Frezyderm is the brand Greek dermatologists actually use. Established in 1986, family-run, pharmaceutical-grade formulations. Available in over 4,500 pharmacies across Greece.
Froika has been making cosmeceuticals for over 70 years. Serious formulations, unshowy packaging, modest prices. The insider's pick.
Apivita is the honey and propolis brand you will see everywhere. A note on provenance: Apivita was acquired by Spanish company Puig in 2017. The founders are now minority stakeholders. Production stays in Greece, but if buying Greek matters to you, it is worth knowing.
Youth Lab is the newer, more clinical entrant. Targeted formulations using herbal and biotechnological active ingredients. For the ingredient-list readers.
Carroten is Greece's iconic sun care brand, born in the early 1980s. Not clinical skincare in the strict sense, but a Greek summer institution.
Retinoids: the Greek pharmacy's worst-kept secret
This is the thing that has TikTok in a frenzy, and it deserves proper explanation.
Yes, you can buy retinoids over the counter in Greek pharmacies. No, you cannot buy tretinoin anymore. The original Airol cream that beauty tourists used to snap up for three euros has been discontinued.
Here is what you can get:
Tazarene by Boderm is tazarotene, a retinoid that is stronger than tretinoin. Available without prescription in 0.05% and 0.1%. This is the main event.
Tretin Gel is an isotretinoin gel at 0.05%, also over the counter. It costs around 12 euros.
Boderm adapalene is also available without a script.
For Australians who know the bureaucratic obstacle course of getting a retinoid prescription at home, this is revelatory. A brief conversation with a pharmacist, a few euros, and you walk out with clinical-grade vitamin A.
Start slow. Wear sunscreen. (You will hear this approximately forty thousand times in Greece and you should listen every time.)
Korres perfumes: the best-kept secret in Greek beauty
Most people know Korres for the Greek Yoghurt Foaming Cleanser. It is a good cleanser. It is not the most interesting thing Korres makes.
Korres has over 120 fragrances. They collaborate with serious perfumers and price them at a fraction of what you would pay for a comparable French or Italian scent. We are talking 20 to 30 euros at a Greek pharmacy for something that fragrance obsessives compare to Acqua di Parma and Diptyque.
The standouts from the Greek Collection:
Avgoustos (August) smells like cutting the first figs of summer. Bergamot, fig, orange blossom, warm cedar. The one people buy in a pharmacy on holiday and then search the internet for when they get home.
Kyma (Wave) is the Aegean in a bottle. Salty, citrusy, slightly wild. Lime, sea notes, pepper, vetiver.
Lefko (White) is white linen on a line. Lilies, clean cotton, the kind of scent that makes you feel like you have just showered in a whitewashed Cycladic house.
Sikinos is island life at its slowest. Named after one of the quieter Greek islands, it captures watermelon on a beach and warm stone.
Buy the one that smells like the version of Greece you want to carry home.
If you are someone who notices the design details (the weighty glass bottle, the satisfying click of the cap, the colour), you will appreciate that Korres gets this right, too. It is the same attention to material and craft that Greek fashion designers like Zeus+Dione bring to clothing, or Callista brings to leather goods. Greek design has always been quietly excellent. The beauty aisle is no exception.
Frezyderm Velvet Sunscreen: the one the locals wear
Greek sunscreen is formulated for the Greek sun, which is not a small distinction. The Frezyderm Velvet Sunscreen is the product that converts people. SPF50+, matte, velvety finish, no white cast, no heaviness. If you have ever applied a European sunscreen and felt like you were wearing a mask, this corrects the problem.
Fair warning: it stings if it gets in your eyes. On the skin, it is genuinely elegant.
The other Frezyderm worth grabbing is the Mild Wash Liquid. People describe their skin feeling moisturised after cleansing with it, which, if you have dry skin and have spent years feeling stripped and tight after every "gentle" cleanser, you will understand is a significant claim. You can find it in pharmacies and sometimes in the health aisle of larger supermarkets.
Sun protection matters more in Greece than almost anywhere else you will travel. If you are visiting in peak summer months, stock up on your first day.
Froika: 70 years of quiet brilliance
Froika is the brand you buy when you have done your research and you no longer care about the bottle.
Froika AC AHA-10 is the cult product. A targeted cream with 10% alpha hydroxy fruit acids for exfoliation and cell renewal without the drama of stronger peels. They also make an AHA-14 for those ready to escalate.
Froika Premium Sunscreen Tinted gives coverage and protection in one step. The kind of product where you wonder why it took you so long to find something this straightforward.
Froika Azelaic Cream 20 is another pharmacy find worth knowing about, particularly for rosacea and uneven skin tone. Multiple skincare communities rate it above more expensive branded alternatives.
Carroten: the Greek tanning icon
Carroten is not skincare in the corrective sense. Carroten is a mood. It is coconut and carrot oil warming on brown skin. It is Greece in the early 1980s, bottled and still going strong.
The first mass-market sun care line with a carrot-based composition, Carroten has been the Greek summer brand for over 40 years. The Intensive Tanning Gel is the signature: a non-greasy accelerator with carrot, coconut, sesame and walnut oils that deepens your tan. The Gold Shimmer version adds shimmering pearls for a holiday glow.
Important: the tanning gels do not contain UV filters. Apply SPF first, then Carroten. The brand also makes proper sunscreens with protection if you want everything in one product.
Carroten occupies an interesting space for Australians, given our (rightly) intense relationship with sun protection. Think of it as a cultural experience as much as a beauty product. You will see it on every beach in Greece. It smells like summer.
The supermarket aisle (do not skip this)
Not everything worth buying lives behind a pharmacy counter. Greek supermarkets stock beauty products that cost next to nothing and outperform products five times their price.
Papoutsanis Aromatics makes beautifully scented body care at supermarket prices. Available in most large chains like Sklavenitis and AB Vassilopoulos.
Valley Natural Cosmetics is similarly affordable, with clean formulations you can pick up alongside your feta and olive oil.
These are the products you throw into the trolley without thinking, then find yourself rationing at home because you did not buy enough.
Where to buy Greek beauty products
Pharmacies are your primary destination. Look for the pulsing green cross (you will spot them everywhere). Staff speak English, they take credit cards, and they will give you honest recommendations. Pharmacies in larger cities and tourist areas stock the widest range, but even a small island pharmacy will carry Korres, Apivita and Frezyderm.
The Apivita Experience Store in Athens (Solonos 6, Kolonaki) is worth a visit if you are spending time in the capital. Juice bar, hair salon, the full range. Even if you know the brand was acquired, the store itself is a sensory experience.
Athens Airport duty-free has a dedicated Korres shop. Useful for last-minute purchases or if you have euros to burn before boarding.
Supermarkets for Papoutsanis, Valley, and some Korres shower gels and body care.
What to pack (a cheat sheet)
For a two-week trip to Greece, here is what your pharmacy haul should include:
Day one: Frezyderm Velvet Sunscreen, Frezyderm Mild Wash Liquid, a retinoid (Tazarene or Tretin Gel) if that is your thing.
Mid-trip: Korres fragrance (once you have smelled them in store), Froika AHA-10 if your skin needs resurfacing after sun exposure, Carroten if you are beach-bound.
Last day: Backups of everything you loved. A Korres shower gel for the friend who asked you to bring something back. Papoutsanis soap bars (they cost almost nothing and make the best souvenirs).
Why the Greek pharmacy beats the French one
Everyone raves about the French pharmacy. And look, La Roche-Posay is fine. But the Greek pharmacy has something the French one does not: products made by people who understand that Mediterranean skin needs are specific, that the sun here is different, that the water and the wind and the salt require formulations that were designed for exactly these conditions.
Greece gives you extraordinary things at every turn. The food at Easter. The craft traditions that go back millennia. The autumn harvest festivals. The beauty products are part of that same story: Greek ingredients, Greek expertise, Greek care.
The pharmacy with its neon green cross should be the first place you walk into when you land, and the last place you visit before you fly home.
Bring an extra bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you buy tretinoin in Greece without a prescription?
Tretinoin (Airol) has been discontinued in Greece. You can buy tazarotene (Tazarene by Boderm) in 0.05% and 0.1% strengths over the counter. Tretin Gel (isotretinoin 0.05%) and adapalene are also available without prescription at Greek pharmacies.
What are the best Greek skincare brands?
The most popular Greek skincare brands are Korres, Frezyderm, Froika, Apivita, Youth Lab and Carroten. Each has a different strength: Korres for fragrance and botanical skincare, Frezyderm for dermatological-grade products, Froika for targeted treatments and Carroten for sun care.
Is Apivita still a Greek brand?
Apivita was acquired by Spanish company Puig in 2017. The original Greek founders are now minority stakeholders. Production and headquarters remain in Greece, so the products have not changed, but the ownership is no longer fully Greek.
What Greek beauty products make good souvenirs?
Korres perfumes, Papoutsanis Aromatics soap bars, Korres shower gels and Apivita face masks all make excellent souvenirs from Greece. They are lightweight, affordable and genuinely useful.
Where can I buy Greek beauty products in Athens?
Greek beauty products are available at pharmacies throughout Athens, the Apivita Experience Store in Kolonaki, the Korres shop at Athens Airport duty-free and major supermarkets like Sklavenitis and AB Vassilopoulos.
Are Greek beauty products cheaper in Greece?
Yes. Greek skincare brands like Korres, Frezyderm and Froika are significantly cheaper when purchased at pharmacies in Greece compared to international retailers or online stores.
What is Carroten tanning gel?
Carroten is a Greek sun care brand established in the 1980s. The Intensive Tanning Gel is a tan accelerator made with carrot, coconut, sesame and walnut oils. It does not contain UV protection, so sunscreen should be applied first.
