21 Aug Milan, Italy: 5 Best Beauty Stores
Milan, Italy is not just Italy’s fashion capital and a city of art. Milan is city of beautiful experiences of modern concept stores and heritage brands with centuries-old traditions. Over a few trips to this city that I’ve grown to love, here’s a list I’ve curated of my best beauty experiences and must visit stores in Milan. Keep reading for a few bonuses at the end!
One of my favourite experience in Milan was a lipstick customisation session in City Lab Cosmetics
City Lab Cosmetics
City Lab Cosmetics Milan address: Corso Garibaldi, 3, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
If you’re a makeup fan that’s always wanted to delve deeper into cosmetics science, City Lab Milan will be your cup of tea. City Labs offers makeup customisations that allow you to participate in the process, unlike other cosmetics customisation processes I’ve done. Step into the girly, Instagram-friendly pink hued store and choose to customise your own lipstick, lip glosses and makeup palettes. Be sure to book in advance through their website, as these cosmetic personalisations are one-to-one sessions with a formulator which snap up fast.
As part of lipstick customisation experience at City Lab Milan, I got to view cosmetics lab where my lipstick was made in front of me!
I chose the lipstick customisation experience at City Lab Milan. For €68, you get to build your own lipstick from scratch with a formulator and choose the shade, texture, fragrance, and active ingredients of the lipstick. It was a true customisation process as I kept amending the color of my lipstick over and over again to achieve the precise shade I wanted. As part of the experience,I also got to enter the laboratory to watch the processes of melting the waxes; and freezing the formula again. The lipstick customisation experience at City Lab Milan was a fun experience and I highly recommend trying this if you’re in Milan- but be sure to book in advance. City Lab Milan also offers color analysis and skincare customisations, but the makeup customisation experiences are their most popular services.
Related blogposts:
Review: Personal Colour Analysis in Seoul, Korea
Skincare & Makeup Recommendations to Buy in Japan
Fueguia 1833 Milano Galería
Fueguia 1833 Milano Galería address: V. Tommaso Grossi, 1, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
A quiet corner off the bustling Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade is Fuegia, an ethnobotanical perfumery boutique that feels like an alchemist’s laboratory. Originating from Argentina, Fuegia 1833’s fragrances are inspired by founder Julian Bedel’s travels and the landscapes. My experience at Fuegia 1833 Milano Galería felt like a sensorial journey with the visually arresting displays, storytelling and complex fragrance notes. It is a beautiful space; and the scents are heady and rich- definitely for a niche, appreciative audience. It was hard for me to nail down a scent I like best from Fueguia 1833, but I’d have to pick the Agua Magnoliana- a fresh, floral perfume with crisp summer notes of Magnolia.
Inside Fuegia 1833 Milan
KIKO Milano
KIKO Milano’s Milan flagship address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Galleria Passarella, 10, 20122 Milano MI, Italy
One of Europe’s fastest growing cosmetic brands; and most easily associated with Milan is KIKO Milano. The Italian cosmetics brand was founded in 1997 and is synonymous with trendy makeup products at affordable prices. KIKO Milano’s most popular products include its plumping 3D Hydra Lip Oils, Skin Trainer CC Blur primer, and Dreamphoria makeup range.
Related blogposts:
Lip Care: Do’s and Don’ts for Healthy Lips
Chanel Beauty Les Beiges 2025: Golden Hour Collection
KIKO Milano’s flagship store in Milan’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele II
KIKO Milano’s flagship store in Milan’s Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is its largest store worldwide. Besides its wide selection of skincare and makeup, KIKO Milano’s flagship also offers KIKOiD, a product personalisation service for its makeup products and brushes. This interactive experience allows users to design and preview their designs in 3D before the engraving Among these, a customization program enables clients to personalize their purchases by a robot that laser cuts the products in a minute. This was a popular service when I visited KIKO Milano.
Officine Universelle Buly 1803 Milan
Officine Universelle Buly 1803 Milan address: Via Brera, 2, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Not actually an Italian establishment, but Officine Universelle Buly 1803 has become a must visit for me whenever I’m in Paris, Milan and Tokyo. Officine Universelle Buly 1803 in Milan in the artsy Brera district is an ode to the old world glamour of Parisian apothecaries with its marble interiors, terrazzo floors and handwritten calligraphy labels- there’s just something romantic and grand about Officine Universelle Buly 1803 stores than entices me.
Officine Universelle Buly 1803 Milan
Officine Universelle Buly 1803 elevates the art of shopping for daily products to a new level for me. Besides the beautifully packaged and poetically named soaps, fragrances and creams; labels are also handwritten and products can be hot stamped or engraved to personalise these items. And if you loved the experience of Officine Universelle Buly 1803 Milan, you’ll also love Pettinaroli Milano, a classic stationary store a few doors down from Officine Universelle Buly 1803 Milan, with its handmade cards, parchment prints and leather bound journals.
Santa Maria Novella Brera
Founded in Florence by Dominican friars in 1221, Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella is one of the world’s oldest pharmacies. Its boutique in Brera, Milan is a modernised space to experience its history and artisanal formulations.
Santa Maria Novella Brera
Santa Maria Novella Brera is a beautifully designed shop that’s spacious and nicely compartmentalised for its different ranges of scents and products. I enjoyed sampling the scents; and bought their lip balms and hand creams (they make great souvenirs).
Pharmacies in Milan, Italy
Various locations in Milan, Italy
If you’re into affordable, effective skincare products- the best places to shop for these cosmetics are the pharmacies in Milan. You’ll find a range of Italian brands that are not available in Singapore such as Rilastil, Miami, and Colistar; and a more extensive product range from skincare brands available in Singapore like Vichy, ISDIN, Cerave and La Roche Posay. The range of products and shopping experience really varies across pharmacies, so I recommend popping in whenever you’re in the vicinity of a pharmacy.
Related blogposts:
Viral Korean Pharmacy Skincare Review
Pharmacies are easily accessible and scattered across Milan; there are a couple near the Duomo with a wide enough selection. I bought lots of skincare that are not available in Singapore; and will be sharing my review- stay tuned for this blogpost!
With Dr Riccardo Forte Dr Naveed Muradi in April 2025, after learning about injection techniques for Hybrid Cooperative Complex for Lifting and Struture.
Hope you enjoyed my curation of must visit beauty shops and experiences in Milan, Italy. There’s so much more to the vibrant city than AC Milan, fashion and food- and one Italian innovation I’ve always been excited about is a bioremodelling skin technology known as hybrid cooperative complexes. Hybrid cooperative complexes of hyaluronic acid are treatments that replenish hydration, and restore collagen and elastin fibres in the skin to lift saggy skin, reduce wrinkles and pore sizes. Learn more about them in these posts of hybrid cooperative complexes hydration and lifting and structure.
My favourite restaurant in Milan, Italy has to be Paper Moon Giardino
And if you’re in Milan, you have to visit Paper Moon Giardino for a meal. Paper Moon Giardino serves fine Italian cuisine with well paired flavours in a restored, 200 year old palazzo. The seafood and pasta dishes are always a win; and I can never leave Milan without Paper Moon Giardino’s tiramisu. Another gem is for coffee in Milan is Caffe Napoli. Caffe Napoli has a number of locations in the city, but my favourite branch is at Corso Magenta, near the Brera district for its quieter feel.
Pasticceria Marchesi 1824 is a beloved Milanese institution that’s now owned by fashion house, Prada. It’s an elegant pastry house founded in 1824 famed for its cannoncini and it feels straight out of a Wes Anderson movie. My favourites are their biscotti though; and their cafe at the galleria is a beautiful spot for a break while exploring the Duomo and Galleria.
Be sure to try Caffe Napoli when you’re in Milan, Italy!
Hope you enjoyed my recommendations for Milan, Italy. You might also enjoy my other city guides:
A Beauty Connoisseur’s Guide to Shanghai, China
Seoul, Korea: Ultimate Beauty Shopping Guide
5 Must Visit Beauty Stores & Experiences in Tokyo
Best Korean Beauty Stores & Experiences in Seoul
Bangkok, Thailand: 5 Must Visit Skincare & Makeup Shops
No Comments