Welcome to the (BEAUTY) jungle

So what exactly is a girl to do in Brussels - a city full of exciting makeup but no compas to navigate her towards her favourite brands? DrogerieMarkt, where art thou? Sephora is just a dream...but rejoice - there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Traditional shopping options

My first stop for beauty products in Brussels was Di drugstore. Situated at Merode, it was my starter point for makeup supply (L'oreal, Maybelline, Bourjois, Nivea, Une, 2B Cosmetics and recently Avenue). However, I discovered quickly that this particular shop does not store the makeup brands I was used to from back home, such as Maxfactor, Manhattan, Rimmel London, Revlon, Pupa Milano, Miss Sporty, Essence, Astor, Dermacol, Gosh. So I had to look somewhere else to get what I was after.

Which led me to a shop called Kruidvat. It may not take your fancy at first, as it sells a rather vast array of seemingly unconnected goods, but trust me, this is a crown jewel with their drugstore makeup selection. I spent there many happy hours admiring the latest of Rimmel London, Essence, 2B Cosmetics, Gosh (virtually any primer you might want - foundation, eye, lip), Catrice, 2true, Maxfactor.

If you desire a still wider option on decorative cosmetics, I would recommend Inno galerie. Check out their fantastic offer, combining both the drugstore cosmetics and high end luxury: Arcancil, Benefit, Biguine Advance, Biguine Makeup, Biotherm, Bourjois, Chanel, Clarins, Clinique, Deborah, Dior, Estee Lauder, Fashion Fair, Gemey, Guerlain, Helena Rubinstein, Isadora, Kama, Lancome, Pranarom, Revlon, Rouge Baiser, Shiseido, YSL.

Yet another opportunity presents itself in visiting (almost exclusively high end luxury brands) ICI Paris or Planet Parfume - this one stores OPI and Pupa! Oh, and of course Yves Rocher, The Body shop (really nice face brushes).

If you are a MAC girl, you will find your store around Louiza (Charleroisesteenweg 9, 1000 Brussels) and near Antwerpen, http://www.wijnegemshoppingcenter.be/