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German Vocabulary: 50 Essential Words for Cosmetics and Beauty Products

Jens Olesen
1 day ago
3 min read

Whether you work in the beauty industry, are preparing for a German-speaking exam, or simply love skincare, knowing how to talk about cosmetics and beauty products in German is both useful and empowering. In this post, you'll learn 50 essential German cosmetic nouns (excluding make-up), complete with gender, pronunciation tips, and example sentences.

Ideal for A1–B2 learners, this guide will help you talk about shopping for skincare, describing your beauty routine, or navigating German beauty stores with ease.

For even more confidence with real-world vocabulary, Olesen Tuition offers outstanding private German lessons, GCSE/A-level tutoring, and a German language blog full of resources designed by an Oxford-educated native tutor.

🧴 Skincare Products (Hautpflegeprodukte)

German Term	English Translation	Pronunciation	Example Sentence
die Feuchtigkeitscreme	moisturiser	['fɔɪ̯çtɪç-kaɪ̯ts-kreːmə]	Ich benutze morgens eine Feuchtigkeitscreme. (I use a moisturiser in the morning.)
das Gesichtsserum	face serum	[ɡə-'zɪçts-zeː-rʊm]
das Hautserum	skin serum	['haʊt-zeː-rʊm]
die Ampulle	ampoule	[am-'pʊ-lə]
die BB-Creme	BB cream	[beː-beː-'kreː-mə]
die CC-Creme	CC cream	[tseː-tseː-'kreː-mə]
die Gesichtsmilch	facial lotion	[ɡə-'zɪçts-mɪlç]
die Augencreme	eye cream	['aʊ-gən-kreː-mə]
die Augenpads	under-eye pads	['aʊ-ɡən-pɛds]
das Gesichtsöl	facial oil	[ɡə-'zɪçts-øːl]
die Nachtcreme	night cream	['naxt-kreː-mə]
die Tagescreme	day cream	['taː-gəs-kreː-mə]
die Anti-Aging-Creme	anti-ageing cream	['anti ɛi̯-dʒɪŋ kreːmə]
das Reinigungsgel	cleansing gel	['ʁai̯nɪɡʊŋs-geːl]
das Reinigungsöl	cleansing oil	['ʁai̯nɪɡʊŋs-øːl]
die Waschlotion	facial wash	['vaʃ-lo-tsjoːn]
das Gesichtswasser	toner	[ɡə-'zɪçts-vasɐ]
das Mizellenwasser	micellar water	[mi-'tsɛl-lən-vasɐ]
das Peeling	exfoliator / scrub	['piː-lɪŋ]
die Peel-off-Maske	peel-off mask	['piːl-ʔɔf-mas-kə]
die Tonerde-Maske	clay mask	['toːn-ɛʁ-də-mas-kə]
die Porenmaske	pore mask	['poː-rən-mas-kə]
das Anti-Pickel-Gel	anti-blemish gel	['an-ti pɪ-kəl-geːl]
das Schönheitselixier	beauty elixir	['ʃøːn-haɪ̯ts-e-lɪk-'siːɐ]

🧼 Body & Skin Care (Körperpflege)

German Term	English Translation	Pronunciation
die Bodylotion	body lotion	['bɔ-di-lo-tsjoːn]
die Körperbutter	body butter	['kœʁ-pɐ-bʊtɐ]
das Körperöl	body oil	['kœʁ-pɐ-øːl]
das Körperpeeling	body scrub	['kœʁ-pɐ-piː-lɪŋ]
die Feuchtigkeitsmilch	moisturising body milk	['fɔɪ̯çtɪçt-mɪlç]
die Dehnungsstreifencreme	stretch mark cream	['deː-nʊŋs-ʃtʁai̯-fən-kreːmə]
die Handcreme	hand cream	['hant-kreː-mə]
die Fußcreme	foot cream	['fuːs-kreː-mə]
das Handdesinfektionsgel	hand sanitiser	['hant-de-zɪnfɛk-tsjoːns-geːl]
das Körperpuder	body powder	['kœʁ-pɐ-puː-dɐ]
das Thermalwasser	thermal water spray	[tɛʁ-'maːl-vasɐ]

💋 Lip & Nail Care (Lippen- und Nagelpflege)

German Term	English Translation	Pronunciation
die Lippenpflege	lip care	['lɪp-pən-fleː-gə]
der Lippenbalsam	lip balm	['lɪp-pən-bal-zam]
der getönte Lippenbalsam	tinted lip balm	[ɡə-'tøːn-tə 'lɪp-pən-bal-zam]
das Balsam	balm (general use)	['bal-zam]
der Nagellack	nail polish	['naː-gəl-lak]
der Klarlack	clear nail polish	['klaʁ-lak]
der Nagelhärter	nail hardener	['naː-gəl-hɛʁ-tɐ]
der Nagellackentferner	nail polish remover	['naː-gəl-lak-ɛnt-fɛʁ-nɐ]
die Nagelfeile	nail file	['naː-gəl-fai-lə]
der Nagelknipser	nail clippers	['naː-gəl-knɪp-sɐ]
das Nagelöl	nail oil	['naː-gəl-øːl]

🧠 Sample Sentences for Everyday Use

Here are some practical examples using the vocabulary above:

Ich trage jeden Abend eine Tonerde-Maske auf.(I apply a clay mask every evening.)
Meine Lieblingspflege ist ein getöntes Hautserum.(My favourite product is a tinted skin serum.)
Diese Körperbutter riecht fantastisch!(This body butter smells amazing!)
Ich habe neue Augenpads gekauft.(I bought new under-eye pads.)
Kannst du mir das Mizellenwasser reichen?(Can you pass me the micellar water?)

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We make learning engaging, useful, and tailored to your goals. Whether you're preparing for exams or just love talking about beauty routines, we’ll help you say it clearly — auf Deutsch!