Inside the Pharmakeío: The Lipstick Lesbians’ Greek Beauty Edit

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Before French pharmacies became cult destinations, Greek pharmakeíos were already brimming with olive oil cleansers, mountain-tea infusions, and homegrown remedies passed down through generations. Today, with more than 30 million annual visitors and cosmetics exports topping €400 million, Greece isn’t just a travel hotspot — it’s fast becoming a beauty destination, too.

Enter Alexis Androulakis and Dr. Christina Basias Androulakis. Better known as The Lipstick Lesbians, they’re beauty commentators who don’t just hype products — they decode the formulas and cultural stories behind them. Both proudly Cretan, they married on the island and return every summer, carrying its traditions into their work. And fittingly, they made their case not from a studio but from the backseat of an Uber — their “second office” — joking as they field questions somewhere between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Where French beauty prizes restraint, Greece leans into abundance. It’s bold, social, and lived: borrowing your cousin’s eyeliner before the club or your yiayia’s kitchen cure. “Greek women loved their makeup — they were 2016 beauty baddies before 2016 even happened,” Alexis laughs. In other words, before Instagram trends or TikTok hacks, the blueprint was already here.

And until recently, Greek beauty has remained largely local — tucked into pharmacies and villages, waiting for travelers (or The Lipstick Lesbians) to uncover it. Now, it’s ready for its spotlight.

From Pharmacy Shelves to Your Top Shelf

Skip duty-free, they insist, and make a beeline for the pharmakeío. Alexis and Christina swear by pharmacy finds and cult Greek brands that are about to have their Korres moment. “That’s where you’ll find the real treasures,” Alexis says. “The first thing I do after landing is stop at a pharmacy for Korres body wash and gel cream. It kicks off the summer for me.” 

Step into any pharmakeío and you’ll find local heroes alongside their French counterparts  — but Korres remains the cornerstone of the country’s aesthetic culture. Born inside an Athens apothecary, the brand is now known for its olive oil body care, its cult-favorite Greek Yoghurt line, and even the fragrances that scent hotels across the islands.

Part of the charm of Greek pharmacy culture is that each one is a little different, bringing an element of discovery to the shopping experience. Hitting up a few pharmacies to track down a specific product or Korres scent can be a memorable vacation sidequest in itself.

Not everything makes it across the Atlantic, though. Christina remembers being a teenager in Crete, sunburned to a crisp, while her aunt slathered her in Greek yogurt straight from the fridge. “That’s Greek skincare at its core,” Alexis says. Long before beauty editors recommended aloe vera, yiayias were swearing by a cooling, hydrating layer of yogurt to cure what ails ya. That kind of generational wisdom now lives on in Korres’ microbiome-focused Greek Yoghurt collection — which, luckily, you can pick up at Sephora.

Then there’s mountain tea, known locally as Malotira. If you’ve ever hiked Crete’s rocky hillsides, you’ve probably brushed against the wild Sideritis plant without realizing it. Locals brew it as a calming, antioxidant-rich infusion, passed down through generations. “It’s my holy grail,” Christina says. “You won’t find it stateside, but in Crete it’s everywhere.”

Deeply inspired by Crete’s botanical traditions, the Athens-born brand Apivita translates that ritual into skincare with its Tonic Mountain Tea line. The formulas bottle the same plant your yiayia might have brewed for winter colds — another example of kitchen cures making their way to the skincare aisle. These products now ship to the U.S., but if you’re ever in Chania you can also make a date at Apivita’s holistic Old Port Spa, where botanically-driven treatments lean on the same plants that have defined Cretan life for centuries.

Other pharmacy staples worth tracking down? Christina swears by Frezyderm sunscreens for derm-grade protection, while Alexis calls Carroten “the SPF that makes my tan last longer than anything else.” That’s the beauty of these finds — not just effective, but carrying Greece with them.

You don’t have to be island-hopping to bring Greece into your beauty routine (though it certainly doesn’t hurt). A slather of Korres Greek Yoghurt cream on parched skin, an everything-shower with Apivita’s mountain tea body wash, or a Carroten SPF tossed into your beach bag — each brings ritual home. And what Alexis and Christina prove is simple: Greek beauty isn’t just a trend; it’s a living tradition worth bringing home.