Paris Berlin

Paris Berlin is a French professional makeup company founded in Paris in 1987 [2]. It began as a specialist supplier for makeup artists and hairstylists working in theatre, film, fashion, dance and live entertainment, and remained a professional-only house for most of its history before opening to retail customers. The company is still family-run and active, operating from an office at 56 boulevard Richard Lenoir in central Paris and shipping internationally through its own e-shop.

Despite the German half of its name, the brand is firmly Parisian in origin. According to the company, the name was inspired by the 1978 exhibition Paris-Berlin at the Centre Pompidou, rather than any German manufacturing base [2].

Paris Berlin was started by two founders, Gérard and Carole, who ran the business for roughly four decades [2]. The house built its reputation by working directly with entertainment professionals — the about page names opera houses in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes and Montpellier, theme parks, fashion weeks, and French and international audiovisual productions among its clients. The company says its formulas were refined continuously on the basis of feedback from the artists using them under demanding stage and screen conditions.

In its second generation the company passed to Clara and Arthur [2]. The about page describes Clara as bringing about ten years of commercial experience in fashion and Arthur a comparable background in event production and image.

The operating company behind the brand is Sopile Paris Berlin SARL, a French limited company registered in Paris [3]. The same legal notice records the company's Paris head office and registration details. No acquisition history is documented; the business has remained under the founding family across both generations.

The company's stated mission is "to make professional makeup accessible to everyone" [1]. It frames itself around four principles set out on its about page: creating for entertainment professionals, making products that withstand demanding conditions, keeping a family spirit, and building relationships of trust with its users.

Third-party retailers echo this professional-first, value-conscious positioning. The Swedish stockist Revolt Beauty describes the brand as founded "with the vision of making genuine professional, high-end & cruelty free makeup available to all, at a wallet-friendly price," and states that the aim "is not to maximize profits and sales, but instead to deliver the best possible product" [6]. The US theatrical supplier Manhattan Wardrobe Supply, which carries the line for professional and stage use, quotes the brand's own description of its identity as "all about color, sensuality, enjoyment, a lot of imagination and a hint of humor" [7].

Paris Berlin's catalogue spans a full professional makeup range — foundation, concealer, loose and compact powders, blush and highlighter, bronzer and contouring products, special-effects (SFX) makeup, eye and lip products, palettes, glitter, brushes, sponges and accessories. Among the items the brand highlights are natural-bristle makeup brushes described as "100% martre pure" (pure kolinsky) and handmade in Brittany, alongside vegan-hair brush alternatives, and an HD smoothing powder [1].

The company says it manufactures the majority of its products in France, Italy and Germany, using in its words "the most reasoned ingredients possible" [2]. Beyond this statement, no formal sustainability program or certification is documented in the available sources. The cruelty-free description of the makeup comes from the Swedish retailer rather than the brand's own harvested pages [6].

The brand is active. Its e-shop carries a 2026 copyright, ships worldwide in a wide range of currencies, and maintains an Instagram presence, and the company lists resellers across Europe, South Korea, Tunisia and Canada. In 2023 it expanded from a professional-only supplier to also serving retail consumers, selling directly through its e-shop and international boutiques under the second generation of the founding family [2].