Nelly Karlson and beauty stories With an eye for the beautiful details

As is often the case in life, it's the little details that first catch your eye: a gorgeous candlestick, a colourful shimmering barrette, or even accurately shaped eyebrows and long, clashing eyelashes. Both, charming home accessories, as well as discreet beautification of the facial contours, can be found in Friedenau at Nelly Karlson and beauty stories.

Behind the name Nelly Karlson hide the two friends, Ines and Jessy. The name may already be familiar to you from Ines' second-hand store for children and women because she has been running it in Friedenau for a long time and has been around the corner for two years. Both owners had known each other through that very store for a long time, and when Jessy learned that the jewellery store, which was previously located in the store of Nelly Karlson and beauty stories, would close, she immediately had an inspiration.

She had wanted to start her own business with natural permanent makeup, eyelash and brow lifting for quite some time. And Ines was also looking for a new place for her select Skandi home accessories - they just didn't really fit in the second-hand store. And so the two women decided that permanent makeup and Skandi accessories go together pretty well. So they rented the store together and now share the space since August 2022: Scandinavian, colourful accessories in the front, a cosy separate area in the back where Jessy beautifies people naturally.

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In this way, the two women benefit from each other: when customers come to browse the charming Scandinavian chichi, they become aware of the beauty offer. But, conversely, after their treatment, customers are guaranteed to take home one of the gorgeous and incredibly detailed flowers made of tiny beads.

Ines discovers the special interior products, accessories and toys on her trips to Scandinavia, the Netherlands or Germany. However, she is particularly fond of Denmark and the cheerful, colourful style of the Danes.

She visits our neighbours in the north several times a year and particularly appreciates the colourful style there; Scandinavia doesn't always have to be straightforward and greige. Ines is looking above all for "something special". All products are partly produced by hand and come from small artists, sustainable designers and small manufacturers or girl power labels.

And so the enchanting prints of the Swede Astrid Wilson accompany you to the back - into the skilled hands of Jessy. Because the addition of "and beauty stories" stands for permanent natural makeup like Powder Brows and Watercolor Lips. Not somehow strangely painted one appears by this procedure. Rather simply a little refreshed: neatly defined brows give the face more expression, and a gentle consumption and tinting of the lips give natural freshness - even without daily makeup. 

Jessy uses only colours without iron oxide and from resource-saving production for this. As a mom of four, she knows this: you don't want to put on makeup every day, but you still want to look a little fresh and trim. "I got into it because I had it done on myself. I just thought it was great to get up in the morning, not having to do anything, and still looking fresh. I have four kids and don't have time to take care of something like that in the morning," the specialist explains. 

Thanks to the use of natural and water-soluble colour pigments for the lip update and fine pigmentation with a nano-needle for her Powder Brows, Jessy also gives freshness and contour here. In addition, her lash and brow lifts provide the face with alertness. Not in the literal sense, that can only be achieved by a coffee or a cap of sleep, but at least in visual terms. After Jessy gently bends my lashes upwards, she treats the fine hairs with various serums and some colour. The result: Wa-Wa-Wumm lashes for six weeks- without any makeup. 

Various friends and relatives are also guaranteed to be delighted with the freshness and glistening eyelashes for the coming festivities. If you would like to give away an eyelash lift, Nelly Karlson and beauty stories also offer vouchers. 

There will also be regular events here in the future: small, relaxed and cool events with great people and artists from Berlin and the region. There are already some great events planned: a three-day pop-up with a young designer from the area, for example, where Jessy will offer live applications. A vernissage is also already in the starting blocks.

For the coming Advent season, the two women behind Nelly Karlson and beauty stories are also planning a cosy Christmas market atmosphere, simply "to bring a bit of life into here because there's not much else going on in this area." Sometimes it's the little details that can make a big difference.

Ronja C. Kolls

Author