Why am I seeing such a huge price difference for Summer Fridays Iced Coffee in Germany?

The Iced Coffee craze hitting my social feed

I have been scrolling through TikTok and Instagram lately, and it feels like every beauty influencer is obsessed with the new Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in the limited-edition 'Iced Coffee' shade. It is February 2026, and the hype has not died down since it launched. The shade is the perfect neutral mauve-brown, and the scent is exactly like a fresh brew. I knew I had to have it, but looking at the local options here in Germany left me feeling a bit frustrated.

We Can Buy Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm (Iced Coffee) For You

Merchant Summer Fridays Sephora US Revolve

Ship To Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d'Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Türkiye Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands

Your Email

Product Url ^*

Product Name ^*

Unit Price ^*

Quantity ^*

Color

Size

Instructions

Submit your proxy shopping order now and enjoy 50% OFF the service fee.

Plus, get 10% OFF international shipping on your first shipment.

Submit Order

We often see these trends start in the US, and by the time they reach Europe, the stock is gone or the prices have been inflated by third-party sellers. I noticed that while the product is available through some boutique resellers in the EU, they are asking for nearly double the US retail price. I decided to find a better way to get my hands on it without overspending.

Why we are seeing such different prices in Germany

I did some quick math and realized that the US retail price of $24 is significantly lower than the €45 to €50 prices I found on German resale sites. Even with shipping, the price gap is massive. I realized that if I bought a few other items alongside the lip balm, the savings would be even more noticeable. This is why many of us are turning to a freight forwarder to handle our US shopping needs.

The issue is not just the base price. It is also the availability. In 2026, the 'Iced Coffee' shade remains a limited release, and US retailers like Sephora and the official Summer Fridays site tend to get restocked much faster than any European distributor. I found that by using a tax-free us address, I could shop like a local and avoid the immediate markup.

How I shopped US stores from my home in Berlin

I started by setting up an account with comGateway. This gave me a US-based address in Oregon, which is a sales-tax-free state. This is a huge win because when I shop us store websites, I don't have to pay the additional 6-10% US sales tax that usually gets added at checkout. I simply entered my new US address as the shipping destination on the Sephora US website.

I also recommend looking at bundling your purchases. Since the lip balm is so light, I added a few other US-exclusive beauty items to my cart to make the international shipping rates more efficient. Once my package arrived at the warehouse, I was notified and could manage the next steps easily.

Shipping Estimates for your lip balm

To help you plan your own haul, I have put together these estimates based on my experience shipping small beauty items from the US to Germany in 2026.

I suggest you use the shipping calculator to get a more precise quote based on your specific city in Germany. It helps to know the shipping fees before you commit to the purchase.

Handling the German customs and import tax

When shipping to Germany, we have to keep import duties and VAT in mind. Since 2021, the EU has removed the VAT exemption for low-value goods, meaning you will likely pay the standard 19% German VAT on your purchase. However, even with this added import tax, I found that the total cost was still lower than buying from a local reseller who has already baked those costs (plus their profit margin) into the price.

You might also like to check our guide on how to calculate customs tax if you are planning to buy more than just a few lip balms. If your total order value is under €150, you generally only pay VAT and not additional customs duties, which makes this specific lip balm purchase quite straightforward.

My final thoughts on the 2026 haul

I am so glad I took the extra step to forward packages from the US. My Summer Fridays Iced Coffee balm arrived in perfect condition, and I saved about €15 compared to the local prices I was seeing in Berlin. Plus, I got the satisfaction of having the 'it' product of the season before it even hit the shelves here.

If you are tired of seeing "out of stock" messages or prices that make no sense, I highly recommend looking into a parcel forwarding service. It has completely changed how I approach my beauty shopping. We no longer have to wait for brands to decide when we deserve access to their latest launches.