Loved by celebrities, fashion/beauty insiders and chic French women all around the world; you and your grandmother (and her grandmother) has probably seen the hype over French pharmacies products.
I’ve always loved French beauty products (if this blog isn’t any indication) but they were always from “mainstream” brands. Since I don’t live in France, I’ve never had proper access to their everyday, local, pharmacy products and brands. Until this summer when I was in Paris, when I had my first look at the French pharmacy and… long story short: I totally, totally get the hype now.
Here’s what I picked up in my very first French pharmacy “haul”, with hopefully many more to come:
Bioderma Hydrabio H2O Micelle Solution (buy here and here)
I already use this, so I just bought a new bottle for my trip. It really is the best micellar water; and as we’ve learnt, there are many other micellar water uses than just a makeup remover!
Bioderma Atoderm Cream (buy here)
I was in London before going to Paris (before the heatwave), and London was still quite cold, so my skin, which is not used to cold, got a little bit of a shock. By the time I went to Paris it was peeling like crazy, and felt really tight and dry. I turned to Bioderma and looked for the first thing for “dry sensitive skin” and bought it. It’s for the face and body, but I used it for the face, and no joke – my skin was back to normal overnight.
Ducray Ictyane lipbalm (buy here and here)
My lips were also so chapped when I got to Paris, my trusty Fresh Advanced Lips, which usually works well at home, ended up being completely useless. I found this lip balm, from a brand I’d never heard of, in the bargain bin for 2 Euros. And what the heck; it’s the best lipbalm I’ve ever tried. Seriously. It healed my chapped lips and I continue to use it every night at home. In fact, once I got home, I desperately went online to see where I can buy it.
Embryolisse Gentle Cleansing Bar (buy here and here)
Again, because my skin was so dry after London, I wanted to buy a gentle cleanser and not use my harsh one I brought with me. (Not pictured above, since it’s wet in my bathtub, but it’s a normal white bar of soap.) I just chose this because I keep hearing that Embryolisse is such a good brand, and read “gentle cleansing soap”. It’s so gentle, it’s basically soap for the face and cleans all impurities and leaves skin feeling soft and smooth… and that’s about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s just hand soap for the face; and it was so cheap you could probably buy it as a hand soap too. I love it. Also, you know how bars of soap get all mushy, and slimy after awhile in the shower? Not this one.
Cicabia hand cream
You guessed it: my hands were extremely dry as well, and I needed to look for another hand cream – again, the one I brought from home was not good enough. I went to the pharmacy that first night in Paris for it, and found this in the bargain bin, and it was amazing for my super dry hands during my trip. I am still using it at home and I love it too. Is it the best handcream in the world? Probably not, but then again I don’t think of handcreams that much, I’ll use any handcream (as long as it works). And this really did work.
La Roche Posay Hydreane Legere Creme (buy here)
After my success with the Bioderma moisturizer, I thought I’d buy a lighter moisturizer for the hot weather back home in Singapore. Again, I had no idea where to look, I just wanted to try all the pharmacy’s different brands so I went to this brand and looked for the words “light” and “moisturizer”. And…let’s just stay… stay tuned. It’s getting it’s own review soon, I have TOO many good things to say about it.
La Roche Posay Hydreane Light BB Creme
I bought their BB cream as well ’cause… well, why not. While I love light formulas, this is really pushing it. It takes 3 layers on before it builds any kinda coverage, but gosh once you get there – it looks incredible. It looks totally natural, dewy and gives a slight brighting effect. The formula is so liquid-y that it’s super easy to apply; probably my favorite formula of any BB cream I’ve tried. That being said, because the coverage is so light, I think this would only suit those with good skin already. Other than that, it’s a superb makeup primer/base.
In other words, I’m a total convert. Considering these products are ones that I randomly picked up, without knowing much about them (except Bioderma’s micellar water), and have now become some of my favorite products, I think that says a lot. Totally worth the hype in my eyes. I can’t wait to go back!
What are your favorite French pharmacy products?