My City Pharma, Paris Purchases

Ahhh Paris. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about, right? Just say it with me, ahhhh Paris. And if you haven't been there, believe me, you will at some point say, ahhh Paris. It's just a magical place full of magical things like Sephora and the humble Pharmacie, but what we're going to be talking about, it the mother of all Parisian Pharmacie's, and it's called City Pharma. 26 Rue de Four in Saint Germain, it is wall to wall full of wonderful products. Caudalie, Nuxe, Bioderma, Embryolisse, La Roche Posay, Eucerin and Vichy are all up for grabs in the almost claustrophobic aisles, and if you can get near the shelves, have a browse. That brings me to a very important point. It's busy there. Maddeningly busy. Get there early, keep your personal belongings close and use one of the bags they provide. Don't be afraid to say 'excuse me' a lot, and smile, it will diffuse a lot of overheated situations. At the tills, there is no orderly form of a queue, so jump right in, and wait in a straight line behind your chosen till. Your time will come. 

I hit the sections that I knew I wanted items from, because browsing was a bad idea, because I couldn't get near the shelves. From Nuxe it had to be their Huile Prodigieuse oil (£28, here), which is a multipurpose dry oil, that can be used on hair, skin and face alike. It immediately went into my basket as soon as I saw it, and moments later, all of the remaining ones were taken by a wonderfully stylish elderly French lady, who had an appropriate amount of Bioderma and Eucerin in her basket (yes, I looked. sorrynotsorry). This oil is something that is a definite travel companion, as dryness is something I suffer from, so why not just pop on a bit of this and carry on? Dry patches of skin can be more irritating that anything else, so this is a wonderful bottle of golden goodness. Another two products from the brand are their, ugh, amazing Reve de Miel lip balms, one in pot form (£9.50, here), the other in a stick (£5.50, here)- both of which are glorious and should be worn by everyone who has ever moaned about dry lips.

La Roche-Posay's Serozinc (£5.06, here) is something I'm sure you're familiar with on this blog, because I looooove it a ridiculous amount, because it soothes my reddened skin and helps to deal with the oiliness of it as well, total win-win. I actually bought four bottles of this stuff... and at €4 each,  they were worth lugging around Paris. I wrote about this last year and I'm still in love with is, so much so, I wouldn't double tone with anything else. It's so cooling and refreshing, so much so, I spritzed my dad's face with it when we were driving through France, and he did say that it was nice and light on the skin, non drying and 'good' (which means a lot coming from him).

Ah, Caudalie. Where would I be without you? My first bottle of this perfection, was small and used up within a month, but this, this is the big bottle and something I adore so much, it's almost painful. I don't even really know what it smells like, but it reminds me of fresh citrus and a crisp breeze on a warm day. I know that sounds a bit silly, but you have to try it to know what I mean. I use this after my oil/serum but before my moisturiser, to give a little boost before locking in all the goodness before I go to sleep. My bedtime routine suffers without it, so this is an absolute repurchase. The fact that it costs £30 for 100ml makes me wince, but some things are worth it, right?

Now, I was used to seeing Bioderma in those pretty pink tipped bottles, but the green tipped ones are for oily skin, and meant to not irritate the skin or upset its balance, thereby causing the production of more sebium. This 250ml bottle retails at £9.99 and the pack I purchased contained two, so if you're going to Paris, it's definitely worth purchasing the two pack, as not only does it save you money, but you get double the amount of product. This will be having its own little review up on the blog soon, so watch out for it.

Last, but not least, is Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre, a favourite of Samantha Chapman from Pixiwoo, and even though we have different skin types, I was determined to pick up a little tube of this to try, so I popped it into my bag as soon as I saw it. It's a thick, creamy moisturiser that sits well and sinks into the skin - I don't want to give too much away, as I'm still in the process of reviewing it, but I like it so far. It's a shame I don't know where it can be purchased in this country, so if anyone has any links, I'd love to include them in this post. I know French Skincare is quite dreamy and something not a lot of people, outside of blogger are familiar with, in this country, so I would definitely recommend Escentual for your perusal, as not only does it have reviews of each product, but numerous bloggers purchase products from there, including myself, so I trust it as a website. What French Pharmacy goodies are garnering your interest?