It seems that every time I leave England to visit a different country, I always have to make a skincare purchase. It is not even intentional either, it is just something that has happened coincidentally over time. Not that i’m complaining…
When I went on a press trip to Paris, I found myself exploring on my lonesome on the final day and had a list of places I wanted to go. I was recommended by the photographer on the trip to visit the area of Place Monge, where there was a pharmacy called ‘Pharmacie Monge’. Apparently, the best brands at dirt cheap prices are found in this pharmacy, so I couldn’t leave Paris without taking a look.
As soon as I entered, there was floods of people with baskets filled with items. People grabbing products by the handful and running around to find the next product. It seems like a small store from the outside, but as soon as you go in it just seems to grow and grow which is great. I would definitely recommend going with a list of products you want rather than going with a blind eye like I did. They stocked big brands like L’Occitane, Clarins, Lancôme, Nuxe, Caudalie, Avène, Biotherm and many more!
From Pharmacie Monge, I picked up the L’Occitane Cedrat Facial Cleanser which is has a light and refreshing citrus scent. The cleanser is more of a yellow gel, that lathers up quite nicely with a small amount, leaving the skin truly fresh, clean, tight and energised.
Keeping within the L’Occitane range, I also picked up a small travel size L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream for dry hands, that is filled with shea butter and smells wonderful. Again, a little goes a long way with L’Occitane products so this little addition would be perfect for my travel cosmetics bag.
Having heard lots of good things about Biotherm products, I decided I would pick up one of their under eye creams, especially as my Origins GinZing eye cream is almost coming to an end (which is fantastic, may I add). Biotherm Aquasource Total Eye Revitaliser gave me faith in the Biotherm brand. It is a cooling cosmetic that reduces puffiness around the eyes, the visibility of dark circles whilst keeping the under eye hydrated to prevent dehydration lines.
I’m also a huge lover of face masks, but it’s hard to take big tubes of masques on your travels. The hunt was to look for something that would give deep hydration and wake up tired skin but came in pod packaging so you could slip one into my cosmetics bag and wasn’t too thick. I know, so many requirements! Alas, I found Academie Apricot Mask which is a weekly treatment hydrating and revitalising mask. I wasn’t able to try it, but I took the risk and bought it anyway. Much to my delight, it was a light, loose gel like consistency that offered my skin intense hydration and a lift of life leaving it looking radiant. The box comes with 8 pods, making it perfect for travel too. Winner!
Whilst I was mask hunting, I couldn’t miss out on the chance on a quick Sephora stop too. I skipped past all the products, as hard as it was and went straight in for the Sephora sheet masks. Sheet masks are something I had always wanted to try but there are very few brands that do them in the UK and of course we don’t have a Sephora either. I picked up a few and ran straight to the check out before I was tempted to buy anything else. On my return home, I tried one of them and I think they are great. Perfect little skin pick me ups. They would be perfect to apply whilst on a plane, as it doesn’t require any application so there is no need to wash your hands and they can put back and disposed in the pouch they come in. Of course, they should never be substituted for your weekly deep cleansing or hydration masks though.
Overall, very happy with my purchases and at the same time I got to discover my love for different French brands.
Have you tried any of these products or brands? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time…
