Budget French Pharmacie Finds!

So, What could be better than moving to a new country and starting to discover wonders in the Pharcmacies that adorn every street here? This weekend I realised I was running out of a few essentials, plus there were a few little gaps in skin care regime that could be filled by another little tube or bottle of goodness. So I embarked on a multi-lingual Google binge into French skin care. I find that for any country you visit a swift Google reveals the make up and skin care deals, steals and simply can't live with out's but can't buy at home products. Plus France's reputation proceeds itself in terms of skin care.

Previously I hadn't really considered Pharmacies as little treasure troves, but if you look into French skin care it is apparent in less than 2 seconds that Pharmacies are absolute gems. Today I picked up three products that nearly every beauty editor, model and make up artist class as must haves.

First up, Eau Thermale spray by Avène, €3.99 for 150 ml, widely available in the UK but far pricier!

I first encountered this in the office of the music agency I worked for in London, it was always on the desk of a dear friend who is one of the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to skin care and if it's good enough for Ms.Mulligan then that's plenty good enough for me. It's also widely touted by beauty editors and by those who travel plenty, I can certainly see why as upon returning home I quickly tested the spray. It is instantly refreshing and once it has dried it left my skin feeling really smooth. It has a multitude of uses including prepping for make up, additional help for make up removing, it soothes skin after heat exposure e.g. after showering or even sun burn, it can sooth razor burn and nappy rash, It can help reduce irritation for skin that is prone to redness ... the list goes on.

The Springs at Avène were recognised to be "of public interest" by the government in 1874 for the water's soothing properties. It's this pure spring water that soothes and refreshes tried, dry and irritated skin all over Europe.

Next is another "miracle water" - Crèaline H20 Solution Micellaire by Bioderma, €3.95 for 100ml. 

I picked up the very cute travel size of this highly praised toner and extra gentle make up remover. It works out to be very expensive compared to the €9 you will pay for 500ml or €15 for the 1000ml but as I am trailing this product I thought I could splash out as it were! 

I've seen this crystal clear liquid in many a professional make up kit and upon reading into Pharmacie must haves this crops up endlessly. Lisa Eldridge adores it, amoungst others and she has some seriously beautiful skin! Currently my winter ravaged skin (Yes, we do get Winter on the French Riviera!) is being treated to extra virgin olive oil as a make up remover and cleanser, along with a honey, lemon and olive oil DIY mask (See my post here for more details and review ... Hint, it is uh-maz-ing) so in all honesty I wasn't really looking for a make up remover but this tones as it cleanses and is extra gentle. The reviews continue to rave away so I figured I'd give it a go. Today I am sporting a particularly smokey eye so I will test later and let you all know how it holds up! It's crystal clear and odorless and it is so light that there is no need to rinse after you use it. All this adds towards well looked after, clean skin with no tightness of dryness that some cleansers will leave you with. The entire (rather massive) Bioderma range is well regarded so I am really looking forward to testing my way through some of their goodies.

Finally I have Gwyneth's favourite, Avibon Vitamine A pomade €6 for a 30g tube (it sells for $27 on amazon.com!)

Ever since Gwyneth declared her love for this Retinol A based cream of her website goop, along with another list of French Pharmacie finds that you can read here, Avibon has been in high demand and isflying off the shelves, particularly in america where online stores import it and then charge a fortune for it. Why? Well it is almost exclusively made of Vitamin A (Retinol) which is a key player in all the major, effective anti-aging and skin renewal creams on the market. To get hold of a Retinol cream in the UK for both skin ailments and cosmetic use you will be needing a prescription from your doctor. Avibon was originally made for treating dermatitis but it's line reducing and skin softening properties are widely written about on the net by beauty experts world wide. It has a slight rose scent and my gosh this stick is thick. It's like extra gloopy Vaseline  I've read that the best way to apply it is last thing at night (I shall be cleansing with my Bioderma Crèaline first) and rubbing a small amount between your palms to warm it before spreading a thin layer across your face and neck, paying special attention to the skin around the eyes and the mouth. Read back later to see how this product works for me, will the beauty bloggers claims of line reducing properties and oh-so-soft skin ring true for me? 

I also had a couple of little testers in my bags, Roger & Gallet's Bois D'Orange Fragrant Fresh Water and Vichy's Liftactive anti wrinkle and firming cream. I'll let you know how I got on with those too! Do you have any lesser known French Skin care essentails? Do let me know below, I'd love to go root them out! 

Bisous, Jemma xxx