When I say shopping in Paris, what is the first thing that comes into your mind?
Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and the list goes on and on...
But for a broke student, all these branded stuffs seem impossible, just yet.
But fret not, the pharmacies in Paris are equally nice to shop and absolutely cheaper!
There are some brands that you always see in Watson or Guardian such as Avene, La Roche Posay and Bioderma, but OMG they are all so expensive right!!! (They're all targeted for sensitive skin people, probably why they're so expensive)
These brands are all from France, so buying in Paris is definitely so much cheaper! (You will see how cheap is it compared to the prices in Malaysia!)
First of all, there are a lot of pharmacy on the street of Paris. I'm serious it's A LOOOOOOOT!!!
But the cheapest definitely goes to City Pharma! (I'll list down the price of the products I got there down below) REMEMBER GUYS, IT'S CLOSED ON SUNDAYS!!! It is located near the Saint-Germain-des-Prés metro station, so it is very accessible from everywhere around Paris.
Just google this address below and you will be able to get there safe and sound yo!
26 Rue du Four, 75006 Paris, France
What's even more amazing? You can even get about 12% tax deduction if you purchase more than €175 in a single receipt! Just let them know at the counter that you would like to do tax refund and they are more than happy to help you! :)
First brand: La Roche Posay
1. Serozinc spray 300ml €8.99
Product claims: mattify skin so that it looks and feels less shiny
Suitable for all skin types.
You can use this after all your skin care procedures and before you start to make up.
so skin care (until moisurizer) - serozinc spray - sunscreen - primer - foundation
Even though it is targeted at oily skin, but famous youtuber (sydneytoyou) seems to love it a lot too!!
Sydney's product recommendations (starting from 4:00)
Malaysia is always hot and humid so to keep your make up stay put for a longer time, this must be in your to-buy-list!
2. Hydraphase UV intense legere 50ml (€12.99)
Product claims: Intensely moisturizes your skin
Suitable for combination and oily skin.
It is a day cream as it has SPF20 in it to protect your skin against the sun. It feels light on my dry skin but at the same time moisturize your skin! Definitely does what it claims, though not many people have talked about this product. It might be a bit tacky to use in Malaysia (summer all year long) and oily skin might not like it.
3. Effaclar K+ 30ml (€9.99)
Product claims: Reduces the appearance of blackheads and mattifies skin for 8 hours
Absolutely a highly raved product, especially for acne prone skin! It does smell funny (can't describe smell) and it will linger around for a loooooooong time. My skin does feel like it is mattified upon application and my growing acne does stop growing toooo. XD
4. Cicaplast gel 40ml
Product claims: Heals dry patches, chapped skin, and irritations
Suitable for combination skin.
This product does contain dimethicone which is known as silicone though, so it will form a smooth protective layer on the skin and can be used as a primer. For people who try to avoid silicone in your skin care product might want to take note of this. However, it also helps to repair damaged skin, sooth the skin
5. Cicaplast baume B5 100ml (2 for €16.99)
Product claims: Multi-repairing balm that seeks to repair sensitive and irritated skin
Suitable for all skin types.
Probably the most highly raved product of La Roche-Posay. It basically heals everything like active acne and open wounds as it is formulated with madecassoside and provitamin B5. Madecassoside has anti-inflammatory and skin barrier restructuring properties while provitamin B5 improves hydration, reduces itching and inflammation of the skin. So, no doubt this is a great product to treat sensitive skin and all skin which are undergoing crazy moment.
Secondly, it's Bioderma!!!
If you buy your cleansing water in Malaysia, you will know how ridiculously expensive it is over here at Watson and Guardian. Well, I get it, this product is super heavy so the shipping fee must be costing a lot.
Tadaaaaaa. It's the Bioderma sensibio H2O which I got them in a twin pack (500ml each) and 100ml travel size bottle. They're €15.66 and €1.99 respectively. Now you know why I said the shipping must have cost them a fortune to send it across indian ocean.
This product has been my trustworthy make up remover throughout my entire Europe trip and obviously it didn't break me up by just using this solely to remove my make ups. I even use it on my sensitized skin with all the redness and bumps, I can feel that it didn't worsen any of the red patches!!! I do pair this with a facial cleanser which is from Avene (Extremely gentle cleanser).
Next, I bought the lait-creme concentre 24-hour miracle cream from Embryolisse! (€12.90)
It is a well known moisturizing cream that can also be used as a make up primer, especially among make up artists and models as they need to have a well-moisturized skin as a base! I do have a normal skin, towards dry skin type and I have no problem using this to moisturize my face. However, my friend who has extremely dry skin like super duper dry skin finds that this is insufficient to moisturize her face on its own. So if you have super dry skin you might need to layer it with another serum, for example the ordinary hyaluronic acid 2% + B5 (about RM50 for 30ml).
I saw this when I was in a random pharmacy in Paris and it was so cheap as compared to Malaysia (it has a branch in One Utama)!!!
Melvita Damask rose floral water mist! 200ml (€9.99)
OMG please buy this if you always use facial mist because Malaysia is selling at RM138 which is almost triple the price of the one in Paris!!!
And I got so addicted in facial mist after I used this one!
It smells like those expensive rose instead of the cheap plak synthetic chemical smell! (Duhh it's so expensive) And they're all extracted by steam distillation from fresh Rosadamascena petals.
Rose is famous for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-aging properties. Also, it helps to restore the skin barrier function and hydrate skin.
Oh well, besides all these functions you will feel good after smelling this anyway! :D
They also have different floral waters like lavender, cornflower and orange blossom so you can have various options to purchase based on your needs.
Last but not least, it's a brand called A-derma.
This brand is said to be the first dermo-cosmetic brand using natural active ingredient that is extracted from Rhealba® oat.
It helps to soothes and protects fragile skin, for example eczema affected skin area.
People will never understand how dry the skin can be at the eczema affected area unless you experience it!
I used to scratch my skin (affected area) when I sleep ALL THE TIME!!! well, it usually ends up with blood and wound until I come across this cream which truly moisture my skin until the next day! So now I don't scratch my eczema affected skin area that much anymore! *Thank god for this invention*
I guess this is a really long post and I should wrap it up now!
Stay tuned for more must buys in Europe! :D
