french pharmacie

before we left america i found a post by gwy n e th pal tro w on her favorite items from french drugstores (http://goop.com/journal/get/114/the-french-pharmacy) and was excited to try at least a few of the items when we were in paris.

these pharmacies are everywhere, at least one every few blocks. they all have the large green cross light. we thought they might be government owned because they were all so alike, but our paris greeter told us they were privately owned. while they do operate as true pharmacies in that they fill prescriptions, they also sell lots of beauty products. not makeup, but lots of oils, soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc. i can't remember what common (in the U.S.) drugstore item i was trying to find (either hand soap or toothpaste) and i couldn't find it. but, they had rows and rows of face lotion! 

so - onto the fun stuff!

the whole time in paris, my skin felt very dry. i think it's a combo of the air being cold and the water being hard. my hands felt parched. i was dying for a good hand lotion. gwynnie recommended this brand so i bought the hand lotion, it was 7.30 euros (9.97 USD). it feels nice and thick but i think the unfiltered shea butter i have does a better job of actually hydrating my hands. it smells really great though and beats the shea butter on that count (i put it on once at work and a passerby asked who was eating onions). for some reason i've been using this lotion on my face before putting on my daily sunscreen, it's a nice hydrator!

this oil is supposed to be the bee's knees. vogue even gave it a rave review: Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

it's a multi-purpose oil so you can put it on your face, body, and hair. there's a glitter version but i'm not that bold. it's a very nice oil and i put a little bit on my face as a night cream every night, and it feels moisturizing. it has a subtly sweet scent. sometimes i'll comb a little through my hair in the morning to get it to hang smoother, but it's easy to overdo and i've looked like a greaseball a few times because i was too enthusiastic. i got it for 14 euros (~19 USD) and it looks like you can get it from amazon for 39 USD - the bottle should last awhile though! 

i really wish i got a tube of this, but forgot about it until now! if someone is making a trek out to france in the near future, pick me up a tube please? incredibly it's going for ~$240 on amazon. $240!

gwynnie's description: Avibon is hard to find outside of France, but it’s one of my very favorites. It’s full of Vitamin A, which is wonderful for the skin, getting rid of blemishes, tough dry spots and preventing wrinkles (they say). I know an older movie star who uses this every night and she has the most amazing skin!