i took an amazing trip to paris, croatia, and london in august and am still sorting through my pictures to post.  as with many visitors to paris, one of my must do stops was the french pharmacy.  the internet and general interest in foreign beauty products means that many classic french brands (la roche posay, vichy, avenue, etc.) are readily available in the united states.  therefore, i tried to focus on products that were france specific.

here’s what i came back with.

the nuxe body oil used to be available in the united states, but i think the brand recently stopped their north american distribution.  it is too bad, because i will be so sad when this is done.  the oil smells like heaven, and can be used in the bath, on hair, on dry skin, and even as a perfume.

bioderma is generally available, but i haven’t seen these mini sizes (so great for travel!).

i have not tried to find the la roche redermic R, but forgot to bring my nightly retinol cream and was excited to try it.  this contains 1% retinol, which is the highest amount you can get over the counter.  i love retinol – it fights both acne and wrinkles (also can we discuss how unfair it is that we have to be concerned with both?).

i have to confess that i have no idea what these sanoflore serums are for.  the packaging is all in french.  i basically bought them because i saw them on a blog.

the nuxe lip balm is my favorite balm of.all.time.  it smells great, is light, but is also deeply moisturizing.  i have never seen it in a store in america, but there are some overseas sites that will ship it to the united states.

the marvis toothpaste is readily available, but it is so much cheaper over there that i wanted to try it.

biafine is basically french neosporin, but the packaging and name are so much chicer.

the serozinc is a spray toner with zinc that is supposed to be good for acne prone skin.  i have just started using it.  i will report back on the effectiveness.