I recently spent a weekend in Paris: the City of Lights, the City of Love, and the City of Skincare Priorities. I’m not going to say that I trekked to France exclusively for skincare, but it may have been part of the motivation. The French are known for their simple but effective makeup and beauty routines, and their pharmacies are famous for having every product under the sun. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity to get my hands on a few go to waste, and decided to navigate my way through the variety of offerings.
The first step in making this a successful mission was acknowledging my oily skin and researching beauty blogs to find out what were the most positively reviewed products for my skin type. I narrowed the list down to four items and while I did walk out of the pharmacy with three out of the four, the last item was replaced with a light cream that the caring dermatologist/staff member directed me towards. This was after scolding me like a child for almost purchasing a serum with a high potency of Vitamin C (i.e. brightening and lightly anti-aging) because it was “not made for young people like [me]”.
This led to my purchase of Hormeta’s HORME™MAT Anti-Shine Creme with Tea Tree Oil. It is like using a blotting paper, except it lasts way longer. I have had oily skin all my life, and while my acne has never been crazy, I do try to incorporate products into my routine that are acne-fighting, as a preventative measure. This light cream has enough tea tree oil in it to make the wearer feel like it’s working, but it is also gentle enough for daily wear. The creme itself actually mattifies the skin, so if I want to go makeup free without shine, I can. It also absorbs into the skin quickly without any stickiness or residue, which is always a win.
The purchases I made on my own findings were more for pampering purposes than function. Avène’s Eu Thermal might seem silly at first - I’m literally spraying water on my face. However, once you take into account that it is ph balanced water it becomes a little less absurd. Since I’ve been traveling a lot, my skin has been exposed to water with different ph levels, sometimes leading to breakouts since that further imbalances the skin. With this product I’ve noticed a visible difference when traveling. My skin is smoother and plumper, and I barely have breakouts anymore after flights. The cold mist of purified water closes my pores, making it less likely for dirt and pollutants to clog them. Plus, it’s fun to use!
Another item I picked up is a cult-favorite and I was curious to see what the hype was about. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré has been used by the elite of the fashion world for decades. The delicate rose scent put me off at first since I was fearful of it being an unnecessary luxury that would result in a breakout. However, over the past few weeks it has proven to be a decent night creme and I always wake up with smoother skin after using it. While it is certainly not a suitable daily moisturizer for me, I would repurchase it again for extra hydration during the winter months.
The small, but potent container of Nuxe’s Rêve de Miel, will certainly help during the drying winter months too. This thick, hydrating lip balm is extremely long wearing, making it perfect to put on before workouts or matte lipsticks. It is the type of formula where a little goes a long way, making it worth the price, which is already a great value. I’ve been using this lip balm at night, mostly because of how dense it is (nearly a lip mask), but also because it is packaged in a pot form and therefore not ideal to carry around for use on the fly.
I’m sure there are many more wonders that I have yet to encounter in the aisles of the French pharmacies, but until my next Parisian adventure, my skin will be enjoying these treats!!