Makeup shopping in Paris sounds like something I’d see on an episode of Sex in the City! I recently spent time in Paris and the Alsace region of France and found some lovely products I wanted to share with you. Europe has many brands of makeup and skincare that we cannot get here. And some companies like La Roche Posay carries different products for the US market. So as a makeup artist and “beauty expert” I was excited to see what French finds I would discover. Paris was filled with pharmacies, which are like a really nice drugstore where the pharmacist actually assists you in purchasing skincare products. Many items they keep behind the counter. My first visit was to a small pharmacy located up the street from our apartment. It had all kinds of great skincare items, including sunscreen. I loaded up as the ingredients they use in Europe are so much more effective than what we have here.
Here are my favs:
Skincare (first picture, from upper left around clockwise)
1. La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Sunscreen for the Face. I found one that is tinted that I should be able to wear this summer and one cream. The ingredients that Europe uses in sunscreen is more effective to blocking UVA rays that what we have in the states. If you can access these product, please get them. (Mexico and Canada as well have the better ingredients.)
2. La Roche Posay Deoderant is great for sensitive skins.
3. Bioderma is one of the most fantastic products I’ve ever used. Feels like water but will remove thoroughly any makeup completely.
4. La Roche Posay Lipikar and Hydreane. Hydreane is a rich face cream that doesn’t leave any residue. Wonderful for winter and dry skins. (I don’t know about the Lipikar does yet as it was a “gift” and I have used it.)
5. In the middle Yves Rocher Reparitive Lotion can be found in the states and is a good medium weight cream with a nutty vanilla scent.
Once we got out of Paris I found Yves Rocher makeup boutiques all over France and they are super trendy and modern. Yves Rocher reminds me of a Loreal or Revlon type line. Very up-to-date colors and products on a very economical scale. I found several products at their Savernne location including a deep purple mascara and a beautiful cherry gloss.
My finds: (second picture top left around clockwise)
Nail colors in turquoise, pink, and orange, purple eye pencil for smudging, purple mascara, plump lip gloss, loose powder pigments in gold and copper, pressed cheek color in peach and green, lip balms.
I tried to tell the ladies working at the store that I was a makeup artist and would be blogging about their store, but my French is not good. However they were very nice and gave me a bag to put my goodies in. These products can be found here in the states and I actually have a link on the sidebar of this page. For the money, this is a good line. The pigment is about mid-range, mascara is nice and nail colors pretty opaque.
You can really see the purple color of the mascara in this third picture.
It was really fun seeing new products and getting to try them. While not all were fabulous, finding them was.
Next time, learn about my visit to an old family owned professional makeup company and the chain of events that followed.
Until next time, Terri Tomlinson Makeup Artist Dallas TX