Bonjour mes amis!
I’m back from Paris, and if you had joined me on my trip on Instagram and Snapchat, I hope you enjoyed it! I was on my own a lot of the time so it was nice having you along! Now, I was in Paris for a beauty related event, but it didn’t stop this beauty buff from keeping her eyes peeled for OTHER beauty brands and products. Oh yes, I have to admit to a roving eye when it comes to beauty!
And we all know that French pharmacy stocks some of the better, affordable beauty products out there don’t we? You don’t? Ah, now you do! My skin takes incredibly well to many French pharmacy brands and formulations of skincare, which is why over the years, I eventually moved away from Asian skincare and American brands. It’s a personal preference and it’s not a recent thing, but been going on a while. I mix it up a little more now, but if I’m trying something new, I usually know that a European or French brand would likely work better for me.
City Pharmacie aka City Pharma at 26 Rue Four, 75006 Paris (Corner of Rue Four and Rue Bonaparte Metro: Saint Germain des Près (Line 4) or Mabillon (Line 10))
There are pharmacies on almost every corner in Paris. Some are larger and better stocked than others. But almost all carry the major French brands – Vichy, La Roche Posay, Avene, Nuxe, Bioderma, Caudalie etc. Before I went, I did my research and while it was easy to find most of the products and brands I was interested in most pharmacies, the one I kept coming across as a must-visit was City Pharma at Rue Four.
I’m not quite sure if City Pharma (or Citypharma) is a chain, but I came across another in the Tolbiac area (Metro: Tolbiac), when I was there for Vietnamese Pho (oh yes, I ate pho in Paris and it was among the best I’ve ever had! 😀 ) But the one you want to visit is the City Pharma at Rue Four because in this store, the prices can be significantly cheaper than in others! It’s even a bit cheaper than the one in Tolbiac which shares the same name. I’m not sure why this is so, but it’s an open secret because the store was HEAVING with people when I arrived at about 3.30pm. Oh dear!
I can’t show you the inside of the store because photography isn’t allowed (I got told off). But also because it was so jampacked in there with bodies, that I could barely move, much less get any photos. It was full of tourists and locals alike. The latter were getting recommendations for skincare from the many store assistants around, and the former were throwing bottles and boxes of skincare into their baskets like it was going out of style.
I saw so many people on their phones – talking, texting, facetime-ing to make sure they were buying the right thing. It was surreal. I mean, it’s pharmacy skincare and yes, it’s a little more affordable than in other stores, but really, there was no real need to buy in bulk the way some people were!
That said, I could understand the frenzy, because by comparison to local (Malaysian) prices, they were affordable. The popular Bioderma Sensibio micellar cleansing water was sold in twin packs at a fraction of the price you’d get here in KL (you could get 2 bottles for the price of one here, but then again, local prices are far too inflated. It’s even cheaper to buy online and have it shipped). Caudalie Grape Water sprays were about half the price there compared to the prices locally, and Vichy, La Roche Posay, Nuxe and Avene were ripe for the picking. I was enthralled…. and suffocated! LOL! It was the height of summer after all, and the store is very small and cramped and I swear I was about to pass out from the bodily crush.
Shelves are placed close to each other and there is barely enough space to walk, much less browse. I ended up picking some items I wanted, but not as much as I hoped to. Probably for the better too, for I could barely fit them all into my luggage on the way back! LOL! 😀
French Pharmacy Skincare Haul
But I know, instead of me yapping on, you want to know what I bought right? So, here is my haul. The collective picture you see above shows an idea of just how much I ended up buying. I spent a mint, but I was quite pleased about it because they were things I’d been meaning to try, or that I already use, or that I was curious about. It was less than what I expected to buy, but in the larger scheme of things, a fairly restrained haul. Well, relatively speaking! 😛
I’ll just show you a representation of the items I got. Some, I got in multiples because they were affordable, or because I was stocking up.
I came home with a suitcase full of face sprays and mists! I didn’t realise it till I was packing and then I thought “Oh dear, why do I have so many bottles of face mists again?!” But it was because I use them and these are brands I like very much.
- Caudalie Grape Water spray – I will review this soon, but since using this face spray, I’ve been quite reluctant to switch away. It cools down my skin and calms it down and leaves it feeling lovely and hydrated, better than other thermal water sprays. I got a few in the full size 200ml spray as well as the limited edition pink packaging 75ml spray. The latter is wonderful for travelling and kept my skin comfortable in the dry plane air!
- Melvita Rose Floral Water – A personal favourite that I’ve used a few bottles of. It was so much more affordable in the pharmacy that I had to grab a few bottles! It’ll last me a while.
- Sanoflore Rose Water – I came across some reviews online that said that Sanoflore face mists were both affordable and good, and they’re also organic. Naturally, when I saw them, into the basket it went!
- La Roche Posay Micellar water – I don’t usually use cleansing water, but I like it for removing my face makeup before I do my double cleanse. So, I got this one to try. Almost every brand on the shelves had a micellar water, I didn’t know which to pick!
- Bioderma Sensibio Micellar Water – This one everyone knows. I’m not a big fan of this, so I only got the little 100ml bottle which is very useful for travel. But the shelves were almost swept clean of the large bottle twin packs!
These are the creams and serums I bought. Not very many at all. See what I mean by being restrained? 😛
- Avene Physiolift Nuit Cream – The Avene Physiolift anti-aging range was just launched and is available here, but not the cream. We only get the lotion/emulsion and I much prefer creams for night. So when I saw it there, I got it.
- Vichy Teint Ideal – This is a foundation that I was somehow interested in. The tester felt very nice going on the back of my hand so I picked up a tube. We don’t get Vichy here in Malaysia anymore which makes me sad. I wanted to pick up a couple of the Aqualia and Idealia ranges but I remembered how scented their products can be so I didn’t. Also because the crowds got to me.
- Bioderm Atoderm Intensive Balm – I’m not sure why I got this LOL! It says it’s for very dry, irritated and sensitive skin. Maybe it’ll come in useful one day.
- La Roche-Posay Redermic R – This is a retinol treatment that I’d come across before and because we don’t get LRP here in Malaysia, I picked it up to give it a go. Retinol is a good thing anyway, and a friend tells me I picked the right thing!
- Filorga Hydra-Kyal Intensive Hydrating Plumping Concentrate – You tell me you don’t want this, after seeing that name?! Filorga is a brand I’d been very interested to try, and it’s quite hard to get it online. When I saw the whole shelf, I admit I was lost. So I only picked 2 items.
- Filorga Meso Mask – This was the one product I’d made a special note to buy. I was given a sample sachet a while ago and I loved it so much, I knew I had to buy the full sized tub! I hear that it gets a lot of raves in China as well, which might explain why the Chinese were hoovering it up like it was going out fashion.
- L’Occitane Ultra Rich Cream – I love this one and it was a little cheaper there, so into my basket it went! On hindsight, I might have swapped this out for something else.
So, that was basically what I bought from the pharmacies when I was there. I came across “must-buys” online which I chose not to pick up, like the Embryolisse cream (too rich) or Biafine (for sunburn which I know won’t happen to me), Homeoplasmine (nipple cream also touted for chapped lips, neither of which is a problem I have) or Topicrem body milk (not something I’d use). I suppose it’s because I live where it’s hot and humid (didn’t realise how much I missed the humidity till I didn’t have it!) that I knew that these products just weren’t suitable for me. So, I thankfully did not go mad. My only regret was failing to pick up a tube of LRP Effaclar Duo.
The queue at CityPharma Rue Four was amazingly long, and it took about half an hour before I got to the cashier. Everyone had gigantic baskets and multiple plastic bags, I felt a little sorry for those who only wanted to buy 1-2 items. They should have an express lane for them.
Tips for visiting City Pharma on Rue Four
If you plan to visit City Pharma on Rue Four, here are a few tips I have for you:-
- Go early – I hear that queues can start before the store opens at 8.30am, but even if you aren’t there at that time, go early. You’ll be done more quickly and it doesn’t get as stuffy in store. I got there by the afternoon, and while it was well stocked, the crowds made it an uncomfortable shopping experience.
- Try not to bring any bags into the store – The store is tiny and cramped. The narrow aisles are often full of people blocking the way, talking on their mobiles, taking orders etc. It doesn’t help when you have a bag on you that you’re trying to keep closed, so you don’t get pickpocketed, and trying not to bump into things. If you are going with a friend, take turns and leave your bags outside if you can. You’ll be done more quickly too. If you are travelling alone as I was, keep your bags to the minimum, which means you might want to make this your first stop. I made the mistake of making this my 3rd stop so I had too many other bags on me, and that made it harder to move around.
- Know what you want – Now is not the time to ask how to use a product. If you don’t know, then you probably don’t want it. If you don’t know a brand, this isn’t the time to ask what it’s good for. Do your homework BEFORE you go. If you want to ask questions, go to a quieter pharmacy. You may pay a couple of Euros more but it’ll still be cheaper than buying in your home country.
- Be patient – It’s hard to navigate the cramped store, you may not find everything you want, the queues are long, but be patient, for the prices make it worth your while. If you’d rather not get into the human crush, visit another pharmacy. The prices aren’t as attractive (you save just a little by comparison, unless you’re buying a lot) but you have a much more pleasant experience. I visited the City Pharmacie at Tolbiac which was empty when I got there in the evening. The prices were a little higher (a couple of Euro difference) but it was comfortable and I was able to browse more easily, and ended up picking even more stuff! LOL! 😀
- Claim your Tax Refund – Do your math and if you’re a tourist from outside the EU, remember to claim your tax refund at the cashier with purchases of €176 and up. If you’re close to the limit, get a couple more items so you meet the limit because it’ll be worth it! 🙂 Remember to validate your tax form at customs or at the Pablo electronic tax refund machine at the airport!
Aside from the French pharmacy skincare hauls, I picked up a couple of other beauty buys as well.
- Kiko Milano makeup – These were the ONLY makeup I bought this time around! I think I’m losing my touch haha! But I got a few shades of the Kiko Long Lasting Stick eyeshadow which comes highly raved, and one of the Kiko Eyebrow Sculpt pencils. It also comes highly raved.
- Clarins Booster Serum – This was actually a gift, but I was so excited about it because it’s a serum I’d been wanting to try ever since I heard about it! In Malaysia we’ll get it early next year, but it’s already available in Europe. There are 3 versions – Energy (Orange), Repair (Blue) and Detox (Green) and you add just a couple of drops into your night creams. I was given a sachet sample which I tested and I have to say, it does seem to give very quick results!
- Biologique Recherche Lotion P50W – Since I was in Paris, I had to get a bottle of the famed P50 Lotion toner thing! I hunted down the Biologique Recherche store on Champs Elysees, and stumbled in there, sweaty and hot to ask about this lotion. I was recommended to get P50W as I’d never used it before so this was the starter version. It comes in 3 sizes and I picked the middle one. I was also told Malaysia now has a distributor, so I will get that information and share it with you later, once I’ve given the lotion a go!
So that’s my Parisian beauty haul. Not as much as I expected, but not very little either. I actually restrained myself from buying too many serums and creams, as much as I wanted to, because I knew that they’d expire before I had a chance to use them all. Instead, I got multiples of the face mists and sprays as I run through them, and it’ll be nice to have ready stock on hand 😀
Now, which are you most interested to hear about first? Which have you tried?
I’d love to know if you’ve tried any of them and like them (or don’t) Those I’ve tried, I’ve linked up to the reviews so you can understand why I bought them, even though we can find them here too 🙂 If there’s any you’re interested to hear about first, let me know! 🙂
Paris B
Lovely haul you have there Paris 🙂 Glad your trip went well. Thanks for sharing about this gem. I did not intend to shop when I was in Paris but now I know better. I am happy to see Bioderma because it works like magic to me. As for the rest of your haul, I am intrigued and happy for you! Did you try any nice bakeries? Sorry, missed your newsletter and could not share much details because when I was there, I just did a trial and error food testing except for Pierre Herme and one nationwide award winning baguette. Hope you had a fun one!
Thanks Jennifer. I didn’t quite intend to shop much when I was there too, but I erm… kind of got carried away LOL! Bioderma is incredibly cheap there (by comparison) so if you’re ever back there, do make sure that you stop by any of the pharmacies! I popped into a random bakery near where I was staying and picked up some lovely croissants and pastries. Even tapau back LOL! I did stop by L’Eclair de Genie, for some amazing eclairs! Everyone loved them, even if they were a little squashed by the time I got home haha! But no macarons for me 😛
Lovely haul!!!! Lucky you for getting the stuff….not so lucky you were pressed against bodies doing so! (the very same reason I go to the wet market bright and early, as I hate brushing against random bodies!!) I spot the Redermic-R which I too had asked mum to pick up for me when she went to London for a short holiday! I read many good things about it.
Thank you and yeah, everyone was pushing and crushing with gigantic baskets to buy things. Goodness! It’s not free you know LOL! I heard good things about Redermic R. I hope it’s good! Did you try it yet?
Thanks for sharing, looks like it’s too easy to go overboard when you visit the store. haha
Oh yes, especially if you’re a skincare junkie as I am! 😀
So sad that our Malaysia drugstore dont carry Vinchy anymore. However our neighbors Thailand & Singapore can get Vinchy products easily at their local drugstore. I got my Vinchy products from Boots & Watson Thailand.
You can get Vichy in Sephora Malaysia’s online store.
Yep, you can get Vichy in Thailand and Singapore. It’s incredibly expensive in Thailand though and the SG exchange rate isn’t helping. I stopped for that reason and switched to other products, but there are some websites you can buy from online from overseas 🙂
Wow!!!! I am drooling. I so want to visit Paris just for a haul ? If I go to Paris, I am sure to take tips from you. Seems like this store is a wholesale one. True that excess crowd ruins the shopping experience. I love to roam around and check out products, buying or not. Btw, loccitane is also a pharmacy brand?
It’s weird that you do not find Vichy and LRP in Malaysia. We get them in regular stores but I doubt the latest ranges come in as quickly in India. I know Aqualia but not idealia. I want to try out their Aqualia hydrating serum.
You can get Vichy in Sephora Malaysia’s online store.
Hi, I’m afraid you can’t. The Sephora MY online store throws up an empty page.
Haha there’s a lot more to Paris than a haul, I’m sure! 😀 I was a little all over the place this trip and I only had very little time, so I kind of crammed everything in. This actually isn’t a wholesale store,just a regular pharmacy, except it’s very well stocked with good prices haha! They keep restocking the shelves as the day goes on! It’s crazy! 😀 L’Occitane isn’t exactly a pharmacy brand, like Caudalie, they have their own stores too, but they are also found at their local pharmacies. We used to get Vichy but it pulled out quite a few years ago due to lack of awareness I believe. LRP never came in 🙁 Aqualia serum is pretty good. I remember using it!
I would have stocked up on Bioderma sunscreens! I love the Aquafluide version even though it’s a little difficult to apply.
Oh I didn’t know their sunscreens were good? Darn! Hopefully I’ll have another chance 😀
They just launched Aquafluide in Singapore. I like the cream version too because it doesn’t ball up as much.
Ah it’s probably available here too then. But with the terrible markup here, I refuse to buy Bioderma at all. I think I saw their sunscreen going for almost RM200! Crazy.
Yes, I buy mine from Cocooncentre at a more realistic conversion rate, even with shipping.
Great service and fast trackable shipping!
Oh I’ve come across that site! I’ll take a look thanks – some other stuff I was eyeing on there too 😉
Hehe yep! There are other cheaper parapharmacy sites but their shipping is exorbitant. Even in Singapore, Bioderma costs double what it does on these sites.
I was in Paris last year and I made sure that I visit their pharmacy. Come to think of it, I spent more time in the pharmacy that those bags’ boutique! Bought Bioderma because it was dirt cheap and Melvita rose water as it was euro10 per bottle!
Hahaha good call Wei ling! With the designer boutiques, once you get what you want, it’s time to leave. Unless you’re rolling in it, you’re not likely to browse right? 😉 but with pharmacy products, it’s so easy to buy buy buy! 😀 I picked up Melvita too! Less than 10 euro! I was so thrilled
Thanks for the shopping tips!! The Filorga and Biologique products are new to me and so would love to hear about them. These days my hauls are more skincare than makeup too. Although I just ordered the Elite Mirror brushes so am dying to try them out. They look “weird” as it is 🙂
You’re welcome! Hope you’ll find it useful if you’re there 😉 Biologique will be here in Malaysia soon, so no need to go so far to find in future (if it’s good) whew! Oh and you got those toothbrush brushes! Haha… I can’t get my head around them 😛
I hope the Filorga products are working out for you. Feelunique is on sale so I have just ordered some to try out. Thanks again for the information on these
Psst. Haven’t used them yet! LOL! I’m going to break into the mask soon though – my skin has been feeling like it needs that boost. I hope you’ll like it though. Did you get the meso mask? 😀
Such a lovely haul and so glad to see you had a wonderful trip! 🙂 I’d agree it wasn’t as crazy a haul as I expected and I would love to be able to travel to Europe/France just to visit French Pharmacies. I love LRP, Avene and Bioderma products because they are so gentle but sadly, they are still pretty pricey in Australia. I would love to see what ranges of products they have over there and I am very much looking forward to more skincare products review posts! 🙂
LOL You know what Rosalind, when I got home and unpacked, I thought “What? Was that it?!” I’m sure you’ll have a chance to visit Europe soon enough, and if the opportunity doesn’t come, make it so! The only problem is with the safety issues now, that everything is a little unstable everywhere. Oh and I just saw you’re in Australia! Gosh, ok the travel time will be quite something! But it’ll give you an excuse to take a long holiday and to stop over here in Asia for even MORE shopping! LOL 😀
Oooh great finds! Well done! 😀 I can’t remember if I went to THE City Pharma but I know I went into a lot of French pharmacies and they’re tiny. I remember whinging to Tim each time we walked past a pharmacy because they’ll always have Bioderma H2Os on sale in the window display and I can’t buy any because they’re so heavy. 😛 Surprisingly, I didn’t get any Kiko makeup in Paris (I couldn’t find them!), only in Rome. But oh how I wish I bought more; they’re so good!
Thanks, and I had to hunt this down since everyone was talking about it online LOL! But I can understand why coz the prices were good. But the crowds. I’m not sure it’s worth it sometimes haha! Oh and yes, I forgot that bottles of liquid weigh a ton. And I had SO MANY bottles of face mists, when it came to packing, I was all “Uh oh! I hope they don’t explode!” It wasn’t easy finding a Kiko store, but I made sure to look out for one, because I’d been dying to try it! Then when I got there, I didn’t know what to get and only ended up with 2 items LOL! 😀 Such a fail.
AHH you got Kiko cosmetics! I’m so jealous! I would definitely like to read a review of the Kiko products you purchased!!
Yes I did! It was one of my must-visit stores haha! So I made sure to find out where it was ahead of time. I just forgot to figure out what to buy! but I wasn’t too impressed with many of the items, so just got the eyeshadows and brow pencil.
Hihi – glad your trip went safely – with all these attacks in Europe, it’s worrying non? So fed up with prices in Malaysia – now you can imagine how my friend and I went ape shit in Watsons Taiwan – with BOGO offers – we hauled back nearly 30kgs of all these – thank goodness for Malaysian Airlines and expandable Longchamp bags !
Thank you so much Angeline! Yes, I got home just before the Nice attacks and it made me very sad. I was supposed to stay till then originally but came back earlier. For the better in the end. Oh I can just imagine how crazy you were in Taiwan! Haha! I’m supposed to be planning a trip there some time, and I’m afraid of going ape-shit myself LOL! 😀 Oh and speaking of the expandable Longchamp bag, I’m kicking myself for not buying one! Damn…
Only in Paris would I actually be excited to visit a pharmacy! Haha. Looks like you got plenty of great finds. You’re really making me want to go to Paris again! 🙂
Dear Paris,
Have you tried the Biologique Recherche Lotion P50W yet? I would like to hear what your think.
Thank you!
Hi, yes I have! I’m working on a post soon – been getting so many questions 😀 Watch out for it!
Hello! I stumbled upon your wonderful blog and better yet, stumbled onto this post. I was in Paris celebrating my bday last year and our hotel was within a block of City Pharma. Everytime I walked by it, it was swarmed and I didn’t know why. Did a quick google search and realized this place was a must to visit for a beauty junkie like me…plus I was horribly breaking out and needed help!! I went in an hour before they were closing and the place was somewhat empty. I got great suggestions from the staff after explaining my skin woes. Ended up buying Avene Triacneal and Delarom moisturizer, face soap and eye cream. Seriously, the next day, my skin was glowing! I will definitely save your suggestions and hopefully I can make it back to Paris soon!
Hi April, so happy to know you got some good stuff in City Pharma! I love that place, crowds and all! 😀 Hoping you get to go back to Paris soon too – it’s a beautiful city!
Hi April, good that you get the Delarom product, loved it!! A sales lady introduced this to me and I’m hooked, continue repurchase every time I’m back there until it finally arrived HK
Thanks for the great read! I’m going to Paris next month and definitely want to stop in the Biologique store to pick up some goods . Do you remember the Euro price point ? Do you remember if it was cheaper or do they offer a tax refund? I ask because I’m eyeing a few products to purchase in the USA but their highly expensive (almost $600 worth !!) so I’m debating if I should wait until I get to Paris to see if I can save any money . Could you kindly let me your opinion?
Hi Aisha, I cannot recall the price of the Biologique Recherche products off hand, sorry. I think Lotion P50 may have been under 50 Euros then but it comes in bottles of different sizes. But it’s been too long. Perhaps if you factor in the exchange rate, it could work out in your favour. As for tax refund, I didn’t purchase enough to warrant a refund so I’m again not sure if they will process it for you. The odds are they should. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
Looks like amazing fun! I’m here to the party late, I know this trip was a while ago, but I just checked their website and I can’t figure out where to get P50W in Malaysia. Any tips?
They are sold at the Mandarin Oriental Spa (Lotion P50T) or you can try the email contact in this post