Bioderma Archives - My Women Stuff

French Pharmacy Skincare Finds at the famed Pharmacie City Pharma in Paris

July 15, 2016 Paris B 44 Comments

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! :D ) 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!

Travel Tips: You don’t need to buy new skincare to keep skin plumped, hydrated and radiant in cold, dry air

June 5, 2015 Paris B 8 Comments

A couple of years back, I shared what I packed for a trip where it was going to be chilly and dry in Spring. I come from the Tropics where the temperature varies very little. Our version of seasons is Hot and Wet and Hot and Dry, with Hot being the operative word. Humidity? It’s at 100%. We’re like fish living underwater LOL! I sometimes wonder if I should be evolving gills at any time…

So, whenever I head somewhere else in the world that has more variation in the weather, I face a little challenge as to what to pack in terms of my skincare, since I’m not about to head out and buy a whole new range just for travel, right?

I thought I’d share an updated version of “What skincare is in my travel bag” because while the basic concepts I employ for packing skincare haven’t changed, the products have. So, some of you who are travelling may find this useful, or to take a peep at my updated travel skincare routine :D

These products came with me on a 10 day trip to China and Tibet in Spring-Summer where the temperature varied from 23°C in the middle of the day to -2°C in the evenings. The air was chilly, the wind was cold and due to the altitude Lhasa is at, the air is incredibly dry. You can quite literally feel your skin tightening and stretching from all that loss of moisture. Due to its location as well, it gets incredibly bright sun, which is great for sightseeing and photographs, but all those unfiltered UV rays that beat down on you from a clear blue sky plays merry hell with your skin.

With all this in mind, here’s what I packed, and what, if anything I might do or pack differently the next time I head somewhere cold and dry, and you don’t have to buy new stuff! :)

Your Say: What skincare are you using day and night? Here is mine!

July 23, 2013 Paris B 104 Comments

Last year, I shared some of the skincare I was using on a daily basis and 2 years ago, I shared my day and night skincare routine. I thoroughly enjoyed how everyone chipped in to share all of your day and night routines too! I thought it would be interesting to revisit it annually and see how far or not we have come and whether my and your routine have been working for you.

Towards the end of 2012, and in early 2013 my skin went crazy. I had a lot of problems with breakouts and for some reason, everything went out of control. I didn’t even change my skincare which really puzzled me. What I did then was to pare back my skincare to the bare minimum – cleanse, tone and moisturise. Slowly, I got things under control and then, I started getting back into a routine.

It might interest you to know that for the most part, I have been using this range of skincare day and night for at least 6 months now in various combinations and I’ve had the best skin that I’ve ever had in all my years *touchwood*! Granted, it’s not flawless nor perfect, but it’s the best I’ve ever had, I can walk out without makeup if I wanted to (imperfections and all) and that makes me very happy.

So here is my present skincare routine and some quick notes on what I might change or switch out as I go along. I can’t say I’ll be using this same routine in another 6 months, but who knows eh? Do share your routine too! Has it changed from a year ago? Is your skin doing better now than it was 6 or 12 months ago?

Bioderma Sensibio H2O and Bioderma Sébium H2O Micelle Solutions: Do they live up to their hype?

July 11, 2013 Paris B 77 Comments

Those of you who have been hanging out with me for the past 6 years will know how HUGE a proponent of cleansing oils I am. I’m not just saying it. I have a post where I tell you about every single cleansing oil I’ve ever tried over the years. Its a MONSTER of a post – go read it. But you know what?

I don’t use cleansing oils anymore. I haven’t said this before have I?

The reason is, they are far too drying on my skin now than they used to be. When I realised this (it’s very important to know your own skin, folks!) I started looking for alternatives to my double cleansing routine. I started out trying cream cleansers but if I’m to be honest. I find them a bit too fiddly for my liking. So, I shifted focus to the hottest new skincare product in recent years (to me anyway) – miceller solutions or cleansing waters. Oh dear. I think I’ve hit on a new obsession.

I started out trying micellar cleansing waters with the very popular Bioderma but you see, I started out with the wrong one. I had purchased 2 large 500ml bottles in Hong Kong a while back (what can I say? I’m kiasu :P) and started out using the Bioderma Sébium for oily-combination skin. I thought, “Hey I don’t have sensitive skin. I’ll go with Sebium first. How different can they be anyway?”

Mistake. I hated it.

Ok, I didn’t hate it per se, but I don’t like it. It felt drying, didn’t seem to clean very well and although my skin felt clean, it also felt stripped. Oh and I felt like there was a layer over it. Long and short, I didn’t like it and shoved it aside, tarring Bioderma Sensibio with the same brush. Oh boy! Was I wrong to do that!

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