Who could resist a bit of shopping in the French pharmacies while in Paris? Even a skincare newbie like me was able to marvel at how well stocked the shelves were. If it wasn't for the simple fact that my luggage was getting just slightly ridiculously heavy, I would've bought more. Most of these things I either had heard of, or knew that I wanted to buy beforehand. But there were several that were picked up after squatting in the aisles, trying to decipher French by picking out the words that resembled either Spanish or English. 

I initially wasn't going to pick up the Bioderma as a) I thought it was completely overhyped, b) I was more or less happy with the L'Oreal offering, c) you could get in England, and d) it's ridiculously heavy. But it still somehow managed to find its way into the shopping basket on the last day when I was grabbing the last buys off the shelf. To be honest, the Vichy Normaderm 3-in-1 is a product that I'm still not sure how to use and have yet to google. But I saw this around when I was back in Taiwan (and it was of course, completely overpriced) and being the last day, it found its way into helping me make a dent in the wallet. Another last day buy was the La Roche Posay Lotion Apaisante Physiologique. I was on the hunt for toners as my Pixi toner is starting to run low. But not understanding French and not sure what this LRP offering was aimed towards, I wasn't at all sure if this was something that would suit my skin. But you know when you're on your last day of vacation and suddenly you feel like you need to buy everything, even those that you're still dubious towards? Yeah. That happened. I came back and Google told me that it's a soothing toner, so that'll always be in handy when I have my spotty days (which happens more often than not). 

Speaking of toners, I almost purchased the NUXE Lotion Tonique Douce the day before I left for France. Good thing I wanted because it was only a fraction of the price! I've never tried anything other than the lip balms from NUXE, but I've heard wonderful things about this rose toner so I'm looking forward to trying it out. The La Roche Posay Effaclar A.I. is actually a purchase that I made while in England the day before I left for Paris. I know, what was I thinking! But to be fair, if you deduct the shipping fee I paid, it was about the same price because it was on sale. The things I say to make myself feel better. I also purchased the La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo on the same go, but that's still to arrive as it was previously out of stock. I had never heard of the Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre before this trip, but when doing last minute research of the best French pharmacy buys, this was on just about every single list. That and the fact that Annie kept repeating how marvelous this moisturizer is, I decided to branch out and buy it. I've still yet to try it, but I'll report back. 

When Anya asked me to get the La Roche Posay Serozinc for her, I knew I had to get it for myself as well after a quick google. If there's one person that I can completely rely on for product recommendation, it's Anya. I've already bought numerous things under her influence and this was another one. I've been using it for a couple days now and I can mark it down as another successful recommendation from this girl. It's been benefiting in soothing the angry red spots on the cheeks and the mist just feels so darn nice. 

Of course, I had to stop in Sephora while in France. I went to the huge one on the Champs-Éysées on a Saturday. Think the Boots on Oxford Street on Saturday but worse. I hate shopping when its crowded so I was in and out pretty quick, having already known that I wanted to pick up the Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer and just needing to match myself to the correct shade. I'd say I did a pretty darn good job without the help of a sales assistant. On my way to the cashier, the Sephora Mineral Powder Brush caught my eye. I can't remember who it was that swore by this brush, but being obsessed with foundation brushes, I knew I couldn't pass this one by. I just rid this of it's plastic packaging minutes before I started typing up this post, but I'm planning on using this tomorrow. Fingers crossed I'll love this soft newbie!