Favorite Make Up from Paris
 

Okay ladies. What is your favorite make- up, skin, or beauty product that you always stock up on when in Paris? Mine is the Onagrine lip balm.

I just posted this on an old thread (favorite products-London/France).

Anyway, you can check out the reviews of French products by French women on:

http://www.beaute-test.com/marque.php

Click on the brand, see the products available and the reviews.

My skin care is Darphin, my makeup Giorgio Armani, and perfume Max Mara, all available in Paris. For lip balms, I use Roc's Minesol SPF 20. But my all time favorite shampoo is from Bumble+Bumble (U.S.).

Thank you for the good tip!

BTilke: Wow! What a neat site. Thanks so much for that information.

Cool site! I like anything made by Caudalie.

I like jf Lazartigue shampoo, and I got a bottle at Gal. Laf 2X the size I get at home; at GL--27 e, plus VAT refund; home, $28 for bottle half that size.

OK, I first need to point out I am frugal (not cheap) and I don't like to spend a lot of money on make up, color my own hair, make my own manicure and pedicure (better than professionals). I really loved the make up counter at Monoprix, the make up is made by Lancome and far less expensive.

I think we had a post like this before, probably the one Btilke posted to. I don't really buy a lot of expensive creams, so don't have much but I usually buy some body wash or some Nivea soap (which I know is German) as you can't get the soap in the US.

All the Lancome products I saw in Paris stores, like Monoprix, cost more in France than in the US. I know because I compared the prices and they were identical products (like blush).

by Terry

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but a great many brands of cosmetics all come from the same handful of factories, and are often owned by the same handful of multinational companies (with L'Oréal being the leader).

I'm partial to Guerlain, and can sometimes purchase perfume less expensively than in Canada.

ROC Enydrial hand cream..it's the only thing that works on my horrid elbows..It's about 3 E a tube in Paris at Cite Pharmacie ( rue Bonaparte $rue du Four)...and about $18.00 here in the US

Yes, Lancome makes L'Oreal. Just like Estee Lauder makes Clinique, Mac, La Mer... These corporations cover the high end to the low end buyers.

Skip the factory muck - go to Terry

Anthony, please, why do you think we women wouldn't know anything about the cosmetic brands we buy? You're not telling us anything most women don't already know. At any rate, more than 80% of the cosmetic pencils (lip pencils, eyeliner pencils, etc.) are made at the Schwann-Stabilo factory outside Nuremberg, Germany (next time you're shopping for cosmetic pencils, check to see if "made in Germany" is on the box or the pencil...if so, it comes from that one factory). But the ingredients and quality of manufacturing varies considerably even in the products manufactured at that one factory.
Just because there's one giant parent company doesn't mean there aren't any differences in the product lines. After all, Mercedes owns SmartCar but I think most people would find a difference between a 2-door SmartCar and a SLK 500.

Suggest you take a look at the book "Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me," though I admit, I still buy Lancome lipstick, concealer and perfume, but have found the prices to be cheaper at Nordstrom then in Paris.

I'm not big on makeup but like Coté Bastide for my fragrances, and for night, Guirlains, bronze blush, and Maybeline mascara. I also use Bumble and Bumble for my hair. My lipsticks vary, I try so many that I blend together to capture a shade I want.

Roc, anything! I love their lip balms and buy several to have til the next trip. They do not sell the lip balm in the US..I get it when in Montreal also.
I like getting Clarins in the pharmacy on Blvd St Germain by Cafe Deux Magots, the prices are good for moisturizers and cleansers. (jody-is that the Paris at Cite Pharmacie? )

I know that women (and men) don't know much about the cosmetics they buy simply because they continue to buy them. The fashion industry—including the cosmetics industry—is largely a business of smoke and mirrors, with identical formulations of products being sold under different names and in different packages just for marketing purposes, and with extravagant claims being made for products that do not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Neither of these would be possible or profitable if consumers really knew what they were buying.

Yes, Anthony, some of us do know.