Is there a store in Paris rather like Bath & Body Works to buy bath goodies? I'm crazy about B&BW's Couvent des Minimes line, which is imported from France, and would love to find similar types of things on my trip. Not too expensive. Recommendations for places to buy moderately priced cosmetics would be welcomed too! Thanks, DejaVu

Related question: are L'Occitane products cheaper there than they are here?

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...mp;tid=1271022

You can get ideas from this ... I just shop wherever I see things that attract me, and sadly for our pocketbooks, that is most shops in Paris!!
Have fun!

A friend of mine from Paris met me in NY recently and asked if I wanted her to bring me anything. I also asked about L'Occitane being cheaper so I looked up prices here, she looked up the prices there, and to make a short story long, no, they weren't cheaper if she bought them for me in Paris.

We stopped by L'Occitane in a mall near the office in NY

I just browse the local pharmacies, some of which carry Sephora--you can at least find the excellent Roger et Gallet line, along with quite a few others.

I believe ther is a bath store in the mall under the Louvre.

I got some very nice things in pharmacies and in the Grocery store in Galleries Lafayette. On the wall over near the check out is a good collection of products at reasonable prices.

Also try Yves Rocher - all over Paris and very cheap.

In my photographing shop windows, I passed a beautiful window called Le Savon Nous selling bougies, savons, parfums, et cadeaux (candles, soaps, perfumes, and gifts). I didn't go in, but they had a beautiful display and I would have loved to browse.

They are in the Marais, I think Place Ste. Catherine

for the least expensive, yes, look for the neon green cross!!!

Thanks for the replies--And Scarlett, thanks for linking that faaaaabulous thread!

Fragrances are very personal and most don't smell the same on all or our noses don't accept them. (I remember posters raving about Lush, and when it finally opened a store in Boston, I rushed over-hated every scent, seemed like ssuch poor quality, IMHO
Lóccitaine did stand up to the reviews before it arrived here , as did Sephora( sp?)

Mimi, I agree about Lush; disappointing, even in London.

L'Occitane can become less expensive if you buy it at Galeries Lafayette (I believe it is eligible for the 10% discount) and you've spent enough in the store that day to qualify for detaxe.

Oh--forgot to mention Monoprix stores.

There is a large Sephora store located on the Champs-Élysées, not far from the Arc de Triomphe.

I passed by the window of Le Savon Nous several times each day. The shop is on rue d'Ormesson, facing Place du Marche Ste. Catherine. We stayed at an apartment a few doors down. I took a picture of the window it was so appealing. I even considered buying something, but the prices were out of my budget range.

I think your best bet for moderately priced cosmetics or bath products is just to go to one of the large, general dept. stores. They all have this stuff on the main floor, ranging from cheap lines (like Bourjois) to expensive ones. I like to shop for this kind of thing at BHV dept. store and Bon Marche (which has an Annick Goutal boutique). You'd probably do just as well buying some cheap French bath product at a grocery store or Monoprix (or the stuff out at BHV, which is many of the same brands) by looking at what looks interesting than some overpriced brand, as the product probably won't be that different, just the packaging won't be as expensive.

I used to be a packaging manager for for a cosmetic company who owned one French brand, and I remember learning that for a $20 jar of face cream (which was a lot of money back in 1980), the product itself was worth about a nickel, the rest was the packaging and markup.

There is a boutique called Kiria on bd St Germain to the east of Odeon metro a bit that sells some bath products, as well as general health/relaxation/spa stuff. It's not like Bath & Body Works, though. Really, most of these lines you can buy in the US and lots of places in the world (like Occitane and Yves Rocher which is dirt cheap in the US, also, and there are many Sephora stores in the US now). I'd just go to a dept. store.