Best buys in France - cosmetics and pharmacy

[1010crystal]

Thinking I might splurge on some decent stuff for once, does anyone know if it would be cheaper to buy, say a Chanel lipstick or nail varnish in Duty Free or in France itself?

And a supplementary - has anyone found any good over-the-counter remedies better than stuff you can buy here? e.g hayfever, sunburn, upset tum?

Sephora is your dream shop. France has lots of of amazing perfume shops too- usually cheaper than Duty Free and usually full of gorgeous hard to get scents too.

If you need anything from a pharmacy they are usually much more homoeopathic than this country and will usually flog you something herbal. Usually in a sachet!

You are so lucky, I could spend all day in a French parfumerie.

Oh I always make a wee list of things to get in France when I'm there in the summer. I love Avene and can get it in every pharmacie there.
Also love:
Caudalie eau de Beaute
Avibon vitamin A cream
Klorane camomile shampoo

Navy mascara seems to be easy to get too

From the supermarket :
Le petit marseillais soap ( many diff varieties )
Eau Fraiche - really cheap body spray/ perfume smells gorgeous
Tahiti - shower gel

Ime I think Chanel has a set price in Europe . All products are priced about the same everywhere from Berlin to Budapest

Oh and Lovea argan oil which is splendid on dry legs and as a de frolizz for sandblasted hair!

I love Avene as well, and A-Derma also makes great body lotions and washes for sensitive skin.

If you suffer from chapped lips in the winter, La Roche Posay's Ceralip is the best stuff ever.

As far as health stuff goes, there's loads of stuff that for me anyway works much better than what I was used to in the UK. If you have small kids for example, I like Mitosyl much better than sudocrem, A-Derma makes some great lotions for eczema and skin problems, there's something called Camilia which is basically camomile for teething problems, which worked nicely for us.

For grownups, I love all the effervescent pain relief and vitamins as you feel them very quickly. You can get a mix of paracetamol and Vitamin C that's terrific for headaches (and hangovers )

For upset tums, Smecta is great (it's a powder you dissolve in water -- do they have in the UK?) I'm still recovering from stomach flu and drinking a lot of it and it's amazing.

French chemists are one of my favourite things about living in France!

Vichy, La Roche Posay, ROC, are all lovely (but can also be bought in UK for not much more). Phyto hair products are great and I think are cheaper in France than UK. I reckon Chanel would be cheaper duty free than in French beauty shops. I've never found the big brands in shops like Sephora to be any cheaper than here. Sometimes even pricier.
L'artisan Parfumeur is worth a look too.
Might be worth checking if perfumes like Annick Goutal are cheaper too.