What lovely things to take home from France?

[hastalav]

Going to Normandy end of Summer for a week. I haven't been to France in a long time now, so wondered if anyone has recommendations for nice things French to take home apart from wine?

Things from the pharmacie, the supermarche, etc. Not perishable. Would love to hear.

I will be buying a few cases of wine in Auchan or similar and Efferalgan (fizzy non caffeine paracetemol), so what else?

Thanks!

Some cheese shops will vacuum pack the good stuff for you so it doesn't smell on the journey.

Crémant! Le Petit Marsellais shower gel (orange blossom specifically), Bioderma shower oil is lush, Boursin with figs and nuts and prunes d'Agen.

Chestnut puree in a tube
Sirops
Orangina
Orangina Haribo
Mustard
Fleur de sel
Madeleines
Those jars of salted caramel / chocolate hazelnut caramel
Mustard crisps
Comte crisps

Cans of confit duck.

Thanks for suggestions so far, much appreciated. I think I read somewhere about a certain soap was it Marsellais or something?

I will be put in the roof box if I take home too much weighty bulky stuff, so nice things in the smellies department would be lovely. Haven't a clue, so over to you! + more food stuff (non perishable). Thank you

Depends what you like. I but my Eucerin products in Boots when I am home as there is a much wider range and it it much cheaper with offers.
We bring home wine ( can’t believe the mark up on à Côté du Rhône 😮) and we have friends who live for the massive tins of Confit de Canard. But there is a lot of hyperbole about French pharmacies - give me a good 😊 le Boots any day 😂

We always get tins of Cassoulet as it's so much cheaper, and also those lentils with sausages in. And wine, obvs.

Benedicta Poivre sauce for steak/chicken
Brets crisps

Teabags/tisanes. I was introduced to verveine menthe in France it's so hard to find in the UK.

And my hand turn mouli was a few euros from a corner shop.

Riste d’aubergines - will be in glass jars next to cassolet, tinned vege. It’s so yummy. Can use as a pasta sauce but I have it cold on toast.

and the snacks for hors d’oeuvres - Berlin mini pizzas (biscuity things. So yummy), emmental biscuits etc.

and they do good crisps

Pommeau

Petit Marseillaise toiletries are good value and the orange blossom scented one (fleur d'oranger) is lovely.
Tins of sausages and lentils or salt pork (petit salé) with lentils are not dear and very handy to have in the store cupboard for quick meals. We also buy tins of confit de canard and choucroute royale. Harissa sauce in a tube is excellent, really pokey. Brands are Le Phare du Cap Bon or Déa. Cheap too.
Big jars of Amora Dijon mustard and Benedicta Mayonnaise. Red wine vinegar in plastic litre bottles is very cheap. (But EV Olive oil is really expensive.)
Merguez sausages if you have a cool box.

Yves Rocher do Raspberry and Peppermint shower gel. It’s gorgeous.
Provencal soap, sold on the market, Verveine is lovely and grapefruit (pamplemousse).

I agree with Crémant.
The ‘Intense’ chocolate drink.
Vielle Mimelotte cheese. It’s really orangey yellow, very hard - great with red wine.
Barbecue Lays.
Bélin crackers.
Tinned duck.

Mimolette is aged Edam without the red wax rind, it's much better than Edam! The older thr better but it's not cheap these days.

Will I be able to take foodstuffs back ok? It all sounds delicious. I know the tins will be fine. We will have a coolbox.

Are you allowed to take meat, cheese and plants, etc, since Brexit???

Ultrabrite toothpaste. They still sell it in France but not in the UK anymore.

L'Amoura BBQ sauce. It's yummy.

Samurai sauce for burgers.

Leonardo Belgian chocolates

Nicholas champagne.

French lavender soap is absolutely gorgeous and it lasts for absolutely ages

I love Petit Marseilles stuff too. There's a grapefruit and thyme body lotion that's gorgeous, the rose cold cream is lovely too, and a vanilla shower cream that smells like custard. Amazon sell it now but it's so cheap in supermarkets there.
Big bags of garlic crisps! Those caramel sugar coated peanuts you sometimes see at the till are to die for too.

Just had a quick look (which I should have done earlier!), and it looks like anything goes foodwise going back into UK.

Post-Brexit Customs Restrictions & Allowances Between France and the UK - FrenchEntrée (frenchentree.com)

Wine boxes, le petite marsailles products, French haribo, mont blanc would be my go to☺️

Teeny tiny pasta for soup
Rhubarb jam
dried packets of onion soup (I might be gross for liking these 😂)

I always bring back:
Bretagne Caramel sauce
La Petit Marsellais shower gels
Mixa Bebe baby wash will clean you from top to toe.
Mojito sirop in the metal bottles
Savon de Marseilles laundry liquid that smells like Sunlight soap

Orangina
President butter
Sour cream & chive Tuc biscuits (and any other flavour they have that you like because flavoured ones are impossible to buy in the UK).