ridiculously cheap amazing French beauty.

[ohohohitsmagic]

I know this has been done before, but can you please let me know what I should be buying in france? I maybe have a budget of £50 but would like some products that will last, products that will make a difference and products that are cheaper in france too.

(Also, any food tips for what to bring back from the supermarkets there that you can't buy here if you have any?)

Food wise I'll be bringing back some packets of 'bric' - a north African pancake kinda thing (this is from the south tho not sure if widely available) and bundles of Provençale herbs....will also be buying myself some good stout saucisson..oh and maybe the liquorice haribo might sneak home as I haven't seen it over here...I usually get given an enormous jar of local honey too that I have to then carefully wrap and pray to god it doesn't break all over our stuff...jar of fig jam I've had to transport like this too (beautiful tho so worth it)...oh and no doubt some wine...probably garlic and calissons too...
Beauty wise I always love the local olive oil soap...there is a perfume brand I. Like too but can't think just now but will pop back with name if I remember...I'll be keen to see others recommendations on this tho.
I usually buy some kids clothes from Monoprix too - they're stuff is great and fab quality...this time I will also investigate options for me too. They have beauty stuff there too some am going to have a trawl...
Erm canyou tell I have been thinking about this far too much...so much so I'm strictly controlling everybody's outgoing luggage to allow room for returning bags of loot and have paid for baggage allowance accordingly!!
I love having some little bits of France to bring home and use through the year especially cheering in the grim winter months.

Stuff like La Roche Posay and Avene is usually a bit cheaper but exchange rates with euro mean it's better value now.

Le chat is nice (shower gel).

Le petit Marseillaise also nice soaps, shower gels etc

Bourjois I think do skincare and Nivea makeup that you can't get here.

Food I can't think of stuff that travels - olives are good, wine is great and cheap, cantal cheese like cheddar but nice.

If you got to eg intermarche their fashion section normally crap but cotton short nightdresses and flip flop padded slippers are really nice and often on sale now or a good price.

To be fair when I go into pharmacies there are usually at least 5 in a small town... The LRP/Avene can be same price as UK. And it seems like there is a myriad of stuff. I don't think (could be wrong) that they have anything like our Boots/Superdrug. Oh I forgot they do klorane which is nice. I suppose with exchange rate sun cream could be cheaper there than here.

Own brand makeup (intermarche) etc very good.

Also lingerie especially in E Le Clerc is really nice, pretty, etc Daniel Hechter is one brand and seems well made.

I always bring back several months with of the timoti brown hair shampoo. It's only cheap stuff but it's fantastic for my hair and you can't get it here.

I also bring back olive oil moisturiser.

Love a good splurge in the French supermarkets :)

Ooh these all sound good! What else is Good? I hear great things about la Roche pie say?

Markig

La Roche Posay is cheaper in Boots!

Bioderma Micellar Water cleanser - unless you can get it here now. Also look at the makes in the Parapharmacies that you can't get in UK, or which are infrequent, like Caudalie. Nuxe (tho M & S does Nuxe now) is also nice.

Love Le Petit Marsellais shower gel, also liquid soaps, and bars of soap - generally a much bigger selection than in UK.

Bien-Etre eau de cologne - the fig one is especially nice and lasts well, the "agrumes" one is also good.

Food - fig jam, drinking chocolate, rillettes.

I'm heading straight to get new Nivea cream called Nutrition Intense, cheap as chips.

Klorane shampoo
Nuxe fondant face fake tan
Garnier parable free shampoo
Confit de gesier tins (gizzards, much nicer than sounds)
Haribo Miami (tangy rainbows)
Body weight in bonne maman jam and listel rose (under 3 E a bottle), badoit, sirops
Dermalibor Magic cream

Le Petit Marseillais stuff is gorgeous and cheap. Mixa orange hand cream is as good as Kiehl's Ultimate Hand Salve and a quarter of the price. Liquorice Haribo, YES YES YES. Narta cologne scented stick deodorant - cheap as chips and a much nicer smell than any other deodorant I have tried. There's a make called SoBio (I think) which is available in Intermarché which has fab micellar cleanser v cheap. Good facial oils available in most supermarkets.

I usually bring back tins of confit duck and cassoulet. Also French cup a soups v nice and interesting flavours. Zapetti pasta sauce in a tin v nice and you can get tiny tins, just the right size for 1 or 2 people. Lustucru egg pasta is lovely, way better than the English equivalent - I like the long macaroni tubes but they have other shapes.

BISCUITS. Paille D'Or and the little apricot barquettes. The ones with slabs of chocolate. Smiley face raspberry or chocolate biscuits. Langues de chat.

Sirops. I like the grapefruit and grenadine ones.

Listel rose, yum. But why would you bring back Bonne Maman jam and Badoit, when it is freely available in UK? even our shitty little Tesco has both. You can also get the Teisseire (?) "sirops" in Waitrose - not all of them, granted, but definitely grenadine.

And yes to the Narta deodorant.

Can you not get Klorane shampoo in UK any more?

Confit duck - loads of tins.

If you can find a Leclerc pharmacy you get great prices on
Nuxe body oil
Nuxe serum (huile prodigieuse)
Embryolisse lait creme concentrate
Bioderma micellar water
All of which I bulk buy, but am aware that online places like escentual can often better these prices (especially as has 20% off everything at the moment).

Yes but Bonne Maman half the price and Badoit a third - so if the kids can still move in the car I'll be squashing a few more bottles around them - same with sirops and much better range (and many more that aren't sugar free, I try to buy the kids full sugar if poss but much harder here than in France)

I am a bit obsessed with Vichy at the moment - their hydrating serum is a game changer. a lot cheaper in france. I also discovered they do a great eye gel from the same range.

La roche posay is awesome. one of my favourites is their aftersun repair cream. non sticky and really moisturising. minimal fragrance and sinks in really well.

Avene - great moisturisers and a huge range you just cant get in the UK. it was demonstrably cheaper than in the Uk when i was there a few weeks ago. the moisturiser i really like was 12 euros rather than £14 in boots.

Nuxe - their oils are really nice and a third cheaper than in the UK. I love the one with gold flecks in it. it smells amazing.

Caudalie and Klorane are also great. (un)fortunately we were cycling when we were there recently or I may have bought the entire pharmacy...

Indole, where do you buy the long macaroni tubes? I'm always looking for it and only found some once in Lidl.

I agree with MrsSchadenfreude, most stuff is readily available in UK and/or often cheaper. I live in France and buy my La Roche Posay etc from Boots in UK for example. Apart from Le Petit Marseillais and mustard (dirt cheap) I can't think of much else that is cheaper or not available.

castles but the point is - Euro exchange rate right now means if you want to stock up on LRP/Avene it'll be cheaper.

I forgot - Le Petit Marsellais did some lovely honey shampoo/conditioner last summer...

Garnier products greater choice.

There is a soup range packet but made up in a carton - they have Chinese Chicken etc - can't think of the name but that was very good and no comparable in UK.

100sane good heads up on the LeClerc - when I go there it's either Intermarche or LeClerc (diff retail parks) and if I'm there same time period as my mum she thinks LeClerc is 'chavvy'... I forgot though. last summer LeClerc were doing great picnic/camping stuff - tin fold up tables etc great prices.

my french friend from Calais who lives in London swears by sort of tonics - Vitamin C.

SuperFlyHigh, Most LRP/Avene is only available in french pharmacies and even with the exchange rate it is not cheaper than UK. Hopefully there will be special offers in the supermarkets you visit this summer.

Le Petit Marsellais do the honey range all year round.

castles yes I know its only available in French pharmacies... but have seen on another thread eg for Spanish clothes that exchange rate is good re euro so hence it should be in France. I'm not going this summer anyway!

I prefer Vichy and Nuxe to Avene/LRP anyway and not sold on Caudalie. Having said that I tried a nice Nuxe honey face wash recently.

thanks re the LPM honey.

You can get a 2 pack of Bioderma miceller water which was €20. They literally last you a year as the bottles are huge.

Mind you....the Garnier one over here is cheaper and just as good....its still fun buying things over there.

Oooh, just thought of Leonor Grayl hair products. Their banana shampoo is legendary.

Far more Bonne Maman varieties, giant bottles of Petit Marseilleise (sp?!) their Savon de Marseille hand soap is lovely.
Caudalie much cheaper.
Food wise we stock up on Dijon mayo, mi-forte mustard, Maizena roux powder, Maggi stock powders and lots of saucissons

Annarose tell me more about Leonor Grayl..... is it good?

Maladicta no idea about the Caudalie being much cheaper, good idea for SIL and her mum for presents.

I forgot - the Maille Dijon in wine glasses, and their Mayo Dijon - so yummy and I'm sure you can't buy it in UK...

Harry bread?!

Love this thread, keep the ideas coming please!

Is Le Petit Marsellais range available in supermarkets- if so which ones, or if not which pharmacies? Thanks

I've never actualy tried it but I've always wanted to. It doesn't lather & you only use a teeny blob but people eulogise about it.

You can get it on feelunique but its bloody expensive on there.

summer

as far as I know Le Petit Marsellais only in supermarkets but could be wrong - in all of them - Intermarche, Carrefour, E Le Clerc etc. They do all sorts from bath foam, shower gel, soap to shampoo. try which ones you like, they all vary.

Le Petit Marsellais available in all supermarkets. Pharmacies mostly v expensive.

castles I will give pharmacies this though, they're very informative and when I sprained my wrist and cut it last year (after going to A&E) they were good re aftercare for the cut (it was quite deep and I couldn't face a 2nd visit to A&E).

They were also good re painkillers and what to take for a cold.