Are you worth it?
French skincare can be pricey but I'm willing to shell out!
Recently, someone in the US asked me which country has the best skincare.
My answer? France and South Korea. But since this newsletter is about France, that’s what I’m going to focus on.
My impression is that French women are not only put together, they really care for their skin. In my opinion, when we talk about ‘aging gracefully’ I would put them right at the top of the list.
So this week I am going to share some good French skincare brands, many of which I’ve tried, some of which I have heard good things about. By the way, many of these brands are available in the US, though this is a great excuse to fly to France.
Affordable brands
I’m going to start with the less-expensive brands. My gauge for ‘affordable’ is how much their face moisturizer costs.
Let’s get right into it:
Biotherm - this was my introduction to French skincare back in 2005. They have a terrific face wash and face scrub. I often see this brand at the Duty Free at airports around the world.
Nuxe - This is an affordable skincare brand that I have used when I didn’t want to shell out $120 for a moisturizer. This is about half the price and they have a face moisturizer that smells like honey and is smooth on my skin.
Bioderma - this is another affordable brand that specializes in dermatological and hair/scalp conditions.
Vichy - this is actually a region in France that’s known for its healing thermal waters. This brand’s seemingly not connected to the spa town, but its products use volcanic water sources. They also have a good deodorant!
La Roche-Posay - I love this brand and they even sell it at Target in the US. They make all kinds of products for eyes, face, neck, anti-age, etc.
Yves Rocher - this is a brand that has stores all over France. It’s affordable and their schtick is that their products are botanical.
Bigger price, great quality
Clarins - to me this is the Daddy of high-quality French skincare products. I have used their under-eye duo serum and a few of their moisturizers. They smell so good — even the face creams with SPF smell fragrant and nice, not sunblock-y.
Filorga - good anti-age products. I have their moisturizer that I bought myself around Christmas. It’s a rich, pale orange cream that smells like heaven. I feel the years fading off my skin when I put it on.
Darphin - I had a friend once who swore by Darphin even though we were only in our 20s at the time. The man behind this brand was a botanist who wanted to apply his plant research to skin rejuvenating technology.
Well, those are my favorite products, most of which I have tried myself. As I continue to try to avoid Botoxing the crap out of my face, these are my current saving grace(s).
By the way, many of these brands have great skincare products for men as well!
I’d love your feedback on For Love of France
Before I wrap it up for the week, I’d love to get some feedback from anyone who’s reading these articles:
Do you find the variety of topics helpful or interesting?
Would you like more of ‘this’ and less of ‘that’?
Do you have any questions about French culture that you’d like me to write about?