What I buy when I'm in France
My foodie and pharmacy superlist
For over two decades I’ve been buying my own stuff for my home, bathroom and fridge, and given that half of me is French it’s pretty instinctive that I’d fill my life with favourite things from France.
I’ve spent a LOT of time in French supermarkets (aka my spa retreat!), watching what the locals buy, seeing what my French family and friends swear by and repeat-purchase (particularly my cousin Raphael, who is a professional patissier).
In French pharmacies I am an excellent (if a little creepy) loiterer, eavesdropping on conversations between chic-but-neurotic customers and white-coated pharmacists. These grumpy, straight-talking, brutish and disapproving health soldiers are saviours in disguise, because they’re far more helpful, knowledgeable and reassuring than anyone you see these days at your own NHS GP surgery in the UK. I don’t mean they’re better than doctors; I mean that they’re better than the fake doctors currently populating your practice. (Today, if you were to book an appointment at your GP’s, you’re very likely to see a non-doctor, also knows as a “physician associate” who won’t tell you they’re not an actual doctor unless you ask them outright, and who act as an interim placeholder listener without any authority to prescribe or give solid advice.)
I once crawled into a high street pharmacie in Bordeaux after a few consecutive broken nights’ sleep and asked - in these exact words - for something to brush out the tangles knotted up in my mind. The pharmacist looked at me with pinched, intense ennui (I think this might be a job requirement tbh), and said - snootily - “Well, obviously your nervous system is a mess, Madame, and you need to calm it all down,” like she had scanned my brain with robot laser eyes and read me perfectly. I left with a magnesium supplement and a sleep remedy (frankly, had she recommended a bottle of red wine I’d have bought it) and I was out for a solid 7 hours every night until my headspace settled. There is no one like a bordering-on-bully matronly French chemist to make you feel both terrified and grateful at the same time, delivering a dose of confidence and empathy with a side of disdain and disgust. I walked out feeling mildly abused and properly cared for. I can't remember the last time I walked out of my local GP’s surgery with anything other than a pamphlet and a heavy feeling of disappointment. So although my reccos below are just fun purchases, do seek out their advice if you’re in a wellness dip.
Right, back to this list then! By the way, you don’t necessarily have to travel to France to buy these. LOADS of them are available in the UK, but often the shipping cost is extortionate and the sizes are tiny. The beauty products are worth exploring at thefrenchpharmacy.co in the UK, which is a paradise of gorgeous skincare, fragrance and wellness brands (if you’re in Marylebone in London it’s one of the best beauty boutiques to lose yourself in).
Let’s kick off with the pharmacy faves, which could have been an entire post on its own tbh, but these are the basics I always pick up. I’ve covered more in Insta Stories in the past, as well as in this InstaLive.
Biafine cream
Every French household has a tube of this wonder balm, which is a healing emulsion for anything that could possibly wound your skin, from insect bites to burns and eczema patches. My sister-in-law Chloe has been using this on her radiation scars following cancer treatment - that’s how soothing it is.
Quies earplugs
Controversial opinion incoming: these are the best earplugs in the world. Clearly this is a personal preference, but they’re ultra comfortable and soft yet have enough grip and bulk to expand and not move a millimetre during a night or flight. I know you can buy these everywhere in the UK, but they’re much cheaper in France (and occasionally come in limited edition colours!).
Papiers d’Armenie
Sorry for any Insta followers who have heard me drone on about these multiple times, but I just love these little incense booklets so much. Inspired by Armenian incense rituals, the idea is that when you burn one of the scented strips it fills the air with a refreshing plume of spiritual smoke, with soft, churchy, ambery notes of sweet-spiced myrrh, frankincense and vanilla. My parents burnt these when I was a kid, and it’s become a precious scent memory in my own household. Despite costing just a few Euros for 36 strips, they smell so rich and luxurious. Fun fact: In 2006, during the Year of Armenia in France, perfumer Francis Kurkdjian (of Armenian-French heritage), collaborated with the Papier d’Armenie company to interpreted the recipe in two new scents: Rose and Arménie. So if you see these booklets in pale pink (Rose) and baby blue (Armenie), those are the ones! Blue is my absolute favourite version. It’s a bit more herbal with sage and lavender, with what feels like a sweeter and more intense dose of myrrh and some pencil-case cedarwood.
Mavala nail polishes
These come in the sweetest little bottles in myriad shades for when you need a quick DIY mani-pedi on your travels.
CicaBiafine bodycare
From the same company as the everything-cream above, I love the simplicity and reassurance of a massive pump-action body lotion that doesn’t faff about. Neutral and fresh in scent, it’s the perfect formulation that doesn’t take forever to massage in. The shower products and skincare creams are fantastic too, as well as these lip balms that I have in every single handbag and drawer. They’re usually on offer in a set-of-2.
La Rosee skincare and body sticks
I mean, just look at these cuties! I discovered La Rosee when I needed an emergency SPF50 on an unseasonably sunny day during a work trip to Paris (I’ll do anything not to exacerbate the terrible pigmentation on my cheeks and forehead). This tiny yellow stick came through. No stinging eyes, no slippery texture; just a great solid balm stick to scribble on your face (and arms, neck, anywhere really), with a gentle vanilla-play-doh scent that I adore. I’ve since explored their other sticks, including deodorant and face masks (which are a bit larger but still brilliant for travelling with). This week, whilst on hols, I bought myself the Anti-Fatigue Eye Contour (lower right); it’s a clear solid gel stick and glides on easily without needing to rub it in. Within 20 minutes it made my under-eyes feel perkier and less swollen, so it’s a thumbs up from me. I can see myself taking this all over the place, including flights and long car journeys, and I’ve put it in the fridge to refresh my peepers in this scorchio weather. Just writing about it makes me want to put some more on. Might need to buy another one at this rate!
Next up: my 18 supermarket must-haves, including the food and beauty products which I buy in bulk and smuggle back to the UK under the kids’ feet in the car.