13 French Skincare Products to Buy At Citypharma Paris

Wondering what French skincare to pick up on your trip?

I never thought I’d be THAT woman. The one who travels with a bag full of skincare or beauty products. Then, I entered my early 30s. Shopping for skincare and investing in beauty products is part of the fun for me now, and I love stocking up on French skincare every time I’m in Paris.

In this post I’m listing ALL the French skincare products I’ve purchased over the years from Citypharma Paris, including which ones I’ve repurchased and which ones I won’t be buying again. Don’t have a Paris trip coming up soon? You can find many of these products online as well, though they may be pricier.

Paris Tip: Bring your passport with you when shopping at Citypharma Paris to be eligible for tax-free shopping. Ask for details and instructions at the checkout counter!

Add these French skincare products to your list

I’ve now shopped at Citypharma Paris on 3 separate visits to Paris. It’s one of the stops I make every time I’m in town. I made a video of everything I bought after my first haul. Here is my comprehensive list of recommendations for you:

1. Avene Cleanance Gel

You can easily pick this blue gel cleanser up in the US, but I do find it to be pricier here (like basically everything on this list). When I was first introduced to this I LOVED IT.

Until very recently, it became my daily cleanser for several years. I loved the feeling that it actually cleaned my face completely and easily removed all my eye makeup.

However, I’ve recently quit it cold turkey. At a facial I was getting in Syros, Greece the aesthetician mentioned my skin was very dry and asked about my skincare routine.

As someone who grew up with the opposite problem – very oily skin – I had also noticed this shift in my skin. I assumed it was part of the aging process.

Now, I wonder if my drier skin is in part thanks to this cleanser not being right for my skin type…I’m experimenting with a moisturizing cleanser now that I bought in Greece. Fingers crossed!

Depending on your skin type, this could be a great product for you though.

2. La Roche Posay Moisturizer

This next product has become one of my absolute favorites in my skincare routine.

The French pharmacist recommended this to me to help counteract the dryness that was possible due to the serum she guided me toward (getting to that soon, another favorite!).

The La Roche Posay Hyaluranic Acid Face Cream is so hydrating and has multiple uses in my skincare regimen. I use it over my serum, as intended.

I also sometimes use it before bed as an under-eye cream and overnight mask of sorts to keep my skin moisturized and plump.

I’ve repurchased this multiple times, and of all the La Roche Posay products I’d say it’s my favorite!

3. La Roche Posay Scrub

The pharmacist I spoke with suggested I should be scrubbing and applying a mask twice a week to support my skin’s deep cleansing.

I was great about this for maybe a month or two and then, fell off. I now use some different products, and this is not one of the items I bought again.

4. La Roche Posay Mask

Always following the scrub, I would apply this La Roche Posay Shine Control Clay Mask. It only needs to be left on for 20 minutes.

Alas, it’s another item I have not repurchased. I actually still have this exact bottle. Every now and then I use it. Actually as I type this, I’m tempted to add this back into my routine more regularly…

5. ACM Depiwhite Brown Spot Treatment

The ACM DEPIWHITE Anti Brown Spot Cream was my skin consultant’s response to seeing the scarring on my face.

I’ll be honest, I have no way to guarantee this is working. From what I can tell, it’s more effective on newer scars than older ones. I actually used up the first bottle and bought a second that I basically haven’t touched.

This is mostly because I turned to microneedling to help me get rid of my scarring. That didn’t really work in the end either.

Next, I’m looking into more natural approaches. In the meantime, maybe I’ll start giving it another go since this unused bottle is just sitting on my dresser staring me down.

6. Sunscreen

Okay so, the French pharmacist did not recommend this particular brand but she did strongly encourage sunscreen.

Lucky for me, my sister had already made it loud and clear that I needed to start incorporating facial sunscreen into my routine as soon as possible. My sister is probably the biggest influencer in my own life — whatever she has I usually want. Why are younger sisters so much cooler??

Anyway, that’s why I started using Supergoop sunscreen. What I loved about this Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen is that it doubles as a primer under my makeup. As someone with larger pores, I appreciated this double duty impact.

Nowadays, I tend to buy the Supergoop body sunscreen to bring with my on trips. My go-to facial sunscreen is the eltaMD tinted moisturizing one. And for a primer, I’m using another French skincare find listed down below.

While on my first visit to Citypharma Paris, I did also pick up a tinted La Roche Posay sunscreen that served me really well. I repurchased a couple times but have now switched completely over to eltaMD.

7. Incarose Vitamin Serum for Face

This product was the crown jewel of my first City Pharmacy haul. The Incarose Pure Solutions Vitamins A+C+E+F Serum is an alternative to harsh retinol.

After purchasing and finishing only 1 bottle of this stuff from City Pharma Paris, I realized how hard it was going to be to replace it.

As I was still in Europe, and this is either a Spanish or Italian brand, I thought it would be easy enough to restock. Especially while I was in both Spain and Italy!

Later, I learned even other parts of France did not carry this serum. What’s so special about it? The fact that it’s a gentle formula with vitamins A+C+E+F ALL in one bottle.

I realized on my hunt to replenish my stock just how rare that is, as pharmacist’s would direct me to multiple serums to have the same effect. Finally, I found an online pharmacy that has it in stock and I bought 2 more bottles.

BUT since then, on my latest visit to Paris I picked up something else I now use. The next item on this list.

8. A313 Vitamin A Cream

I saw this pomade a lot on TikTok before my last visit to Paris and decided to buy it. It gets mixed reviews, but I’m personally liking it.

I only use it about once a week, although I do believe I could it up to 2-3x without concern now that I’ve been using it for a while. I apply it to my face, neck and the backs of my hands.

9. Embryolisse Moisturizer / Primer

I’m on my second tube of this primer and will most likely buy another once I run out. I use it as a moisturizer and primer, and apparently so do some celebrity makeup artists. That’s good enough for me.

10. Caudalie Products

I’ve purchased and repurchased several Caudalie products from Citypharma. I love picking up their lip balms and hand creams because they’re so soothing and have an amazing scent. These also make great gifts, and are fairly affordable in person.

On my latest trip, I also picked up the Vinoperfect serum. I used it all, but probably won’t repurchase simply because I have other products in my routine that I’m prioritizing.

11. Nuxe body oils

You’ll see this in many different pharmacies, and it comes in several different varieties. They make great gifts, and a nice souvenir for yourself as well. It’s a dry oil with a nice scent that you can use for self massage, skin and hair hydration.

I’ve tried the ‘original’ and the pink one, which is a bit more floral. I’m eager to try the shimmer one to add some sparkle to my life come summertime!

12. La Roche Posay Cicaplast Balm

I’m generally blessed with smooth hands, so when the winter weather started drying them out like never before I was eager to act.

This balm has since been taken from me by other family members because it’s that good. Definitely recommend for combatting dryness.

13. Biafin

I bought Biafin because people seemed to rave about its multipurpose properties. I have yet to use it for anything…

Tips for French skincare shopping at Citypharma Paris

Here are some helpful things to keep in mind, now that I’ve been there several times myself:

• Go early and on a weekday to beat the crowds, aim for right when they open
• Know your skincare concerns and what you’d like help with
• Research products in advance (looks like you already are!) because it can be overwhelming in there otherwise
• Know your budget, or it’ll be easy to be talked into overspending by the helpful pharmacists – there’s a lot of great stuff to buy!
• Bring your passport with you for duty-free shopping

Which of these are you planning to try? What else should I check out at CityPharma Paris the next time I’m there?