Heat, History and a Hurried Haul: My French Pharmacy Finds
We’ve just come back from a family holiday to the Dordogne and if you’re picturing lazy lie-ins and quiet mornings with a coffee, that wasn’t quite it – a couple of mornings maybe. This was very much a pool holiday with Chris and the children, days spent swimming outdoors under a proper heatwave. Temperatures hit thirty-eight degrees on some days, the kind of heat you feel the moment you step outside.
It was also a genuinely lovely cultural trip. We ate well, wandered round French markets and made a point of visiting the quieter, less touristy medieval towns and villages rather than the busier spots, which made all the difference with children in tow. The drive itself was beautiful too, mile after mile of sunflower fields in full bloom, the kind of view that makes you forget you’ve been in the car for hours.
Wholesome, certainly. Relaxing? At moments, yes. But as anyone with young children will tell you, a family holiday and a restful one are not always the same thing.
The Sunday Scramble
On the way back to the UK, we stopped overnight in Rouen and that was where I’d earmarked some time for a French pharmacy haul. Except it was a Sunday, which in France narrows your options considerably. There was exactly one pharmacy open, Chris and the children were waiting in the car and I had a strict and rapidly shrinking window to get in, choose well and get out.
Worth mentioning too: on the drive up, we passed straight through La Roche-Posay. Given what I was about to attempt, that felt like a sign I probably should have stopped for longer than I did.
Skincare wasn’t the only haul, either. The boot also came home with wine, a walnut tart, walnut oil, French cotton tea towels and bags of dried lavender, but the pharmacy stop is the bit worth writing about.
So, under genuine time pressure and with no chance to browse properly, here’s what came home with me.
The Haul
SVR Sun Secure Blur SPF 50+ – An apricot mousse-cream sunscreen with a blurring finish, protecting against UVB, UVA, visible and infrared light via niacinamide and a watercress antioxidant complex.
Mixed feelings on this one: it goes on beautifully and the blur effect is genuinely impressive, but I wish I’d picked something more moisturising rather than mattifying, since my skin was crying out for hydration, not shine control. Where it will earn its place is on clinic days, when the treatment room heats up and I get a bit oily during laser work; that’s exactly when a long-wear, shine-reducing SPF50+ comes into its own. As an everyday sunscreen, though, it’s a no from me. Not a knock on the product, just a reminder that even a very good formula still needs to suit what your skin is asking for on the day.
Bioderma Atoderm Huile de Douche – A cult-favourite, soap-free cleansing oil for dry and sensitive skin, suitable for the whole family.
This one has been such a comfort. In the days after we got back, the skin on my arms looked properly dehydrated, almost as though it had lost laxity and collagen overnight. A few days into using the Atoderm and it was back to normal: smoother, plumper, no more of that tired, deflated look. Professionally, I’d put money on that being dehydration and a compromised barrier rather than actual collagen loss, two weeks simply isn’t long enough for that. Sun, chlorine, heat, air conditioning and travel all increase water loss through the skin and the Atoderm didn’t add collagen or tighten anything, it just let my skin hold onto water again, which alone was enough to make it look firmer. It’s also a genuinely beautiful cleanser with a subtle, mild scent. Out of the whole haul, this unassuming litre bottle has probably surprised me the most.
Caudalie Eau des Vignes Gel Douche – A soap-free, plant-based shower gel scented with bergamot, iris and white musk, no parabens or sulfates.
This one arrived at exactly the right moment: after nearly a full day in the car, a service-station-punctuated drive, an overnight hotel stay and then more hours on the road, showering with this felt genuinely blissful. The whole bathroom filled with its scent and I couldn’t stop smelling my own skin afterwards. I don’t think that reaction was really about the formula, gentle as it is, it was the fragrance doing the work, somehow reading as “you’re home, you’re clean, you can finally relax.” This has become my Sunday-evening, wash-the-journey-off shower gel, quite separate from the Bioderma, which I reach for when my skin needs something more practical. Both earn their place, just for different reasons.
Nuxe Rêve de Miel Gold Honey Lip Care – Mine. A honey, shea butter and almond oil lip treatment with a light honey-grapefruit scent, a glossier sibling to their classic honey lip balm.
Genuinely beautiful, tastes like honey, lovely shine and a light texture that never feels heavy or sticky. Worth being clear on what it is, though: it’s more cosmetic than corrective, a lip oil rather than an intensive treatment. If you want glossy, healthy-looking lips with a beautiful scent, this delivers exactly that. If you’re dealing with genuinely dry, cracked lips, you’ll want something with more treatment credentials. I already have anxiety about this running out.
Nuxe Prodigieux Floral Oil – For my mum, so I can’t honestly give my own verdict. But I love the Nuxe oils generally, beautifully light, never greasy and judging by the sheer number of empties my mum has got through over the years, plus the very strict instructions I was under to bring some back for her, I think it’s safe to call this one a winner without needing to try it myself.
SVR Topialyse Gel Lavant – A soap-free, fragrance-free cleansing gel for the whole family, formulated for dry and sensitive skin with just ten ingredients.
Smells beautifully clean and left my skin feeling lovely and hydrated rather than that squeaky, stripped feeling, exactly what post-holiday skin needed after ten days of UV, chlorinated pools, air conditioning and travel putting real strain on the barrier. I also used it on my body, not just my face, which made me even more enthusiastic, body skin arguably takes the bigger hit on a trip like this and it still felt clean and hydrated afterwards. Not one I’ll reach for daily at home, but it’s earned a permanent spot in the suitcase for holidays or anywhere my skin needs recovery rather than correction.
Caudalie Tinted Lip Balm – A buildable, tinted balm with organic shea butter and grape-seed polyphenols.
Really quick and easy to use, with a lovely, very natural just-kissed tint. Big hit for me, ideal for no-makeup days, that bare-faced look with a slight healthy flush that always feels quintessentially French.
Roger & Gallet Jasmin Lollipop Eau de Parfum Roll-On – A floral-fruity, alcohol-free eau de parfum in oil form, jasmine and pear with a tangy berlingot-candy edge.
Just beautiful and so convenient to have in the bag. Despite being quite floral it wears fresh rather than heavy, nothing overpowering, just a perfect fun little fragrance to reapply through the day. My girls adore it. They are never allowed to use fragrance, but I allow them the occasional dab of this for fun.
SVR Physiopure Cleansing Micellar Water – A lightweight micellar water enriched with oxygenating magnesium.
The one exception in the haul: it smelt lovely, but even though I usually tolerate micellar water very well, this left my skin a little dry, so I followed with a face wash to rinse properly (I always wash after using micellar water). I suspect that’s more about the state of my skin than the product, after ten days of sun, chlorine, heat and travel, my barrier is unlikely to be at its best, and even a gentle micellar water can feel tightening on skin that’s already dehydrated. I’ll hold off judging this one properly until my skin’s fully recovered.
SVR Collagen Biotic Firming Cream – A firming, “bouncy” cream built around plant collagen, probiotics, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid.
This is the one I looked at after buying and thought, “oh Iki, what have you done here?”, I was rushing, read “firming bouncy cream” and got swept up. But it’s genuinely beautiful to use, give the pot a little shake and the texture itself is bouncy, leaving my skin feeling exactly that: firm and bouncy. Do I expect that to last or to be doing anything meaningful long-term? No. But it’s a lovely moisturiser and I’ll happily say that’s enough, I leave the serums and actives to do the actual hard work.
My Take-away
French pharmacy shopping really is such a lovely experience for any skincare buff. There’s something genuinely exciting about trying new products and brands we simply can’t get in the UK, then bringing them home after a holiday and using the trip as an excuse to properly pamper yourself.
If this haul has taught me anything, it’s that I don’t look after my body skin nearly as well as I look after my face. Neglect is too strong a word, but it’s certainly been overlooked. The Bioderma Atoderm and the SVR Topialyse in particular have reminded me how important it is to look after the skin barrier everywhere, not just from the neck up. The French are so good at this. In a world where we’re forever talking about retinoids and acids, it’s worth remembering that the simplest products on the shelf, the cleansers, the barrier creams, the ones with no dramatic claims at all, are doing some of the most important work.
Mum and I are already planning a trip to Paris soon and we fully intend to go wild with the French pharmacy shopping when we do. Naturally, I’ll report back as soon as I can afterwards.
Iki x