Paris is the Mecca of skincare!

*** Beauty Match in Paris ***

While in London, I stopped by Paris, aka the undisputable Mecca of skincare! Aaaaaaah, Paris, some may not like the city of lights, but I need to get my Paris-fix every couple of years or else I go into withdrawal. For good or bad, the French don’t do things like anyone else.

Those French women! They smoke, they drink red wine with almost every meal, they never set foot inside a gym (for the most part), they eat 60% fat double cheese (sometimes with butter), they put butter on white bread, they’ll have pastries in the morning for breakfast, and yet they are still thin and have flawless skin. Their sense of style is legendary and the attention they bring to skincare (at a VERY young age) is well known. La française is not afraid of aging, bien au contraire, she always finds an ingenious way of working with what she has and she plays off her strongest and most alluring features. She blatantly ignores what Mother Nature didn’t give her and shamelessly flaunts her best attributes.

There is no shortage of skincare and cosmetic lines in Paris. To be honest, the choices are so plentiful that it’s a bit mind-boggling. Just like London, Paris has a number of skincare and beauty Meccas where you can find pretty much every possible brand under one roof.

Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are definitely Paris’ beauty centrals. You are sure to find all of the best-selling French brands and you’ll also find a number of international skincare brands as well. On the second floor of Printemps, you’ll find a number of more “boutique brands”. These are smaller cosmetic lines that are making a name for themselves … one client at a time. You’ll also find a number of organic anti-aging skincare lines. Whether you choose Printemps or Galeries Lafayette, do keep in mind that Boulevard Haussman is one of the busiest tourist areas in Paris.

Sephora France and Marionnaud are two other locations where you’ll find a myriad of skincare brands. At Sephora France you’ll find a lot of the same brands as you’ll find in North America, but there are a number of very local brands that you won’t find on this side of the Atlantic.

While Printemps, Galleries Lafayette and Sephora are crammed with tourists too eager to part with their money in the hopes of reversing the signs of aging, Marionnaud caters mostly to Parisians. You’ll find some of the more commercial brands such as Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Clarins, Lancome, Freeze 24/7, etc.

You can locate Paris’ top beauty-embassies at the following addresses:

Printemps: 60 Boulevard Haussman, métro: Havre Caumartin

Galeries Lafayette: 80 Boulevard Haussman, métro: Havre Caumartin

Sephora France: They are located all over the city, but the one located at 70-72 avenue des Champs-Elysées is simply surreal. It’s so big that it actually took me a whole minute standing at the entrance … just to soak it all up.

Marionnaud: Just like Sephora, these stores are located all over Paris.

For all the posts that document my recent Paris beauty trip and reports on the anti-aging skin care trends in Paris, you’ll see the following label: *** Beauty Match in Paris ***.