Ok, so you knew it was coming. How can a girl write a beauty post from France and not mention SEPHORA?
Well, it's time to admit to my addiction.
So Sephora is the cosmetics shop with a cult following in France and in the USA. Despite its popularity in these countries (and others such as Spain, Brasil, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Malaysia) it has never made the leap across the channel to the UK. Not that there aren't cries for it to do so. So you can imagine that I jumped into the Sephora experience headfirst and have quickly become addicted.
What is interesting about Sephora is the way it balances stocking ultra-luxe brands such as Lancome, Clarisonic, Clinique etc, with its own range of highly efficacious yet cost effective products. You can buy the new Bobbi Brown palette for 77,90€ alongside your regular cotton wool face pads for 1,50€. The monochrome theme of the shop makes everything look chic and sleek, and the staff are (at least in my experience) always polite and glamorous - or, you know, normal Parisiennes! This means that you always feel you are indulging in a slightly luxurious retail experience, even when you are just buying eye make up remover for 5,50€. This is probably why I am there so often, even if it is only to buy face wipes. Yes I could get them in the supermarché, but Sephora is just so damn pretty!
My first venture to Sephora was because of a very particular problem. I could not find a decent exfoliator anywhere. Every time I went to the supermarché I looked. Not in my local small supermarché, not in the huge one at Victor Hugo, not in the hypermarché I went to with my host family's Mum one weekend. Nothing. there was one Gommage au Visage which turned out to be just a face wash with a few grains in it, but nothing that gave a god scrub. Then I started in the Pharmacies, thinking that I was so desperate to shift the dead cells of my face I would be willing to pay pharmacy prices for a brand like Avéne or La Roche Posay. But while searching through many different sizes of Pharmacy in different arrondissements, I still could not find a good facial scrub.
Then, while walking around one weekend, not far from my house, I came across a huge Sephora. I recognised the name instantly, having read about it on numerous beauty blogs from other Europeans countries and the USA. I thought I might as well give it a go. I walked in past the numerous stands of makeup and headed for the green section called Soin (care). There I found their poudre exfoliante métamorphose, which promised a good scrub for 13,95€.
What is interesting about this exfoliator is that it comes in a powder form, dispenses like salt (that is honestly what they call the pot it come in - flacon salière) and can be used two ways. Firstly you can use it by itself, shaking it into your palm, mixing it with water and then scrubbing your face. This provides a deep clean, and can be done once a week. If you want a more gentle experience, then you can shake a little into your hand and add it to your normal face wash to add a touch of exfoliation to your everyday routine.
I have never used an exfoliator like this, so trying both methods felt very strange. I first tried it with my La Roche Posay Effaclar face wash. It in no way inhibited the way my face wash foamed, but provided a little extra texture and made me feel as though I had experienced a thorough wash. Although I could feel the grit of the powder, it wasn't unpleasant. Overall it was a good experience, and my complexion certainly looked brighter and clearer afterwards.
Then one day I decided to have a day relaxing at the house. As I was staying at home, I thought I might as well try a deep scrub. So I sprinkled some powder into my hands, added a touch of water, rubbed my palms together to create a light foam, then proceeded to scrub my face. This time I really felt it. This was the deep scrub I had been searching for. The sensation was a little strange at first, like rubbing your face with very fine sand that is for some reason bubbling slightly, but when you wash it off - wow. It was like having new skin! The texture felt refined, and it was so, so soft! My skin was a little red afterwards, but my skin is super sensitive and it faded quickly. I removed the excess with a little toner, and then put on a thick layer of ultra-hydrating moisturiser (remember I was staying in the house for this day). Within an hour, my skin was glowing and it looked so good I didn't even wear any concealer when I left the house later. Wow!
This is not like any exfoliator I have used before, but it really works. I like that you get to determine the level of exfoliation, and that you can make it part of a daily routine or a special treatment. Although it is more expensive than many of Sephora's own brand range of soin products, you use so little (even for an intensive scrub) that the powder lasts for ages. Again, the fact that you determine how much to use means you can fit it to any budget.
I don't know why there are so few exfoliating products available in Paris. maybe I was looking in the wrong places, or maybe it is just not a thing that forms part of the French beauty routine. But what I do know is that I am a big fan of this product. If you feel the need to get the city grime (and the odd bit of play-doh) out of your pores - this is the scrub for you.
This will not be the last product from Sephora I review here - believe me I am making my way through the range. It is also a great source of reasonably priced little Christmas gifts for friends and family back home who enjoy pampering themselves.
Oh and the free samples are amazing. In case I hadn't convinced you yet!
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| It's beginning to look a lot like christmas in Paris |
Well, it's time to admit to my addiction.
So Sephora is the cosmetics shop with a cult following in France and in the USA. Despite its popularity in these countries (and others such as Spain, Brasil, Italy, Greece, Poland, and Malaysia) it has never made the leap across the channel to the UK. Not that there aren't cries for it to do so. So you can imagine that I jumped into the Sephora experience headfirst and have quickly become addicted.
What is interesting about Sephora is the way it balances stocking ultra-luxe brands such as Lancome, Clarisonic, Clinique etc, with its own range of highly efficacious yet cost effective products. You can buy the new Bobbi Brown palette for 77,90€ alongside your regular cotton wool face pads for 1,50€. The monochrome theme of the shop makes everything look chic and sleek, and the staff are (at least in my experience) always polite and glamorous - or, you know, normal Parisiennes! This means that you always feel you are indulging in a slightly luxurious retail experience, even when you are just buying eye make up remover for 5,50€. This is probably why I am there so often, even if it is only to buy face wipes. Yes I could get them in the supermarché, but Sephora is just so damn pretty!
My first venture to Sephora was because of a very particular problem. I could not find a decent exfoliator anywhere. Every time I went to the supermarché I looked. Not in my local small supermarché, not in the huge one at Victor Hugo, not in the hypermarché I went to with my host family's Mum one weekend. Nothing. there was one Gommage au Visage which turned out to be just a face wash with a few grains in it, but nothing that gave a god scrub. Then I started in the Pharmacies, thinking that I was so desperate to shift the dead cells of my face I would be willing to pay pharmacy prices for a brand like Avéne or La Roche Posay. But while searching through many different sizes of Pharmacy in different arrondissements, I still could not find a good facial scrub.
Then, while walking around one weekend, not far from my house, I came across a huge Sephora. I recognised the name instantly, having read about it on numerous beauty blogs from other Europeans countries and the USA. I thought I might as well give it a go. I walked in past the numerous stands of makeup and headed for the green section called Soin (care). There I found their poudre exfoliante métamorphose, which promised a good scrub for 13,95€.
What is interesting about this exfoliator is that it comes in a powder form, dispenses like salt (that is honestly what they call the pot it come in - flacon salière) and can be used two ways. Firstly you can use it by itself, shaking it into your palm, mixing it with water and then scrubbing your face. This provides a deep clean, and can be done once a week. If you want a more gentle experience, then you can shake a little into your hand and add it to your normal face wash to add a touch of exfoliation to your everyday routine.
I have never used an exfoliator like this, so trying both methods felt very strange. I first tried it with my La Roche Posay Effaclar face wash. It in no way inhibited the way my face wash foamed, but provided a little extra texture and made me feel as though I had experienced a thorough wash. Although I could feel the grit of the powder, it wasn't unpleasant. Overall it was a good experience, and my complexion certainly looked brighter and clearer afterwards.
Then one day I decided to have a day relaxing at the house. As I was staying at home, I thought I might as well try a deep scrub. So I sprinkled some powder into my hands, added a touch of water, rubbed my palms together to create a light foam, then proceeded to scrub my face. This time I really felt it. This was the deep scrub I had been searching for. The sensation was a little strange at first, like rubbing your face with very fine sand that is for some reason bubbling slightly, but when you wash it off - wow. It was like having new skin! The texture felt refined, and it was so, so soft! My skin was a little red afterwards, but my skin is super sensitive and it faded quickly. I removed the excess with a little toner, and then put on a thick layer of ultra-hydrating moisturiser (remember I was staying in the house for this day). Within an hour, my skin was glowing and it looked so good I didn't even wear any concealer when I left the house later. Wow!
This is not like any exfoliator I have used before, but it really works. I like that you get to determine the level of exfoliation, and that you can make it part of a daily routine or a special treatment. Although it is more expensive than many of Sephora's own brand range of soin products, you use so little (even for an intensive scrub) that the powder lasts for ages. Again, the fact that you determine how much to use means you can fit it to any budget.
I don't know why there are so few exfoliating products available in Paris. maybe I was looking in the wrong places, or maybe it is just not a thing that forms part of the French beauty routine. But what I do know is that I am a big fan of this product. If you feel the need to get the city grime (and the odd bit of play-doh) out of your pores - this is the scrub for you.
This will not be the last product from Sephora I review here - believe me I am making my way through the range. It is also a great source of reasonably priced little Christmas gifts for friends and family back home who enjoy pampering themselves.
Oh and the free samples are amazing. In case I hadn't convinced you yet!
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