bloomzy /

French Pharmacy Favourites

french_pharmacy_skincare_travel_size_products_favourites_beauty_blog_blogger_bloomzy_avene_ave_ne french_pharmacy_skincare_travel_size_products_favourites_beauty_blog_blogger_bloomzy_avene_ave_ne_1

It’s safe to say that when I’m travelling I have my go-to favourite French pharmacy beauty products. French skincare is renowned as some of the best in the industry, and I’ve been swearing by it for years. So it only made sense that on my recent trip to France I took along some travel size versions.
I brought products from Avène, Klorane and Nuxe, all of which are brands I’ve featured on the blog before. Spoiler alert: they all came from UK stores.

My French pharmacy travel size favourites:
Avene Light Hydrating Cream with SPF20*
Avene Thermal Spring Water Spray
Nuxe Reve de Miel Hand and Nail Cream
Klorane Extra-gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk*

 

bloomzy /

Review: A-Derma Light Hydrating Cream UV

A-Derma Light Hydrating Cream UV*
A-Derma is another French pharmacy brand (and sister brand to Avéne) that has caught my eye recently. The brand’s products cater to sensitive skin, dry skin and those with eczema. I had previously tried A-Derma’s Rich Hydrating Cream but found that it was a bit too full-on for my skin. So as Summer came round I turned to A-Derma Light Hydrating Cream UV. The cream claims to offer “immediate and long-lasting hydration that protects from climatic stress”. Perfect for somebody living in a city like London.
Pros:
+ Soothing
+ Applies easily
+ Hydrating
+ UV protection/SPF20
+ Absorbs quickly
 
Cons:
– Thin formula
– Small tube
 
Notes:
I usually know from the first application whether I will like a moisturiser, and I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The thin formula confused me slightly as it seemed quite watery for a cream, however I found that this worked to my advantage. The thin formula means it is easy to apply and absorbs quickly. I also noticed that once I had applied the cream my skin felt very soothed. Combined with the UV protection (and SPF20), this is a lovely cream to be wearing alone or under make-up during the Summer. It’s very light and sits on the skin well. I would definitely purchase it, and the price point isn’t ridiculously high either, at £14.50. Although I do wish there was more product in the tube.
You can purchase A-Derma’s Light Hydrating Cream UV at Boots.
bloomzy /

Review: A-Derma Intense Repair Hand Cream

You may remember me professing my love for this particular product on my Youtube channel. 
I realise not all of you will have watched my video so I decided to do a review here, to make it a bit easier for people to find and read more about the product. This particular hand cream is from the French beauty brand A-Derma, who are a sister brand of Avène (my favourite beauty brand), so I had high hopes for the brand. Once again natural ingredients are at the core of this product (Rhealba Oat Milk), as I have come to expect from the Pierre Fabre family. As for the properties of the hand cream, the brand claims it repairs dry, irritated skin, whilst protecting it.  
Pros:
+ Smells amazing
+ Nice texture
+ Absorbs quickly
+ Non-greasy
+ Moisturising
Cons:
– A little doesn’t go a long way
Notes:
After being introduced to this hand cream it has quickly become one of my favourites.
I look for two things in a hand cream – hydration and a nice scent. Most hand creams do the same thing – hydrate, which is wonderful but I want that irritating dry feeling gone, which this thankfully gets rid of. After that I’m just left looking for something that makes the cream different, and that one factor for me is smell. I want my hands to smell lovely after I’ve applied a hand cream. There are some delicious foodie scents out there, but I love the refreshing calm scent of this more. The formula has a good texture, which is in-between a gel and a cream. It isn’t greasy, and the cream absorbs quickly, which is great if you’re a busy bee like me. The only downside is that I found I needed to squeeze out more from the tube than I have done with other creams. I think this is down to the thin, gel-like formula. So I would maybe like to see a bigger tube, as it does feel like I’m using twice as much (although that’s probably just a psychological thing). For £7 I don’t think it’s badly priced, and I would happily purchase it again as it’s exactly what I look for in a hand cream. 
You can purchase the A-Derma Intense Repair Hand Cream at Boots.
bloomzy /

Video: French Pharmacy Goodies

I went to Avène & A-Derma’s bloggers breakfast last week and received a personalised skincare goodie bag* full of products from the popular French pharmacy brands. I decided to open up the goodie bag on camera and share what was inside with you all. All of the items in the video can be purchased from Boots, and are in selected Boots stores.

Check out more of my videos and subscribe to my Youtube channel – if you like.

bloomzy /

The Secret of Avène Eau Thermale

On Thursday I was invited to breakfast with my favourite skincare brand – Avène.
They had cryptically told me that I would be finding out the secret behind their products.
As the brand has made such an impact on my skincare routine I couldn’t wait to find out.
Amongst the gorgeous bouquets of flowers and delicious food were some new products.
Avène is now releasing their ‘XeraCalm A.D’ range, which is aimed at those with eczema.
As someone who suffers from eczema from time to time, this came as a delightful surprise.
But wait, didn’t I mention a special little secret? Well luckily for you I’m going to share it.
So what is the secret of Avène?
The lovely representative told us that it is all down to nature. A long time ago, the founder of Avène found a spring that had special healing properties. The locals also knew about it and used it to bathe in and to help ease their skin conditions. It sounds as though it could be something from a fairytale, right? At least that’s how I imagined it. 
Now, do you remember your geography children? Then you might recall how springs come about. Rain falls down into the soil and makes a magnificent journey through the earth before creating a spring. It is this process that allows Avène to gather their eau thermale, as it rises from a hot spring under the earth. The water in this spring takes all the minerals and a unique microflora ‘dolomiae’ from the earth and soil. This process takes over 50 years, so the eau thermale in all your Avène products really is special. It is a science that the Avène team have been working on, and perfecting, for many years. Luckily for us they are now sharing their secret, so we can all benefit!
So it’s no wonder why Avène’s products are soothing, anti-free radical and anti-irritating. It’s amazing to think that a spring discovered in 1736 is still helping us, and our skin woes today. Avène have put a lot of research, thought and care into their products and I love that about them. I also think it’s wonderful that the eau thermale in their products comes from a natural spring. How many people can say they use the water from a thermal spring in their skincare routine? Their products aren’t only for those with eczema or sensitive-skin, anyone can use them. If you want to be converted, like I was, then you need to try out Avène. 
You can purchase Avène’s new range from selected Boots stores, from April 2014.
bloomzy /

How I Fight My Eczema – Eczema Remedies

Korres Fig Showergel & Fig Body Butter, and Avène Rich Skin Recovery Cream
I suffered from eczema a lot as a child. 
It would often cause me a lot of pain and discomfort, and I would usually bleed due to the severity of it. I remember my parents trying all sorts of remedies to get rid of it, but nothing really worked, until one day…it just disappeared. 
I had pretty much forgotten about it until September 2011, when I saw my eczema return, with a vengeance. I had returned from my holiday to Provence and suddenly my whole stomach, leg and breast area was covered in dry, sore, itchy spots. I visited the doctor and they confirmed it was eczema. I was given an emollient cream to help, but it didn’t work. I was then given a steroid cream that I could only use for 2 weeks. My eczema disappeared…then it came back a week or so later. The doctor didn’t know what to do and told me to relax (as it can be caused by stress) and continue using a moisturiser and the original cream. I would have a shower and then look down at my body and burst into tears. I felt embarrassed and grossed out by my own skin. My fiancé tried to console me time after time but it had worn me down. I’d had enough. None of the medications worked well enough to solve the problem so I decided to try out something a little more natural and sensitive. Surprisingly they worked a lot better and even got rid of most of my eczema.
My eczema remedies are:

Korres’s Fig Showergel (90.4% natural content) & Fig Body Butter (93.5% natural content).
These products have been my saviour and I 100% believe they are the reason for the eczema on my stomach, legs and breasts disappearing. I had heard from a friend that these were great at combatting eczema and even psoriasis! She wasn’t wrong because I now use these daily to help keep my skin hydrated and to combat my eczema. I first used these until I ran out, then my eczema came back and Anna bought me some more. Now it’s slowly going away again. 
I swear by these products.

Avène Rich Skin Recovery Cream.
You all know I am a big Avène fan and use it in my daily skincare routine. Well when my eczema started appearing on my face for the first time I didn’t know what to do. It actually coincided with my trip to Chamonix, so I figured that since I was in France I’d try out a cream by one of my favourite French skincare brands – since they recommend it for those with eczema. I used it for a week on my face, and by the end of my holiday my eczema had cleared up. This is free of parabens, fragrance and colouring agents – and they’ve used as few ingredients as possible, making it perfect for sensitive skin. 
This is now my daily moisturiser for face & neck.

Eczema can be a very uncomfortable, painful and sometimes embarrassing illness.
I don’t want anyone else to suffer so I’m hoping these remedies might help others also.
Let me know your own personal remedies in the comments!
bloomzy /

Sale Finds Series: Nuxe

I’ve decided to do a small series on some of my online sale finds this month.
That means I’ll be posting mini-wishlists or recommendations from various online stores.
It’s quite simple really, if I find an amazing sale I want to be able to share it with everyone!
This seems like the easiest and also best (I enjoy making wishlists too much) way to do it.
You can find the series here.

Who? Nuxe
What? French Beauty/Skincare products
How much off? Up to 50% off
Running until? Whilst stocks last
Nuxe are one of the few beauty brands I have an email subscription to.
That might seem like an odd thing to say, but I hate newsletters, so maybe that helps explain?
So when I received an email mentioning they had an ‘up to 50% off sale’, I was pretty excited.
They’ve recently worked their way into my heart and bathroom cabinet, to become one of my favourite brands.
The sale is pretty varied and offers products from most of their ranges, as well as including gift sets.
The deals are pretty good, especially if you would usually be put off by Nuxe products due to the price.
So it’s a great opportunity to pick up some old favourites, or to try something new from the brand.
You can view the full Nuxe sale here.

Source: 1