The 8 Best “French Pharmacy” Products You Can Buy On Amazon Right Now
by The Candidly Team
There’s this impossibly decadent, deeply divine chocolate chip cookie they used to sell out of a hole-in-the-wall cheese shop in Studio City, CA. When I once asked where they came from, the shopkeeper told me they were sold by an old French woman who baked them in her own personal oven, six at a time, with ingredients imported from France. Including the sugar.
I’ve never been quite sure what the magic is behind French beauty products, but I get the sense it has something to do with this cookie. A painstaking, detail-oriented approach. An almost unhinged passion for ingredients. And (ugh, fine I’ll say it) a certain “je ne sais quoi.”
You could also say this same combination is what makes us lust after the iconic French woman’s wardrobe, buuuut we actually think we may have found the secret to that which we revealed HERE.
And yet, if you ask a French woman what heavenly beauty concoction she’s wearing smells so good, she may just shrug her shoulders and reply…
And that soap likely came from a French pharmacy. You know, the ones that are on almost every other Parisian street corner? That you only know exist because they have that lit-up green cross twinkling from their entrance.
But once you walk inside, you find an alcove of tightly packed glass shelves, cluttered with gorgeous scents, luxe creams, sweet serums, and delicate oils. And the very moment you smell one, you stop rolling your eyes at every Eiffel-Tower-keychain-owning Francophile in your life, because suddenly, it all makes sense.
But alas, you no longer have to book expensive tickets to Paris or suffer the disapproving looks of French pharmacists who shout, “Ne touche pas!” every time you pick up a shampoo bottle. Instead, you can buy all our absolute favorite French beauty products right on Amazon. We promise, they will transport you.
And here they are.
An Important P.S. We know we said you can get all of these things on Amazon, and you absolutely can, but lots of them are available on Dermstore where our exclusive code CANDIDLY will get you 15% off. Et voilà, we had to share!
1. Embryolisse Lait-Crème Fluid
There are fancier body lotions. Newer ones. “Elite” ones. But once you have tried this deeply, deeply hydrating lotion that instantly sinks into the skin, you’ll just never go back to anything else. Their face cream is also a dream, especially under makeup. And they both share that quintessential French pharmacy scent: clean, sliiiiiiightly sunscreen-y, but mostly, well, French smelling.
Price: $14-$36
Get 15% off on Dermstore using the code CANDIDLY
2. Klorane Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk
Simply put, nothing comes close to this dry shampoo. If you haven’t tried it, you really must.
Price: $24
Get 15% off on Dermstore using the code CANDIDLY
3. Caudalie Vinopure Purifying Clay Mask
We love this when our skin is extra hormonal or rashy or weird; it just calms everything down, banishes blackheads whence they came, and for some strange reason, the tube seems to last forever.
Price: $42
Get 15% off on Dermstore using the code CANDIDLY
4. Phyto Paris Phytodéfrisant Botanical Smoothing Balm
No matter how polished and Parisian we look when we step out the door, we oft return with hair that looks like we’ve had a run in with an electric shock. This smoothing, taming formula calms all frizz and flyaways. It has a near magical anti-humidity and anti-static electricity “shield” (whatever that means), and yet it’s made with 98% natural ingredients. No matter what secrets go into its creation, one thing is apparent: your hair will be left supple and shiny for the long-haul.
Price: $25
5. Bioderma Atoderm Cleansing Oil
We are so tired of deeply dehydrated winter skin. Yes, we exfoliate. Yes, we apply an array of lotions, butters, and creams. But the genius of adding a cleansing oil intrigued us. This one is designed for the sensitive desertscape that is our skin. It goes on feeling luxe and smoothing, yet not greasy, and it leaves us feeling dewy and quenched from head to toe. Yes, it’s miraculously for body face and body.
Price: $30
Get 15% off on Dermstore using the code CANDIDLY
6. Eau Thermale Avene Thermal Spring Water Facial Mist
This is one of those products that seems like nothing, but, in fact, is everything. It’s made specifically for sensitive skin and, perhaps because of that, it works for every possibly skin type. We give ourselves a looooong spritz of this, post-shower or post-face-cleanse to be sure our faces are positively glistening with it, whereupon we start our skincare routine. Did you know that if your face is fully wet it absorbs all your products with more efficacy? It’s a fact. And there is just something about this particular water that is more softening and more bouncy than any others we’ve tried. Get it. You’ll feel it, too.
Price: $19
Get 15% off on Dermstore using the code CANDIDLY
7. Biotherm Deo Pure Natural Deodorant
If you’re a truly committed Francophile, even your deodorant must be French, madàme. This one has that French scent, and works better than most. The reviews are glowing. The price, meh. But it seems to last six months or so, even with daily use.
Price: $35
8. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse
We use this as a fragrance even though It’s technically a “dry oil” (already so profoundly French, no?) It smells a bit like…warm, musky, hot, summer sun. Though the best way we’ve ever heard it described is “when a French woman passes you on the street and you wonder what smells so good.”
Price: $28 - $39
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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