Expatriotical

Episode 57: An Homage to French Pharmacists & Products

• Chandra Alley • Season 1 • Episode 57

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Bonjour! Have you ever met a friendly neighborhood French pharmacist? In this episode Chandra pays homage to the amazing women that work at her local pharmacy as well as shares about all of the beauty products that she loves there. Plus a few more that aren't at the pharmacy.

AND keep listening for one of the first ever "Chan Selects" that is friendly for those with dietary restrictions and without!


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"Live and Travel in the Know" with Expatriotical!

Bienvenue, Benvenuti, and Welcome to Expatriotical, the podcast for expats, travelers, and other adventurous souls. I’m Chandra Alley and after living as an expat with my husband and 4 children in two different countries for 6 years, I’ve learned the arts of pivoting during pitfalls, traveling tastefully for less, and soaking in amazing new cultures without losing your own.


Join me, as we dive into the joys and challenges of travel and the expat life in every episode!


Hey everybody! Today is going to be kind of a different episode. It's kind of a mishmash of a couple of things and  that I wanted to do and try. And honestly, I just felt really inspired to do this episode even though I probably should be doing a travel episode about my recent trip to Barcelona, but I think I'm going to save that for next week.


So this week's episode is going to be kind of an homage to French pharmacists. We're going to start off talking about them and then move onto a lot of the products you can get there in French pharmacies and one product that I really really like here in France that you do have to go to a specific store buy.


And before all of my male listeners pause this episode, I just want to say maybe you won't find things in this episode for yourself, but not all of these things are for ladies and also I could give you some great gift ideas. Because a lot of these products can be found in the United States and elsewhere.


So back to French pharmacists. I remember talking to a friend pretty recently within the last few months I’d say, and saying that I was having an issue with something and she said you should just go to your pharmacist. I find that they are super helpful and you can tell them an issue that you're having and a lot of times they can give you something that's over-the-counter.


And I actually sent her a message back and said I agreed with her because the pharmacists at my local pharmacy are amazing! They are the sweetest ladies ever! Even when I come in with all four kids and it's a small pharmacy so in the tight space I'm telling them, “No don't touch that!” or “You're gonna knock something off!” or “Just sit still!” They are always so kind (meaning the pharmacists are always so kind) and they just smile and giggle and it's very endearing how patient they are.


But it's also amazing how knowledgeable they are. For example, when my mother-in-law and father-in-law visited us for the first time in Paris in September 2022, they graciously babysat our four children so that I could go with Chris for a work conference where his company paid for the spouses or partners to join. It was really nice because it was the first time we'd had any time away- alone together- from the kids as a couple since 2017.


We had a lovely time in Madrid (where the conference was), but when we got back, my mother-in-law had had a blood vessel burst in her eye and though she said it wasn't really painful. I'm sure it was irritating. So I said let's go to the pharmacy and see if they can do anything, and we went and told them the issue and they gave her some drops that they said were more vitamin base and that it should clear up. And I would say after about two days, her eye which had been completely red in the inside corner was so much better.


And again with the eye issues, in January 2023, my family except for my husband, Chris, (somehow he was spared) all contracted at least once, yes, that means it went through our family one and a half times, pink eye or conjunctivitis.


Let me tell you that I honestly have a little bit of PTSD from that experience, and when I recently had a cold that settled in my eyes and I got it again, I was so nervous that my kids would get it, though it wasn't the type that spread, thank God, because trying to give two different types of eye drops to four different kids before school and when they come home from school, and right before bed, is exasperating.


Anyway, after that first round of Pink Eye, after it all cleared up maybe by mid February 2023, I went to the pharmacy because I was still getting occasional floaters and I was worried that I would come down with it for a third time. Mind you if you've listened to this podcast before I've told you, I'm a bit of a germaphobe, so I had been explicitly, avoiding touching my eyes with unwashed hands, for weeks.


I explained my situation to the pharmacists and my fear, and they graciously handed me some drops that they said I could use carefully and not every day, but if I felt like I was starting to have any issue.


My pharmacists are also extremely complementary, and maybe that's just mine, but I do try to speak in French and I'll get so far and then I'll stop and switch to English and they'll say, no Chandra your French is so good. And I'm sure I blush and also feel like an imposter, because it's really not that great.


But truly, if you are a person that is planning to move to France or if you're just visiting and traveling, don't be afraid to stop in if you need anything at all. Because it's my experience that in France pharmacists are your friends.


OK, now let's start talking about the products that I have purchased at the pharmacy that I absolutely love!


I want to give a caveat before mentioning these that my skin type may not be the same as yours. So if you find that a specific type of moisturizer or product doesn't work for you, don't discount the brand, maybe just look for something that's not for that skin type that I have mentioned. The other thing I want to say is that I will do my best to have links in the show notes for all of these products so you can check them out for yourself.


OK, I think the most practical way to tackle this is by kind of going through my daily routine. Starting with a Avene Xeracalm nutrition cleansing gel. It comes in this giant 750 ml or 25.3 ounce bottle and it's a clear lightly scented gel that you can use for your face and for your whole body. It's also soft enough or gentle enough to use on children. And it lasts me forever because I only use it on my face. And here in France in the year 2025 you can buy it for as low as €11.99. Avene, spelled A-V-E-N-E, has a ton of other products, and I recently purchased an ointment type cream for my daughter and she just tried it yesterday so I can't get back to you on that as of yet, whether she likes it, but it's supposed to help with dry skin.


The next product that I use in my daily morning routine is from La Roche-Posay, which is L-A R-O-C-H-E-P-O-S-A-Y and it’s a facial moisturizer that has SPF 50 called Anthelios. It has UV B and UVA protection and has antioxidants in it. It is an oil control gel cream and it's not perfumeE. And it's supposed to give long lasting protection.


I really like this one because I was actually using another SPF 50 facial moisturizer by a very well known and posh (if you will) brand that's made here in France, but it was heavily perfumed and it made my face get oily really quickly. So I switched to this one and have been quite happy with it. You may be thinking well I don't use SPF so this might not be for me, but I would recommend using an SPF daily, as most dermatologists would, just to protect yourself from any possibility (as much as you can) of skin cancer.


Actually when I was in Ireland, I heard an ad on the radio that said that skin cancer was the number one type of cancer there, and it's pretty much cloudy all of the time there. When we went in July and we did see the sun, but we saw a lot of clouds too. And for me personally, I have something called melasma so I get dark spots and the sun makes that exponentially worse. Which is really sad because I like to be in the sun, and so I do my best to protect myself from that with using SPF 50.


The next product I want to mention I absolutely adore. It's called L’Eau Sezane and it's a perfume by the company Sezane, which is spelled S – E – Z – A – N – E. Sezane is actually a clothing store and it sells beautiful clothes and they even have recently opened a few locations in the United States. But I will be honest that it's a little bit on the pricey side for me, but the perfume is not and I absolutely love it!


And I just realized that Sezane cannot be purchased in a pharmacy either and I had said that there would only be one product that you can’t purchase in a pharmacy, but Sezane is also one of them.


Another company that makes perfume that I have bought two different scents from and I really like because you can get them in small bottles that travel well- because they are less than 100 ml, is called Roget et Gallet, which looks like Roger and Gallett if you're reading it from an English speaking perspective. They have many different scent variations and a travel-sized bottle is about €20.


Another product that I was very recently introduced to is called Phyto which is spelled P – H – Y – T – O and it sells natural hair products. I literally just got my hair done on Monday and my stylist put the product called Douceur which means softness, which is an express detangler that tames and brings softness to the hair of the whole family- says the bottle. It's made of 97% natural origin ingredients, it's formulated with oat milk and it smells wonderful! And the next day because my stylist told me that you could get it in the pharmacy I went to the pharmacy and found it as well as a shampoo for my daughter to try. For years, she has been using a well-known world-wide name-brand shampoo, and has even used a prescrition shampoo, which honestly smells terrible.


And so due to the weather being super dry and things like that, she's had more of an issue with her hair. So I bought one of the Phyto shampoos and she used it last night for the first time and this morning she came out to me and said ‘Mommy feel my hair.” And it was noticeably different. It was soft, and felt like there was less of a residue, and so far I'm really excited for her about this product.


OK for the next product, it's actually one that sells a few different products that I like. If you remember back in Episode 32: What’s Saving My Expat Life- Summer’s End Edition for the tenth thing, I actually mentioned soap as something that was saving my life. Because I'd gone to this special store in Monmarte just below the hill that ther Sacre Couer Cathedral is on and bought several of these amazing handmade soaps. But I also mentioned that I normally used a lovely smelling, but mild soap.


Well, I haven't been back to that special store since August, so of course I went back to my lovely, but light smelling soap. And my kids actually use the liquid version of it and it's from the brand called Le Petit Marseillais. And I really like these soaps because not only do they smell great, but they also don't leave a weird residue afterward. I use a soap that's made with sweet almond oil called Savon Soin Surgras, which when I used Google translate means super fat care soap in English, which I think is hilarious! But it's basically a body soap and you can also use it on your hands.


And for the kids, we use a bath or shower gel that has no dyes and it’s pH neutral with a lovely scent of olive leaf and lime blossom. Which may sound like a strange combination, but it's really refreshing and whether you're supposed to do it or not my boys use it for their hair and their bodies. And its origin is from 92% natural ingredients. And apparently, my soap, which is a bar soap, is made from 98% natural ingredients.


Not like I'm pushing all natural stuff, but I do tend to use stuff that's natural, because if it's the same price as the other stuff it can't hurt! In fact, it's probably better for you.


Another product that I have discovered in France, but that my use of ebbs and flows, is a nail polish called Green by Manicurist Paris. It's actually a product that you can find in the United States as well, and apparently they have a really great gel nail product, but I haven't ventured out and bought that yet. But I will say that their Green regular nail polish, and when I say green, I mean, that's the name, not necessarily the color, has gorgeous shades, and is the longest lasting nail polish I've ever used.


I know I've mentioned it multiple times on Expatriotical, that I tend to be a bit of a germaphobe. I'm not proud of it, but that's just kind of how I am. And due to the fact that I have four children, some of which touch everything in sight, I am constantly washing my hands. And nail polish doesn't tend to stay on. But over the Christmas holiday I bought a color called dark pansy, and I also finally got over myself and stopped being cheap and bought the topcoat to help protect the color. And it lasted five days without chipping. I could not believe it!


Granted this nail polish is a bit on the pricey side, but not compared to getting a manicure, so there's that. In my pharmacy it costs about 14.99 euro a bottle. And so it's kind of a little treat that I give myself when I feel like that's the type of self-care that I need.


Okay, before I mention the final product, I want to say that everything I've mentioned before except the Sezane perfume can be bought in many and I would almost dare to say most pharmacies and a lot of them can be purchased in local corner markets or grocery stores like Monoprix, which I know I've mentioned a lot on the podcast before.


But these next products can only be purchased at the store by their namesake or online on their website. And that name is Yves Rocher, which is spelled Y – V – E – S R – O – C – H – E – R. And this brand also sells products that have mainly natural ingredients.


I discovered them when I was looking for mascara, after moving here from Italy, and having used the last of my mascara that I had found there that I loved that was all-natural. It's a really long story why I use all natural mascara, but let's say once I switched over, I really liked it. I found that it damaged my eyelashes less and it’s easier to wash off, and I could still get a really nice effect from it. But once I discovered the mascara from Yves Rocher, that has been exponentially increased!


I've used a couple different types of their mascara, but the current one I'm using is called Intense Metamorphose, which would be Intense Metamorphose and I'll tell you more about the price later. But I also started using their powder, because I have a conundrum where I have to have two different shades of powder throughout the year. And I probably should buy different shades of foundation, but I don't tend to wear foundation very often at all.


So in the summer, I wear a darker shade of powder and the rest of the year I wear a lighter shade. And the brand of my makeup that I was buying, you can find all over the world, it is spelled with just three letters if that gives you a hint as to what it was or is, but it's really expensive. And so I saw a sale sign or advertisement for Yves Rocher and thought I would try out their powder to try to save money because the sale was for 50% off. And I purchased their Complexion Powder which is made from 84% natural ingredients, and I really liked it.


So now to the prices. The thing about Yves Rocher, is that they are constantly sending me emails and sometimes even pamphlets in the actual mail- for deals. Frequently I will have an email that says I can take 50% off of three products or 50% off of five products. Yes, you heard me correctly. That's paying half price for five products of my choice. So, the Intense Metamorphose mascara is somewhere around €29 for a tube. But I've never paid that much for it. In fact, I discovered it because it was given to me as a free gift after I purchased the other mascara that I was using.


So not only is it a more natural company, at least from the products that they use, but it's also a very generous company, in my opinion.


And that pretty much rounds out my homage to French pharmacists and French beauty products. If you're of the male persuasion, thank you for hanging in there and I hope that you have some great gift ideas. And for all of my lady listeners, I hope you have some great ideas of things you can try, a lot of which can be purchased in the United States and abroad, or on your next visit to Paris!


And speaking of Paris, my “Chan Select” for this episode happens to be located in the heart of it. It's a bakery called Noglu and it serves every imaginable French delight (well that might be an exaggeration, but is serves a lot), plus some American goodies as well and they're all gluten-free!


I personally do not have to have gluten-free products, but I know that it can be difficult when you're traveling, especially in Paris, the land of a plethora of pastries, to see all of those wonderful goodies and not be able to try them. And so Noglu is a way to solve that problem. From macaroons to chocolate eclairs, and even meals of a brioche bun with smoked salmon and cucumbers, they offer it all! They have three different locations here in Paris and even a shop in New York on Madison Avenue.


When my family and extended family and I went there last summer, we were delighted by all of their treats and you will be too! I will be sure to include their website in the show notes, and as always, I am not an affiliate, simply a fan!


And finally for our quote of the day. Since we talked a lot today about outward beauty and products pertaining to that, I felt it would be appropriate to use a quote about inner beauty. It comes from actress, Emma Stone, and she says “I can't think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.”


Well, said Emma, well said.


That's it for today everyone. I hope that you have enjoyed this lighthearted and definitely different episode, but don't worry even if it wasn't quite your cup of tea next week, we will have an episode that most likely will be.


Before I sign off, I would just ask that if you have been listening to Expatriotical for a while, but haven't yet subscribed on your podcast app, would you go ahead and hit that plus sign button or the subscribe button and do so? That makes it to where you are automatically downloading the episode so you won't miss a beat and it lets me know that I've got a new listener!


So thank you so much and I can't wait to meet you back here again next week. Until then, this is Chandra Alley, reminding you to “Live and Travel in the Know” with Expatriotical.