Make Up Prices: Like, what?

Since my arrival in France at the end of September, I have been using up many of the products that I brought over from the US. By this time, though, I am starting to run out of some of the essentials and looking to make some purchases in France. So off to the store I went to purchase some staples!

What I found, however, when I took a closer look at the make up wasn't so pleasing. Products that I know and love from the United States were severely marked up in France, even product lines that I knew are French! Despite the most obvious reasons for price differences - the 20% TVA included in all sticker prices in France, importation costs for foreign brands, etc. - the prices are still through the roof! Let's take an example: I have been eyeing the L'Oréal Voluminous Million Mascara in Carbon Black for a while now, wanting to try out a new defining and volumizing mascara. I've found it in the States ranging from $9.50 to $11.00 depending on the store, but when I went looking in the French company's home country I could find it for no cheaper than 18€ and even as high as 21,50€! For another: the Bourgeois Healthy Mix Serum foundation that I purchased online through an international retailer for $13.00 I found in the Galleries LaFayette for 19.99€!

Do French women really spend this much money on "drugstore" makeup? Or do they just opt out? When thinking about cosmetics, foundation and especially mascara are some of the things that are used and that you have to buy most frequently throughout the year. And while they do have discount makeup stores such as Saga in various cities, these stores do not stock the most popular brands and only carry products and colors they can get on the cheap.

Conclusion: Definitely stocking up on some essentials while I am home for the holidays!

US Drug Store Update: Online Edition

So since I've been posting about what European products you can find at stores in the States, I figured it was only fair to see what's available online. Online shopping is totally legitimate! And kind of addicting, to be honest :/. But, if you're looking for more a selection of foreign beauty products, you can definitely find much more than is commonly stocked in many local stores or branches from retailers that you already use regularly. Alors, allons-y!

Bourjois Products:

This is a brand that I've become pretty interested since I've been watching beauty bloggers, specifically sparked by essiebutton's brand focus video from last year. I haven't personal experience with the brand, probably because I haven't seen it in stores and I like being able to test makeup shades in person, but I'm definitely looking forward to trying some of their stuff soon! If you're awesome at shade matching on screen or if you're more daring than I am in that respect, these products are sold to US consumers through Walgreens.com, asos.com and UrbanOutfitters.com. From what I've seen, Asos has the best prices on products and the largest selection, although shipping from a UK company might be more expensive than the other options. Urban Outfitters was sold out of the things I was interested :(. Walgreens, however, does allow you to use your Walgreens card to get points with purchases of Bourjois products, which could really add up if you are a regular customer there!

La Roche Posay:

This very popular French pharmacy brand is now being sold online at popular US drug stores! Although I haven't ever seen any of these products in the drug stores by my house, they are apparently available on the web if you take the time to look. Rite Aid just started carrying the Anthelios sunscreens and other chains like Walgreens and CVS have a pretty good selection of skin care as well.

Vichy:

Also a super well-advertised and popular French pharmacy skincare brand, Vichy is available in the U.S. via many of the drugstore websites listed already above. I actually went into a different CVS than the one near my own house and found a really large selection of Vichy products in stock. Awesome!