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| Sephora opposite Galeries Lafayette |
As soon as my friends knew I was going to Paris I was inundated with demands to go to French pharmacies. I was clueless about french skincare let alone what Bioderma was (shocker, I know) so I did what anyone in my position would do - I went to the internet. I soon found
Lisa Eldridge's french skincare video and a load of blogs raving about Bioderma and complaining about why it wasn't available in the UK. I memorised the packaging and thought I was prepared. I was not.
Meanwhile I was on Google Street view checking out the area around our hotel and was shocked to see a Sephora sign on the shopping centre directly opposite the hotel. This magical anti-UK place was only steps away?! I was curious.
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| Opposite the hotel (you can JUST see the Sephora sign) |
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| Entrance of Sephora Champs Elysée. |
It turns out the first shop in Paris that I entered was Sephora near
Galeries Lafayette. To be honest, my first impression was terrible. The only brand that we didn't already have in the UK was the actual Sephora brand and whilst it was affordable, the packaging just felt cheap and nasty. To the shock of my Twitter followers I was underwhelmed and left upset.
The next day I found myself on the Champs Elysée and at the flagship Sephora. Thankfully this was a much better experience with a bigger store and more variety. With Chanel Taboo Le Vernis nowhere to be seen (wahh!) I set off towards the back of the store to a variety of Sephora branded scented edt, candles and gifts. I ended up picking up a few handbag scents (I wish I had picked up more) in Blueberry and Peonies and a contraption for neater fast manicures as I always make a mess. The cashier was really lovely and gave me a loyalty card (one to put with my Harrods rewards card), a Chanel sample and told me to come back to get a free nail polish tomorrow. My heart sank as I thought to myself that I would be in Leicester in a lecture tomorrow.
On the plane home I was thinking about Sephora and how it would serve in the UK. All the beauty bloggers are going to hate me but I think it's best that it stays out of the UK for it's own sake as the market is already saturated. The brands on offer are already in all of our department stores and whilst the service was incredible, it would turn into a tourist trap even if there was only one store on Oxford Street (think the horrible weekend atmosphere inVictoria Secret on Bond Street ). This being said, I am already craving to go back.
Next was a chance to tackle a french pharmacy and I chose a tiny one on the back street near Galeries Lafayette because City Pharma (the cheapest) was miles away and I didn't want to get lost. I walked in, got confused with all the labels, grabbed my purchases and spoke some more French at the till and ran out like a little girl. Better luck next time Charlotte.
I ended up getting 2 bottles of Bioderma, a tube of my favourite L'Occitane Mango hand cream and a Mavala in 'Peacock Green' because it has pretty sheen. The latter two were way cheaper in France.
Next time - I hit my first French market and duty free!
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