Favorite French Bath and Body Products

Whenever I come across a blog or an article about beauty finds in Paris, I never see my favorite products so I would like to share mine. The first is Sanoflore hand and nail cream which I found in the Saint-Germain pharmacy. My goal was to find a product that I could not find at home.  The key ingredient, honey, gently nourishes and protects your skin.  I believe it was around ten euro. As you can see, this well used tube was my go to during the winter and beyond and provided long lasting moisture. I've not been able to find this cream in the U.S and it would cost twice the price in shipping to order it online. I'm now wishing I would have purchased a few more tubes. 

I discovered my other product here in the U.S.  It is Doux bar soap which is made in the South of France. It contains shea butter, palm and olive oils.  My favorite is the rose scented bar. It is a very soft and feminine fragrance which produces a very creamy lather.   I find myself stopping my shower to inhale the sweet rose scent.  I also like the lavendar scent (not pictured). It has a very clean, soft scent with actual pieces of lavendar in the bar providing an interesting texture and light exfoliation.  I discovered these at a french boutique in my neighborhood, retailing at $12.50.  They tend to sell out and luckily I was able to find it online through a U.S. retailer.  I will keep my eye open for these decadent bar soaps the next time I'm in Paris. 

Discovering My Home Away from Home in the City I've Loved from a Distance

Last year around this time I turned 40 and was preparing for my first trip to a city I've loved for a lifetime, Paris. I took french classes in high school because I knew one day I would go to Paris and I wanted to be able to speak the language.  Eventually life took me in other directions and in my adult years other vacation spots distracted me from my end goal.  Last year though, Paris was my priority and nothing was stopping me from getting there for my 40th birthday.

I embarked on this journey with my friend Michelle who was also intrigued with Paris. We both wanted to experience the city more like a Parisian and less like a tourist.  We were eager to walk the city with no real destination and hang out at cafés while people watching.

We stayed at a lovely french hotel, Hôtel de l'Abbaye located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, an area in the 6th arrondissement (district) of Paris. I would return to this hotel and neighborhood in a heartbeat. This is a residential area filled with french cafés, bakeries, shopping and schools.  I instantly felt at home walking up and down the narrow streets and discovering what this gem of a neighborhood has to offer.

After having lunch at a cafe where I had a the freshest salad full of crisp green beans that I'm convinced were picked from a garden out back, I needed an authentic chocolate croissant. As we were exploring Saint-Germain, we came across a bakery called Poilâne.  Completely unaware of it's popularity, we later discovered that not only is it frequented by the locals as pictured below, but also the wonderful bread basket provided daily at our hotel for breakfast was procured from Poilâne. Once inside the smell of wonderful baked goods welcomed us. We quickly realized that this establishment takes their business seriously.  The employees wear white lab coats and the locals swiftly place their orders and continue on their way. I did get my delicious chocolate croissant (a request made by the way, using my very rusty high school french) but I fell in love with their shortbread cookies.  After the first bite, I could taste the purity of the ingredients with the outstanding flavor being butter. These were not cookies that I could eat a pack of in minutes but they were rich, buttery cookies that deserved to be savored. 

During this wonderful first day in Paris, I discovered Saint-Germain was a place that I needed to explore again during this trip. In addition to finding my favorite bakery, I would later find my favorite pharmacy and neighborhood coffee shop, Lili's Brownies.  Ah, my home away from home.