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If you have been around for a while in the blogosphere, you might remember the hype that was Bioderma Micellar Water. It was long before Micellar Water was available in every drugstore, and only a few months after I had started reading beauty blogs. Ah, back in the days.
No big deal, I thought, and quickly put it on the shopping list for my next visit to France. And no big deal it was. A quick stop at a French pharmacy and two big bottles were mine.
It was only then when I realized that if I had lived in the States, it would, in fact, have been a big deal. The only way you could get your hands on it in the US was through Amazons marketplace, and even if you put all trust issues aside (which you definitely shouldn´t), you still were charged about three times the price you paid in a pharmacy.
And boy, I do love my Bioderma, but it is not worth 60 bucks.
You see, part of the problem was that Bioderma was a pharmacy only brand, and if you did not buy at a pharmacy, but through a third person, you never knew if the stuff you would get was legit. And that, my friend, is a risk you should never take.
So what is the solution? I am well aware that not everyone can quickly drive over to France, spend a few days at the beach there and return with a suitcase filled with skincare.
These days I don’t travel that often either, but still want to try skincare not readily available in my area. And that is where shops like Europa-Apotheek come in handy. They do have a big beauty and skincare category, and especially the skincare selection is really tempting for someone like me.
See, before my visit to France last year the lovely Lulle from Beaumiroir recommended I´d try Cattier, a very affordable line available there. But everywhere I went it was out of stock. Seems the French women know quite well what to shop for.
I was gutted, knowing that my next opportunity to shop French pharmacies was months away, but when I browsed the Europa-Apotheek skin care selection, I found it. Not only the variety of face masks Lulle had recommended, each made with different clay to tackle different skin concerns (multi-masking anyone?), but also cleansers and moisturizers, all with a full ingredient list which, as you know, is very important to me.
Oh, and just to get back to my initial story: They do sell Bioderma as well. Which is no longer as exciting as it would have been years ago, but it makes Europa-Apotheek a one stop shop.
Have you ever tried a online pharmacy for beauty stuff? Or how do you get your hands on things not readily available where you live?
The pictures with the exception of the first one were taken from the Europa-Apotheek website.
