City-Pharma, Cafe Deux Magots letter

Some wise travelers know Paris is a Mecca for makeup and City-Pharma is their bargain land Holy Grail. At 26, rue du Four 75004

I met up with two clever ducks Cheryl & Debbie on Tuesday because they'd ordered the 6-pack of Paris Letters and wanted to pick them up while in Paris (instant gratification). 

(This is a repost from 2015 with additions)

They raved about the goodies they bought at City-Pharma & shared a bed-shot of their haul. Yum Yum

I pass the corner of rue Bonaparte & rue du Four dozens of times but rarely go inside. Have you been?

I’m always mystified by French cosmetic. I don’t put anything on my face but cold water 💧 & a dash of makeup, when I remember. Well that's changed. Fr girls don't put water 💧 on their faces because of the calcite.

It's best to go early as possible. CP opens at 8:00 🕗 everyday but Sunday.

Other customers seems to know exactly what they want and are busy checking off lists like Santa 🧑‍🎄 

The only shopping bag I ever filled to the brim was full of macarons...hmmm

I love gazing at French packaging.

Aren't these bottles pretty?

At last a product I know thanks to Veronique Marot who said I must get Bioderma Crealine H2O to remove makeup. I still have a few drops from the bottle I bought 10 years ago after my photo shoot with Carla Coulson and Veronique. Time to replace. City-Pharma has bargain bins, so I picked up Bioderma for 2,98. Clean off your makeup at night with this stuff & you’ll be like a newborn in the morning 

Everyone swears by Nuxe so I invested in a gift trial pack. Their ads in the shops say,  

"Je suis Prodigieuse"

Which rimes with religieuse (not so hot for the complexion :-))

Here's my haul. I was looking for baby powder and grabbed liniment instead(1,98). Most toothbrushes cost a fortune in Paris. 

At City-Pharma only 1,90€. 

Chewing gum too is pricey. Here just 1,98. 

You can see I didn't go the full French beauty traitement route. I need to study up. A good place to start is THE CUT's Must-Have list of what to buy at City-Pharma.

One big problem with City-Pharma is the lines to pay. The downstairs line goes round the corner.

17 caisses (cash registers) up one flight 

And you can get prescriptions filled, but it's still super crowded.

While searching for non-existent baby powder I was directed to the back & down the stairs.

I discovered a short, fast line & a back entrance. Shhhh🤫

I convinced Sheryl & Debbie to go to a café for a coffee ☕️ a short walk from City-Pharma.

Deux Magots is one of my favorite cafes in Paris and they couldn't be nicer. Espec for a cafe crème, a divine croissant and jam.  Deux Magots is the perfect place to unwind after examine your treasures at City-Pharma.

🥐 

I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. 

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Thanks for reading PB ❤️

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Uh oh 😦 Yesterday’s post The Paris Walk went out in the wrong format & you missed a lot of excellent info. Take another look please.