Some of the best skincare I own came from a farmacia counter, not a luxury beauty floor. European pharmacy brands focus on barrier support, tolerance, and textures you actually want to use every day. Living in Madrid gives me a front-row seat. Sadly, many of the winners are sold only in Europe. So I tell you which ones are worth tracking down on your next trip abroad.
This is where I review all of it: French, Spanish, German, and Italian pharmacy staples, cult classics, and the hidden gems that rarely make it to the US.
New to European pharmacy skincare? Start with the finds you can’t easily get in the US.
Curious how formulas change across borders? See why NIVEA Creme made in Germany is better than the US version.
For as long as I’ve been obsessed with skincare, I’ve picked up a few things at European pharmacies during international travels. It was not always sunscreen, though. Believe it or not, I never expected such a vast difference between formulas…
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I recently picked up a La Roche-Posay moisturizer and was struck by its simplicity, which makes sense when you think about it. This is a brand that distilled a euro-pharmacy ethos into something that now anchors some of the most…
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Nivea Creme Natural Touch is the first line extension of the iconic blue tin in over 100 years, and that’s not a small thing. This is Vicks VapoRub territory. Ivory Soap territory. A utilitarian, unpretentious staple so embedded in daily…
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Moving to Spain did a lot of things to my skincare routine, but the biggest shift was sunscreen. Not in a “I learned to reapply more” way, but in a “why does everything suddenly feel better than what I was…
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A long-term favorite finally lands stateside. I discovered La Roche-Posay Effaclar A.Z. just last June. My skin was doing that familiar thing: slightly congested and a little dull. Add heat, humidity, stress, and constant sunscreen into the mix, and my…
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Moving to Madrid was full of self-care revelations. Since European pharmacies turned from exotic to everyday, I’ve embraced more SPF formulas than I can count. I also found my ride or die sunscreen in La Roche-Posay UVAir SPF 50. Then…
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Why I Still Reach for Embryolisse Ten years ago, I turned to goop’s newsletter on French Pharmacy must-haves for my Paris shopping guide. I only know that from a quick search of my Gmail inbox, because does anyone delete emails?…
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Luxury feel, pharmacy price. If La Roche-Posay released this sunscreen under a prestige brand name, gave it a minimalist logo, and priced it at 120 euro, I wouldn’t blink. This is the best daily SPF I’ve found since moving to…
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