Secret files: 9 cult French skincare brands you didn’t know existed (they are exquisite)!

Embryolisse and La Roche-Posay sit at every pharmacy around the corner. Avène and Bioderma are possibly even more readily available Stateside than in France. Le Petit Marseillais and Lierac are present at Walgreens.

French beauty, in short, is under threat of becoming almost generic.

Surely, there has to be something more?

Thankfully, for those of us who worship at the very altar of this nation’s utter gorgeousness, a whole old-but-new-again generation of French skincare brands is reshaping our vanities.

A generation spearheaded by beauty maestros who are returning to the homeland after super-successful stints across the globe, to revive traditional brands like Buly 1803 or launch new ones like Retrouvé.

A generation that combines French finesse with generations of know-how to redefine the industry. And doing so raises the beauty bar a zillion notches higher.

Both pretty and potent, these are the beauty products French women, makeup artists, and beauty editors are really obsessing over. Thankfully, with the advent of internet shopping, these little marvels can be shipped to wherever you reside.

And with a beauty editor’s knowledge, I have them all here for you. Want to know the real art of French beauty? Take a look.

Bastide

Given its beauty and complexity, it’s nearly impossible to pick a favorite region in France. But if pushed, I would settle on Provence, the land of olives, almonds, cherry blossoms, bee hives, flowers, herbs, organic bakeries, quixotic stone cottages, painted vistas, artisans, sculptors, painters, and musicians. 

And the French skincare brand Bastide bottles all of these in delicate glass vials under the calming hand of Aix-en-Provence native Frédéric Fekkaï (yes, of the hair fame!) and his wife Shirin.

Ingredients are sourced from this extraordinary landscape, blended with generations of French beauty savoir-faire, and packaged in environmentally conscious bottles. No toxic chemicals are allowed.

And like France, it’s almost impossible to pick a favorite. But if I had to choose just one Bastide formulation, it would be the Huile Seche Epatante Dry Oil Mist. Replete with lush oils and the smell of orange blossom, a spritz is just what you need for the glow of sun-kissed skin—sans the greasiness.

Retrouvé

After Jami and Klaus Heidegger resurrected and sold Kiehl’s—a legacy brand inherited from Jami’s father, Aaron Morse—to L’Oréal, they launched Retrouvé, which combines the best of French finesse with their cosmetic expertise.

This French skincare brand focuses on combining high concentrations of active ingredients with a unique delivery system that penetrates the epidermis to nourish skin from the inside out—all without nasty artificial fragrances, parabens, or petrochemicals.

The downside? They’re super-expensive, but if you’re willing to shell out the big bucks, the Intensive Replenishing Facial Moisturizer is like a vitamin-powered cocktail for the complexion, complete with stem cells and humectants for a one-stop approach to all your skincare needs.

Huygens

Based in a 17th-century alchemist’s house in the heart of Paris’ Marais district, Huygens uses aromatherapy, with natural and organic ingredients anchoring the core. 

You can choose from readymade products (but what’s the fun in that?) or opt for a customized blend made on-site with a laboratory-style magnetic stirrer. Bespoke and swift… who could ask for more?

My personal favorite is the Massage Oil customized with the Songe d’été essential oil, which is perfect for boosting circulation, toning the complexion, and creating a deep sense of relaxation.

Buly 1803

Buly 1803, or  L’Officine Universelle Buly, combines natural ingredients and vintage beauty recipes with modern techniques. 

When Ramdane Touhami (former co-owner of Cire Trudon) and Victoire de Taillac acquired the 200-plus-years-old marque, they took great care to preserve the original cabinet of curiosities ambiance, complete with golden marble countertops, beautifully worn tile floor, painted Elizabethan ceiling and goose-shaped brass faucets.

The only change? All Buly products are now silicone, paraben, and phenoxyethanol free.

And what a breadth of products: Combs made from centuries-old trees, wafer-like sheet soap, scented rocks, orange-flavored toothpaste, scented matches, vetiver root brushes, vegetable oils and dried ingredients to create your concoctions (think prickly pear oil, rose petals and all kinds of clay), totally decadent hand creams and water-based perfumes (Touhami believes alcohol is harsh on the skin and degrades the scent).

It’s all wrapped up in the most covetable 17th-century prints that would make your vanity sparkle. The in-house calligrapher will personally monogram every product for you as a final touch!

Le Couvent des Minimes

You need this French skincare brand in your life, if only for the exquisite labels that adorn their potions. Potions that wereoriginally conceived by botanist monks in Provence as far back as 1613. 

They were further developed by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary in the late 1800s, who dedicated themselves to the care ofthe sick and elderly.

Today, the brand is owned by L’Occitane, which donates part of Le Couvent des Minimes to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary charity.

My top pick has to be the Gardener’s Hand Healer. This is an exfoliating hand wash (and exfoliating hand wash is one of those things I never knew I needed and now simply can’t live without!) that combines the power of natural grains with plant extracts to slough off dirt, grime, and dead cells from your hands, leaving them soft and smooth like no hand cream can achieve on its own.

Perfect prep for that French manicure!

Shigeta and Marie-Hélène de Taillac

A blend of 12 essential oils that have been infused with the potency of precious stones from cult jeweler Marie-Hélène de Taillac? Sounds just like the kind of thing Marie Antoinette would covet. 

Based on lithotherapy, which works with the vibrations of stones and minerals, the Elixir Oil Serum boosts collagen and reverses the effects of free radical damage. 

Luckily, you don’t need a queen’s coffer to lay your hands on this one, nor do you need to lose your head.

Patyka

A throwback to the Roaring 20s in the City of Love, the French skincare brand Patyka is the quintessential Parisian beauty maison: sensorial, seductive, and sumptuous. Based on biotechnological actives, all Patyka products offer a beautiful blend of botanicals sans synthetic and toxic chemicals.

Their Huile Absolue Skin Booster Serum remains iconic among the Parisian elite, almost a century after it was created by the young pharmacist who started it all in 1922. 

The dry and silky concoction is a potent composite of 12 organic essential oils and plant extracts – including Saint John’s Wort, rose hip, red mandarin, geranium, sandalwood, and neroli—which boost and strengthen the skin, step up cellular regeneration and make you glow from the inside out.

Maison Caulières

By now, you must have detected a few themes running through the best of French beauty: fresh, organic, gentle, and made-to-order. Maison Caulières brings all these together with a splash. 

Based in the Loire Valley, this 250-year-old family maison blends home-grown honey and oils according to the changing seasons to ensure perfectly synchronized cutaneous biorhythms: Cue A l’Aube des Sens that sparkles with the freshness of spring, Le Temps du Songe to harness the warmth of summer, Retour aux Sources to comfort from the changing nature of autumn and Ode au Repos to create a cocoon from the severity of winter.

From hand creams to shower gels and exfoliators, this French skincare brand is your chance to return to the rhythm of nature so often disrupted by our urbanity.

Romy Paris

Romy Paris recognizes that your skincare needs can change from one day to another based on lifestyle and environmental factors. Enter the Figure Mini-Dose machine, a nifty little gadget that pairs with a handy app to custom-mix your skincare formulation. 

Got too much sun? Slept too little? Skin feeling extra parched? Enter the various factors into the app, load the active capsules into the machine, and in about seven seconds, you will have a new cream based entirely on your skin’s needs for the day.