Weekend Wonders: French Flair

Paris to Provence is Melbourne's highly anticipated yearly French festival, and it's on this weekend! Set amongst what is already a beautiful backdrop in South Yarra, Melbourne, Como House and Gardens will be transformed into a French pop-up village where you can smell, touch and taste all that embodies France. I will be attending the festivities and thought it would be a great opportunity to share my favourite French brands and their products with you!

Our good friends at Cosmetiques de France (who brought us the amazing Bioderma products) will also have a marquee there where they will be selling Christmas beauty gift packs and giving away plenty of samples. So if you're attending the festival, don't forget to pop over to have a browse and say 'boujour'!

One of my favourite affordable French cosmetics brands is Bourjois. I love the great quality of the products and the pretty packaging (I admit I'm a sucker for packaging!) The Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation is one of my go-to foundations - it contains fruit-derived ingredients for a flawless, glowing complexion. After working at bb, I was introduced to the Bourjois Smoky Pencil in 'Dark Purple'. I often go out straight after work on Fridays, and I love using this eye pencil to help me dramatise my makeup. I simply line my top and lower lashline and then use the smudger tip to blend out the colour. Tadaa! Instant purple smokey eyes!

In terms of skincare, my favourite French brands would no doubt be Avene. I have dry and sensitive skin and often have trouble finding the right skincare products. I'm apprehensive in trying new skincare as my skin would often react and flare up. Luckily for me, the Avene skincare range is dedicated to sensitive skin and are hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic (what does all this mean? Click here to read more about these beauty terms) I always carry a small canister of Avene's Thermal Spring Water in my handbag to sooth and calm my skin when it feels dry, and it's an amazing way to cool down during summer! My pick from the bb Avene range would be the Soothing Moisture Mask. I like to use it to replenish moisture in my skin after being exposed to harsh weather conditions such as wind and sun. Oh and did I mention it's a fantastic product to take on holidays?