It’s a rainy, stormy Tuesday in Paris, and I’m feeling a little bit under the weather, so instead of makeup looks, I’ll be focusing on products today. I’ve been meaning to blog about Nuxe for the past week but haven’t seemed to get around to it, so today seems like a perfect day to do so !
Nuxe is a French parapharmaceutical company specializing in skincare. In 1989, the current owner and director, Aliza Jabès, bought the Nuxe labratory and product formulas from a pharmaceutical researcher. Since then, she has built her brand up to be one of the most impressive in the cosmetics world here, and you’ll often see articles praising Ms. Jabes in the financial magazines – her brand has become one of the fastest growing in its domaine in France, despite the recession.
the ever lovely Aliza Jabès
Most of the Parisiennes have something Nuxe in their bathroom – the formulas, while not organic, emphasize natural extracts and beauty through nature, and have great textures, smells, and packaging.
While I’ve experimented with a few of the Nuxe produts, their Prodigious Oil (or Huile Prodigieuse) remains, hands down, my favorite.
I literally will not travel without my Huile Prodigieuse, just because it’s so useful for SO many things.
The basics : This is described as a multi-usage Dry Oil, that ‘nourishes, repairs and softens’. It contains 6 precious oils (Borage, St. John’s Wort, Sweet Almond, Camellia, Hazelnet Hazelnut and Macadamia ) and vitamin E, and can be used on the face, the body, and the hair.
Housed in a square bottle made of thick glass and about the size of my hand (for the 100ml / 3.3 oz version), with a spray and gold cap, it look luxuuuurioussssss, and somehow, ever so French !
A few sprays usually suffices for whatever you’re using it for, so this stuff lasts for a while (I’m running low, but have had my bottle for nearly a year now), and while the fragrance (provided, I imagine, by the essential oils?) is particular, I actually really love it – it reminds me of summer. The texture is just gorgeous – it’s a dry oil, meaning it’s an oil without being oily. I know that sounds odd, but it just sinks in to skin wonderfully, it’s not like putting olive oil all over !
What do I use this for ? EVERYTHING. No joke, this stuff is the best just because I can use it in so many ways. In summertime, when my skin is dried out by sun and sand, I apply this to dry spots to hydrate, then mist some on to my legs and shoulders to highlight my tan and make them glisten a little bit.In winter, it works great for hydrating my dried out legs and arms (and even face). I’ve used this on the ends of my hair ( a friend swears by this for her frizzy, curly hair), as a face moisturizer, and even to take off eyemakeup when I was in a pinch. I’m not even kidding when I say that this is more than likely the most multitasking product I own.
I’m certainly not the only one to have noticed the seeming miraculous properties of the Huile Prodigieuse – Nuxe has essentially built an entire empire on their (very) prodigious oil’s back with a vast line of products (the rêve de miel face cream is amazing, if you must know) and have now ventured in to the spa business ; there are 13 Nuxe Spas, including 3 in Paris alone. I see Japanese tourists in the pharmacy snapping up entire shelves of this stuff on a regular basis, and my god, do the Japanese know skin care ! They also have the advantage of being reasonably priced – about 20 euros for a big bottle of the oil, and reasonable prices on the rest of their range. I’ve tried most of the dry oils on the market (Nars, Tarte, Lierac) and there’s a reason why Nuxe has the market cornered on this one.
If you happen to be travelling to Paris, pick up the travel kit that can be found in nearly every pharmacy – it’s a steal at about 7 euros, and contains a hand cream, a face cream, a rose based makeup remover, a shower gel, and an adorable mini huile prodigieuse !
The Prodigious Oil is also available with gold shimmer, but I prefer the classic, which gives me more versatility with the product. I tried to photograph a bit on my hands but the photos didn’t really show the texture of the oil, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one. While Nuxe isn’t yet widely available in the United States, I have no doubt that Ms. Jabes, with her wonderful products, will be coming to a store near you soon.
For the moment, check out the Nuxe official US website:
You can also find a selection of Nuxe products online through Drugstore.com:
http://www.drugstore.com/nuxe/qxb47925
XX La Coquette
