Imagine French beauty and you’ll likely envision dark lashes, next-day hair, and a red lip.
Paired with confidence, this look creates the effortlessly chic je ne sais quoi quality French women are so famously envied for. For me, it’s a quality I’ve been in awe of ever since I first visited France at 15. Whenever I tried to duplicate the look on myself, I couldn’t achieve it without the help of heavy foundation — my skin simply wasn’t (and still isn’t) flawless. As a result, I looked too done up.
My go-to makeup look consists mainly of concealer and foundation, lip balm, and mascara. It’s the closest I’ve come to the iconic French classic, but nothing compares to the real thing. Determined to ditch the foundation and go au naturel, I started doing some research as to how French women take such incredible care of their faces so that they rarely need foundation.
While eating buttery croissants was, to my dismay, not the answer, I was surprised to hear about a product that's considered a medicine cabinet staple in France.
It’s called A313 Vitamin A Pommade, a low-percentage vitamin A cream. A more concentrated version known as Avibon used to exist, but A313 is now the only available version.
A313 is a Retin-A cream, which, in America, you need a prescription from your dermatologist for. While in France, you can easily find it in any pharmacy and purchase it over the counter. (However, you can find it on Amazon for $19.) The reviews for A313 are overwhelmingly good. According to NYmag beauty director Kathleen Hou, it doubles as an excellent spot treatment for blemishes.
On my recent trip to Paris, I asked a man working the concierge desk where I could purchase it, and it was in my hand less than five minutes after our conversation ended. He also told me he knew about the product because his grandmother had used Avibon. I was eager to try this above-the-neck secret.
A313 is packaged in a small aluminum tub, not dissimilar to travel toothpaste. It seems small for face cream, but I learned that a little goes a long way.
You only need to squeeze a pea-size amount onto your fingertips to get a thin layer of coverage over your entire face. The texture is like that of Vaseline, so it didn’t glide across my face as easily as a serum. However, it didn’t feel heavy, and it absorbed into my skin about 10 minutes after I applied it. If it feels at all itchy, you can mix it with a night serum or night cream and then apply it to your face.
I avoided the under-eye area and dabbed a little bit of extra cream on my trouble areas, namely my cheeks and chin.
If you don’t like to use creams, A313 doubles as a spot treatment for blemishes. The magic of this product exists in its main ingredient, vitamin A. It’s beneficial for reducing and preventing wrinkles, minimizing pores, and achieving an overall dewy complexion.
Due to the strength of vitamin A, only use A313 before you go to bed.
Exposure to sunlight can cause inflammation and itchiness. I made the mistake of applying the cream to my face before going out for an evening stroll and it felt a little uncomfortable. I abided by the rules the next night and didn’t feel any irritation. After a few nights of using A313, I can’t say I’ve noticed a drastic difference, but my skin does feel less rough compared with using solely my oil-free moisturizer.
I’ll be working this French swear-by product into my nightly routine long after my Paris trip has ended.
