Tuesday 21 February 2012

an important mission to lille france


I spent the day in Lille, France and of course I took some photos. It was my first time there and I have to say that it is a wonderful city with beautiful architecture, which I'll definitely be visiting again in spring. Everyone was really friendly and helpful, which made me wonder why some people always talk about the French as being rude. Well, I remembered to say bonjour with a big smile every time I entered a shop and asking parlez vous Anglais with quite an accent helped me get excellent service in English. The weather could have been better, so after walking in the old quarter of the city it was nice to see a friendly "face" close to the Opera house and get some coffee. Yes, I'm speaking of my friend Paul. I took more photos that I'll post tomorrow or later, and I may throw in some information about the city and its history.


There was a reason for my trip to Lille; yes, I was on a very important mission! The lovely Caterina of Not Just A Pretty Dress introduced us to the French skincare products Embryolisse about a month ago and I was intrigued as they are free of parabens. No shop in Antwerp, or Belgium for that matter, sells these products, so what's a girl to do? She takes a trip to France, of course! The French sure love their lotions and potions because the shop was full. Unfortunately, they didn't have the particular face cream I was looking for but there was no reason for me to leave empty-handed. I bought a few products, which I'll talk about later if you're interested. I just have to try them first.

photo credit:
Lisa Hjalt

see Lille, part 2

23 comments:

  1. Really beautiful photos, what a nice way to spend a day :)

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  2. Beautiful photos Lisa, Lille is very charming :) Paul reminds me of Aix en Privence and Paris, thanks. I'm very curious about Embryolisse now, I always thought nothing could beat Dermalogica;)

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  3. wow what a day! It looks like you had fun ;-)

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  4. what a beautiful post! I love Lille, haven't been in a long time and you made me want to go back now :) (Iris)
    am curious about the products you mention

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  5. Lucky you, wish I had been there with you! :-)

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  6. try the products and let us know about them :)

    I love Paul as well, so this makes us even more lovers out there in the world.

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  7. Sounds like such a fun trip (and your snaps are great, esp. the one of the coffee!). Love France!

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  8. So beautiful, Lisa! You know I can't resist your photos! :) And I knew you were up to something today. :) Can't wait to hear about the products you've bought. Have a lovely evening! xo
    Ada

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  9. looks great. and re: rude French people . spend some time in Paris and you will find out what all those people are talking about... not just a weekend, or a few days on holidays, even tho that can be enough. doesn't keep me from being in love with Paris :)

    xx

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  10. Love buildings and architecture thats for sure... I'm on a mission to find some 'chemical free' skincare at the moment... still searching though I am narrowing that search! Some more information on Embryolisse would be very welcome. I love day trips!
    Helen:)

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  11. A quest for French skincare products is an important mission indeed. I'm definitely interested in hearing more. Lille looks quite charming and lovely.

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  12. What a wonderful way to spend the day! I work in Dermatology and always have products to demo. I never tire of this {job} and always enjoy staying up to date on new products and technology. It's fair to say that my vanity look like a chemistry lab sometimes!

    We have a trip planned to Paris in June and I plan to do a little research on a couple lines while I'm there - this will be one of them!

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  13. You lucky girl what a gorgeous place!
    The architecture is stunning:)

    Wendy x

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  14. Adore your photos as always Lisa! It makes me want to go there.

    Glad you had such a great time to do some girly stuff.

    http://rambleswithreese.etsy.com
    http://rambleswithreese.blogspot.com

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  15. Hi Lisa, I'm so sorry you couldn't find Embryolisse...but looks like you had a great time in Lille (I'm also a fan of this French city)! I'm really curious to hear more about the products you bought and I look forward to your beauty post...Thank you so much for the kind mention!

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  16. Really a wonderful town!

    (Did you see the Hotel Carlton?)

    :-)

    ♥ Franka

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  17. i can't remember if we've been to lille! i think we may have just driven through.

    lovely photos, i do love good architecture in a city.

    as for rude french, depends where you are. we got plenty of rude or off-hand service in paris and in monte carlo. but it was part of the french experience as far as we were concerned lol we also got plenty of decent service too.

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  18. Lol! A trip to France for face cream, the things we women do! I've never been to Lille but it's a hop, skip and a jump away from here so there is no excuse really. Tell us more about Embryolisse... you have me curious now!

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  19. Love these pics Lisa, you make me want to take a trip there right away! Love that Paul takeaway cup too!x

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  20. That is wonderful you can take a day trip to France! Your pics are lovely and you have captured the city so beautifully. I saw Caterina's post on Embryolisse + bookmarked the brand so am keen to know what you think of them! xx

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  21. Oh my, fabulous indeed—thank you for sharing these—keep them coming :)

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  22. Dear Lisa

    I've been using Embryolisse myself for many years and am a huge fan - I've got very sensitive skin. I always buy mine online via a Dutch company. It's definitely cheaper than always scheduling a trip to France. You can find them here: http://embryolisse-shop.nl/

    But then again, it's fun to have a really good reason to HAVE to go to France, isn't it! :-)

    x E.

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