L’Oreal, Lancome, Dior, Chanel…French beauty products may still carry that cachet of sophistication and all-around ooh-la-la, but Americans in Paris are not completely satisfied with the city’s pricey potions. Lipstick, mascaras, and face creams cost significantly more here than in the United States, and store clerks live up the the French reputation of uselessness (just today a Sephora salesgirl on the Boulevard St. Germain told me she had “no idea” what foundation contained the greenish tint that helps offset rosacea redness). What do Americans miss most from home? Aveda hair care products top the list in an informal poll of stylish expats. “Their shampoo is the only thing that makes my flat hair look like it has an ounce of body,” says Meg Zimbeck, editor of the Paris food and dining blog ParisByMouth.com. Graphic designer Lesley Feldman and literature professor Lauren Elkin also stock up at Aveda on their trips back to the US. Translator and interpreter Sedulia Scott laments the absence of Boots face cream with sunscreen (it’s called No. 7) that she is used to buying at Target. “It’s really hard to find moisturizer with sunscreen in Paris, and the one time I did find it, the salesman tried to talk me out of it, saying it was useless and sun was good for you.” Seche Vite Topcoat—despite the French name, which means “quick dry” —is another beauty supply store staple much-missed in the City of Light. “it’s super-thick and, like car varnish, nothing gets through it,” says Alexandra Marshall, a freelance journalist. “It makes a manicure last weeks.” Marshall also longs for Terax Life Drops Protein Conditioner, which, she says, “has tons of protein so it’s good for sealing up split ends. It’s liquid-y and not greasy or silicone-y.” Even certain kinds of deodorant can keep an expat checking air fare prices for shopping binges back home. Jenny Sundel, who writes the blog JesusYearProject.com, learned the hard way just how good Secret Scent Expression deodorants are. “I tried a Vichy version once,” Sundel recalls. “I smelled great–for about an hour. And then it was downhill from there. I never think about how well my deodorant works…until it doesn’t!”