{"id":67304,"date":"2026-08-19T21:43:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T21:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/67304\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T21:43:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T21:43:35","slug":"i-finally-tried-a313-frances-cult-favorite-retinoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/67304\/","title":{"rendered":"I Finally Tried A313, France\u2019s Cult-Favorite Retinoid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rarely do I succumb to a TikTok beauty<\/a> product recommendation. But the A313 Vitamin A pomade was in my orbit long before social media claimed it; for years many of my US editor friends and go-to beauty experts have raved about its effects on skin. So now that my algorithm is being fed an endless amount of French pharmacy<\/a> hauls, I finally made it a goal to brave the Paris summer crowds at the Pharmacie Citypharma on 26 Rue du Four to buy my first tube.<\/p>\n

To my surprise, the French don\u2019t actually consider A313 an anti-aging skin-care product. As Natacha Bonjout, French pharmacist and founder of Bonjout Beauty, explains, it has been used for decades as more of a functional medicine. \u201cThe reality is more nuanced,\u201d Bonjout says. \u201cThe product is old, but the story around it is new.\u201d<\/p>\n

But thanks to America\u2019s fascination with French pharmacy culture, the product has gotten a new life on social media. Whether intended or not, it has become the skin-care symbol of French beauty. \u201cIt feels like an insider secret,\u201d Bonjout goes on to say. \u201cSo, I don\u2019t think [US] consumers are only buying A313; they\u2019re buying into the idea of French pharmacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In This Story:<\/p>\n

AccordionItemContainerButtonA313 Retinol CreamWhy We Love It: One of the few viral products that really lives up to its internet hype, this cream does it all. It gently exfoliates the skin to reveal a more radiant complexion and smoother texture, boosts collagen production for firmer skin, and helps with pesky breakouts. Though it is an occlusive gel-like cream, it absorbs easily and doesn\u2019t feel too heavy on the skin. It\u2019s great as a spot treatment, or you can use it all over in thin layers; it works however you want to use it.Key Ingredients: Retinyl esters, archis hypogaea oil, tocopherolType: Occlusive gel-creamSize: 1.76 oz.<\/p>\n

About A313<\/p>\n

As mentioned before, technically speaking, A313 is an inexpensive medical ointment. Paris-based esthetician Sophie Carbonari explains that it was created to soothe irritation and help the skin barrier heal, not to target any anti-aging<\/a> concerns. It\u2019s made with a vitamin A derivative called retinyl esters<\/a>, which very gently smooths uneven texture. It also has an occlusive gel-like texture, to help lock in moisture. Now A313 has now become a go-to retinoid for anyone looking for firmer, brighter, and clearer skin\u2014at least in the US market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening in the US is a lovely bit of reinvention,\u201d Carbonari says. \u201cPeople have discovered it for its retinol content and given it a second life as an anti-aging balm. In France, it was never worn for that. Here it has always been a gentle pharmacy staple, quietly kept on hand for irritated skin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rarely do I succumb to a TikTok beauty product recommendation. But the A313 Vitamin A pomade was in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37731,39488,39489,39487,16458,1576,5,13751,1177,25303,41640,14723,6775],"class_list":["post-67304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-_commerce","tag-_presets_commerce_vogue","tag-_presets_commerce_vogue_beauty","tag-_seo","tag-_syndication_noshow","tag-beauty","tag-france","tag-onecolumn","tag-shopping","tag-skin","tag-storytypecategory-guide-comparison","tag-textabovecenterfullbleed","tag-web"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}