What to get / buy in Paris

French mustard.

Maybe you'll like it, but it was terrible experience for me :D

Some people like French pharmacies and drogueries for the interesting skin care you can get there. I am not necessarily a big skincare fan but I do like drogueries in Europe. I specifically like DIM pantyhose, and Nuxe body oil with a gold shimmer, but I don't know where you live - they might be available to you there. Vichy is another brand of skincare that I like, available in pharmacies. They have a nice scented body oil.

Also kitchenware shops - E. Dehillerin for instance. Very happy to spend hours poring over kitchenware!

Lavandula

How about genuine Laguiole knives (with the little bee on the handle) - but only if you are checking bags.

Only buy wine if you are checking a bag and have appropriate packing material to keep the bottle from being damaged. Cheese is iffy as depending on where you live, you may not be allowed to bring dairy products home with you (check to confirm regulations).

I bought a bunch of reusable shopping bags at Monoprix that had fun Paris designs on them (examples here: https://www.ebay.com/shop/monoprix-shopping-bag?_nkw=monoprix+shopping+bag). They were about 3 euro each I think. Grocery stores have plenty of fun options, but just be sure the items are allowable to your return country.

Here's what Les Frenchies have to say about it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxeYg9rwmjQ&t=232s
If you're familiar, Les Frenchies' YouTube channel is a wealth of information about visiting Paris. And they are a charming, very "normal" middle-aged couple. I enjoy their videos.

Things I have brought back from my travels (France and elsewhere)......small serving dishes (e.g. decorative bowls for serving olives or nuts or cornichons with aperitifs), butter dishes, the large cup and saucer used for the morning coffee in homes, an olive wood butter spreader, small plates to serve pates or cheeses, dried cepe mushrooms, honey, confitures, pates, bags of a special coffee or tea, bags of lavender or herbes de Provence, a particular brand of pastis which we can't find here, a shawl, the occasional piece of jewelry. Of course some of these things need to go in a checked bag, which is fine for us. If you just do carry-on you will have to skip some of these. My mother-in-law always got a scarf, as she wore scarves often. (I have them all now.) I was once tasked by a friend to find her an umbrella that would look "Parisian". I found one at Galeries Lafayette. I have bought a cloth bread bag to keep my baguettes in, and large patterned napkin to use in a bread basket to cover the breads within. Tablecloths for my small kitchen table are used by me. They are not just touristy. They are patterns found in the homes of my husband's French family members, so not touristy, but authentic. Some things are popular with the locals AND tourists. Men do wear berets there, so buying one to take home may seem touristy, but they are authentic.
Have fun with your search/exploration!

we aren't shoppers but there are a few things, quite ordinary, that we can't get at home that we bring back from each trip. Bouquet Garnie bouillon cubes -- we like them as a base for soups and such. Little bouquet garnie bundles -- also great when boiling up the chicken carcass. Canned confit canard. I can get frozen confit legs in Chicago but they are not as good as the canned ones and you can make perfect confit canard in an airfryer -- crisps right up.

I also have bought many interesting Champagne glasses at the flea market (nor bargains there) and at vide grenier -- real bargains there.

I. love the butter but it is a hassle to travel with and we can buy both Bordier and Beillevaire in Chicago. One of the first things I do when arriving in an apartment in Paris is to stock up on Beillevaire butter.

I read last week in the French press that foreign tourists are now bringing back a lot of... butter.

Specifically, the high-quality variety, not the everyday kind. Check that it has the "AOP" label on the packaging (Protected designation of origin) which guarantees the French region of origin

One of these articles (in French) here:

https://www.marmiton.org/tendance/souvenir-de-voyage-ce-produit-du-rayon-frais-des-supermarches-obsede-les-touristes-etrangers-s4129247.html

I see FAs bringing lots of butter back on their runs -- they somehow were able to get through screening with the butter which normally would be considered a potential risk (too much like plastique)

janettravels44, I have started freezing my own version of bouquet garni cubes using up things like roasted garlic, caramelized onion, fresh herbs, etc., frozen in olive oil. I also freeze cubes of pesto, roasted pepper puree, etc. I have some small rigid plastic lidded trays with silicone bottoms. The cubes pop out easily, and I transfer them to ziplock bags. Nerdy, but they make me happy. All of the listed options make nice pizza bases.

What ever you do.. don’t forget the Foie gras d’oie. !!

French sunscreens from the pharmacies are wonderful and very reasonably priced. I particularly like the Laroche-Posay 50 which comes in a liquid and a creme.

Perhaps table linen. We bought a beautiful table runner for my mother-in-law from Le Jacquard Francais.

Tea towels or napkins made in France

“On my first trip to Paris in 1988, I bought a Louis Vuitton purse…”

My wife bought a Bottega Veneta bag.

On my first trip to Paris in 1988, I bought a Louis Vuitton purse, which I still have, along with the '88 LV French catalog, 38 years later! On my most recent trip to Paris two years ago, I bought something for my garden (not made in China) and a scarf.

There's only one traditional cutlery shop in Paris, Laguiole-en-Aubrac, and it's only a couple blocks from the Notre Dame. But it's not especially visited by tourists. I have kitchen knives and a very special pocket knife from there. These are hand made, each cutler having his own "tells" so you can know exactly who built your knife. A very special souvenir.
https://www.laguiole-en-aubrac.fr/en/stores/paris-ile-saint-louis/

While I love to shop France for food, most of this doesn't travel well. Yes, the butter is special, the pastries exceptional, the wines, well, the wines are not from Paris...but you'll find more than you ever imagined, at prices that make you wonder why you don't drink more.

One of my better buys is a really interesting book on WWII, specifically the OSS missions, written in both French and English.

You can find some very good deals in the second hand shops, but it helps to get away from the main tourist areas. I've got a nice Barbour jacket I picked up a couple weeks back for 40 euro. I have a friend who specifically looks for the higher end labels for women's clothing.

I seriously recommend a visit to a Carrefour Supermarket. Not the small stores that dot the city, but the WalMart sized ones where locals shop. You won't believe what you can find there, and the prices are "right".

I always get some sunscreen to bring home. European sunscreens, particularly from brands like La Roche-Posay, Avene, and Bioderma, are highly recommended because they contain advanced UV filters (such as Tinosorb, Mexoryl, and TriAsorB) not yet approved by the FDA in the USA. Key, superior-formulation products to buy include the La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 Oil Control Fluid, Eucerin Oil Control Dry Touch Gel-Cream, and Garnier Ambre Solaire UV Super Fluid.

Check out the USDA APHIS website for prohibited/permitted food items: ag products

Butter is explicitly allowed, but bouillon is not.