The French-girl beauty tips our beauty writer loves for instant chic
There’s something about the French-girl aesthetic – one that says polished, not perfected – that I’ve been chasing since my first trip to France in the Noughties. After years of flunking French language modules at university and failed attempts at croquembouche, tapping into some French-girl beauty felt more – dare I say – accessible.
So, after a long time working here at Red – where you can guarantee someone will always be wearing a Breton tee or a red lip – I made it my mission to incorporate some French chic into my beauty routine. Over the years, I've interviewed makeup artists, attended too many masterclasses to count and tried some of the loveliest French beauty products ever made. Now, I've got it down to five solid (and simple) tips that guarantee a little French chic, every single time...
Take off some base
One of the biggest components, I think, of looking a little French is to keep your makeup looking light and imperceptible. Thom Walker is the Creative Director of makeup at Givenchy. His technique to keep skin looking modern (and French) is genius: use a cotton bud soaked in some micellar water and with a dotting motion, remove foundation that covers any freckles or moles on the skin. I’ve been doing this every time I wear foundation and am amazed at how it makes my glow look entirely my own. It works best with a lightweight formulation; my favourite is Shiseido's Revitalessence Skin Foundation, £49.
Use cigarette paper as blotting paper
I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life yet you’ll find Rizla papers in most of my handbags. Why? They make excellent (and economical) blotting papers. Putting powder on top of excessively shiny skin can look mottled, plus make your powder dirty and clog your brush as you dip back into the palette. These little cigarette papers absorb any perspiration and make you look put together in a flash.
Lay off the mascara
While some might say that embracing the 4pm mascara smudge is Parisian cool, it makes me look tired. Chloé's AW24 show, where lashes were entirely bare and models looked all the cooler for it, encouraged me to lay off the mascara, and after having road-tested the look on a few office days, I believe the lack of smudging does make me look less exhausted. If you're in the same camp as Red's fashion director Oonagh, who was horrified at this suggestion, I propose darkening the waterline of your eyes with a kohl pencil instead, to make lashes look denser. There's always blusher to liven up a tired face, too.
Try brightening eye drops
Makeup artist Ruby Hammer swears by using these on her models to help them look perkier. Ruby’s favourites are from an American brand (these ones from Bausch and Lomb), but I rate the Boots Brightening Eye Drops, £3.25, which are much more readily available. One drop reduces redness and makes the whites of the eyes look sparklier. Any makeup you then use on the eyes works harder, too: lashes appear fuller and eyeliner intensified. It’s a great way to look fresher without making much effort at all.
Blur your lines
The only instance when I think a hard line looks good in makeup is in a sharp, winged eyeliner. Even a blurred lip looks good. Of course, you can smudge any matte lipstick just above the lipline with the tip of a finger, but there are products now that do the blurring for you. Look to Violette_Fr's Bisou Balm, a sheer, matte, balmy stick that gives cool, French-girl levels of colour.
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