Ahh, France. Aside from their great food, jaw-dropping architecture, and sexy accents, what comes to mind when you think of France?
They’re insanely beautiful women! The French are known all around the world for their fresh-faced women. Bridgette Bardot, Tina Kunakey, and Lea Seydoux are just a shy list of what comes to mind. But how exactly do they do it? There has to be some magical spirit that they call onto for that effortlessly chic look they all seem to carry.
That’s when I stumbled onto ‘French girl makeup’ and my life changed. Now don’t get me wrong, it should be obvious that an entire nation can’t all look and dress the same, but this look, in particular, is meant to exuberate the French’s iconic laid-back lifestyle.
So just how exactly can you achieve this look from anywhere across the world? Keep reading and you’ll find out!
Skin first
If there’s one thing the French value, it’s their skin. And don’t be mistaken in thinking this is a purely ‘French girl’ thing, in fact, it’s a belief system we should all adopt! So trot and hop onto your local pharmacy or Sephora and stock up on all your skincare goodies, because let’s be honest; there’s nothing better than a rejuvenated face. Just don’t forget the sunscreen!
Ditch the full coverage
Full coverage has its benefits, don’t get me wrong. But for the French girl lifestyle to seep through, you’ve got to cut down. A tinted-moisturizer or your trusty compact concealer around your under eyes and blemishes is enough to let both your skin breathe and have you completely avoiding your entire face-melting or developing creases.
The best advice I’d ever gotten for how much concealer I should be using is that you should dab the desired amount onto your wrist, rub
it around, and use the remainder left in your fingers to apply onto your desired facial areas. This leads me to our next point.
Your hands are your best friends
In hindsight, we should’ve known that this is the best way to achieve a seamless, fresh look when Pat McGrath -Vogue’s most influential makeup artist- heavily advocated for our fingers, “The warmth from your hand has an incredible effect on [the] product,” the world-renowned makeup artist notes, “this allows everything from lipstick to foundation and eye shadow to become even creamier and more malleable to the touch.”
So for now, kiss your trusty blender and brush goodbye. We’re using our hands for this!
If it ain’t multi-functional, don’t bother Your trusty cream-blush could also double as a lip tint. Just as your tinted moisturizer can double as coverage and hydrate you. Your creamy brown liner could dabble into some undercover business as your brows and lips, too!
Notice how these potential products range on the creamy side of things? That’s the whole point!
Your makeup isn’t meant to be the star of the show, your beautiful face is. French girl makeup should appear as though it were there to strictly enhance your already beautiful features. This leads us to our final, essential tip.
You’re hot, so start acting like it
We’ve heard the old saying, ‘confidence is sexy,’ and it’s true! Next to a bold red lip, confidence is the sexiest thing a girl could wear! It’s scary sometimes, I get it. But it’s all about taking baby steps. Waking up with high-self esteem and unshakable confidence overnight does seem impossible. But it doesn’t take much to start loving yourself a liiiiiitle bit better than the day before. Again, baby steps.
