Jul 14, 2016
How do French women approach eating differently from Americans? (Photo: Getty Images)
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How do French women approach eating differently from Americans? (Photo: Getty Images)
Allow a French Teacher to School You on How to Pronounce Complicated Brand Names
Even for those who aced middle school French (un, deux, troiz; chat en chien, etc.), pronouncing famous brand names isn’t easy. So Yahoo Style called on Pauline Dumora, a teacher at the French Institute Aliance Francaise, for a language lesson. Never fear mispronouncing La Roche Posay, Yves Saint Laurent, or Hermès again.
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The Crucial Difference Between U.S. and French Spas? 'The Pleasure Principle'
WHAT, YOU DON’T WEAR RED LIPSTICK TO YOUR FACIAL APPOINTMENTS? (PHOTO: JOEL BARHAMAND FOR YAHOO STYLE)
In honor of Bastille Day, Yahoo Style and Yahoo Beauty are examining what it means to be “French” — the myths, fantasies, and realities that all help define that certain je ne sais quoi. What’s vrai, what’s faux, and what’s a total faux pas? Read on.
Despite having once named a pet gerbil Eloise (and by “once,” I mean four years ago), I’d never actually been inside New York’s famed Plaza Hotel. But that all changed very recently, as my quest to uncover the French-girl mystique led me through its shiny, gilded lobby, up one extremely fancy elevator, and straight into the Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa, where I received my first facial under the most French of conditions.
Luxury spa treatments are about as French as macarons and the Eiffel Tower. According to Regine Berthelot, the director of spa education at Caudalie and a facialist with 33 years of experience, it’s not unusual for girls in France to start making regular trips to the spa when they are as young as 13. “Regularly taking care of your skin from a very young age is definitely a big part of the natural routine,” she says. “The whole idea is that when you have good skin, you don’t need makeup. So it really is about glowing from the inside out.”
Caudalie takes that inside-out mantra literally. The “Vinothérapie” aspect of its N.Y.C. location means that the spa includes a wine lounge filled with leather couches and shelves piled high with vin. “It was like a natural link: We’re putting antioxidant on your skin, and a little wine — especially red wine — is going to help you get antioxidants on the inside of your body. So we always encourage our clients to have a little wine. Everything in moderation is good.”
La vie … non? (Photo: Joel Barhamand for Yahoo Style)
Because I’d already indulged in a little vino therapy of my own just before my visit (what — I was being French!), I skipped the bar and went straight to the facial area — where I hung up my robe and slipped under the sheets with just my face, neck, and shoulders exposed. My esthetician, Natacha, explained that I’d be receiving the Caudalie Grand Facial — a 50-minute treatment meant to relax the facial muscles and renew the skin. I think it relaxed my permanent stress, too.
As Regine explains, French facials are typically less harsh and invasive than those done in the States. “French women believe in the pleasure principle,” she says. “So everything should feel good. ‘No pain, no gain’ is really not the whole idea here; the service and the products need to feel good internally and externally, whereas in the States, you’re trying desperately to tighten and lift, then extract. … In France, for example, extraction is done very gently. We can’t be having the client crying during extraction because it’s so painful. It really would defeat the whole purpose of the pleasure facial.”
Facials performed at Caudalie are specifically created with the idea of a petrissage massage in mind. In addition to the cleansing, toning, exfoliating, and (gentle) extractions, mine involved a calming, pore-opening steam treatment, a hot-stone massage, deep-penetrating essential oils, and a gentle, nourishing mask. Later came an eye treatment, serum, and moisturizer tailored to my skin type — plus the option of bronzer (we know how much the French love their bronzer). To top it off, I received a hand, shoulder, and foot massage! Not too shabby. (Photos of my experience show that I also had some high-tech lights and fancy instruments held over my face during various parts of the treatment — to which I say: super!)
Look deep into my pores. … (PHOTO: JOEL BARHAMAND FOR YAHOO STYLE)
One thing the Caudalie Grand Facial notably does not include is a peel. Says Regine, “When I first came to the States, I started doing peels — in France, we really don’t do them so much. You’re peeling off dead skin, and it’s not feeling good, it’s not looking good. It kind of defeats the purpose. It’s better to take a little bit longer to get a more gradual peel, and then you always feel good, you always look good. And again, when you feel good, you look good. It really is a matter of that whole beauty — inside and out — coming through.”
Regine tells me that as luxurious as these trips to the spa can be, they aren’t necessarily considered special occasions in France, as they may be in America. She describes facials and treatments as “part of [a woman’s] monthly routine.” It’s not uncommon for clients to develop deep connections with their massage therapists and estheticians, similar to a hairstylist and his clients in the U.S. “It’s very friendly,” she says. “You become very close to your therapist, so they know every little issue; they know when you go on vacation, what you need to change in your routine, when there’s more stress in your life, and what they can do to help you.” (Truth be told, I did feel a kinship with Natacha during my session after we bonded over our mutual distaste for energy-guzzling air conditioners.)
Leaving Caudalie, I thought it’s no wonder the French hold their fancy face time in such high regard. I felt relaxed, smooth, and frankly, kind of expensive — in a “Sorry I missed you, dahling, I was at the spa” kind of way. It’s like my mind opened up along with my pores — letting in the realization that there’s nothing wrong with a little pampering, a little wine, and most of all, a little moi time. It’s certainly something we Americans (particularly those of us who commute through Times Square to get to work every morning!) could stand to have more of. Vive la France — and vive la facial!
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“French beauty is like French haute couture — we love ‘savoir-faire’ as well as creativity and cutting-edge ingredients and technologies.” — Marie-Laure Fournier
She's arguably one of the most prominent models of the moment. You may recognize her from the video Christian Louboutin uploaded to Instagram last December.
Step Away From the Blow Dryer and Other Secrets of French Girl Beauty From Virginie Courtin-Clarins
Photo courtesy of Thierry Mugler
In honor of Bastille Day, Yahoo Style and Yahoo Beauty are examining what it means to be “French” — the myths, fantasies, and realities that all help define that certain je ne sais quoi. What’s vrai, what’s faux, and what’s a total faux pas? Read on.
When I think of “French girl beauty,” there are generally two versions. The most famous one is probably the old-school, sex-kitten fantasy situation of decades past: the winged black liner and plush lashes, a poufy bouffant, and nude lips made famous by babes française like Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve. Then there’s the modern-day fantasy: a thin, sandy-haired woman who’s white yet permanently tan, with perfectly tousled waves, flawless, natural-looking skin, and maybe a matte red lip. See: Jeanne Damas, Léa Seydoux, Lou Doillon, Caroline de Maigret, Clémence Poésy.
But fantasies are exactly that: fantasies. As of the last decade, the average French female is 5 foot 3 and weighs 137.6 pounds — a far cry from the willowy, bare-shouldered, and small-breasted waif we often picture.
No matter — the French obsession wages on. And journée après journée, my Facebook newsfeed fills up with guides on how to be more French. I won’t lie; I click on a lot of them. But I wanted to get to the bottom of this whole French-girl-beauty-mystique thing for myself. So, I consulted Virginie Courtin-Clarins — Thierry Mugler’s marketing maven, heiress, and brand ambassador to Clarins, and a real, live French girl — to find out what truths lie beyond the French girl mystique.
The takeaway? If you truly want to be a French girl, be prepared to toss your blow dryer, disable your Instagram, stock up on face creams, pile on some bronzer, get good at complaining, and smile — a lot.
Yahoo Style: How would you describe French girl beauty? Virginie Courtin-Clarins: I think French girl beauty is natural and not overdone. Well, really it’s more about looking natural — meaning not too much makeup or lipstick and that kind of, like, messy, out-of-bed-situation hair. I feel that a French girl really wants to look natural, so it’s more about the skin care — like face wash and creams — than the makeup.
Is there a difference between actual French girl beauty and what the Internet thinks of French girl beauty? French girls like to say they’re rejecting the idea of makeup, but they actually still love it. Like, to look like your hair is not done takes a lot of time. “Bedhead” isn’t really straight-out-of-bed hair, and same with your face. The main focus is on getting the perfect complexion, so there’s a lot of time spent applying skin care and natural-looking makeup. Sometimes, for example, they won’t put mascara on, because then it looks like you have no makeup on — even though you can have a lot on your complexion.
What’s every French girl’s must-have beauty product? Bronzer, for sure. That’s very important because they want to look fresh, like it’s summertime. And I don’t personally wear lipstick, but sometimes maybe they’ll wear just a red lipstick and that’s it — not even mascara. When they put on makeup, they like to have just one thing that’s good.
What about hair: Would a French girl blow-dry her hair or just leave it? No, not really. I don’t think a lot of French girls blow-dry their hair. I don’t even know how to do it! I mean, of course, some type of hair need it, but it’s not very popular. You don’t find places in Paris where you can get a quick blowout. … No, it’s not like that. For French girls, it’s more about the care and upkeep. So, for example, you can go into a salon where you get a one-hour treatment. They apply a masque and do a massage, and then you come out and your hair looks amazing.
What about hair color? French girls are not at all daring with colors. I mean, we do highlights or kind of basic stuff, but we don’t do, like, the pink hair that maybe the British would. The Brits like to have big, punky hair, but in France, not at all. It’s really not a French thing to have pink hair.
Is there a celebrity you think best embodies the French girl beauty aesthetic? Of course, Brigitte Bardot, back in the day.
But she wasn’t naturally blond! She wasn’t! That’s what I’m saying — they look natural, but they’re not, you see? I love Vanessa Paradis because, for me, she’s a really French woman. She’s not, like, a beautiful model stereotype. She’s so small. And Sophie Marceau. Women who are not, like, beautiful, perfect models. But they have this little thing where they are joyful, they are smiling. … They have a little difference. In France, I would say women love to play up the charm. They’re always smiling; giving the eyes.
So, being a French girl is more about personality than anything? Yes.
Why do you think that the Internet is so obsessed with the idea of the French girl? That’s a very good question. … I honestly don’t know. I think it’s more because we have some beautiful girls that are unique. Like, I think generation to generation, from Brigitte Bardot to now, there are French women that are a bit fascinating because they don’t enter into the codes. If you take Vanessa Paradis, she’s a little women that started when she was a kid, and we kind of grew up with her. She’s part of the culture and she’s a bit rebellious. She’s not the type of girl who will give an interview. She’s not very approachable.
So, she’s more private? Yes, and it’s the mysteriousness they create. With the Internet — and especially in the U.S. — you have those people that are very accessible because you can find them on the Internet and they post every day, all the time. For French girls, it’s different, because they are not that easy to get, and they don’t necessarily have an Instagram account or something like that.
Look at Marion Cotillard or Sophie Marceau — both beautiful French women. With Marion it’s different, because with her job contract, sometimes she’s super made-up. But, like, I run into her all the time in France, and she’s really like the other girls in jeans and Stan Smiths — just, like, super cool. They maybe just don’t do, like, movie or album promotions the same way American celebrities do it. I think it’s part of the French culture to be a little bit rebellious. You know, they are always on strike, they are always complaining. It’s true. And so I think it’s part of the culture to not want to do things the “right way.”
What is your beauty routine like as a real French girl? I’m not into, like, a crazy makeup person. I like not wearing makeup all the time, and I only put mascara because I like to have the eyes not look too tired. But, honestly, I carry a lot of skin care products. So, I have kind of a long beauty routine which I’m always ashamed of because I arrive and half of my luggage is beauty products. But, for example, I don’t have an eyeliner, I don’t have a lipstick because I think it doesn’t look good on me … or any makeup that is, like, weird or new.
What’s the biggest myth about French girls? The biggest myth is that they don’t have fat — they just know how to hide it. And I think the quality of food is very important. Honestly, whenever I am here [in the U.S.], I always gain 2 kilos (about 4.4 pounds). Even eating salad, I feel like it’s fat! I don’t know why. But then I can eat a burger in France and don’t gain weight. It’s true! All the French people that I know say the same thing. I don’t know why, but there is something in the food in the U.S. that makes you fat. In France, we have good and organic products from the farm that you know about. I feel that I eat more when I’m there.
But you don’t put on weight? Yeah, and here I don’t know why. Spend a summer in France and you will become a new person!
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5 New French Beauty Brands You Need to Know About
In honor of Bastille Day, Yahoo Style and Yahoo Beauty are examining what it means to be a "French girl" — the myths, fantasies, and realities that all help define that certain je ne sais quoi. What's vrai, what's faux, and what's a total faux pas? Read on.
Sure, we’ve all heard of Caudalie and Vichy, but French women (and those who love French beauty) are currently coveting a new crop of chic scrubs, salves, and maquillage. From the land that brought us beauty icons like Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve, here are the latest must-have brands atop every belle de jour’s list.
IXXI Sublixime Anti-Ageing Absolute. (Photo: IXXI)
IXXI
It’s all about the pine. Located in the heart of the lush Landes evergreen forest in southwestern France, IXXI labs boast pine polyphenol as its secret sauce. The powerful antioxidant is extracted from the bark of trees and is formulated into a skincare line that targets the signs of aging and is known for using bioavailable ingredients. In studies, the extract has been shown to have 30 times more antioxidant power than vitamin C, and it increases production of collagen (a building block of youthful, elastic skin) by 36 percent. With products that range from Micellar Cleansing Water to Milky Hydrating Lotion and Fine Daytime Emulsion, the line is gentle and elegant — and in keeping with what French skincare is known for. The four letters of the brand name — IXXI — convey the serenity of trees and the mystical allure of the woods while visually celebrating nature’s harmony and balance.
Star product: Sublixime Anti-Ageing Absolute. Made with extracts from the bark, seed, and needle of pines, this lightweight beauty oil dispenses through a dropper and has become a gold accent on the vanity tables of mesdemoiselles in the know.
Where to buy: Duane Reade and Walgreens Look Boutique stores
Nailmatic Nail Lacquers. (Photo: Nailmatic)
Nailmatic
You’re in on the scoop — the French are going crazy for this new natural nail polish brand that is popping up in custom vending machines everywhere. (Oui, oui, you read that right — queue up now!) And cool fact: The dispensing machines are air-conditioned to the perfect polish-preserving temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit, so formulas stay fresh and silky. All of the polishes are “5 free,” or made without popular chemicals toluene, dibutyl phthalate, two types of formaldehyde and camphor. Instead, the brand fills its darling bottles with toxin-free, juicy hues bursting with fun. There is even Nailmatic Kids, the first water-based polish line formulated just for les enfants, which can be removed with warm soapy water. It’s true — the French never run short on imagination!
Star product: Nail Lacquer. Full coverage and superhigh on shine, the polishes are known for their extraordinary pop on nails. If you’re more demure, the BB Nail line is a vitamin-enriched treatment that adds a hint of coverage for healthy-looking nails — and is a favorite among men.
Where to buy: There’s talk of a USA debut in 2017; for now, Nailmatic is available at international locations.
Acti-Labs Diamond Dust Face Powder. (Photo: Acti-Labs)
Acti-Labs
Prepare for a knock on your door; this could be the French Avon of tomorrow. Independent sellers are just beginning to offer this popular brand stateside that is known for its eco-friendly line of relatively affordable French skincare products that are free of animal testing and all boast a low carbon footprint. From skincare to haircare, the focus is on merging science with the sophistication of French anti-aging expertise, with ingredients like stem cell technology and marine collagen. Body treatments come straight from the slimming, shaping, and sculpting menus of traditional French spas, and the makeup is big on natural ingredients like green tea, chamomile, jojoba oil, and vitamin E, which bring radiance and glow back to tired complexions. And if you haven’t already seen this brand pop up in your social media feeds, expect to soon; the company is big on arming reps with tools to create eye-catching selfies and tutorials.
Star product: Diamond Dust Face Powder. Created to impart a gentle glow and to diminish imperfections on any skin tone, this multipurpose mosaic mineral powder can serve as all-over corrective compact, blush, bronzer, or highlighter, depending on the color family you pick.
Where to buy: Acti-Labs.com
Studio 78 Paris Eyeshadows. (Photo: Studio 78 Paris)
Studio 78 Paris
Organic and sensitive-skin types, this one’s for you: Studio 78 Paris is a new Ecocert-certified makeup line from the fashion capital of the world that was created by a former Guerlain exec in search of a natural alternative for supersensitive skin — “a chic makeup line for allergic women.” Adding the distinctly French touches of beautiful packaging, sensual fragrance, and savoir-faire in color, the brand merges the seeming paradox of green products with a fancy cosmetic feel. Every item is free of common agitators and synthetics like parabens, mineral oil, rosin, and formaldehyde, and is instead filled with plant extracts and fine oils like avocado, apricot, and chamomile. All shades are derived from 100 percent natural mineral pigments. Baked clay is at the heart of the brand’s technology, which gives the powder the ability to be applied wet (for more drama) or dry (for a more natural look).
Star product: Ombre à Paupières No2. Easily irritated eyes will appreciate these nurturing eyeshadows that easily double as eyeliner when applied wet. Organic and filled with chamomile and apricot oil, the pressed mineral powders are instantly soothing.
Where to buy: Ecocentric.com
Thalion Focus Cellulite Control. (Photo: Thalion)
Thalion
French women have long loved and used seaweed as an anti-aging ingredient, and thalassotherapy — or the use of seawater in beauty treatments — has always been a traditionally popular choice in French spas. Thalion harvests seaweed from what is known as “the international capital” of the nutrient-dense plant, the Iroise Sea, off the coast of Brittany in northwestern France. There, the combination of strong currents, high tide, ideal water temperature, and salinity all result in superseaweeds that are especially rich in antioxidant properties. The minerals are preserved and transported into a line of facial, body, tea, and supplement products offered at spas, and are incorporated into signature facials and body rituals. Unlike many women in the U.S., who think of spa time as an indulgent treat, most French women consider the spa — and popular spa products — an integral part of any beauty routine.
Star product: Focus Cellulite Control. French women take cellulite treatments seriously, and this pink cream-gel has become the latest go-to in fighting the three types of cellulite: fat, water, and fiber. Marine AHAs transport a patented cellulite-busting ingredient, along with caffeine, to areas like the hips, thighs, and behind. Kneading and rolling movements are essential to applying the product for the best results.
Where to buy: Thalion is not yet available in the United States, but if you travel to other locations, including Canada, Mexico, France, and other spots in Europe and Asia, you can find the products at select spas.
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