When it comes to looking like a natural beauty, French women have mastered the ‘I always look like this’ with a cheeky smile to match, so it makes sense to look at their daily beauty routine and learn a thing or ten. French women might look like they do absolutely nothing to get their quirky natural looks but nothing is further from the truth. They have a classic mindset about beauty and its worth investigating.
Number One – Don’t Touch Me!
Don’t brush your hair every day. This habit might be difficult to break. I was told from an early age that 100 brush strokes a day was what was needed to have beautiful shiny, healthy hair. It seems this approach is all wrong. Over brushing stretches your hair strands, weakening them until they get damaged and break, leaving you with wispy ends. Forgetting to brush your hair creates a more natural textured effect, leaving you with the ‘beach’ or ‘bed-head’ effect.
Coiffed hair might look perfect, but it can also look aging.
You might want to rethink how many times a week you wash your hair too. Over washing can strip your hair of all its natural oils, leaving it dry and looking flat.
Number Two – Its All About Healthy Skin
Looking after your skin is ingrained into French children from a very early age. You only get one skin and the best way to look after it by hydrating it and using SPF protection. It’s not only your face that needs attention, but your whole body and hydrating it with cream or oil keeps your skin nourished, reduces wrinkles and improves elasticity.
Apart from the usual morning and night cleaning rituals, French women use face masks all year round according to the condition of their skin and the season. In winter nourishing face masks keeps dry skin at bay and in summer cooling or calming masks help with irritations. A peeling or exfoliating mask helps to remove impurities and hydrating masks keep skin plump and elastic.
French women keep their skin hydrated during the day by spraying thermal water onto their skin every few hours. It reduces the drying effects of pollution and air conditioning. Facials are also popular with French women.
The aim is to have skin that is so toned, clean and fresh looking that they can wear very little make-up. In fact, most French women don’t wear foundation because pores get clogged with foundation, colour, preservatives and a lot of chemicals.
The result is that the natural beauty of your skin can come through if you skin is in great condition. You don’t need to hide it under foundation. French women still use concealer and blush, but much less than other women from other countries.
Number Three – Don’t Touch the Face
French women try not to touch their faces too often during the day. Keeping a clean face means washing their hands after touching money, being on the subway or other busy, polluted public places.
If you live in a major city, this is a good tip. While living in London, I started wearing foundation to protect my face from the travelling the Underground. The soot and grime blackened my face. Remember to wash your hands throughout the day to avoid contaminating your skin and causing skin irritations from impurities.
Number Four – Watch Out for the Sun
Natural beauty comes from not lying in the sun, unprotected for hours. French women don’t allow themselves to expose their faces, neck or hands to the sun without proper sun protection and they know which foods, like watermelon, that can protect your skin from the sun.
This helps to prevent wrinkles and dryness, so you skin looks great longer, as you age. Living in warm climates like Australia can really leave you exposed and damage your skin without realising any damage is being done. Use a hat, UV protection and common sense when you are in the sun.
Number Five – No Needles, Please!
No woman likes to age, but French women prefer to do it gracefully. That means no cosmetic surgery and no injections. French women look for some uniqueness in their looks. Where we might see a flaw, they see something special, unique and divine. Anything that takes that away and makes them look like everyone else is the last thing a French woman wants.
Number Six – Make Your Beauty Routine a Deep and Meaningful Ritual
Make your beauty routine a pleasure and not a duty or a chore. To do that find a shampoo that smells divine or bath salts you love, so that you enjoy every long bath you have. It’s about forgetting life and all the stresses and being conscious of your senses to recover and rejuvenate your body and your skin. Elevating the mundane to a ritual makes it special.
Number Seven – Go Natural
French women prefer natural ingredients to chemicals. From essential oils or herbal teas, use the answers that nature provides.
Chamomile, mandarin, mint, aloe vera, sea weed, grapes, argon oil and even coffee have amazing natural beauty benefits that French women understand and use and we can too. They know how they work and when to use them instead of using man-made versions, without the side effects.
Number Eight – Drink Water
French women understand the value of being fully hydrated and the benefits of pure, highly mineralized water. It might seem simple. And still, most people are chronically dehydrated. You need water for your organs, your brain and your body to function and for your skin to look fresh and plump. Drink up to 2 litres a day. It might seem like a lot but if you sweat, are under stress or work out you your body needs quality water. Carry a water bottle with you at all times. Infuse it with lemon, oranges, or mint.
Number Nine – Don’t Be Obvious
French women love natural beauty. They don’t like it to be obvious, contrived or look manufactured. If you are trying too hard to get noticed, the French can smell it from a mile. They know how to use neutrals to their advantage, without looking plain or mediocre. They also know their skin type, their colours and what looks best on them, for full effect and without the exaggerations.
Number Ten – What Beauty Secrets? Deny Everything..
French women love the natural beauty icon so much that they never talk about their own beauty secrets. Its a lot of work to look naturally beautiful without a trace of ‘trying’. French women use a lot of different products and experiment to get the perfect natural look. This takes time, money and experimentation, so don’t expect them to share, unless you are a very dear friend. Even the fragrance they wear can be a trade secret.
Natural beauty takes a plan, discipline and focus. Our job is to help you feel great by wearing our stylish statement pieces.
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