The Secret to Effortless French Makeup

There is someTHING about our French counterparts that sends females swooning and you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to know it’s not the men we’re talking about but the women.

Their intoxicating ‘je ne sais quoi’, has captured our imaginations and imprinted itself on to our wardrobes in a desperate attempt recreated their infamous chicness. The key to capturing this essence? An air of effortlessness and indifference. Or at least, the appearance of effortlessness, because nothing in French style in accidental. From the always fashionable, never try hard fashion, to the sexy tussled ‘just got out of bed like this’ hair and the perfectly imperfect makeup. Every single detail has been thought through to look effortlessly put together. Especially their beauty routine.

Minimal but purposelfull, slapdash yet precise. French makeup isn’t about disguising what you don’t like but enhancing what you do. Casually cool, lit from within, less is more makeup.

SKINCARE IS THE FRIST STEP OF YOUR MAKEUP ROUTINE

A healthy skincare routine is key, if you want to nail French makeup. Preferring to achieve their glow through good skincare rather than rely on makeup and French women understand the benefits nightly double cleanse. Ridding the skin of dirt and pollutants pick up through out the day, a double cleanse involves starting with a good oil based cleanser such as Clinique’s Take The Day Off Charcoal Cleansing Balm, which is infused with detoxifying Japanese charcoal, followed by a regenerating cream cleanser like Dr Barbara Sturm’s Super Anti-aging Cleansing Cream. Prepping the skin for its skincare, a deep cleanse will also help prevent free radicals doing untold damage to your skin as you sleep.

Before applying their makeup French women ensure to take time to prep their skin with an active packed serum or two, and finish off with the all essential SPF.

French pharmacy’s are renowned for their affordable yet impactful skincare with brands such as Caudalie, Avene, Vichy, Bioderma and La Roche-Posay available both in France and the UK. Avene’s Hydrance Boost Serum £26.50 contains a blend of hyaluronic acid and Niacinamide, is amazing at both soothing and hydrating to the skin, as is Caudalie’s Beauty Elixir £34, a serum like mist that French women love to spritz underneath moisturiser. While Vichy’s Liftactiv 0.2% Pure Retinol Specialist Deep Wrinkles Serum lifts and smooths the skin for a more youthful looking complexion. Finally if you are looking for SPF you can rely on, both Photoderm by Bioderma and Anthelios from La Roche-Posay will never let you down..

Although eye creams are not an essential part of your skincare routine, they really come into their own when it comes to beauty prep, preventing any creasing of makeup, reducing fine lines and making the eyes appear more awake. The Bloomeffects’ Black Tulip Eye Treatment £80 is a favourite for refreshing and smoothing dark circles.

Moderation is Key

Rarely will you see a French woman wearing a full face of foundation. Instead she is more like to apply it only where needed, rely on concealer or opt for a super light weight CC cream to let her skin show through.

By Terry’s Brightening CC Serum £61 is available in four different colour-correcting shades and works beautifully when paired with just a concealer such as the Anastasia Beverly Hills Magic Touch Concealer £27 to freshen up the skin and evens out skin tone. For those suffering from redness, you can’t beat Erborian’s award winning CC Red Correct - Anti redness cream £41. Packed with skin soothing ingredients, it magically removes redness whilst leaving an “are you? aren’t you?” wearing makeup finish. In fact so effective is it at disguising redness, that we recommend all fair skin beauties’ to keep a tube in their makeup bag, just in case .

If you are looking for buildable natural looking coverage our favourite options include Gucci’s Fluide De Beauté Fini Naturel £46 which leaves gorgeous natural finish and By Terry’s Hyaluronic Hydra-Foundation £53. Featuring an ultra fine formulation, this lightweight foundation works to plump out wrinkles and fine lines for a luminous matte finish.

Want to achieve the ultimate French girl skin? Apply your foundation sparingly over your choice of By Terry’s CC Serums for a lit from within glow.

Choose one area of focus

When it comes to effortless French makeup, it’s lips or eyes, never both. Remember, less is more! Think a slick of gel liner, smokey eye or a vivid lip, worn with a clean fresh looking face (See above).

19/99 is one makeup brand making its mark on our makeup bag right now. Designed for everyone from age 19 to 99, their Tinted Matte Balms £20 are the perfect a no-fuss buildable balms for that efortless French pout, while their Precision Colour Pencils £19 are available in an array of colours and can be used on the eyes, lips and cheeks, thanks to their creamy, blendable matte finish.

Embrace The Imperfect

As we have mentioned before, party of the French charm is how it is all perfectly, imperfect. This isn’t a time for Kardashian esp contouring. Let your makeup feel a little lived in, use your fingers, smudge your eyeliner, swash your highlight. Focus on these three words. healthy, natural, carefree.

Love the Flush

French women love a good blush. Adding a healthy glow to the cheeks, a flush of blush makes you look like you’ve just had fun (if you know what I mean), adding to the feeling of carefree and ‘joie de vivre’. Just don’t go over board.

Of course the original French blush has to be Bourgois’s Little Round Pot of Blusher £6.40. Don’t let the price tag fool you, this little pot of pressed powder became a classic for a very good reason. Coming in a multitude of colours, this buildable blush creates the prettiest flush of long lasting colour. At the other end of the spectrum, Chantecaille Cheek Gelée £43 is a beautiful gel blush that gives just the right amount of warmth to the cheeks, for a sexy Bridgette Bardot glow.

Look after your Lashes (and brows)

Understanding the power of a flutter, French women give their eyebrows and lashes the same kind care and attention as the rest of their routine. The regular use of a brow and lash serum not only ensures their brows and lash are conditioned to the max, it reduces the need to over apply their makeup. Vegamour £72 and Hydropetide £84 do brilliant brow and lash serums, with proven results.

To open up the eyes and achieve that classic French doe eyed look, eyelash curlers are essential. TruYu’s Ergonomic Eyelash Curlers are designed for quick and simple eyelash curling on-the-go, producing a beautiful wide eyed look that’s gentle on the lashes.

Finally, no French girl makeup is complete without a swash of mascara. Again liberal is not a word the French like to use when it comes to mascara, so focus on lengthening without going too thick. RMS Beauty Straight Up Volumizing Peptide Mascara is a clean mascara powered by peptides, delivering volume and lift without any smudging, clumping or flaking, as is French favourite Hypnôse Mascara £29 by Lancome.