Step Away From the Blow Dryer and Other Secrets of French Girl Beauty From Virginie Courtin-Clarins

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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