FRENCH GIRL SUMMER
Lessons:
FRENCH GIRL
SUMMER
What’s the key to that elegant Parisian nonchalance, and why are we Americans so endlessly seduced (and in equal parts, perplexed) by it? Alessandra Codinha gets to the root of the less-is-more beauté that has tout le monde tuned in.
- Written by
- Alessandra Codinha
- Illustrated by
- Donald Robertson
Perhaps this will come as a surprise amidst a month as typically patriotic as July, but summer is a season where many of us here at VIOLET GREY would actually really prefer to be French. Don’t get us wrong—life here in La-La-Land as your favorite beauty industry insiders remains deeply and assuredly our thing—but it would be pointless to deny that the allure of understated and easy “French Girl” beauty hits a fever pitch as the temperatures climb. And that’s under normal circumstances. These days, with all eyes turned to Paris for the 2024 Olympic games? Well, it brings a whole new meaning to the idea of a gold standard.
It’s not exactly a new idea. The Parisienne’s take on anything style-related has held the American gal in a chokehold at least since the latter first got an eyeful of the tomboyish elegance and impish insouciance of the femme fatales of France’s Nouvelle Vague: Jean Seberg and her pixie cut and doe eyes; Anna Karina’s flick of eyeliner and perfect pout. Multi-hyphenate models-turned-singers-turned-actors (though not always in that order) like Françcoise Hardy and Jane Birkin (the latter may have been born English, but you’ll struggle to find a more apt patron saint of the aesthetic) transformed into globe-shaking It-girls with their brunette fringe, motorbikes, paramours, perfectly fitting blue jeans, and thigh-grazing hemlines. In more recent years, French models, magazine editors and film stars have held us all rapt with their notably laissez-faire attitude towards American mainstays like filler, blow-outs, and foundation. Why, they’d imply, was everyone else trying so hard? Conceptually, true beauty à la Française lies the other way, in a kind of serenity that has realized that nothing is more seductive than confidence: self-love (and its root, self-respect) attracts admiration far better than anything sold in a bottle or tube. It’s an especially convenient perspective to hold in the summer, when one is too relaxed, too hot, or having too much fun to embark on any serious aesthetic advancements.
Which brings us to the point: even in an Olympics year, where Herculean effort is what’s on offer, the overarching ethos behind this whole French Girl Beauty endeavor is that less truly is more. Think bangs over Botox, wine and cheese (and bread) over counting calories and sleep monitoring apps, (safe) sun exposure instead of bronzer, a smudge of red lipstick rather than a painstakingly overlined nude pout. Contour? Never heard of her. It’s the kind of deceptively “effortless” approach that historically drives Americans insane. (Don’t expect a French girl to admit under pain of death to using anything other than soap and water and a drug store moisturizer.) Your hair must have that perfect glossy tousle; your skin must glow; your concealer must be untraceable; your mascara a mere suggestion. All of these things require some actual intervention. Right?
Right. And luckily for those of us who do at least partly prize our primping practices (another slice of self-love, to be certain), French Girl Summer beauty secrets are secret no more—and entirely attainable, even for those of us on this side of the Atlantic. The whole concept has even grown up a little! Less, yes— but better, too. French women know the importance of good skincare, for one thing, and playing up their assets, for another. As for what you apply, when you’re wearing very little, you need it to count. Luckily you’ve come to VIOLET GREY, where only the best will do.