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10 Brands to Shop That’ll Help You Nail the French Girl Makeup Look
By Marissa Wu,
1 day ago
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When it comes to beauty and fashion advice, I will take anything a French woman has to say like it’s one of the Ten Commandments. They have perfected the effortless, cool, couldn’t-care-less vibe—and I want that. If you, too, want the French girl makeup look, I’ve rounded up ten French beauty brands that’ll help you get there. Plus, I tapped a makeup artist to walk you through exactly what you should be doing. Get ready to say bonjour to your new five-minute beauty routine.
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Meet the Expert
Sam Kyle is the senior creative design and development expert at Mirabella Beauty . With over 12 years of experience in the beauty industry, Kyle is involved in every step of the creative process, from overseeing product development and design to product packaging, marketing and makeup artistry education endeavors.
How to Do French Girl Makeup
“French girl makeup is all about embracing [your] natural beauty and using makeup as a tool to enhance features rather than mask them,” Kyle explains. To do just that, you’ll have to get into the mindset that less is more. “Emphasis is placed on glowy, healthy skin, so a regimented skincare routine can be key.”
Perfect Your Skincare Routine
If you want your makeup to look flawless, it starts with great skincare, Kyle says. (This is a tenet that many makeup artists proselytize to me—with good reason.) “Dewy, hydrated skin [is] a must for this makeup look. Prepare your skin with your favorite face mask, serum and moisturizer before reaching for any cosmetics,” she advises. A little light therapy doesn’t hurt, either, with Kyle recommending the Mirabella Phototherapy 7-Color LED Facial Mask . (The tech is scientifically proven to promote healing, manage inflammation, encourage stem cell activation and reduce signs of aging .)
Skip the Foundation
It may be the first step in your makeup routine, but Kyle says you should skip the foundation if you want the undone (but still polished) look. “[Instead], use a liquid concealer to cover any blemishes or discoloration,” she says. “While it's definitely on trend to skip foundation altogether with the French girl makeup look, if you want to even the skin out a bit more, opt for a medium-coverage cc or BB cream instead of a full-coverage foundation.”
Keep It Natural
The next step in achieving the French girl makeup look is to add a wash of color—nothing too bold and bright. Kyle suggests a pink blush (PureWow beauty director Jenny Jin is a fan of Haus Labs and Rhode ) to create a natural flush and finish things off with a quick swipe of mascara.
Make It Pop with a Red Lip
And I got that red lip, classic, thing that you like. Here’s a beauty tip we know Taylor Swift swears by: the power of a red lip . But to wear it the French way, you want to make it subtler or more “lived-in,” as Kyle says.
“Start by priming your lips with a colorless base, like a clear lip balm, to hydrate them for a smooth application of lip color and to ensure blending is easy,” she explains. “Next, focus the application of your chosen red shade to the line where lips meet (when your mouth is closed), along the cupid's bow (peaks of upper lip) and down the center curve of the lower lip. Using your finger or a lip brush, work the color from the center of the lips out to the edges.”
One thing that always has me in a panic about lipstick is the unevenness of my application, but Kyle says it’s nothing to panic about. “The idea behind nailing this look lies in the imperfectly perfect. To finish, simply rub your lips together and then blot lightly with a tissue to remove any excess pigment. If you want to get a little more creative, blend an accent hue, like a pink or wine shade, into the center of the lips for extra dimension.”
Remember: The Key to Effortlessness Is Subtlety
You’ve got the red lip, and now you may be tempted to do up your eyes. However, this is one instance in which it’s a better idea to skip.
“Going back to the concept of effortless, balanced makeup, it’s important to either play up the eyes OR the lips, never both at the same time,” Kyle advises. “A bold red lip is such a signature French staple to me and for this reason, I love opting for the vibrant pout while pairing down the rest of my makeup.”
When you think of French makeup and skincare, chances are you thought of Chanel and Dior or any number of brands at the iconic pharmacie . Now, I’m here to tell you about Typology . After spending a few weeks testing out some of their hero products (namely, the tinted serum , concealer and lip oil ), I’m head-over-heels for their simple, effective formulations that use a minimum of 90 percent natural ingredients. The brand is headquartered in Paris with laboratories manufacturing products in the country. As a sustainability advocate , I love that they use eco-friendly packaging and are B-Corp certified.
Say the name Coco Chanel and you have the epitome of French sophistication. Chanel famously said that when you walk out the door in the morning, you should look in the mirror and take one thing off. I think she’d agree, then, that you either play up the eyes or lips when doing your makeup, and with a perfectly red lipstick shade aptly named “ Gabrielle ,” the latter is definitely the way to go. Add a swipe of mascara, dab of concealer and spritz of Chanel No. 5 and c’est parti !
Violette Serrat’s CV (that’s the French way of saying resume) reads like a who’s who in beauty: Dior, Sephora, Estée Lauder, Guerlain and now founder of her eponymous brand, Violette_FR. Her best-selling Bisou Balm brings the understated French girl red lip in six alluring shades (though the classic is obviously “Amour Fou”—Crazy Love”). The lineup also includes cream blush, highlighter, liquid lipstick and eyeshadow—the essentials for nailing the French girl makeup look—plus, skincare and hair care products.
Dior is undeniably one of the canonical pillars of French fashion—but they also have a robust beauty and skincare line. And I can attest that it’s French-girl approved: When I was an au pair in Paris, one of my host kids (OK, she was a teenager) had a bottle of Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet on her vanity, replaced annually on her birthday. Not to mention the brand’s viral lip oil , which had every beauty acolyte clamoring for a tube in the pursuit of a glossy pout.
A staple at department store beauty counters, Clinique goes back to 1968 and dermatologist Norman Orentreich’s quest to create great skin. The brand’s skincare and makeup are all formulated with the guidance of dermatologists to be fragrance-free and safe for sensitive skin. The Black Honey Almost Lipstick is a surefire favorite for adding a subtle pop of color to the lips, enjoying a more recent wave of TikTok fame. While the name sounds French, Clinique is actually an American company—but I’m including it here because my French friend swears that it’s the only cosmetic brand she’ll buy. And given the fact that she looks amazing every time I see her, I’m inclined to take her advice.
Founded in 1828, Guerlain is now a paragon of social and environmental sustainability with its In the Name of Beauty initiative. The brand prioritizes the preservation of biodiversity, protecting workers’ rights, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and prioritizing naturally-derived ingredients. Unquestionably, the products are expensive, but I can attest that if you splurge, it’ll be worth it. I recently had a facial at the Guerlain Spa at The Plaza Hotel in NYC, where they exclusively use the Abeille Royal line—and it was one of the best facials I’ve had in the city. You will glow .
While Caudalie doesn’t offer a cosmetic line, skincare is the base of the French girl makeup aesthetic, and this Bordeaux-based company makes a great line of products. It was founded in 1993 in the winemaking region of southwest France. Founder Mathilde Thomas’s parents owned a vineyard—Château Smith Haut Lafitte—which served as the inspiration for the skincare brand, whose hero products incorporated antioxidant-rich grape seed polyphenols. The vines continue to serve as inspiration for Caudalie’s products, including the anti-aging properties of resveratrol and dark spot fading Viniferine.
The Lancôme Hypnose mascara is said to be a favorite of Kate Middleton—proof that even the Brits can’t resist a little French allure. The brand has been in the beauty space for over 85 years, collaborating with famous faces including Isabella Rossellini (the daughter of Ingrid Bergman), the one and only Zendaya and, most recently, Joy Sunday of Wednesday fame. With a full lineup of skincare, makeup and fragrance, the French house makes it easy to get your skincare and makeup routine down to a simplified pat.
Sisley Paris is a luxury French beauty brand founded in 1976 by Isabelle and Hubert d’Ornano, and it remains a family business today. Their formulas are plant-based and the brand’s research, development and production all take place in France, with headquarters in Paris. Their award-winning lineup includes the Phyto-Lip Twist three-in-one balm, lipstick and gloss; Phyto-Teint Perfection foundation and So Intense Mascara.
An artist and American friend of mine spent five years in Paris, and now splits her time between California and Burgundy. She told me that Yves Rocher is one of her beauty bag staples, and she always sends her mother home with a stockpile of their products whenever she visits. While she’s a fan of the mascara and eyeliner—which are sadly discontinued—the brand stocks a full swath of hair products, skincare and cosmetics that are loved by many.
PureWow's editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series (where we rank items on a 100-point scale) to our painstakingly curated lists of fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family picks, you can trust that our recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for function, aesthetics and innovation. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.
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