I live close to a small town in southern France (population: 7,464), where
there are 19 hairdressers, five beauticians and four lingerie shops. This
should tell you something about the priorities of French women. When I first
made an appointment at one of the 19 hairdressers, I told my French friend
Anne that I was going to get my hair dyed. “Ssshh,” she said, looking
anxiously around the cafe to make sure nobody had heard me. “You can’t tell
anybody that. C’est pas normale.”
French women are notoriously secretive when it comes to sharing their style
and beauty secrets. Looking good and ageing well are an essential part of
daily life, but they are a part that women don’t want to share with anybody
else. “I like a nice car,” Anne told me, “but I don’t want to know how it
works, or how its bodywork is kept in tiptop condition. It’s the same for
women: we should look great, but why do we have to tell everyone how we do
it?”
Anne goes to the salon twice a week to get her hair done (I found out because
I asked the hairstylist — obviously, there was no point in asking Anne).
Whenever I see her in town, she says she is on her way to a meeting, but I
would wager that the meeting is to have her eyebrows plucked or some of her
nonexistent cellulite massaged.
Since I moved here six years ago, I have been amazed by how good French women
look. Okay, not all of them — in my village, we do have the
slippers-and-pinafore brigade (it’s not a good look) — but the vast majority
are groomed from their heads all the way down to their toenails. Just
looking at the lotions and potions on sale makes you realise there is more
to this French seduction lark than a pair of suspenders. The chemists sell
more creams than medicines; creams to make your thighs thinner, creams to
make your breasts firmer, creams to make your face smoother, and so on.
While I was researching my book on French women, one lady did admit that
looking good can be a full-time job. “By the time you've got down to your
toes, it’s time to start at the top again,” she said. “Sometimes, it all
becomes a bit much, but it’s not part of our genetic make-up to just let
ourselves go.”
Part of the reason it takes so much time is the French philosophy that even if
the devil is in the detail, so is much of the pleasure. They start in the
places they hope will be seen last. French women even follow fashion when it
comes to what my children politely call “your parts”. Right now, the fashion
is for cropped hair in those “parts”. Just so you know.
Anne is as likely to share her secrets as she is to do the school run with a
chipped nail. But maybe because I’m not French, and therefore not seen as
competition (what threat could an English woman possibly pose?), I have
managed to prise some top beauty tips that are guaranteed to make you more
seductive than ever before from other French ladies.
Breasts
My friend Nicole says the way to keep breasts pert is to douse them in cold
water every morning. “Put a flannel in some ice-cold water, then wring it
out and place it on your breasts,” she says. “It is much more effective than
any cream for keeping them firm.”
Buttocks and thighs
French women swear by cellulite creams. In fact, they swear by anything that
keeps them trim, but doesn’t involve exercise. According to Brigitte Papin,
the health and beauty editor of Madame Figaro, one in three supplements sold
in French chemists are slimming aids. When I told Papin I didn’t believe in
anti-cellulite creams, she said I was “so British”. So I tried them. I tried
Clarins Total Body Lift (£30; 0800 036 3558) during the day and L’Oréal Body
Expertise PerfectSlim gel (£10.99) at night. After three months, I’m still
sceptical, but if it gives me thighs anywhere near as smooth as hers, I’ll
keep it up.
Spas
A French woman will give her body an annual service by checking into a spa.
Edith Cresson, the former prime minister, prefers a thalassotherapy spa on
the Brittany coast, where she goes every year for eight days “to unwind and
look after myself”. Cresson says she has four beauty treatments a day and
comes out glowing. This approach is clearly popular: there are 13
thalassotherapy spas in Brittany alone (www.allo-thalasso.com).
Hands and feet
“My top tip for seductive hands and feet is to rub cream into them as often as
you can. There’s nothing more unsexy than flaky feet,” says Manon, a
Parisian friend who swears by the Body Shop’s Peppermint Cooling Foot Lotion
(£7). “Once a month, I cover my hands and feet in cream and then wrap them
in clingfilm for the whole night.” I have yet to try her tip (maybe it’s the
clingfilm that’s putting me off), but I have tried the Metrospa hand and
foot facial at Richard Ward’s salon in London (020 7730 1222), where your
extremities are treated to microdermabrasion (normally reserved for the
face) before a pedicure or manicure. This process removes the top layer of
skin, leaving your hands and feet soft enough to caress or be caressed.
Body moisture
Another tip for all-over-smooth seductive skin from Nicole is to put on body
moisturiser after your shower or bath without completely drying your skin
first. This locks in moisture much more effectively.
Face
Sylvie Tellier, a former Miss France who now runs the Miss France competition,
uses Biafine as a face mask. This cream is traditionally used for minor
burns and rashes, and every French mother has it in her medicine cabinet. “I
love it,” she says. “It makes my skin glow and is really hydrating.” Stock
up on your next trip — Biafine is only available in French pharmacies (www.biafine.orthoneutrogena.com).
A tip from Laurence, the mother of a friend, is to sleep in a moisturising
mask the night before a big date. Be sure to exfoliate beforehand, so it is
really effective. Laurence also told me her mother used to drink a lot of
camomile tea to reduce the muscular tension that causes dark circles under
the eyes. And, of course, it helps you to sleep.
Make-up
Yves Saint Laurent said: “The most beautiful make-up on a woman is passion,
but cosmetics are easier to buy.” French women don’t believe in overdoing
the cosmetics: seduction is all about being naturally sexy. They are big on
what they call “le no make-up look”. According to Marie-Pierre Lannelongue,
the fashion editor of French Elle, English women take the opposite approach:
“It’s like, ‘Look at me, I’ve made such an effort.’ You would never get a
French woman doing that. For us, less is more.”
If you want to be seductively made up à la française, go easy
on the blusher, use a good base such as Chanel Teint Innocence (£21; 020
7493 3836), a little mascara and some lip gloss. Of course, your lip gloss
goes with you everywhere. A French woman always thinks about looking sexy,
even if she is just walking the dog. When I met Ségolène Royal, who may
possibly become the first female president of France this month, she had
three things with her: a notepad, a pen — and lip gloss. The most alluring
gloss I have tried is the volumising LipFusion XL Micro-Injected Lip Plump
(£38.30; www.skinstore.co.uk).
Perfume
Coco Chanel was once asked where you should spray scent. Her response?
“Wherever you want to be kissed.”
The same could well apply to a French woman’s entire beauty regime. She takes
care of every part of her body and face so that she’s ready to seduce
anybody from her husband to the Duke of Westminster. And who wouldn’t want
to do that?
Two Lipsticks and a Lover by Helena Frith Powell (Arrow £6.99)
French women and men, both look amazing. Reading the comments I can understand that there are "average" people just as anywhere else. However, I feel it is how the French are able to project this "beauty", Also I have learned that the French have mastered "less" is more and wearing classic clothing.
Allan, Montreal, Canada
Oh my, so this is what you think of us in the UK ? No wonder why you're disappointed when you arrive here. I'd say that the "need to look like a top-model" is probably stronger here than most other places, indeed. We love taking care of ourselves and we do have a lot of products for it. But that doesn't mean that everyone makes all the effort to look pretty. These creams, hairstylists and trendy clothes aren't cheap. So if you want to see beautiful French girls, you're more likely to find them where the people have money. Elsewhere, girls do with what they can afford and their natural beauty... and some just don't care how they look.
Sabelle, Evreux, France
forget make-up, lotions and potions! get a dictionary! definITELY! NOT definately!
clesa, croydon,
What absolute drivel! I live in France and, as Emily says, there are many bizarrely red-haired French women, in badly fitting clothes. You can find badly dressed women (and men) in any country. Maybe in Paris and the south of France, where according to HFP, they apparently have too much money to spend and too much time on their hands to do anything useful, they can afford to spend £38 on a face cream and spend hours at the hairdressers. In this part of France the salaries, if you're lucky enough to be employed, would not stretch to such frivolities.
Jennifer Smith, Lisieux, Basse-Normandie
The town that Segolene Royal lives is Melle...have you seen the women that live their? Red hair, frumpy clothes mostly nylon, to quote a friend...most of them look like they have been hit by a baseball bat! Segelene does definately stand out from the crowd!
maria newman, Melle, France
It's so sweeping to say 'French women'; where I live in France the women look awful; their hair is tinted red and the trousers are saggy around the bottom, not to mention plastic clogs and cheap materials. There is such a huge difference between the larger towns and the countryside.
Emily Murray, London, UK
Hah, well the Irish girls need to do a bit of jogging after all the potatoes and sandwiches they consume. And why is it such a big fuss about jogging - simple walking is much more efficient and looks less stupid (I mean this red face and loud appeal to the world: "Look, I'm great because 'm exercising). And I seriously doubt that the French women exhaust themselves with smoking to stay slim, this is just the right food ration from the childhood.
Aiya, Dublin,
Things might improve for women in France if they stopped smoking! Its disgusting, I lived in France for years and was amazed at how much they smoked just to keep thin, they would all look better if they did a bit of exercise. I used to get wierd looks when I went out jogging there as it just isn't something that women do!!
Michelle, Galway, Ireland
I think it's genetic. France is at the crossroads of many types of people, blondes, Mediterranean, Celtic, so they are blessed with a nice mix of types. Then also it is diet. Having the trim figure so common in France can do wonders for a person's looks. And the thinner you are, the more likely you are going to be into trying stylish new fashions.
Perhaps also there are more beautiful stylish people in areas where beauty is more important culturally because people are bred that way. As a result, after a few generations only the beautiful survive. For example, I noticed that there was a beauty gap after I moved to the South of the US after years in New York.
In New York, despite the models, people are admired for their brains and burgher-like efficiency. In the South, they are admired less for success and more for beauty, and as a result the young women walking around here look all like angelic gazelles - think young Julia Roberts and Kim Basinger. So it's all about priorities
Claudia, Atlanta, USA
Well, I do not agree. I am staying in Delhi where there are a high percentage of overseas visitors and the only ones that look chic come from the Scandinavian countries with the French and Italians looking fat and old. Even the English look better than them.
Janis Johnston, Delhi, India
Why is it that, every time an article appears about the French, the journalist has to throw in the odd phrase or sentence in French, and usually the obvious one at that? Can't Ms Frith Powell simply say "You don't do that" "It's not the done thing" instead of "c'est pas normale"? Is she trying to show she knows some French? Or is it that she is answering her own question unawares, ie. the French have a mystique with which the Brits can't compete, through the mere fact of being French.
John, Madrid,
Oh, common, they (the French girls) do know how to dress, and as somebody already mentioned this in previous comments, the look projects as being totally effortless . Bit of scarf, stripy top, three quarters trousers - and looking all chic!
Just yesterday I was sitting beside a French girl in the restaurant: she had no make up, funky boots with leather stripes and a top with wide red & dark-blue stripes. She looked very stylish!
And I am a female myself, so it takes a nerve to acknowledge that the other one looked well 
Aiya, Dublin,
Where are all these so-called glamorous French women? I just came back from Paris, and there are just as many ungroomed ladies there as in London or any other major city. The French are just great at marketing themselves, and we insecure English-speakers swallow the myth! Now in contrast, I recently lived in Bangkok - many Asian women I met go to the spa or beauty parlour almost every day or two, for a manicure, body scrub, massage or hair treatment. That's real commitment to glamour.
Alexa, Brussels, Belgium
The thing that gets me is why it is so important to them, perhaps to the state of arrogance. Looking good and taking care of yourself is important but there are many other things in life that are more so. I do not approach women because they are in my achievable 'beauty range', but because they look like they might be fun regardless, within reason, of what they look like.
Beauty is skin deep and you can take a lot of time and money to improve it, but your ability to enjoy yourself can be deeply eroded by your paranoia of what you think people think about you. My advice to the French women that I have met is relax a little, you'll have more fun.
Julian, Berlin,
French women are indeed almost effortlessly chic. Their "pharmacies" are full of intriguing creams and potions which are evidently used by young and old as part of the daily routine, not as a treat. It is simply in their mindset whereas we are not accustomed to taking such care of ourselves! As for the ridiculous garlic comment - the French love their garlic (whyever not? delicious) and this includes the ladies. If garlic breath is the worst thing about them - let them breathe on! I admire their commitment to beauty and fashion and look forward to visiting a pharmacie next time I'm in Paris.
Lydia F, London, UK
French women are definately chic and far more stylish then Brits - even the kids over there, the teens are far more stylish. There's no comaprison with the average UK lady, god bless us; its either chubby biscut munching office women in baggy polyester pants or the over the top, perma tanned, bleach blonde trying too hard type. There's more moderation in France.....
In terms of youth though, look at Asian women - especially the Japanese. They look AMAZING for their age, and remain naturally slim and healthy too.
Megan, manchester, Lancs
As far as I'm concerned French women are beautiful because French men make them so. The fact they pay more attention women, actually listen to them, flirt with them, enjoy spending time with them makes them feel sexy and obviously when you feel sexy you project a much better self image. I also agree that having more fun under the sheets, or anywhere else for that matter also helps to give you beautiful glow!!
Julia, Montpellier, France
Ever noticed how the too perfect, too beautiful woman can discourage men from making an approach. "She must get chatted up all the time." "The minute I open my mouth, she's deaf and I'm invisible." So what happens is only the most conceited, over-confident men ask her out.
"You might just be good enough for me, darling."
Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan
The French women are blessed with eternal youth not because of the creams and massages. It is what they eat, drink and how they enjoy themselves in bed.No fake orgasms, lots of "bits and pieces". Elles sont formidable.
There is also all this rubbish about their breath. Everyone has bad breath after a meal. Americans are not any different. I wish Roger Ailes had asked his French woman how she felt about his breath. If we could smell our own breath this would be an ideal world n'est pas?
I lived and loved in France for 33 years.
Peter Casie Chetty, Bootle, Liverpool
All this is great but why do French women neglect their breath. I used to go out with one in college and her breath left me " breathless". too much garlic maybe???
Roger Ailes, New York, USA
Hi ! Sorry I'm french, and I'm going to break some of your illusions. Not every french women are like that !
I pay attention to my look and appearance, but it doesn't mean going to the hairdresser twice a week (not even every week), sleeping with beauty masks and having 3 differents cellulite creams ! There is a lot of clichés in here. It's strange that my own vision of the french woman is so different.
I agree for the make-up, too much make-up is horrible, it's better when it make you more beautiful but with discretion.
Of course if you only go to Paris, you will see many women very elegant and taking care of themselves, but it is not true for EVERY french women !
Lucie, Paris, France
Hi ! Sorry I'm french, and I'm going to break some of your illusions. Not every french women are like that !
I pay attention to my look and appearance, but it doesn't mean going to the hairdresser twice a week (not even every week), sleeping with beauty masks and having 3 differents cellulite creams ! There is a lot of clichés in here. It's strange that my own vision of the french woman is so different.
I agree for the make-up, too much make-up is horrible, it's better when it make you more beautiful but with discretion.
Of course if you only go to Paris, you will see many women very elegant and taking care of themselves, but it is not true for EVERY french women !
Lucie, Paris,
I know it's meant to be women writing for this site!! However, I just wanted to say from a man's perspective that I have always thought that French women have a certain indefinable style (and are often seductive in a subtle way), but didn't realise it was such an 'exact science'! This is not, of course, to say that British women are not also stylish, but as Helena Frith Powell has already reported can sometimes overdo the make-up!
David Dreebin, Croydon, United Kingdom
Very very true!
My sister and had this night out in france and a friend of mine [Fabienne] couldnt stop staring at my sister. She had a thick "wanna-be-naturelle" foundation on, dark brown lipstick, with green eye liner coloured green eyeshadows, the blusher and ALOT of mascara! I thought that she put it ALL on nicely, went for the funky look.. Fabienne didnt seem to think so! haha I'd just got back from a friends so all I could do was a little lip gloss and foundation, but it was so funny!! Their reactions are SO different, and the culture there is very much "little is more". My sister doesnt dare touch her striking look much when she's over there, shes bent to the more french approach! ;p
xx
Jenni, Exeter,