Sans Makeup, S'il Vous Plaît (NYT)

[xmodel citizen]

yep---that is it. most models have strong features. helps them come off as high-fashion/artsy with loads of paint while the softer, more receded features in many women look great solo but switch to teen hooker with too much makeup

Yeah, I agree! I have smaller, more girlie features and I manage to look like a cheap wh*re when wearign anything black or red. I can get away with a smoky eye, but I have smaller lips, so I look awful in any kind of dark or very colorful lip product.

 

[*mette-marit*]

^ Hahaha, I totally agree. My cousin (practically sister) always whines about how I can put on a TON of makeup, complete with blue eyeliner and eyeshadow, and still not look like I'm wearing a lot at all. Whereas she puts on a little bit of foundation powder and eyeshadow, and looks like a clown. We tried sparkle eyeliner at Sephora once... I looked really rock-star cool, and people kept laughing at her all day. It's pretty funny

It's not so much that(for example, I wouldn't put on things like blue eyeliner and eyeshadow, I'm too prudent with makeup for that
More like if you put on a thick full coverage foundation, people will probably be able to tell you're wearing it. but I will put on concealer, tinted moisturiser powder and a tiny bit of blush to make it look natural, as though I'm not wearing anything see? it takes a lot of makeup products to look like you aren't wearing much, if any!

 

[modelbehavior228]

^exaclty, a little bit of each is less noticeable than a ton of one.

 

[*mette-marit*]

and also can be so effective, and make you look much more beautiful!

 

[jjbunny79]

i just like how people start taking care of theire skin since they're young....
when i was young my mom dabs face moisturiser on my skin and tell me not to wear bad quality makeup and tell me to put my sun screen on....
my current lifestyle kinda wrack it a lil bit but my overall skin still look pretty nice
but i went to junior high in Canada since grade seven and see like lil grade school girl didnt wear any protection for their skin and they got like rosecera and dry skin and stuff and later on their life, they just pile on like cheap quality makeup on their face...
i find it quite creepy...

 

[luvmelots1983]

^ I dont think theres anything "creepy" about it, per se. Some people just arent as lucky as you are to have someone guide them about proper skin care. If you dont know any better, you do whatever's easiest and often cheapest.

 

[Kimkhuu]

Jil Sander F/W 07.08
Source: style.com

 

[Kimkhuu]

Marni F/W 07.08
Source: elle.com

http://www.***************/image/2007/Q1/030320071253004423.jpghttp://www.***************/image/2007/Q1/030320071252191350.jpg

 

[Virginielle]

It certainly seems as though they're without makeup, but they're also very washed out and not particularly healthy looking. Part of the 'au natural' look we're going for is seeming 'naturally' healthy also, in my opinion..

I think Virginie is one of the best at it.

http://www.sofeminine.co.uk/world/stars/photos__todo=zoom&i=932&c=90368&page=32.html

 

[modelbehavior228]

and also can be so effective, and make you look much more beautiful!

Yes! A little bit of every different makeup product can highlight everything perfectly instead of a massive amount of eye shadow used alone or an insanely bright lipstick shade used alone

 

[modelbehavior228]

Marni F/W 07.08
Source: elle.com

they look ill, literally.

 

[luvmelots1983]

^ I know. I just cant understand the appeal. I understand that models cant use lots of smiles and facial expressions because that would detract from the clothes; but to paint on undereye circles, sallow skin and bluish tinged lips is incomprehensible to me.

I guess when I think of "sans make up" it's healthy, natural-without-a-lot-of-makeup looking skin. Not that ^.

 

[luvmelots1983]

An interesting article to enlighten:

From The Sunday Times
April 15, 2007
A touch of the oh-la-las

Why do French women always look so chic? Helena Frith Powell uncovers their best-kept beauty secrets


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?

 

[bismarck]

great article. Still dubious about all those creams though.

 

[luvmelots1983]

^ my thoughts exactly. But hey, if it works for them, sign me up! Only thing is, I'm so incredibly lazy and low maintenance with this stuff... I cant imagine constantly lathering myself in creams. BLAH.

 

[luvmelots1983]

Why does no one like this thread anymore??

 

[*alison*]

yet another article about french beauty, this time from The Telegraph

The body beautiful


Last Updated: 12:01am BST 25/04/2007


Your guide to make-up and more by Lesley Thomas. This week: French looks
In the old days, ladies of the Left had a reputation for wearing baggy, bobbly leggings, needlessly robust shoes, and sporting more hair than was strictly necessary. It's no wonder, then, that those Blairite MPs with bad perms and red, boxy jackets were considered "babes" a decade ago.

Young at heart: Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French VogueFrench women, on the other hand, do not associate looking lovely with a lack of ideological clout and "Ségo", as the socialist in stilettos is affectionately known, is a spectacular, radiant case in point. She is, of course, blessed with some pretty good raw material (the cheekbones, the lips, the legs) but no one looks as stupendously good as she does at 53 without putting in a serious amount of work.
Her hands alone, always shown off with a bracelet sleeve, speak of twice-weekly manicures. (By the way, French women do not have French manicures, and nor should you - unless you are a glamour model.)
Her warm chestnut hair is so understated, so perfectly suited to her olive skin tones, you'd think it wasn't coloured at all. Her make-up looks barely there - which we know can be achieved only by studied and careful application.
There's one easy way to tell how seriously a woman takes her grooming - check the brows. Mme Royal's just-thick-enough eyebrows are exemplary. When it comes to her looks, this woman is a precisionist. And I am pleased to report that there is no such thing as effortless French beauty. Easy good looks take time and toil.
The thing about French women is that, unlike us, they don't go on about their beauty travails. They wouldn't dream of discussing grey roots or their stretchmarks with their friends over a bottle or 10 of Sancerre.
Ségolène Royal and other amazing-looking French women d'une certaine age - Carole Bouquet, the actress and Chanel muse; Carine Roitfeld, the 50-year-old editor of French Vogue; and our own Kristin Scott Thomas, whom the French seem to have adopted - all help keep up the unspoken pretence.
They start early. Around the time they discuss the facts of life, a maman will teach her daughter how to cleanse, tone and moisturise. Emma MacLennan, a training manager with Carita - one of the premium French brands favoured by Catherine Deneuve - says: "They start as young as 16 years old and, by the time they're 25, it's taken very seriously; a French woman will have a facial every two months and when she's older they'll be weekly." A blow-dry three times a week is not unusual, she says.
French women understand that looking good does not necessarily mean looking young, which in this era of Botox mania and youth obsession can only be praised. Carita's legendary Pro-lifting Firming Facial (£80; 020 7313 8780) is a favourite with powerful Parisiennes.
They don't spend fortunes on faddish products, either, and the French beauty companies are selling to a tough, knowing market. Luckily, some of their best and most reliable ranges are available here. We all know about Clarins, the best-selling French range, but there are plenty of other great Gallic brands. Caudalie, the range based on "vinotherapy", where the antioxidant properties of grapes are harnessed for skincare, is an experts' favourite.
The Radiance Serum (£39, www.caudalie.com) is brilliant for evening out the skin tone and fading age spots. Its Eau de Beauté facial spray (£24) is a personal favourite for a tired or hungover face.
The Eau Thermale Avène range is one I'd suggest for anyone with very sensitive or dry skin. If you have the irritable kind of skin that spoils a beach holiday, I can't recommend the suncare highly enough. Try the 50+ SPF Ultra High Protection (£13.50; 0845 117 0116).
The French invented the word for dimply thighs - for which we must never forgive them - but they've also invented the best cellulite fighters. Elancyl made the first rubber home-massage device 30 years ago and it's still going strong: Active Slimming Massage (£19.99) includes the fat-busting liquid soap.
They may look cool and soignée on the outside, but inside Parisiennes are panicking about the width of their thighs and the bushiness of their brows.

 

[farren fashion]

Geez, are they really that obsessed with Americans? Haha, I don't spend a lot of time comparing myself with women from other countries.

I don't know how things are done in France, but growing up I always considered the American look to resemble something from American Eagle ads....not a ton of make-up: very healthy looking, like you just finished surfing or something.

Oh well....coincidentally I do follow that "I look like I'm wearing no make-up even though I really am" belief.

My regime: Either light BE foundation or dior base de teint instead; mascara; and a lip stain with the occasional light bit of blush (I'm very pale).

^^ i agree. i've been reading a lot of articles comparing french and american women. why compare? french women are beautiful and american women are beautiful. and it's completely pigeonholing all women. i'm sure there are french women who like to wear a lot of makeup and i know their are tons of american women who don't like wearing a lot of makeup. in fact, most girls i know, don't even wear makeup. it's just an assumption that shouldn't really be payed any attention to. but writing articles like this it seems as if they're pitting women against each other. i'd rather it not be that way. i like wearing lots of makeup somedays and somedays i like wearing very little and some days just in between. so i think articles like these are very wrong.

-- i'm speaking of the article that started this thread.

 

[Odette]

This article makes me laugh, it's PURE sh*t and just another crappy stereotype.

Though one thing is true, what can you expect of a country which adores a walking Barbie like Paris Hilton anyway?? Just look at the amount of coverage a brainless girl gets in TV. magazines or even here at TFS.This leads half of the teens to try an look like her: tackily overdone!

As simple as that-

 

[crechebaby]

Though one thing is true, what can you expect of a country which adores a walking Barbie like Paris Hilton anyway?? Just look at the amount of coverage a brainless girl gets in TV. magazines or even here at TFS.This leads half of the teens to try an look like her: tackily overdone!

Living in the states my entire life, I have yet to meet a single soul who adores Paris Hilton. She is a laughingstock in this country--her press coverage is mostly due to her money. She pays for the spotlight, and those who make a living in media will take it where they can get it. That's simply how the industry works, much to my dismay.

Saying that American women are tacky and overdone is like saying that French women smell because they don't bathe often enough. Sure, the stereotype may be accurate for a small percentage, but to make any grand, sweeping statements about an entire nation is ridiculous.

French women, in my opinion, are alluring and captivating creatures as long as they don't stoop to petty insults and the blind, single-minded ethnocentricity they so despise in others.