Le "No make-up look"

In the New York Times on Thursday, May 25 an article by Elaine Sciolino about a new vogue in French beauty--the "no make-up look", appeared.  It begins: "CHIC French women don't wear makeup. At least they pretend not to."  French Elle described the trend as "Le bare face," defined as "nude skin, shimmering slightly."  The adjacent photo is of a radiant Juliette Binoche, who is made up not to look made up.  I am not sure this is such a new trend in France, but it is a paradox that I had noticed.  French women tend to be very diligent about skin care--facials, serums, spa treatments and often invest a great deal in scientific-sounding products whose phyto-chemical laden molecules "penetrate" and "nourish" the skin.   But they are less interested in looking "painted" or in sporting lots of colors on their faces that are not found on human faces in the natural world.  This focus on the health of the skin rather than on the surface treatments used to cover it up makes good sense.   

The article goes on to quote French make-up mogul Laura Mercier, who says "It really astonishes me the way American women wear so much makeup.  In America, even teenage girls are overly made-up. And when you are overly made-up, you send out the message that you are overly sexual, that you want to be visible to attract men."  By contrast, Ms. Mercier said: "French women are not flashy. They must be subtle. The message must not be, 'I'm spending hours on my face to look beautiful.' "

Again, these statements ring true to my ear.  From what I have seen, Parisiennes tend to not to rely on fussy make-up and hairstyles in order to be attractive.  Rather they often seem to invest their efforts in their skin, their accessories, the cut of their clothes, and their bulge-free silhouette.  The bad news is that in order to look attractive with French understatement and subtlety, they do things that require more effort and are often more expensive than just slapping on some color.  Where does that leave nous autres, les Americaines?  Do we have to spend even more hours to send the message that we are not desperately spending hours on our faces to look beautiful? 

I don't entirely agree that so many of us prefer the vulgar, painted-doll look.  A lot of the young women I work with appear to eschew makeup entirely.  This would be hard for me, as without at least some definition around my eyes when out in public, I would feel naked.  Those of us who do wear makeup generally know that if you have relatively more eye make-up on, you might want to put less emphasis on the mouth, and vice-versa.  Nicole Richie and Britney Spears are cited in the article as examples of that "overdone" look.  No argument there, but thankfully, we rarely see see women who imitate them in real life.   

The companies that produce makeup also have skin care lines, and those treatment lines usually consist of many products and many steps.  Make-up removers, cleansers, day creams, night creams, eye treatments, firming serums for he face, firming serums for the eye area, different moisturizers for the face, the neck, the decolletee, pore minimizing creams, exfoliating scrubs, antioxidant serums, and the list is endless.  I was reading the label of a product by Clarins that is supposed to revitalize maturing skin at about $100 for a small bottle.  One of the two main active ingredients was an extract of the pueraria lobata, aka kudzu.  Yes, kudzu, that nuisance vine that is draped over nearly every tree in North America.  If I look outside my window, I can see that kudzu is indeed a prolific and hardy plant, but it's difficult to see how a product containing the extract of the ubiquitous kudzu vine could be so dear.  When confronted with all these products, one wonders how it would be possible to ever do enough for one's skin and is tempted to give up and just buy a new eyeliner pencil or some dental floss and go home. 

But a new form of consultation is available for French women.  Sciolino continues "Indeed, at the first "beauty cafe" in Paris, the talk is about respect, not transformation. For two hours on four recent evenings, the Columbus Café — a rival of Starbucks — transformed the second floor of its outlet near the Bastille into a place where women came for free lessons about skin care."  "Today beauty is not something only on the surface," Sandra Renzi, a cosmetologist with the Darphin skin care line, lectured to women over coffee and Perrier one evening. "It also comes from inside. Essential oils that contain tiny molecules that penetrate your skin must come first." 

Maybe the "inside" source of beauty actually springs from a place that even those tiny molecules can't penetrate.  Here is yet another take on the question of being a "painted lady" vs. creating at least the illusion of restraint.  "The most beautiful makeup for a woman is passion" is the famous quotation of the designer Yves Saint Laurent. "But cosmetics are easier to buy."   

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/25/fashion/thursdaystyles/25skin.html?ex=1149307200&en=3d9756552a95bd58&ei=5070

Comments

[L'Amerloque]

Hi Jean !

In Amerloque's experience, one doesn't see French women a) pulling out a compact and putting on lipstick in public or b) walking around in haircurlers in public. (smile)

He would tend to add "French women appear to use far less apparent makeup that American women". This, from practice (being married to French women, not bigamously) and many years of attentive observation. (wider smile)

Great to see you blogging again. Illegitimi Non Carborundum, as they say.

Best,
L'Amerloque

[ms. miami]

i think that the difference has a lot to do with the value of self-care. i don't know why so many american women, especially those with children, feel guilty when they focus on taking care of themselves.

although i can't afford the expensive brands, i have always spent more money on skin care products than make-up.

i get carded on a regular basis despite the fact that i am well past 21... i think i'll stick with my current regime!

[francofile]

Amerloque,
I love your economy of means in formulating this statement: "French women appear to use far less apparent makeup that American women"
And francofile is relieved to know that you are not a bigamist :-)

ms. miami,
You are right that women should not feel guilty about taking care of themselves. It's a quality of life issue.

[Flocon]

Hmmm... c'est un post pour les filles ça il me semble... Il n'empêche, L'Amerloque a trouvé moyen d'en placer une... (smile). Peut-être ceci pourrait-il faire l'affaire: DECIPIMUR SPECIE RECTI... (wide smile)

Flocon

[Cait]

What a complicated story. A recent commercial on TV here says "on n'empêche pas des femmes et l'envie d'être belle." French women certainly don't have fewer complexes than their American counterparts with their "envie d'être belle." I think this desire for subtle beauty is grounded not only in French subtlety itself but also in the relationships French women have with each other. French women don't have girlfriends the same way as American women do; instead of commiserating about the trials of womanhood, they seem to be in competition with each other. They seem to rely much more on themselves than perhaps American women do. Why paint their faces when it will only draw more attention to them and to their vulnerability--this inescapable "envie"--in the eyes of other women? (Just an observation! I could continue but it probably wouldn't be prudent.)

[Michele]

I know for sure that while I "played" with makeup in high school and college, I never learned anything about proper skin care and non-garish makeup application until I spent time in France. French women don't leave the house unless they look fantastic. American women are totally different -- we don't have the cultural pressure, for one, and there are so many people who are overweight here that anyone wearing flattering clothes that are a little bit daring gets attention.

But you know what else is different? Men in France have permission to look at women in France. Men here have been trained out of appreciating the beauty of a beautiful woman, and that kinda takes the fun out of dressing attractively and putting on a fancy face.

Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

[transall]

Bonsoir,

Je ne peux, bien entendu, donner ici qu'un avis purement masculin sur la question, mais j'avoue qu'une femme "maquillée comme un arbre de noël" (expression bien française) aurait plutôt tendance à me faire fuir...

Un maquillage discret me paraît largement préférable, et toute la subtilité sera alors pour vous mesdames de savoir jouer de votre regard ou de votre sourire.

Exercice difficile, mais très intéressant à observer...

Amitiés,

Didier

[Elisabeth]

Very interesting, indeed, to have a few men's opinions on this topic.

I do agree that French women tend to look a lot more "natural" than American women do. I am not a make up wearer - I think that the last time I wore make up was at my niece's wedding, close to two years ago. But I take very good care of my skin and, due to this, possibly, I probably look easily 15 years younger than I am.

Re. men's "appreciation" of a woman's beauty, I am not 100% sure that French men are better able to appreciate the beauty of a beautiful woman (I was looking yesterday at the cover of a CD released by a female Algerian singer that I gave my boyfriend, and I made a comment about her beauty - his response was that she was "easy on the eye," which I found interesting.)

I absolutely adore the concept of being able to apply make-up in such a way that it looks like one is not wearing any. This represents the ultimate mastery of the artificial, and makes me think about the passage about Des Esseintes' bedroom in "A Rebours," which, entirely decorated with extremely expensive materials, is made to look like a very humble monk's cell.

[francofile]

It was good to get some masculine responses to what might have seemed to be a "chick" post. The image of Didier dodging a woman "made up like a Christmas tree" is a glorious one. Obvious artifice is NOT enticing. (I still reserve, in a little corner of my being, the right to be annoyed when men salivate over women whom they imagine are natural beauties, but who rely on every known artifice to look that way.) Didier also makes a good point that the physical manifestation of a smile or a certain gaze is a part of attractiveness that cannot be purchased at any drugstore or "grand magasin". So true.

Leave it to the French to hit upon the formula of "done-up undone-ness." What is more seductive than not seeming to want (or need) to please at all? Women are drawn to men who appear not to be concerned about pleasing them (but who may very well be obsessed with their appearance, truth be known). Let's face it--whether you are a mature man or a mature woman, if you really don't attend to your appearance at all, or more importantly to your health, you are not going to have much visual appeal. But vanity and narcissism, like neediness, quickly become tiresome, or even grotesque.

Cait has made a good point about female competition and vulnerability. I also sensed while living in France that French women didn't tend to let it all hang out with their girlfriends the way American women often do. Michele is right that the context is different in the US, and especially here in the "breadbasket" of the US, where any attempt to assume one's femininity can be seen as flamboyant, or out of place, since men have received so many mixed messages about whether acknowledging it is desirable, or some kind of heinous crime.

I had not thought of Huysmans's _A Rebours_ (_Against the Grain_) as an exemplar of elevating the mastery of the artificial to an art form, but of course Elisabeth has nailed it. This is a neglected work I must re-read!

[Whyioughtta]

Francofile: just came across your blog. Love it. Je suis Canadienne, mais j'adore la France aussi...

To go back to the surface for a minute: I am a redhead and, like you, feel that I need a little something around the eyes to make me feel pretty. At the same time, I look ridiculous when too made up (because of aforementioned redheadedness). Might I suggest eyelash tinting? Take it from me, it makes a world of difference, looks extremely natural, is done using natural dyes, and you don't need to wear any eye makeup.

Just a little enhancement secret a la francaise...

[roger]

A wonderful case of Emperors New Clothes, I feel. Have you read the book about how french women don't get fat - apparently by eating.

Found you via Chez Mistral - stay in touch!

[MLL]

Hello,
May I speak French (just like Didier) ?
Je viens justement du blog de Didier (merci à lui). Bien que je n'ai pas encore tout lu, I find your blog very interesting ! I'll come back.
Talking about make up, have you already seen that blog :
http://seehere.blogspot.com/
There's a post "Celebrities Without Makeup". A gauche la photo de la star sans maquillage et à droite la même star mais, cette fois, maquillée. plutôt édifiant !
N'importe qui pourrait être une star avec un bon maquillage et un bon photographe :)

[MLL]

Oh I forgot, Je suis totalement d'accord avec monsieur Yves Saint Laurent. Belle citation que je ne connaissais pas. Merci.

[jansenkoe]

This BLOGS are very fine and all the parts are very good.
So i also give a segation-
http://www.aalgo.com

[jezonimo]

my funny story

A man walks into his local pub with a big grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" asks the barman.

"Well, I'll tell you," replies the man. "You know, I live by the railroad tracks. Well, on my way home last night, I noticed a young woman tied to the tracks, like in the films.

I, of course, went and cut her free and took her back to my place.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I scored big time! We made love all night, all over the house. We did everything, me on top, sometimes her on top, every position imaginable!"

"Fantastic!" exclaimed the barman. "You lucky bd. Was she pretty?"

"Dunno... never found the head!"

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[Babyreax]

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[MapsImalp]

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[Rebekah]

Loved reading your blog here about French chic, they certainly have it and it's interesting to hear and read about what how the French woman thinks. I also write about France over at Hubpages if you're interested in reading about my travels. I will certainly be back here and will link to your blog.

[celebrity tube]

Make up makes woman freaky.

[Online Cheap Caverta]

French women appear to use far less apparent makeup that American women

[Boutique Hotels Paris]

Is it ...What a stat...great to know of it.

[Lisa]

Late...but this is a load of BS. I am in france now and in paris see wo,en wearing tons of makeup. I dont wear much at all....i feel under-done in fact.

[Lisa]

oh and also...I've seen a ton of overweight women here. not as many as back home, but many nonetheless. also, the thin ones are not as in shape as they are in say, California.

[Makeup]

I prefer subtle look and admire such makeup in women no matter where they are from..
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