Beauty salon visits are a French woman's secret weapon
Effortless chic, charming insouciance (and, inevitably, je ne sais quoi) are the catchphrases used to describe the groomed, yet seemingly uncontrived, style of so many French women. Their look is hardly thrown together, however. It's based on the discipline of a nibble only of chocolate and a strict regimen of skin and hair care.
Regular salon visits are de rigeur and prescribed products are faithfully applied. Spending on such items is not considered a luxury, but an investment. To future-proof your look French-style, start with a healthy diet, plenty of walking and a lot of slathering of body and facial creams. Add a little French polish, using cosmetics and fragrances from some of the world's premier beauty houses.
While the names Chanel, L'Oreal, Dior, Lancome and Yves St Laurent are familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in beauty, today we also look at some brands lesser known outside their home country, where they have a devoted following. Clarins is the most familiar of the "salon" brands found in New Zealand, and is also found on the shelves of bigger retailers, but other brands are mostly in specialist skincare clinics - the very places French women learn how to care for their complexions.
The salon brands featured here, and others like Guinot and G.M. Collin, sprung up in the post-war years and so have a long history of targeted skincare delivery. Some swear by the power of botanicals (like Clarins and Darphin) or harness marine extracts (like Thalgo and Algologie).
Others, such as Sothys, recommend treatments using vitamin-enriched serums. In French salons, aestheticians have long used infusions and high-frequency currents to apply products in ways that are only just becoming widely familiar here. Clients are taught that their skin condition will change over time, so therapists adapt care routines for lifelong results.
Perhaps that commitment to making the best of their own beauty at any age is why, when we think of Frenchwomen, the cut-off point for glamour doesn't come ridiculously young. French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld is still rock chic glam in her 50s, actress Catherine Deneuve is still seen as a sex symbol in her 60s and those English actresses turned adopted Frenchwomen, Jane Birkin and Kristin Scott-Thomas, have had a longevity in the style stakes that is impossible to imagine in Hollywood.
Birkin's daughters, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, have the unaffected individuality and Parisian poise that suggests their looks too will last the test of time and are more about personality than perfection. It's an empowering idea.
1. Darphin Aromatic Cleansing Balm $139
Darphin, like many French houses, has its own beauty institute in Paris. Pierre Darphin set up shop in 1958, using aromatic, plant-based formulas. Custom treatments are a key philosophy and Darphin believes that products should be a pleasurable blend of science and nature. The pictured gel-like balm emulsifies with a little water, meaning a little goes a long way. It's supremely gentle and smells great, thanks to essential oils.
From World Beauty stores or for salon stockists. Ph: 0800 406416.
2. Sothys C Renewal System $518
World War II burns victims were the first to benefit from Sothys' stabilised vitamin serums, stored in the ampoules now seen across the specialised skincare industry. The company's cosmeceutical approach continues, based on delivering ingredients in their most potent and effective formulas and research focusing on how skincare combines with the nervous system. Sothys also has men's, suncare and makeup ranges. This multi-step at-home kit to pep up lifeless skin combines a microdermabrasion mask, peeling agents and skin renewal cream and is a two-month course for a dedicated user.
For stockist details see sothys.co.nz or phone 0800 768497.
3. Gatineau Vital Feeling Intense Nourishing Body Lotion $68.50
Madame Jeanne Gateau opened her first salon in Paris in 1937 and worked with doctors and dermatologists. She was among the first to develop exfoliants and slimming creams and to realise the role of antioxidants and the changing needs of skin during menopause. Caffeine and retinol were also used in her products. The Defi-Lift 3D firming creams were among the first of their type. Vital Feeling is a body range, that features a new bust concentrate, a leg gel and a beauty oil, plus this lotion with essential fatty acids for dry skin relief.
For stockists phone: 0508 776 232.
4. Clarins Hydra Quench Cream Mask $76
Massage with pure plant oils was among the cornerstones of Clarins from its foundation in 1954. Still a family company, the brand's skincare is noteworthy for its enticing aromas. The Hydra Quench range has expanded to include an SPF15 day cream, a lip balm with rose wax, and this mask. It provides deep moisture with the use of hyaluronic adic for skin affected by dehydration, cold, heat and pollution. The mask can be used around the eye area and has a non-drying creamy texture. Clarins, like Sothys, also sells cosmetics designed to treat as well as titivate.
From retail brand counters and Clarins salons.
5. Lancome Renergie Morpholift R.A.R.E Serum $175
Research is part of Lancome's ethos, making the premier brand perhaps the most innovative of the mainstream French cosmetic houses. Its skincare range is vast, catering for conditions decade by decade. Women in their 40s are most likely to be attracted to this tightening serum, in the Renergie range. It has a smoothing effect and comes in the sort of high-tech dispenser much loved in the anti-ageing skincare sector. Shortly, Lancome will launch Genifique, after a 10-year research programme into gene activity, that is said to have led to a breakthrough in the production of proteins seen in younger skin.
From department store brand counters and leading pharmacies.
6. Dior Capture Totale Resurfacing Peel $165
This rinse-off product has micro-granules and is for use several times a week to brighten oxidising and ageing complexions. It combines exfoliation with salicylic acid to boost surface cell turnover, revealing a fresher, smoother face. Designed to be used as part of the Capture Totale range. Brand counters.
7. Yves St Laurent Natural Action Exfoliator $90
A granule-fee radiance revealer that feels more like a balm than an exfoliator. Contains a bark extract to refine skin and is a good option for those who find regular exfoliators irritating. Brand counters.
8. RoC Hydra+ Protective Re-sourcing Care SPF15 Hydrating Fluid $42
A good daily all rounder, this vitamin and mineral enriched moisturiser provides sun protection and is a suitable base for makeup. RoC's RetinOx Illuminateur gives a golden tint to the face if you want colour without the weight of a full foundation. From leading pharmacies.
MADAME DE SPA
Anne Marie de Spa pioneered professional beauty therapy in New Zealand, setting up shop in 1964. Her Jouvence Beauty Institute, in an elegant old villa in the inner Christchurch suburb of Merivale, was last year named the country's best salon.
Madame de Spa says in France, and her home country of Belgium, skincare is taken very seriously.
"It is not viewed as pampering but an essential of skin health and preserving one's beauty."
Salon visits are frequent, often fortnightly, and body treatments are much more common than here. The expectation of take-home product performance is high and women realise there are no quick fixes.
"The French way is to treat the skin with care and help encourage repair and protection, whereas here we have become orientated towards gaining a result in the shortest possible time by quite invasive means. When it comes to the skin, the analogy of good things take time has never been more true!"
Over more than 40 years in beauty, she has noticed New Zealand women are becoming much more receptive to quality treatments, partly because travel has opened their eyes to what is on offer.
Her interest in skincare was sparked at her mother's knee and she went on to train as a beauty therapist in Brussels. She cites Coco Chanel as an inspirational example of French style.
On ageing, the elegant Madame de Spa says the secret to doing it gracefully is a matter of attitude.
"Defying ageing is futile ... what we can do is look after what we have, skin is a living organism that has the ability to repair and regenerate, your skin will always reflect what you put into it."
Her son, Jean-Michel Tallott, runs the Auckland-based end of what has become a family business, bringing products into the country for distribution to other beauty salons.
Madame de Spa, who has a brood mare named Sothys after the French skincare range she champions, is visting the company's headquarters in Brive to update herself on what's in the pipeline. She promises new formulation breakthroughs will set the bar even higher.
