In an ideal world, I would be Caroline de Maigret. She’s painfully chic – Karl Lagerfeld co-opted her as one of Chanel’s ambassadors and street style photographers risk getting knocked by cars to snap her at the shows – but it’s not just that. The 39 year old is the epitome of a woman with substance and is the perfect example of why the world continues to be enamoured by the allure of French.
Beyoncé may have coined the term, ‘I woke up like this,’ but it’s a mantra that has long rooted de Maigret’s approach to beauty. She’s natural, or at least, that’s the look she strives for with her make-up, so much so that Lancôme asked her to charm into a new make-up line. It’s still a while before the collection drops so in the meantime, she’s revealed the secrets behind her beauty look for you to emulate.
SKIN
My approach to beauty is pretty easy; I like to look very natural. French women don’t want to look like they’re wearing too much make-up or like they’ve had too much surgery.
Everything has to look effortless but cleansing is really important for me. I clean my skin a lot and take a lot of time doing every day. I use Chanel’s Mousse Douceur cleanser, followed by Lancôme’s Tonique Douceur. It’s amazing – it cleans really deeply. You almost feel like you’ve come out of a spa.
I always put the cleansing milk on my face with my fingers rather than cotton buds because my dermatologist told me they have a tendency of being harsh on the face. I simply clean it off with water.
After toning I always apply Lancôme’s Génifique serum to seal my pores and make my skin feel smooth. Then I apply a moisturiser like Lancôme’s Rénergie cream – it’s so good for my skin. I try and use a stronger moisturiser like Lancôme’s stronger Absolue once a week. It’s highly concentrated and great for mature skin; it’s like Haute Couture for your skin. It’s really highly concentrated.
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I don’t put on foundation, but I put YSL Touche Éclat under the eyes and where I have blemishes or bags – it always works.
At night, I either have a brown or bronze smokey eye or I do lips. I don’t like colours that are too dark because they age me so I always go for red. I think it’s very Parisian. I put blush on too. Again, with me getting older, I find that pink tones are better than brow; it’s fresher and brown ages me. I really love Nars’ Orgasm blush. It looks real.
HAIR
It’s so strange that everyone talks about my hair. I wash it everyday and buy my shampoo from my supermarket. I buy Elsève by L’Oréal, the one with the orange bottle, but don’t use any conditioner whatsoever. Otherwise it makes my hair to slick. I like it to look big and a bit messy and conditioner makes it look too nice. It’s a good trick. After that I just let it air dry and never brush.
I’ve had bangs for about ten years. I think I kind of have a big face so it balances it out and hides my lines. I trim them myself with kitchen scissors. Every time I let a hairdresser cut them, I either end up like Bettie Page or it’s just too well-cut and it doesn’t look like me so I have to do it myself. I get my hair coloured by Stephane Pous – he’s amazing and does all the Parisian girls.