Beauty Brands French Girls Have Been Keeping to Themselves

Here at ishonest, we like French beauty. That's no secret. We've researched French-girl beauty commandments, become well-versed in their pharmacy offerings (because no one does drugstore beauty products like the French), and dug deeper into the stereotypes that come along with all of it (i.e. not every French woman looks like Jane Birkin). And while our beauty cabinets are stocked up with the usual suspects (micellar water equals holy water), we're down to make room on our shelves for new acquisitions from across the pond.

To get in the know about the goings-on of the French-girl beauty world, we called up Parisian stylist and all-around cool girl Jeanne Faucher. Beauty- obsessed and styling for an enviable list of French magazines, Faucher keeps her finger on the pulse of what's what in skincare and makeup in France and beyond. As it turns out, there's a covetable lineup of beauty brands that French girls have been keeping to themselves. Below, she shares eight of the French beauty brands she’s most excited about right now—plus some tips for her favorite products and shops.

Oh My Cream

"Oh My Cream is one of the coolest beauty concepts stores in France," declares Faucher. "You can go and get a complimentary skin analysis and the team is really nice." The shop features cool clean beauty brands such as Antipodes and Kat Burki. "The store launched its own line, Oh My Cream Skincare.," notes Faucher. "It’s about the perfect routine with three steps—double cleansing, exfoliating, and care oil—all with clean formulas. If you are like I am—crazy about cute packaging—you will love it."

French-girl tip: Look out for the launch of Oh My Cream's first SPF cream.

Seasonly

"Seasonly is one of my favorite new brands in France," confesses Faucher. "The concept is unique. On the site, you answer a few questions about your age, your city pollution level, and your cream texture preference and then they propose a personalized cream with only clean and natural ingredients." Seasonally (hence the name) the products adapt to your skin's needs. "A boost in winter, oxygen in spring, protection in summer, and regeneration in fall," describes Faucher.

French-girl tip: For the packaging-obsessed, the product comes with a wildflower and features your name on the bottle.

Aime

Faucher calls Aime a revolution in beauty. "There is an emergence of brands making pills you can take to enhance your skin," she observes." Aime is two pills you take each morning with that hydrate, perfect, and purify your skin —just from the inside." Happy guts, happy skin, says the brand. "I've been using French Glow for six months now and I've almost completely stopped using foundation, I just need to correct a little bit for imperfections under the eyes," says Faucher. "Each morning I see a real glow to my skin that I never had before."

French-girl tip: Take it before eating with a water glass and wait 30 minutes.

Galeries Lafayette

Famed French department store Galeries Lafayette just opened a new store on Champs-Elysées and Faucher insists that every beauty lover must pay a visit. "The store is amazing and they have the best beauty space in Paris with a great selection," she describes. "You can find, for example, Kure Bazaar which we really love." The eco-friendly nail polish boasts ingredients like potato, wheat, corn, and cotton so you can feel good about using it. "I use the classic color 'French Rose Glow' for all my working days," notes Faucher.

French-girl tip: You need to eat at the bakery in the Citron Café, launched by the fashion designer Jacquemus.

Typology

"Typology is a vegan brand focusing on superior-quality ingredients," explains Faucher, who notes that it's so natural that you can eat some products like the cranberry powder or avocado oil. "The brand offers really low prices because there's no middleman, just online and direct to consumer. I use the eye serum (Typology Sérum Yeux Caféine 5% + Niacinamide 5%) which is 80% of natural origin and provides immediate results."

French-girl tip: Apply Typology's eye serum and let it absorb into the skin for around three minutes, then tap gently with a fingertip.

Thomsen

"If you do not follow the Thomsen sisters already, you should add their pages to your feed," advises Faucher. Who she's referring to are Paris-born Scandinavians Emelie and Michaëla Thomsen who recently co-founded their own beauty line. "Thomsen Beauty is an effortless brand that's 100 percent clean and 'certified bio,' as we say in France," describes Faucher. "Try the night cream Villa with vitamin E, verbena, olive, and almond oil. It smells so good and boasts all- natural fragrance. Also, the packaging is so chic you'll want to keep the products on display in your bathroom.

French-girl tip: Apply the cream on wet skin before bed for the best hydration and a fresh look come morning.

Rouje

You're probably familiar with Rouje, the fashion brand from the ultimate present-day icon of French-girl style, Jeanne Damas. She recently expanded her brand to include as just as covetable collection of French beauty staples (nail polish has just been added to the lineup). "As Rouje means 'red' in French— with the letter 'g'—Damas, of course, created the perfect lipstick with perfect reds," says Faucher. "I am fond of bright reds, almost orange, and use the Nathalie red."

French-girl tip: Put it with your finger as Jeanne Damas suggests to create a cool, effortless effect on the lips.

Bazaar Bio

"Bazaar Bio is a concept store based in Nice in the south of France that specialized in natural and bio beauty," explains Faucher. "I use a lot of products from here and they always have new arrivals to get excited about. My current favorite is the Anarose Hydrating Rose Toner from Mun. In addition to rose, it features hardworking natural ingredients like anti-aging and antioxidant goji berry extract and willow bark for gentle exfoliation that imparts a beautiful glow."

Next up, another French girl shares her beauty routine.

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