If there’s one place in the world where women age with grace and elegance, it’s France. The country is one of the few places in the world where getting older is actually empowering for women. Just look at the French President – he married a woman 24 years older than him!
While French women may sigh or roll their eyes when asked what their secret is, the truth is the French have a distinct approach to anti-aging. Don’t be fooled when they let everyone think they just age naturally – that couldn’t be further from the truth! Even though French style may be all about effortless elegance, the French approach to aging is anything but.
I live in Paris and here is how French women approach anti-aging. The French anti-aging philosophy closely aligns with the French girl beauty rules: namely, taking a skincare-first approach and using very little makeup.
Anti-Aging Skincare in France
When the first signs of aging appear, French women immediately start using an anti-aging cream or serum. There are a few amazing French anti-aging creams on the market which are beloved by women across the world:
Filorga Paris Time Filler Wrinkle Correcting Cream
Guerlain Abeille Royale Double R Serum
Lancôme Advanced Génifique Serum
If you’re looking to target specific areas of your face, then consider these French retinol creams:
Avène RetrinAL 0.1 Intensive Cream
Do Women Get Botox & Face Fillers in France?
We all know that pretending that French women don’t get Botox is like saying they eat chocolate croissants every day and don’t gain a pound. Come on. The key to French botox, like the French diet, is everything in moderation. French women get botox from their dermatologists, but they are terrified of using the whole vial, while their American counterparts insist for the whole thing to be used.
The reason for this is that admitting you’ve had work done to your face is still quite taboo in France. Many French women don’t even tell their husbands that they got face fillers. The French prefer to consider themselves naturally beautiful and happy with their age no matter what it is. They consider the American obsession with youth a social failure. They might be right, but the secrecy around getting facial work done is quite hypocritical.
Focus on the Décolletage
French women pay special attention to anti-aging around their décolletage, an area that Americans tend to forget.
The décolletage is the area of your neck below your chin line and down to the upper part of your chest.
The Clarins Extra-Firming Neck & Décolleté Cream is a luxury French anti-aging cream specifically formulated for this part of the body.
What I love about France is how women are actually allowed to age. Sure, they take steps to fight aging, but the culture generally celebrates older women. Just take a look at the number of older French actresses who continue to appear in French cinema and TV – Isabelle Huppert, Nathalie Baye, Isabelle Adjani, Catherine Deneuve, and more. How many older American actresses do you see in movies? Not very many.
Vive La France.
