We may earn commission from links on this page. Each product featured has been vetted and chosen by our editors.
For the entire year, we’ve followed the French girl formula like the beauty lovers we are. Thanks to the Paris Olympics this summer, the effortlessly chic, minimal makeup look popular in France has exploded. But now that summer’s come and gone, what is the perfect recipe for a French girl fall? We’re breaking out our berets and planning a Parisian autumn with this easy guide to the perfect French girl look for fall.
Featured Experts
Makeup the French Way
So, how do we get the iconic French girl look?
From makeup to body care to hairstyles, the girlies in France have it down to a science. Simple, minimal makeup that plays in the no-makeup makeup space defines the beauty look, usually accented by a simple brown mascara, fluffy brows and a red lip.
According to celebrity makeup artist, D’Andre Michael, choosing the right red comes down to matching your undertone. You can decipher your skin tone in two ways, according to Michael. “If you tan easily, then you are a warm tone. If you burn or just get red when in the sun, then you are a cool tone,” he said. Additionally, with “cool skin tones, your veins will appear green, blue or purple. [With] warm skin tones, your veins will appear green.”
Warm tones look best with orangier reds, with more of a brick tone. Cool tones, on the other hand, thrive with cool blue lip colors.
Get Ready for French Girl Fall
But the fall is the perfect time to change this look with deep burgundy shades. The new launch from Violette_FR’s line of award-winning Bisou Balms is a great starting point.
“Our new shades embrace the complexity of our identities,” Founder Violette Serrat says on the inspiration behind the new shades. “Like the iconic black and white swan, we all possess contrasting sides that blend and evolve with our moods and emotions. Rose Latte and Bonbon Myrtille encourage us to explore and express the dichotomy within ourselves.”
Miami makeup artist Natalie Dresher agrees, noting that burgundy shades are especially in this year for autumn.
“A wine lip is THE moment right now,” Dresher says. “especially a glossed-over tint of plum with no defined edges. Patrick Ta’s Major Volume Lip Plumping Gloss in Want Her ($26) is the perfect fall French girl look with a bold lip but a bit of a deeper hue.”
Our Favorite French Girl Picks for Fall
1 / 12
This hydrating, high-shine gloss has stimulating plant-based ingredients that visibly volumize lips upon application. An active blend helps to smooth the lips and improve plumpness over time.
2 / 12
A moisturizing matte lipstick-balm hybrid that imparts a sheer kiss of color. The unique formula blends into lips with a subtle blurring effect for the ultimate “bouche mordue” (just bitten lips) look that’s quintessentially French (after the iconic bold red lip).
3 / 12
Enriched with squalane, jojoba oil and vitamin E, this tinted oil subtly colors the lips, delivering nutrition and suppleness with a glossy, non-sticky finish.
4 / 12
This French girl favorite is perfect for any season! It is a unique combination of 30 percent precious plant oils and vitamin E to nourish, repair and soften your face, body and hair in a single step.
5 / 12
French girls don’t bother with heavy foundation. They’re more likely to reach for a tint, like this serum-like tinted moisturizer. It goes on like a moisturizer, and melts into your skin for a dewy (never greasy) look with a light to medium buildable coverage and sun protection.
6 / 12
This award-winning, 100 percent mineral makeup provides a water-resistant, broad-spectrum SPF 50+ sunscreen for your face. It’s an innovative balm that consists of Polypodium leucotomos and vitamin E, and provides light coverage and a blurring matte finish.
7 / 12
This easy-to-use blush delivers a lightweight formula, hydrates skin for soft cheeks and leaves a glowy finish without a greasy feel.
8 / 12
Miracle Balm is the secret of no-makeup makeup. It has a wash of soft-focus moisture to perfect and enhance skin. A light-reflecting super product that’s as versatile as it is simple to use.
9 / 12
A nod to the brows of the ’80s, this lightweight pomade makes it easy to add buildable color and volume for fluffy, natural-looking brows. Condition your brows with nourishing vitamin B5, while the tapered brush makes it easy to coat each hair.
10 / 12
Ophthalmologist-tested and approved, this tinted eyebrow gel is formulated with clean ingredients for a shapely brow you can feel good about.
Award Photo: Full Brows Tinted Gel 11 / 12
Made with ultra-clean, safe ingredients for the delicate eye area, this plant-based wax blend delivers nourishing length and volume without clumping, flaking or transferring.
12 / 12
The hour-glass shape of this brush allows for unmatched separation and volume. The formula defines and shapes lashes for an intense payoff.