BEAUTY OP-ED | French women and skincare

I read so much stuff online that my eyes start to cross by the end of the day. Today I found a fun little bit of copy about the differences between French women and American women when it comes to their respective attitudes towards beauty and skincare.

Thought I'd share.

Sure, we're all individuals and generalizations are, on such a level (French vs. American, etc.), often wildly off base. But... but... macro-trends exist or we wouldn't hire consultants and marketing strategists to figure out how to position products and brands in a market, would we? And those (macro) markets are AMERICA and FRANCE, for example, as a whole, not, say, individual zip codes. So, via a meandering explanation, I bring you a few seconds of very-general-but-probably-somewhat-true French beauty voyeurism:

"According to WWD, Estee Lauder found European women to be "active and pragmatic":

'She considers aging as a natural process and doesn't identify a specific problem linked to her skin," said Raffaella Cornaggia, [Estee Lauder's regional marketing director]. "She is not obsessed by beauty or by wrinkles. However, when she begins to notice certain changes in her skin, she wishes to delay them. She favors simplicity in her skin care, as well. In short, she seeks a complete solution.'

The comment about a complete solution in one product reminded me of an interview with a New York dermatologist that I read. (Probably in The New York Times.) The doctor said she requested the new patient to bring in the skin care products she was currently using. The new patient arrived at the doctor's office toting 43 different products. Chic French women are known for having a variety of skin care products. But they would be unlikely to have 43. With their small living quarters and often antiquated bathrooms with little storage, a complete solution product in one jar is very compelling. And French women like keeping chic simple."

[via Anne Barone]

Another writer who does a very sweet job of comparing the way New York vs. Parisian women, in particular, compare is Garance Dore. Her blog post on New York Skinny vs. Paris Skinny is a must-read for those who exist or circulate within those particular microcosms or have a fascination with either/both of them (*cough* raises her hand).

How many products do you use a day? Do you fall into the French or American camp when it comes to views on beauty and contents of your bathroom cabinet?

[photo cred]

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EXPERT SECRETS | Take a compliment

WOMEN ARE notorious for deflecting compliments with an arsenal of well-practiced, self-deprecating replies. Someone tells you that you look lovely today? It’s swiftly met with a practised list (no sleep, stressed at work, eating like a teenager) to prove that you are, in fact, just the opposite of the nice things someone’s just said about you.

But why? How often do men blush and deflect niceties? That would be never (or so it seems). In fact, it’s rare you don’t see a male chest puff with pride given even the most back-handed compliment. And more power to that bloke. It’ll be a shiny new era on earth when a woman swell with pride when a perfect stranger says something nice to her.

There’s a gap – a veritable canyon – between the way men and women receive compliments and (based on my anecdotal evidence) how confident they seem overall. It’s not difficult to ascertain there’s a link between seeming confident, being confident and liking yourself. Studies show that if you smile you’ll feel happier, even if you’re forcing the smile, right? So there’s a chance (I believe a very big chance) that the same is true of women embracing compliments...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE on LOOKING GOOD, NO MATTER WHAT