wvwvw
08-14-2013, 12:59 AM
Gallic beauty myths busted by one of their own in Le Figaro magazine
French women lie about gorging on buttered baguettes - and they smoke
'Natural' blondes scour salons for best colourists
Invest in expensive anti-wrinkles creams from age of 25
Work hard to keep up with new trends
By DENI KIRKOVA
PUBLISHED: 13:42 GMT, 13 August 2013 | UPDATED: 14:16 GMT, 13 August 2013
Hurray! It has emerged that Gallic women aren't as effortlessly perfect as they appear. And no, that isn't sour grapes - it's according to Le Figaro, a French magazine.
Our continental neighbours are lauded are as effortlessly chic, slim and poised in British and American books such as French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano and Pamela Druckerman's Bringing Up Bébé.
But, to the relief of many, new research by one of their compatriots reveals that it may all be a myth.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/13/article-2391164-1B45FABE000005DC-937_634x882.jpg
French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg attends a premiere in New York City
Journalist Peggy Frey has dissected the 'six vanity clichés' pertaining to French women in Le Figaro, magazine.
The idea that they are naturally beautiful, eat but don't get fat, are great in bed, are great at cooking, raising children, and effortlessly chic, is blown to pieces by Frey.
She says that the French feminine mystique, 'nonchalant, subtle, confident, funny and charismatic', is in fact a carefully constructed fiction.
Their supposed natural beauty, for example, is all down to an intense, yet covert, regime.
Frey says French women would 'rather die than reveal their beauty secrets'. They scour hairdressers for the best colourist to give them a 'natural' looking blonde, and invest in super strong anti-wrinkle creams from the age of 25.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/13/article-2391164-06EF9290000005DC-354_306x423.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/13/article-2391164-19C5F8D8000005DC-823_306x423.jpg
Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (l) and star of Coco Before Chanel, Audrey Tautou (r), epitomise French chic
They may never talk about dieting, but that doesn't mean they don't watch what they eat. After all, you can't gorge on buttered baguettes all day and magically maintain a size eight figure. Almost half smoke cigarettes, known to suppress the appetite, according to a recent report.
We might imagine they possess lingerie drawers full of silk and lace - but in fact, a recent report from the French Fashion Institute shows in 2012 the average French woman spends just £100 on underwear. This is a fifth of what the average American shells out. It was also revealed the French buy mostly cotton bras and knickers, rather than investing in luxury materials.
'Femme fatales? A recent report from the French Fashion Institute shows in 2012 the average French woman spent almost £100 on lingerie - just a fifth of what Americans spent
And according to Frey, you won't find them slaving away over a hot stove - they're more likely to pop a ready meal in the microwave.
Finally, the famed French chic is not quite as effortless as it appears. Frey says a French woman will fight 'like a lioness to understand trends and how to display them. No innate style on the horizon'.
The thought-provoking research shines a new light of the French way of life. According to the Le Figaro, the secret is 'to do everything falsely: [they are] falsely coiffed, falsely dressed.'
The books that glamourised French women
FRENCH WOMEN DON'T GET FAT
The grandmaman of ‘learn from the French’ books, this purports to unlock the key to how, despite eating mounds of cheese and fois gras, French women retain their figures. Author Mireille Guiliano claims that while they don’t forbid themselves anything, they eat it in moderation. Rather than obsessing about diets, they take pleasure in staying slim while eating well.
WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW
...is the importance of understanding ‘the brevity of time and the immediacy of pleasure’, writes Debra Ollivier. In other words, they’re more pragmatic than the rest of us.
CHIC AND SLIM
Never mind diet, it’s undies that’s are key to French women’s figures, according to Anne Barone. ‘Even French women’s lingerie helps to keep them slim,’ Barone writes. ‘It’s a constant reminder to make choices that pay off in slimness. Their belief in this principle is demonstrated by the fact that there are almost as many lingerie shops in Paris as bakeries.’
FRENCH CHILDREN DON'T THROW FOOD
French mothers 'seemed to adhere to different rules' to their English counterparts. Pamela Druckerman decided to investigate and, after interviewing dozens of French mothers, sociologists and doctors, wrote a fascinating book
FRENCH WOMEN DON'T SLEEP ALONE
Aside from an inbuilt knowledge of how to tie a Hermes scarf, French women never seem to have any problem finding a boyfriend. Yet, according to author Jamie Cat Callan, they don’t go on dates — instead the secret to finding love French-style is to adopt a ‘coterie’ of fabulous friends through whom you are introduced to men in a relaxed social context. Of course, it also helps if you’re slim and fabulous.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2391164/French-women-arent-effortlessly-perfect--just-fake-Gallic-beauty-myths-busted-Le-Figaro-magazine.html#ixzz2btuPvjqb
French women lie about gorging on buttered baguettes - and they smoke
'Natural' blondes scour salons for best colourists
Invest in expensive anti-wrinkles creams from age of 25
Work hard to keep up with new trends
By DENI KIRKOVA
PUBLISHED: 13:42 GMT, 13 August 2013 | UPDATED: 14:16 GMT, 13 August 2013
Hurray! It has emerged that Gallic women aren't as effortlessly perfect as they appear. And no, that isn't sour grapes - it's according to Le Figaro, a French magazine.
Our continental neighbours are lauded are as effortlessly chic, slim and poised in British and American books such as French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano and Pamela Druckerman's Bringing Up Bébé.
But, to the relief of many, new research by one of their compatriots reveals that it may all be a myth.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/13/article-2391164-1B45FABE000005DC-937_634x882.jpg
French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg attends a premiere in New York City
Journalist Peggy Frey has dissected the 'six vanity clichés' pertaining to French women in Le Figaro, magazine.
The idea that they are naturally beautiful, eat but don't get fat, are great in bed, are great at cooking, raising children, and effortlessly chic, is blown to pieces by Frey.
She says that the French feminine mystique, 'nonchalant, subtle, confident, funny and charismatic', is in fact a carefully constructed fiction.
Their supposed natural beauty, for example, is all down to an intense, yet covert, regime.
Frey says French women would 'rather die than reveal their beauty secrets'. They scour hairdressers for the best colourist to give them a 'natural' looking blonde, and invest in super strong anti-wrinkle creams from the age of 25.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/13/article-2391164-06EF9290000005DC-354_306x423.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/08/13/article-2391164-19C5F8D8000005DC-823_306x423.jpg
Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg (l) and star of Coco Before Chanel, Audrey Tautou (r), epitomise French chic
They may never talk about dieting, but that doesn't mean they don't watch what they eat. After all, you can't gorge on buttered baguettes all day and magically maintain a size eight figure. Almost half smoke cigarettes, known to suppress the appetite, according to a recent report.
We might imagine they possess lingerie drawers full of silk and lace - but in fact, a recent report from the French Fashion Institute shows in 2012 the average French woman spends just £100 on underwear. This is a fifth of what the average American shells out. It was also revealed the French buy mostly cotton bras and knickers, rather than investing in luxury materials.
'Femme fatales? A recent report from the French Fashion Institute shows in 2012 the average French woman spent almost £100 on lingerie - just a fifth of what Americans spent
And according to Frey, you won't find them slaving away over a hot stove - they're more likely to pop a ready meal in the microwave.
Finally, the famed French chic is not quite as effortless as it appears. Frey says a French woman will fight 'like a lioness to understand trends and how to display them. No innate style on the horizon'.
The thought-provoking research shines a new light of the French way of life. According to the Le Figaro, the secret is 'to do everything falsely: [they are] falsely coiffed, falsely dressed.'
The books that glamourised French women
FRENCH WOMEN DON'T GET FAT
The grandmaman of ‘learn from the French’ books, this purports to unlock the key to how, despite eating mounds of cheese and fois gras, French women retain their figures. Author Mireille Guiliano claims that while they don’t forbid themselves anything, they eat it in moderation. Rather than obsessing about diets, they take pleasure in staying slim while eating well.
WHAT FRENCH WOMEN KNOW
...is the importance of understanding ‘the brevity of time and the immediacy of pleasure’, writes Debra Ollivier. In other words, they’re more pragmatic than the rest of us.
CHIC AND SLIM
Never mind diet, it’s undies that’s are key to French women’s figures, according to Anne Barone. ‘Even French women’s lingerie helps to keep them slim,’ Barone writes. ‘It’s a constant reminder to make choices that pay off in slimness. Their belief in this principle is demonstrated by the fact that there are almost as many lingerie shops in Paris as bakeries.’
FRENCH CHILDREN DON'T THROW FOOD
French mothers 'seemed to adhere to different rules' to their English counterparts. Pamela Druckerman decided to investigate and, after interviewing dozens of French mothers, sociologists and doctors, wrote a fascinating book
FRENCH WOMEN DON'T SLEEP ALONE
Aside from an inbuilt knowledge of how to tie a Hermes scarf, French women never seem to have any problem finding a boyfriend. Yet, according to author Jamie Cat Callan, they don’t go on dates — instead the secret to finding love French-style is to adopt a ‘coterie’ of fabulous friends through whom you are introduced to men in a relaxed social context. Of course, it also helps if you’re slim and fabulous.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2391164/French-women-arent-effortlessly-perfect--just-fake-Gallic-beauty-myths-busted-Le-Figaro-magazine.html#ixzz2btuPvjqb