My Aesthetic Is "Moody Parisian"—the Luxe Makeup Brand I Use to Achieve It

As a beauty editor, it's tempting to associate different cities with their distinct (and admittedly stereotypical) beauty aesthetics. For example, after living in Los Angeles for four years, I feel like the beauty aesthetic is fresh and beachy (think of someone who's headed to a Pilates class followed by brunch), whereas it used to be full Hollywood glam (think black eyeliner and red lipstick). To me, New York is edgy and editorial. London is simple and sophisticated. Then, there's Paris.

There's not much I can say about Parisian beauty that hasn't already been said. All I have to do is drop two names to sum it up: Birkin and Bardot. Both icons excelled at the effortlessly undone beauty aesthetic that calls to so many people around the world, including me, an American beauty editor.

Whenever I feel like emulating the French beauty aesthetic, or more specifically, the Parisian beauty aesthetic, I turn to one specific brand: Yves Saint Laurent. While other design houses like Chanel, Dior, and Valentino get a lot of attention (and rightly so), I ask—nay, beg—that we give the same to YSL. After all, no brand does moody, edgy, and impossibly chic beauty better.

The Look

Beauty editor wearing YSL makeup products

(Image credit: @kaitlyn_mclintock)

The Products

5 More YSL Makeup Products I Love

Kaitlyn McLintock
Beauty Editor

Kaitlyn McLintock is a Beauty Editor at Who What Wear. She has 10 years of experience in the editorial industry, having previously written for other industry-leading publications, like Byrdie, InStyle, The Zoe Report, Bustle, and others. She covers all things beauty and wellness-related, but she has a special passion for creating skincare content (whether that's writing about an innovative in-office treatment, researching the benefits of a certain ingredient, or testing the latest and greatest at-home skin device). Having lived in Los Angeles, California, and Austin, Texas, she has since relocated back to her home state, Michigan. When she's not writing, researching, or testing beauty products, she's working through an ever-growing book collection or swimming in the Great Lakes.