I Asked 8 French Women to Spill the Contents of Their Beauty Vanities

I don't hide my love and admiration for all things French. I blame my stint studying abroad for this, and I would say a significant portion of the 1139 people I follow on Instagram are either from or based in France. From hairstylists and makeup artists to influencers, designers, and models, I'm constantly looking to my favorite French women for inspiration. Not surprisingly, I always walk away with some fresh beauty or fashion wisdom. Whether it's a new product recommendation or simply an extra skincare practice I want to incorporate into my regimen, I love immersing myself anyway I can.

Even though a minimalist, less-is-more approach is usually associated with the French beauty aesthetic, that assumption isn't always accurate. In fact, some of my favorite French women actually stand for quite the opposite—eyelids loaded with glitter, lips saturated with gloss and ruby-red… There's far more to "French beauty" than Brigitte Bardot–inspired fringe or no-makeup makeup. So in seeking some beauty inspiration (because when am I not?), I reached out to eight ultra-chic French women to find out their most cherished beauty must-haves (aka, the items they always keep tucked inside their bags or on top of their vanities). They're spilling all the tea below, so keep scrolling!

Claire Most

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(Image credit: @claire_most)

Juny Breeze

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(Image credit: @junybreeze)

Nawel Moummad

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(Image credit: @soblushing)

Lina Ose

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(Image credit: @linaose)

Laurie Zanoletti

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(Image credit: @lauriezanolettihair)

Oriane Adjibi

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(Image credit: @myfashionbreak)

Gaëlle Prudencio

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(Image credit: Capucine De Chocqueuse)

Leslie Dumeix

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(Image credit: @lesliedumeix.mua)
Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.