8 Items Every French Woman Has in Her Bathroom

Smellmaxxing may be all the rage with Gen Alpha, but French women have long known that a single signature scent is far more alluring. The first thing to come out of my friend’s mouth when I asked her about bathroom essentials was Chanel No. 5 ($110). Cliché? Yes. True? Also yes. For a similar musky scent with twist, I have tried and loved Diptyque’s nutty, cotton-y Fleur de Peau ($240), and Violette_FR’s fruity citrus Avec Amour ($56). My friend personally recommends Sézane’s L’Eau Sézane ($65), an eau de toilette with top notes of Italian mandarin, lemon and petit grain Bigarade (bitter orange). And when I was an au pair in Paris, one of my charges received a bottle of Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet ($46) every year on her birthday. Bottom line? There are many excellent French scents to choose from—find one that speaks to you, and then let it do the talking.

Take a gander at French interior design accounts and you’ll quickly notice the running theme of greenery in the bathroom. It can be anything from fresh-clipped garden blooms to potted trees and hanging plants. This is an easy way to add an elegant and unexpected touch to the space—and given the Parisian (and general city-dweller’s) love of escaping to “la campagne” (the countryside), it can be a literal breath of fresh air. My French amie is particularly fond of “gypsophile,” aka Baby’s Breath. A small bouquet of this pretty bloom is a light, airy, understated addition to your bathroom, and it will never be susceptible to the humidity and temperature.

Look inside any French woman’s makeup kit and you’d hard pressed to find more than a handful of products. Emily in Paris stars Camille Razat has just three, while Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu touts six in her interview with Vogue France.

In all the reporting I’ve done on the French girl makeup look, the running theme is always less is more. Many of us love stocking our vanities with tons of products to achieve the perfect contour and lined eyes, but if you want to do as the French do, you’ll axe pretty much all of it.

So, what goes into a French woman’s makeup arsenal? Stick to the core essentials from Chanel, Lancôme, Dior and/or Clinique, with an emphasis on a great under eye concealer. (My personal rec is the French brand Typology’s concealer serum, $35.) Note that none of the women listed above use foundation!

If Manon is walking out the door with nothing else, she tells me, “I always have concealer and a little blush.” For some extra credit, keep an eyelash curler, mascara and, of course, that quintessential red lipstick on hand. (A well-known beauty trick French moms love.) I’m currently in love with Jenny Patinkin’s The Big Reveal Eyelash Curler ($20), which has a flatter curve for my lash line.

From actress Camille Razat to fashion designer Jeanne Damas, the French know the power of a good gua sha or jade rolling session. Indeed, Razat says that jade rolling is the baby step towards rubbing straight ice on your face. My friend swears by starting her day with gua sha ($69) or a jade roller ($15). As PureWow former Senior Commerce Editor Brianna Lapolla writes, gua sha is a “facial treatment that involves scraping a flat jade or rose quartz stone over the skin in upward strokes to relax stiff muscles and promote tissue drainage. It moves lymphatic fluids and breaks down tension in muscles. That means improved blood flow and less puffiness.”