Clemence von Mueffling - Ageless Beauty the French Way: Secrets from Three Generations of French Beauty Editors

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

To William, Anas, and Lucas,
les ADMV

Beauty is pure magic that transforms the nature of existence.

JEAN DORMESSON , GUIDE DES GAR S

I like to joke that I was born in a jar.

My mother and grandmother were both beauty editors at French Vogue . They taught me, in their inimitable French way, that beauty is an attitude, a way of taking care of yourself. Not only were they strong female role models, but they also devoted their lives to discovering the most outstanding and effective products and treatments for women of all ages, then shared this information with their readers.

I would always count the days until Christmas, when my mother would receive boxes of one gorgeous item after another, sent by the most prestigious brands trying to outdo each other in creativity, attempting to seduce the beauty journalists. LOral will forever stay in my memory as the creator s of the bote magique the magic box. Their Christmas gift was always cylindrical, like an enormous hatbox, overflowing with all their latest fragrances, creams, and makeup products. My sister and I were always beside ourselves with joy, lifting that magical lid and fighting over who got to try the different products first.

My idea of heaven was being allowed to go with my mother to her office at Vogue , sitting on her little sofa and looking at the shelves of beauty products, trying on a new lipstick, and observing the other editors, busy and intense, with a noticeable confidence and savoir-faire in their style.

My mother and grandmother taught me that skincare starts young. I still remember the day my mother showed me how to clean my face impeccably before going to bed (at a mere thirteen years old).

That summer, I was sent to summer camp in the United States to improve my English. Inside my brand-new suitcase, my mother had carefully packed a bottle of Este perfume by Este Lauder, a Lierac stretch mark cream, and a Clarins Eau Dynamisante moisturizing body lotion infamous for its pungent aroma. I still remember the shocked looks I got from my bunkmates when I rubbed some of the Lierac cream on my thighs. Their shock quickly turned to horror as they witnessed me applying some Clarins moisturizer onto my legs after I showered. Though these girls were my age, they had not yet begun any kind of beauty ritual. They thought I was crazybut they were also happy to learn my techniques!

* * *

My mother, Lorraine Bollor, began her career as an assistant on photo shoots during the haute couture collections at American Vogue in 1969. She was trained, as her mother had been, under the stern eye of Susan Train, who was still the Paris-based correspondent for American Vogue , then edited by Diana Vreeland. After two years working for the makeup line Eve of Roma, in 1969 she returned to French Vogue , this time as an assistant beauty editor when the dynamic Robert Caill was the editor-in-chief. In 1979 she became beauty editor-in-chief of French Vogue . She left in the early 1990s at the peak of her career after twice winning the famous Prix Jasmin, given each year to the best beauty journalist in the fragrance category working in France.

My grandmother Rgine Debrise not only expected her daughter to look impeccable but her granddaughters as well. She would tell my sister and me, Rendez-vous for dinner with some Rimmel mascara, and we knew that, at minimum, she expected us to wear makeup, even for a casual Sunday dinner. The thought of us at the table sans mascara was inconceivable impossible !

Rgine began her career as a model in 1947, when she was seventeen. Her first photo shoot was with Arik Nepo, for French Vogue . Three years later, she began posing for acclaimed photographer Irving Penn, appearing on the cover of Vogue in October 1950Penns first French Vogue cover! She also worked with Henry Clarke for another Vogue cover published in July 1951. In 1957, she began her career with American Vogue under the tutelage of Susan Train during the Grande Exposition Internationale in Barcelona. She then joined the French Vogue team in Paris and remained there for several years. In those days, the women who worked at French Vogue were, in addition to their jobs as editors, also ambassadors for the magazine; you could recognize a femme de Vogue through a specific style that the editor-in-chief at the time called Vogueish. It involved elegance in both their attitude and mannerisms, and a look that always included flawless stockings, high heels, and a feminine fragrance.

Because skincare and the beauty business were such an important part of my mothers and grandmothers lives, I decided to become the third generation of woman in my family to work in the beauty industry. When I moved to New York City, I started to understand that French women grasped the connection between beauty and wellness in a way that I wasnt seeing in America, and I wanted to bridge that gap. This realization inspired me to create an online magazine in 2014, Beauty and Well Being ( BWB ), as I was committed to helping women everywhere live a healthy, balanced lifestyle. I knew that skincare wasnt just about using a really expensive cream on your face. If you are not sleeping well, you are never going to look your best; if you are not eating a healthy diet, your skin will never glow; if youre not enjoying life and savoring every momentwhat the French call joie de vivre it will show on your face. Beauty and wellness are about accepting who you are, making the most of what you have, and, as I always remind the readers of my magazine, being happy with the small changes you make to improve your daily routine, because real change is hard.

When BWB was launched, I brought together a global team of twenty writers, all experts in their field and united by their passion for beauty, health, and wellness. We cover everything from makeup trends and products that make a difference to tips on nutrition and exercise, recipes, in-depth features, and profiles on experts in their specialties. Most of all, BWB values long-term, holistic solutions based on solid research and proven results.

In a youth-obsessed society, BWB is a proud pioneer in the publishing world, addressing women from their twenties to their sixtiesand beyond. We believe there is no age limit to beauty, balance, and happiness. With this book, I have expanded the mission of BWB to share what three generations of French beauty experts have lived and learned.

I was very lucky to have access to insider advice from across the generations and to be exposed to the best French tips and tricks that help a woman look her best at all stages of her life. In this book, I will be giving you a glimpse of what you can look forward to generations from now. I am so lucky that I can look at my mother and grandmother and know exactly what awaits me, and I am so grateful they are still here to guide me.

Add to this my training as a journalist, which has transformed me into an antenna that captures all the highly sought-after information from world-class experts. In this book, Ill share the newest and most useful information about skin- and hair-care products and treatments. Ill also show you how French women are able to apply that information and combine it with smart lifestyle choices (and the occasional cheat!) to always look their best. Youll soon see that the French attitude toward beauty is to make very small changes over the years, and to work hard at prevention and maintenance to stave off problems before they occur. Taking care of yourself and availing yourself of the countless options for skincare will give you visible resultsfor now, and for the rest of your life.