Fashion
"French Women Don't Get Facelifts" Explores Aging Gracefully à la Française
Mireille Guilano has made a career out of guilting American broads for not being more like their French counterparts. Okay, that's not completely fair -- her books are extremely informative and dangerously addicting. She started out with "French Women Don't Get Fat," which lead to "French Women for All Seasons," "The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook," and "Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire : Business Sense & Sensibility."
Now she's tackling the issue of aging, and unsurprisingly, the French have it on lockdown -- or at least they fake it way better than Americans do. In her new book, "French Women Don't Get Facelifts," she explores a world of minimal makeup, maximal moisturizing, and the anti-aging properties of champagne. As Guiliano told WWD: "The difference is the U.S. is a ‘youth’ culture, France is not. Literally, here you are old after 30 and not in France. There is still respect for women in their 50s. I feel young in Paris for the obvious reasons. Men still look at women my age and try to flirt, have humor, low-key, but seduction nevertheless. And what woman is not sensitive to it?"
The book will be released on December 24, just in time for us to drink champagne, slurp oysters, and slather on the EmbryoLisse Crème 365 Raffermissante Corps -- all in the name of aging gracefully, French style. Until then, let's gape at these famously beautiful French faces (over 45, gasp!) that make us think wrinkles are actually pretty chic...
Carine Roitfeld, 59
Who says you need to chop off your hair when you turn a certain age? Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris is the poster girl for daring fashion post-50 (um, are you seeing that midriff?), and favors dark eyeliner, a center part, maintenance hair, and a lot of designer swag.
Catherine Deneuve, 70
It can't be easy aging with something like Belle Du Jour on your résumé, but Deneuve handles it with grace -- by unapologetically smoking cigarettes, reportedly getting a facelift (see, Mireille, some French women actually do get them), and not caring if she's gained a few pounds. Okay, maybe she's not the epitome of healthy aging, but you gotta admire that French hairdo and those sultry, icy eyes.
Juliette Binoche, 49
If Juliette Binoche could be any cuter, I don't want to know how. Her spiky hair, oh-so-French style, and perpetual smile keep her looking completely ageless.
Isabelle Huppert, 60
One thing that people often reference in articles about aging like a French woman is that the French aren't afraid to let older actresses take on the sensual roles in movies (see Huppert's performance in "In Another Country," 2012). I'll drink a French 75 to that.
Nathalie Baye, 65
Baye is another French actress who gets to play more than just the quirkily divorced mom-of-the-heroine, which seems to be a role relegated to so many over-40 American actresses. And here we see again that a smile is better than Botox.
Sandrine Bonnaire, 46
Obviously life isn't all about snagging male attention, but you gotta love a culture where women of all ages are infinitely kissable. Enjoy, Sandrine.
Ines de la Fressange, 56
De la Fressange's résumé reads model, aristocrat, fashion designer, and perfumer. Her wardrobe is enviable. Her jawline is flawless. And she walked the Chanel show... in 2011.
