Hello everyone! So I have been quite obsessed with French things lately. However, I’ve learned that the French do a lot of things that appear effortless. I thought that maybe I would try my hand at it. Honestly, I don’t put a lot of effort into my appearance as I would like. So, this was definitely something different for me. In doing this sort of challenge, my main goal was to try to live as close as a French woman as I could. Being that I live in the United States and currently have to drive everywhere, it was definitely new to me. However, here was what it was like to live like a French girl for a week.
How was your day/week?
My week was actually more difficult than I thought it would be!
What did you do?
My main aim was to live like a French girl for a week. What I did was take information about how to dress French and how to do skincare like the French. These were the main parts of my week. So, I rummaged through my closet looking for all my neutral or dark colors. It was a bit hard but I got to wear things that I haven’t actually worn yet. I also tailored my skincare routine to match the skincare routine of many French women.
I think skincare was the hardest for me because I’m a bit lax with mine. So including a few more steps was something that I wasn’t down for. I’m not sure if my skin dramatically improved as it’s not bad to begin with. However, I found that the micellar water tended to make me a little bit too moisturized. I did enjoy the eye cream and I thought I looked more awake.
I also hosted a French dinner party! This was so much fun and my guests really liked it. I went all out with my outfit for this and pulled out all my bags of tricks. It was definitely an interesting week!
Did you learn anything new about yourself?
I learned that I can be really lazy and that’s possibly not the best thing I can do for myself. It definitely made me feel good when I put effort into my appearance. I definitely felt a mood change in regards to how I feel about myself. I think for the week I only wore foundation once, but I did sport the classic red lipstick, black eyeliner, and mascara. Pretty minimal, but still chic.
How did you feel about this risk before?
I think I perceived French women as being effortlessly beautiful. Most of the time I think of them just waking up and being amazingly gorgeous. In thinking that, I believed that this was something that I couldn’t achieve.
How do you feel about this risk now?
Although I am clearly American and don’t have all the characteristics that goes into being a French woman, I thought I did a fairly good job. It definitely can be hard to look effortless, especially for me because I’m a perfectionist. I wish I could’ve lived a more authentic French girl life, but I did study abroad in France for a Summer.
Why did you pick this risk?
As I’ve mentioned in a few posts, I’ve studied abroad in Spain, Italy, and France. Out of those countries, I lived with a host family in Spain and Italy. So, I got a pretty good taste of what life is like. However, I lived in my own apartment in France so getting a taste of daily life was more like an American living in a country versus a more immersive experience. This was a huge reason why I chose to live like a French girl for this Risk 23 series.
Would you take this risk again?
I would probably not take this risk again in this way. I definitely want to incorporate more of these French things into my routine. Would I authentically live like a French girl every day? No, I think that would be impossible for me.
Additional comments?
I definitely have started to be more conscious of my style and not wear my favorite pair of pants and top every day. Mixing it up can be scary, but I had a fun time! I think the important thing here is to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. French fashion, French skincare, and hosting a French dinner party was very much new for me!
Question of the day: Do you think it would be hard to live like a French girl?
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I didn’t realise French people had such a different skincare routine. It was great reading a post from another culture. The French party sounds like so much fun!