July is the month of Bastille Day, when France celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison, a key event in the lead up to the Revolution. Granted, it wasn’t the prettiest of times. For the most part, however, the French do la beauté better than anyone.

Les Looks

Want to style yourself a la française? There are five key French beauty looks:

Sex Kitten: Ever since Brigitte Bardot seared onto screens in 1956’s Ét Dieu Créa la Femme (And God Created Woman), French sex kitten style has endured as a beauty classic. The look: Sexy curves and slippy dresses, long tumbling curls, smouldering eyes and pouty lips. The modern incarnations: model Laetitita Casta and actress Emmanuelle Béart.

La Femme Fatale: At the other end of the beauty spectrum is the dark and dangerous diva, with her sleek silhouette, piercing eyes, porcelain skin and brunette hair. Think Sophie Marceau, Isabelle Adjani and Eva Green, the face of Christian Dior Midnight Poison.

Chic & Petite: And then there’s the boyish brunette, as captured perfectly in the film Amélie. Her real-life alter-ego, Audrey Tautou, is the ideal mignonne Parisienne, echoing the style of the woman who started the whole look: Coco Chanel – so well in fact, that Tautou is the new face of Chanel, and will play the legendary designer in an upcoming film. Juliette Binoche has a similar beauty style.

Très Jolie: Vanessa Paradis, model Aurélie Claudel, much-blogged-about newsreader Melissa Theuriau … these Frenchies fall into the pretty-as-a-bonbon category, with their sweet features, petite frames, no-makeup makeup and natural-beauty hair.

Le Cool: Think 1960s chanteuse Françoise Hardy, it girl (and honorary Frenchie) Jane Birkin (so ‘it’ the Hermès Birkin was inspired by and named after her), Birkin’s daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg (a singer and actress) and Lou Doillon (an actress and designer), and actress Clémence Poésy, who currently appears in the Chloé eau de parfum campaign. Hair is long and breezy, makeup is minimal and their overall style is nonchalantly confident.

Top 10 French Beauty Buys

Lancôme mascaras, $50, from department stores. Whether you want to define, curl, thicken or lengthen, these wands are truly magic.

Klorane Dry Shampoo, $12, from pharmacies. One of the originals – and still the best. Use it to soak up second- or third-day oiliness, or just to give hair sexy, tousled texture.

Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir, $37, from department stores. The one that started the cult for cool nail polishes. Black Satin is also a collector’s must, as will be Gold Fiction, out August 10.

Guerlain Météorites, $120, form department stores. These pastel-hued powder balls brighten and even out the complexion in one dusting. A splurge, yes, but they last forever.

Diptyque candles, $80 from DuckEggBlue. The ultimate fragrance for your home. Star scent: Figuier (fig tree).

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, $57, from Adore Beauty. A beauty classic. It instantly makes skin look refreshed, dewy and youthful.

L’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream, $14.95, from Adore Beauty or see L’Occitane for other stockists. The company’s top-seller, this ultra-rich hand creams sells somewhere in the word every ten seconds.

By Terry Light Expert, $110, from Mecca Cosmetica. Terry De Gunzburg famously created Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat (see ‘5 French Beauty Moments’ below). Now she has her own line, which stars this brush-on skin-perfecting base.

Robert Piguet Fracas, $150, from Mecca Cosmetica. Dating from 1948, this legendary white-floral fragrance (tuberose, jasmine, jonquil, lily of the valley, white iris) counts Madonna among its legions of fans.

Bourjois Eyeshadows, $19, from Priceline. A fabulous selection of shades, featuring high-count high-quality pigment.

5 French Beauty Moments

1770s – Hair hits new heights. Marie Antoinette takes the trend to the max, wearing wigs as high as three metres, and decorated with everything from bows and jewels to model boats.

1853 – Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain creates Eau de Cologne Impériale in honour of Empress Eugénie and becomes the official royal perfumer. Guerlain goes on to become the most legendary fragrance house.

1967 - Catherine Deneuve plays Séverine in Belle de Jour, about a bored and uptight housewife who becomes a prostitute by day. The symbol of her old life shattering: when her Guerlain Shalimar (Sanskrit for “abode of love”) crashes to the floor.

1923 – Coco Chanel gets a little too much sun on a seaside holiday and starts a trend for tanning and a market for tanning products. Before this time, tans were seen as low-class, worn only by those who toiled in the fields. They now become holiday souvenirs for a newly mobile and jetsetting upper class.

1992 – Makeup artist Terry de Gunzburg creates Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat, the first complexion illuminator of its kind. It reaches cult status almost instantly - 13 million (and counting) units have since sold.

Beauty Secrets of the French

1. They start a skincare regimen early – and stick to it. French mothers tend to set up their daughters with a cleanse-tone-moisturise routine when they’re young teenagers, as well as encouraging them to have regular facials.

2. They visit spas. In France, spas are not only fluffy and frilly. There are some seriously medicinal health spas, offering all sorts of marine and thermal water therapies. In fact, the government reimburses the French for three weeks of therapeutic spa treatment per year.

3. They invest in a great hair cut and colour. Hair may look simple, even a little rumpled, but chances are it’s been immaculately shaped. Add to that some balayage – where a colourist paints highlights on free-hand for a natural effect – and only a minimum of styling needs to be done for un jour de bons cheveux (good hair day!).

4. They hate cellulite. And will buy every kind of cream, gel, oil and serum available to combat it – not to mention all kinds of massage applicators and other slimming aids.

5. They get medi-pedis. In France, pedicurists are allowed to cut skin, so they can do a little podiatry as well as polish. What this means: even more reason to show off those Louboutins.

Body Secrets of the French

You’ll very rarely see women in a tracksuit and trainers in France. It’s not that the French are lazy– it’s just that they have fewer kilojoules to burn off. Since the launch of the book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, which explained the phenomenon of how the French can eat so well and stay so slim, the concept of eating à la française has become à la mode. Want to get yourself into those skinny Paul & Joe jeans? Here’s how:

• Don’t eat ‘low-fat’ – anything marked as such usually compensates by being chock full of sugars and carbohydrates, which can just as easily end up hanging around your hips. It’s much better to eat the good stuff- but less of it. The real deal is usually more satisfying anyway, so you won’t need to eat as much.
• Try not to eat anything from a packet full-stop. Take care with your meals, presenting them beautifully on a plate. Chew food slowly and thoroughly. You’ll savour each mouthful more and be satiated sooner.
• Don’t go back for seconds.
• Eat fresh. Shop at local farmers’ market as you need to. Don’t go shopping in bulk – and especially not when you’re hungry, which can lead to overshopping, and overeating.
• Make salad the basis of lunch and dinner. Salad and vegetables are nutrient-dense and therefore very satiating.
• Season your food; the tastier it is, the sooner you’ll reach satisfaction level.
• Make lunch your main meal. Eat lightly for dinner.
• If you want to drink alcohol, make it a good quality glass of red wine, which is rich in antioxidants.

My Paris – by Makeup Artist Elsa Morgan

Sydney-born makeup artist Elsa Morgan is just at home – and just as in demand - in Paris, where she spends several months a year. Here she lists her top Parisian must-dos. (Eds Note: this is me with Elsa! On the Pont Notre Dame in Paris a couple of years ago).

* Walking down the street in Paris is an amazing experience in itself - even the Parisiens think so! Which is I think why they all have little dogs - it’s a great excuse to stroll the streets twice a day. I love staying in the Marais and just wandering around the quartier, stopping for coffee or a glass of wine on one of the café terraces or in a cute bar (my favourite is the Bar du Cheval on rue Vieille du Temple). The French really know how to dress a shop window so you could just spend hours window-shopping. And any walk that takes me across a bridge is a favourite. And night-time strolls on the Ile St Louis and Ile de la Cite are so so romantic!!

* Having tea and a macaroon at Ladurée on Rue Bonaparte is a sumptuous experience. And their window displays are always so cute.

* A picnic in the Jardins du Luxemburg is so fun - just a baguette, some cheese and pate and a bottle of rosé on a summer’s day and, well, yes, a lover, and I’m in heaven.

* Being backstage at the Dior show in the Jardins des Tuileries allowed me to see the most glamorous women of the world looking their finest. If you can’t get to a show, just wander around the gardens during Fashion Week and you’ll get a ‘real’ fashion show as all the guests and models come and go.

* Staying out all night, bar- and café-hopping is something I only ever seem to do in Paris! La Fête de la Musique is a night when the whole city joins you. The long warm summer night with music playing on every street corner makes it impossible to go home. But also a must is the Bal des Pompiers on Bastille Day. Every quartier’s fire station hosts a party and everyone’s invited. Who can resist a man in uniform!? My friend Maria couldn’t and this year married the captain of the St Germain fire station!

* Bar Ourq on the Canal Martin is a cool spot to have a drink and then take one of their Pétanque sets to play with friends in he little park that runs between the canal and the bar. So French!