A French girl has her own charisma. How to do self-care like a french girl is something you may be familiar with and apply from time to time when you get under the “je ne sais quoi” spell when the cyber throws it on you everywhere you go. So today I thought I should shed some light on how I, as an Egyptian —who got spelled more than you even think of how the French girls take care of themselves— do self-care and how many Egyptian girls do it. I love to discover various opinions and ideas and know what works for me that I can apply daily. And a lot of my friends do the same. We are all getting influenced everywhere, and the line became more blurry about what is taken from whom. But I think it’s great to explore more about how girls around the world take care of themselves and how we evolve with the concept and our approach to beauty. Some of our rules are:
We Tell the Secrets
We want proof. Therefore we investigate the secrets, but in our own way. For instance, If you and I don’t know each other and have a mutual friend, and I like what I saw on you, my ego will prevent me from asking you, so I’ll ask our mutual friend to ask you what you use, i.e., for your hair. She’ll ask you, but she will also make sure you know that I like your hair, even if I told her not to mention that I asked. And that will start a conversation between us two. What’s ego is going to do in front of a potential new friend, ha! However, if I loved something on you on the streets and I was alone, I’ll stop you to compliment you and ask, but you as an Egyptian receiver might get shocked of such a move because we usually don’t do that.
Matte Is the Way To Go
We’re over-educated when it comes to makeup. You’ll see super done girls wandering the streets, and also you’ll see the fresh, very basic on the go girls. Every one of us approaches makeup differently. I like a healthy looking radiate bare face for example, but most of my friends go for a matte contoured look. They hate shine on the skin and don’t consider it as a glow from within. Many of us have oily skin, so the glowy skin feels like a greasy look for some. A very matte finish with a powered highlighter concentrated on high point areas is approachable. Therefore compact powder is essential in every makeup bag. We love to embrace eyes with shadows and go bare lips for that look. Or go for a classic, black winged eyeliner and red lips at night.
Au Natural Wins!
While this is a beauty quote we also say in Egypt, it’s the absolute truth. Natural skincare is essential. We scrub with natural loofas, clean our faces with fresh milk, finish with honey and coconut oil is a must in every cabinet. We don’t consider fruit’s skin as waste, it’s just another mask during the day. The next best thing we love is using french beauty products. Pharmacies are on every street corner filled with French products so yes you can find Bioderma, Avene, Nuxe and La Roche Posay products everywhere.
Embracing Curls Are the New Straight Hair
Most of our population naturally have curly thick hair that was heat straightened/chemically cured for ages to get the silky style. 80% of us went to salons weekly to get a blow-dry+ iron straightened (it was a package really). Although we love the touch of the silky hair and the look of the shiny mermaid waves (I tend to go for messy waves though), we barely do it at salons now. Each one has a hair straightener at home and can do it herself if she felt like it. Nowadays, we joined the movement. Sulfate free is our motto. Dry shampoo is our life. We search and try hair treatments until we get the bounce, the define and the texture that we exactly want.
Rehearse Until We Rule
We don’t do it unless we read reviews and done our searches. So if we liked what we saw or what we heard from our friends we go for it. Opening a youtube tutorial and do the new feline flick until we master, is a lifestyle. Do this several times before we have a special occasion is something we must do are you kidding!!?
Nails are Essential
You know that old movie scene (it may not be a scene from a movie) of a woman sitting in front of the tv with a file on her hand? We do that a lot. We love to have pretty and smooth nails that will look clean even uncolored. A weekly visit to the nails salon is also necessary if you usually put color or gel.
There Are no Mental Guilt Trips
The gathering time is appreciated. We love food and love to gather around it. We eat junk food even if we’re watching out our weight because we’re easily manipulated to join our best friends at this joyful time! Good company x good food is a vital part of our lives.
Generally speaking, a Mediterranean diet is followed. We also love to indulge in our tea latte, black or green with mint tea alongside eastern desserts. Touching the ground but flying. And yes, we do work out and a gym membership is essential now more than it ever was. We practice Zumba, cardio, yoga, and pilates the most in this order. But again, each of us has her own taste, for me, pilates at the top of the list.
We Do Embrace It After All
We’re diverse and electric. We are simple in most days, a t-shirt with jeans will do the trick for us. But we tend to have this maximalism touch that distinguishes us and make it our unique taste. We like to show this touch more when we dress up (and in our lifestyle in general). You can see it in various ways, either in layers of clothes, colors, and textures, makeup or accessories. Either way, we must be comfortable.
If we attempted not to show it, because it’s idealized globally, we fail and becomes more evident that we try so hard for something that it’s not us. Just like not trying at all has its downs, this one does. I fall in this trap more than you can imagine. The Egyptian girl that will strike you is the one that knows who she is, not trying to be someone else. Discovering but applying in her own way, and live a balanced life.
