In the Bag: Léa Seydoux, actress

Once upon a time, Léa Seydoux dreamt of becoming an opera singer, but it was at drama school, aged 18, that the French actress found her calling.
In perfect Parisian nonchalance, her attitude to beauty is bohemian and relaxed.
Here is the routine she calls her own.

THE MAKEUP

“For makeup, I have so much stuff… I like the Armani No. 4 blush. My favorite packaging is Yves Saint Laurent. I like the Sun Powder—it’s a bronzer. And I like the Lancôme bronzing brush that I bought on the plane. I don’t like to fly, and I bought it when they were coming through the aisle.
Sometimes if I have an important appointment, I will put some makeup on. If I go out at night, maybe I will put a red lipstick on. I have one by Guerlain, 422 Intense Matte, but you can’t find it. I wear mascara, no eye shadow. And then I wear foundation—I like the Armani Luminous Silk.

My good friend Sarai Fiszel is a makeup artist – she is French but lives in LA. So when I go there or she comes here, she does my makeup. I don’t really wear makeup every day. I feel like being an actress, we wear a lot of makeup, but when I am not working, I need to let my face breathe, and be very comfortable. And sometimes I do like to wear makeup—I have makeup, and I put it on. But sometimes I like to be ugly, and very natural. Because when I work I always wear makeup every day, all the time.”

THE HAIRCARE

“I wash my hair every two days, but if I don’t have time it gets greasy and I use Klorane dry shampoo. I really don’t like to have greasy hair…for me, it is disgusting. I prefer to have a big spot [pimple] than greasy hair. I wash my hair with Opalis—it’s amazing. It’s French, I love it, you can find it here. There are all different kinds, I like one called La Crème, it’s really nice. I have Leonor Greyl hair products I like—I have the mask, I have the styling spray, and go to David Mallett for hair color. The salon is beautiful, it’s like a dream! It’s like a movie. I let them do what they want, because my hair grows very fast so I can do what I want. I have had all the cuts – I had very short hair, blonde, dark, curly.”

THE STYLE

“I think I am coquette, but also simple. The thing is, when I wear too much makeup, or I’m too dressed up, I look like a clown. I would love to take more risks—have pink hair—but it doesn’t look right on me. I really like more simple, men’s-style shirts, men’s jeans and jackets. Very simple. I am feminine—I like a black dress—but at the same time masculine. I feel like a woman, but not girly-girly.
For events, I feel weird if I’m too done up…it doesn’t fit me. I feel awkward.”

THE SCENT

“I’m not loyal to many brands, except perfume. I’m wearing Prada Candy perfume; I like it because there is something very joyful about it. I also like Commes des Garçons.”

LES PARISIENNES

“I am French—I’m from Paris, I grew up in Paris. It’s true that French are not very sophisticated in the sense that they don’t dress up for dinners. They are not like Americans where they are always perfect—the girls are not very sporty; they don’t take care of themselves as much as Americans, who always have very white teeth, and are so fit. The French are a little more chic, very classic. I think it can be boring too, because they don’t take any risks. They don’t wear too many colors. Like when you walk the streets in Paris you don’t see too many colors. When you are in London or New York it’s all crazy styles. When you’re a girl, you cant really wear very sexy things, because you will have trouble. If you wear a skirt all the guys will be like, ‘uh-huh!’ For example this morning, I went out in my pajamas, and people were looking at me funny, but I feel like in New York or LA people wouldn’t even notice.”