The actress had her own technique for wearing perfume.
Nathalie Baye joined the stars this Friday, April 17, after a battle against Lewy body disease. She leaves behind an immense cinematic legacy, but also the image of a smiling, simple and very discreet woman. His relationship with beauty was not very different. A fan of little, she had a no-frills skincare routine: a good skin cleansing, the same cream in the morning and evening, and self-massage using pinches. “One night a week, I sleep without anything to let the skin self-manage“, she said during an interview with Madame Figaro in 2015. For makeup, a touch of blush and well-defined eyebrows were enough.
On the perfume side, Nathalie Baye’s philosophy was just as simple. She avoided fragrances with too imposing a character and the trails that precede those that carry them. Forgotten musky, citrus or woody creations. The one that was revealed in François Truffaut’s American Night assured it with conviction: “Nothing beats the smell of clean skin.” Thus, the star wore very little perfume on a daily basis. “In winter, a drop of Chanel No. 5. In summer, a little Caudalie Eau de Beauté“, she confided in this interview. If the second product is not really a perfume, the mist gives off a sweet smell of grape, rose and rosemary. It can be used on the face to refresh the complexion and reveal its radiance, but also on the neckline.
The rest of the time, the actress had a very personal trick for wearing delicate perfume without the smell becoming overpowering and obtaining that “clean skin” effect that she loved so much. She added a drop of rose essential oil to her Bioderma or Esthederm brand body lotion. This technique made it possible to link hydration to a unique olfactory signature, almost imperceptible, but terribly elegant. A lesson in style and an easy technique that we readily draw inspiration from to simplify our own rituals.
In leaving us, Nathalie Baye takes with her a certain idea of French grace, made of restraint, intelligence and this beauty which never seeks to prove. Its trail, a mixture of light rose and fresh soap, will continue to float over French cinema for a long time.
