This French Girl's Chic Spring Makeup Routine Costs £269
When a colleague told me that fashionable French girl Sabina Socol had taken to Instagram to share her entire spring makeup routine, I was onto her feed like a shot. Because whilst I mainly follow Socol for her chic outfits and classic French style, there's one thing I'm obsessed with when it comes to the It girl: her blush.
Sure, it might sound a bit strange, but look at any photo on Socol's feed and you'll notice she's sporting perfectly rosy, subtly flushed cheeks. And after watching her IGTV, it turns out that she absolutely loves the stuff. "I'm obsessed with blush, and I don't care if I look like a clown," said Socol. Truly a girl after my own heart.
So what does the spring makeup routine of a chic Parisian look like? In Socol's case, it consists of 10 key products totally £269. Costly indeed. But with a couple of Dior's covetable backstage palettes in the mix, it definitely isn't surprising. The most notable thing for me was that apart from a concealer, Socol didn't use a foundation or a base product when creating her makeup look, and her skin still looks incredible. Maybe a good moisturiser and a concealer are all you need to achieve amazing French-girl skin?
Keep scrolling to shop Sabina's entire spring makeup routine to get the French-girl look at home.
The first step in Socol's spring makeup routine was to apply concealer (she forgoes foundation entirely). "I only put one or two small dots just where I have my darkest areas," explained Socol who applied it under her eyes and around her nose. The Tarte concealers are intensely pigmented and high coverage, so a little does go a long way. "You can [apply] this with your finger, but I prefer to do this with a little concealer brush," said Socol on her chosen application method.
Next up, Socol applies powder everywhere she has applied concealer. "The reason I do this is because I don't want my concealer to move during the day (or crease). And also because you don't want your under-eye to look shiny—it doesn't look natural. I rarely wear foundation during the day."
For brows, Socol embraces the bushy brow trend by brushing them up with the spoolie end of this Lancôme pencil. (She's in the shade 02 Blonde, FYI.) "I've been letting my eyebrows grow," Socol explained. "They don't look super full or anything, [but] I still think they look better like this."
Although Socol did talk about how a Glossier campaign that she was in previously: "I just loved how they did my eyebrows," she said. But it isn't the brand's cult Boy Brow that she reaches for to set her brows in place. "I set them with brow gel from Eyeko. They are very good; I use a lot of their products," she adds.
For eyes, Socol uses this neutral palette from American brand Tarte. She uses the shade Sweetheart (a dusky pink) on her eyelids and beneath the lower lash line. Then she uses Funny Girl (a subtle Champagne gold) on the centre of her eyelids.
Related: The £13 Moisturiser That French Girls, Makeup Artists and Celebs Adore
For eyeliner, Socol shares an insider beauty tip. "This is something I learnt on a Lancôme shoot when a makeup artist showed it to me," Socol said. "I pull up my upper lid and I go inside the upper lash line with the kohl. Then you can pull it out to create a wing."
After using a lash curler, Socol applies this cult mascara from Lancôme. "If I apply mascara, I love it to be very intense," she explained. "The brush on this is kind of big and I love it." Socol pulls up her eye from the eyelid to allow her to really wriggle the brush into the roots of her lashes and build volume.
I wasn't expecting a contour palette to be in Socol's makeup routine, but she swears by these powders from Dior. "I take a very small amount and I do what everyone does," Socol jokes, dusting it onto the hollows of her cheeks and along her jawline. "It gives definition to your jaw, and a bit on my forehead, but that's it."
Socol had created her own duo of MAC cream products for her highlight and blusher. Using a brush, she applied the highlighter on the tops of her cheekbones and down her nose. "Apply it where you want the light to hit your face," she explained. "This is very good for photos."
As for blush, Socol uses an application technique that I've genuinely never seen before: applying the product to the fleshy part of her palm, just beneath her thumb and pressing it upwards onto her face. "[It's] another trick I got from a makeup artist," she explained while pressing it into her skin from her cheeks all the way up to your temples. I'll definitely be trying this one out at home.
Finally, Socol uses this absolute dream of a palette from Dior for her final step of lipstick. "I mix colours, and I never ever use lipliner," said Socol. "It just doesn't look good on me." Containing glosses, satin lipsticks and matte textures, this palette is an amazing tool for creating a whole array of lip looks without having to store multiple products.
Next up, this £29 beauty tool completely changed my skincare routine for the better.
Mica Ricketts is a freelance beauty editor, copywriter and regular contributor toBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing UK. She also writes for titles including Marie Claire Refinery 29 and Cosmopolitan, and previously worked atBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing UK as Beauty Editor. With experience in both editorial and content management, she also works with beauty brands and small businesses on brand messaging and content strategy. As a busy mum of two, she is passionate about finding efficacious beauty products that can disguise all signs of tiredness with minimal effort.