She would have turned 78 today, and it is still no overstatement to say that Jane Birkin was one of the coolest women to walk the planet. The fringe, those doe eyes, the hair and that androgynous and effortless approach to style: there’s a reason the likes of Alexa Chung consistently name-check Jane as their style inspiration.
With Serge Gainsbourg in 1969.Keystone-France/Getty Images
As a tomboyish youth, Birkin grew up feeling insecure and unattractive, and idolised another icon, Jean Shrimpton, with her voluminous blow dries and ’60s glam. It was only upon meeting Serge Gainsbourg in 1968 that she realised she “had her own kind of attractiveness”, she has said. Despite being born in Britain, Birkin embodied the pinnacle of French-girl style and beauty for many women eager to emulate her minimalistic approach.
British Vogue breaks down Jane Birkin’s laissez-faire beauty rules below.
Pared-back skincare
Skinimalism may be one of the biggest trends in beauty right now, but Birkin did it for decades. Preferring a minimalistic approach to skincare, she was a fan of two cult, multitasking products: Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream, and Embryolisse’s Lait-Crème Concentré. She used the latter, a French-girl classic, since her early twenties on both face and body.
Cryotherapy
To address puffiness and generally wake up her skin, Birkin splashed her face with cold water each day. While she said that she thought “puffy eyes in the morning are rather beautiful”, she nonetheless extolled the benefits of cryotherapy via cooling under-eye masks to awaken and revive the area.
Minimal make-up
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