How To Radiate Beauty – with French Vogue beauty editor in Chief, Frederique Verley
When it comes to beauty I definitely know who to turn to for advice. Frederique Verley is not only a natural beauty by herself, but she is also the beauty editor in Chief of French Vogue and radiates beauty from inside out on every level.
I like to live by the quote ‘do good to look good’. Frederique’s story reflects how gratifying helping out makes her feel and in retrospect look. The relationship of how we feel on how we present ourselves is the essence of our wellbeing.
It’s an honor to introduce you here to my friend and mentor Frederique Verley.
To the readers who don’t know you yet, could you introduce yourself. Where you are from, where you live and what you do?
I was born in Brittany, where I lived by the sea for 17 years. I came to Paris at 18 to study journalism, with a passion for writing. I have been working at Vogue for over 20 years, where I run the Beauty and Wellness section. And as soon as I can, I go back to my Breton house to recharge my batteries.
Has writing always been your ideal job? Or when did you take this direction?
I've been writing a lot since I was a little girl. Quite young, I did an internship at “30 millions d’amis, par amour des animaux” (my other passion). I wrote my very first article there on the massacre of dolphins in the Faroe Islands, to denounce this barbaric tradition and try to change things. This is where my vocation as a journalist was born. An intact vocation almost 30 years later, since I still like to investigate, find interesting information that can help others, and share it.
With beauty being your daily focus in your career as Vogue Paris Beauty Chief Editor, what is your take on the current direction of natural and holistic beauty these days?
I’m delighted. Being a girl who is physically rather physical (and very connected to nature), I have long advocated holistic beauty and well-being. To feel beautiful and have charm, you must first feel good. I know sublime girls who dislike themselves and less pretty girls who radiate. The idea of being on top of yourself mentally and physically, with meditation, yoga, nutrition, sport, is for me the key to beauty.
“Beauty is an inside job.” What steps are for you essential to achieve beauty in looks as in life?
- Already accepting yourself, without trying to comply with the standards imposed on us by society and, more recently, social networks.
- Eat well by favoring vegetables.
- Recharge your batteries in contact with nature and animals.
- Do sports, not to lose weight, but to maintain your body. It is a machine that needs to be in motion as often as possible, for as long as possible.
- Try to stay centered, aligned with who you are, practicing mindfulness exercises several times a day.
- Get a regular massage, to release tension and avoid going to physiological blockage (I am a follower of Tibetan massage every two weeks, at Dzambala in Paris, 23 rue Berthollet, 75005).
- After that, I'm not a trendy ‘hipster baba cool’ either. I can use artifices to feel prettier. I lighten my hair because the light blonde softens my features. I am not against a bit of botox, judiciously placed, just to look less tired. And I find that healthy white teeth refresh a face.
I know you don’t drink alcohol, for years now, is this a conscious choice for health and well-being?
Not at all. Luckily, I just don't like it. Neither the smell nor the taste. But I take revenge on chocolate, over which I have absolutely no control.
You live by your word with beauty in your life in various ways. Work/Life balance is important to you for your own health and well-being even if it is sometimes hard to achieve through such a demanding work like yours. How does your ideal balance look like?
Over time, I learned to identify the events that stress me (public speaking, social outings, constant requests) and those that energize me (all the wellness activities that I have the chance to test in my profession, any contact with nature and animals). So, I balance my life juggling these two factors. As during the week, I meet many people in very urban places, on weekends and during the holidays, I limit my outings and devote myself to my family in a more natural environment: gardens, parks or Brittany. The important thing is to know yourself well, I think, and to learn to say no to what weighs us too much to protect ourselves. Why not make 2 columns on a sheet, indicating on the left what stresses and tires you, on the right what relaxes you and gives you energy. Then try to spend less time in the left column and more time on the right.
Your love of nature is also found in your love of animals. Not only do you own 4 cats and a dog, you also are the deputy President of “Asso Sauvade”, an animal rescue centre in the French Reunion Island. Can you tell us about this venture? What led you to create this and what is its purpose?
I have been passionate about animals since I was a child. I love their innocence, their spontaneity, their unconditional ad unconditional love. And I always wanted to help the weakest, the helpless.
I came across ‘Sauvade’ by chance eight years ago, looking to adopt a cat. I was not aware until then that the animals of Reunion were so mistreated and that how much they needed our help. 10,000 dogs and cats are euthanized each year on the island. Very sociable animals which often lived in family, then were abandoned and which seek the tenderness of the humans. This cause touched me. I adopted my four cats and my dog through ‘Sauvade’. They are exceptional little beings. Since then, I joined the association, opened the Instagram account (@assosauvade), which I continue to manage, and we now have a good network of great adopters. Rescues are only possible because adopters at the end of the chain adopt our ‘Sauvadiens’. If people knew how good it feels, how rewarding and worthwhile it is to save a life by adopting a distressed animal, we would be drowning in demands.
How can people help Assosauvade?
You can help by following our Instagram account (@assosauvade) or our Facebook page, talking about them and adopting with us if necessary. Because with each new adoption, there is a place that becomes available to save another.
