Designer Vanessa Bruno Lends Notable Beauty Advice

On whether her simple fashion tastes carry over into her beauty regimen or not:
For me it’s about natural beauty, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wear makeup. It starts with having beautiful skin—it’s like the perfect lingerie: It makes everything look better in a very discreet way. I moisturize every day and drink a lot of green tea. Foundation needs to contour the face, not go everywhere like a mask, so I just apply a little here and there and stay away from too much powder, which makes anyone look older.

On her daily staples:
I love Chanel mascara. I use brown—it’s not too dark and makes my lashes look really long. I also use Shiseido eye shadows in nudes, purples, dark grays—earthy tones. I mix three lighter colors together on the back of my hand and then two or three darker shades and softly blend the customized result together on my lids. It’s just enough color to make my eyes stand out.

On tips she learned during her modeling career:
Before I would go out on the street after a modeling job, I would make sure I only had one feature made up—a rule I still follow today. If you do the eyes and wear dark eye shadow and mascara, don’t do anything to the mouth. It’s too much. And if you’re doing the lips and want to have a beautiful red gloss, then the eyes should be superbare. That’s the kind of makeup that stands out to me.

On her biggest beauty indulgence:
My hair color. I was blond growing up, so even though I dye it about every three weeks, it still feels natural. I don’t think I could ever be a brunette or redhead! But I don’t do much to it, style-wise. When my hair is wet I use a little Leonor Greyl Serum de Soie Sublimateur for conditioning and let it air-dry.

On tricks to remember for big events:
For French women, our style, whether it’s day or night, doesn’t really change. We don’t suddenly decide to wear a chignon or a ponytail or curls if we usually wear it straight. I wear my hair the same way all the time! It’s boring, but it’s my style.

On what inspired her newest fragrance L’Eau:
In French we say la rosée du matin, “the fresh morning dew.” I wanted to create a fragrance that smelled like walking into a garden in the morning, so it has notes of two types of roses, but also a little cedar. After you shower, you need something that’s not too heavy, not too sugary or sweet; you need lightness.