If you’re a thinking human, you’ve probably been having trouble retaining a sense of optimism and joie de vivre in 2020. Some of my friends have turned to mindless Netflix binges as a coping mechanism (weirdly, Selling Sunset has come up a lot. hmm) and at least one friend has been ordering way too much takeout. Creative director Mary deals with it by making a ritual out of her stay-at-home perfumes. I also look for more high-minded wellness that doesn’t feel eye-rollingly self-indulgent. I’m really conscious that there are serious problems galore right now—I don’t want to feel like a cartoon reclining Roman emperor eating grapes, or even like a girl boss, a Millennial archetype that is already on the way out. But can I still feel comforted and inspired by a sense of joy?
Enter vegan model and outspoken activist Chloe Tesla. A Marseille native, the mannequin for mainstream (Vivienne Westwood, Lolita Lempicka) and vegan brands defies some of the major stereotypes about French beauties (languid, cold, espresso-sipping, croissant-nibbling parisiennes). For one, she doesn’t pout (bouder)—she’d rather be speaking out passionately and unironically for the animals. “At first, I honestly didn’t like Paris,” she says, explaining that coming up to the capital for castings made her anxious from the “constant negative energy.” But after moving there, she found more like-minds, discovered vegan restaurants and organizations, and recognized that things are changing in the right direction. And she also is gluten-free for health reasons—no baguettes!
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I’ve become quite the scholar of French lifestyle secrets over the years, and Chloe Tesla had her own, atypical take on l’art de vivre. Read on to feel like there’s a better, prettier side to life than reading the news on your phone in your pajamas.
Organic French handmade skincare—and a favorite facial oil
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Tesla has been a fan of Oden, a French vegan and cruelty-free organic brand, for years. “Most of my beauty products are from Oden,” she says. She uses carnation and daisy makeup remover oil and the geranium facial mist; but her favorite product by far is their hazelnut oil, which is a non-comedogenic, highly absorbent “dry” oil that’s suitable for even breakout-prone skin. Since I only thought French people were obsessed with hazelnuts in their chocolate-flavored foods, this is a very interesting beauty discovery that shall be explored later. (What’s next, a Nutella oil?)
All Oden ingredients are cultivated in France and the bottles and the packaging are recyclable.
She drinks a green juice every day
“My juicer is by far the most useful and beneficial investment I’ve ever made,” she says. Her green juice includes: cucumbers, fennel, apples, lemon, and collard greens. She follows this up with a breakfast bowl of vegan protein powder, plant milk, cereal, fruits, and goji berries. This is typically followed by a big salad of hearts of palm, fresh spinach, basil tofu, apples, and sunflower seeds topped with oil-rich vinaigrette, plus pan-fried polenta. Dinner might be Asian-style rice noodles. She eats well!
She takes supplement to keep her hair shiny and strong
You might think French hair routine is just wash and go, but women there focus more on supplements than on heat styling, I’ve noticed. She takes a vegan hair gummy by Lashilé Beauty, which includes vitamins C, D, E, A, zinc, biotin, folic acid, and B12.
Of course she has a favorite lipstick
Tesla is the face of Le Rouge Français, an organic vegan line with 100% plant-based pigments. Interestingly, the formula is designed to interact with the pH of your skin to show up as a color unique to you. The brand also collects the lipstick cases for recycling (I’m not sure if that’s available outside of France, but it’s still a cool concept).
Le Rouge Français 010, the line’s signature red
She’d rather be doing the van life than chasing big city dreams
She recently accomplished a long-time goal of transitioning to #vanlife with her rescue dog, in order to “discover the most places in France and beyond, and let my dog have her best life.” Since the stereotypical French woman doesn’t last two days outside Paris, this is rather different.
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We tend to get fixated on a certain idea of “the good life,” and I think that’s being phased out more and more. The good life is now less about having the right job and moving up in the world, marrying by a certain age (or marrying at all), cocktails and parties in a big city à la Sex and the City. (Doesn’t that kind of life feel so antiquated now?) Everything feels so much freer and looser now that the world is a much more chaotic place and there is literally no way to make a long-distance or a long-term plan. It’s putting more focus on making each day count, finding a simpler and more independent mode of living, and that’s a silver lining I can definitely get behind.
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Photo: Chloe Tesla via Instagram
