ANN M.MORRISON ESSAY

PARIS ? If there is a secret to aging well, Frenchwomen must know it. At least that¡¯s what Americans think. We look at actresses like Juliette Binoche, 46, or superstars like Catherine Deneuve, 66, and figure that they must have special insights into the ¡°maturation¡± process. Even the average Frenchwoman seems to defy the notion that, as one grows older, you either have to disguise that process with Botox, eye-lifts, lip plumpers and all sorts of procedures that convey a desperate ¡°youthful¡± look, or else just give up altogether and let the ravages of time take their toll. Looking attractive, at any age, is just what Frenchwomen do . For Parisiennes, maintaining their image is as natural as tying a perfect scarf or wearing stilettos on cobblestone streets. Beauty is a tradition handed down from generation to generation.

¡°My grandmother always told me, ¡®Never neglect yourself, not even in the tiniest details,¡¯ ¡± my friend Francoise Augier said . The French actress Leslie Caron, still Gigi-like at 79, told me her mother¡¯s favorite saying: ¡°Women¡¯s skin is too fair to go bare.¡±

The No. 1 response to my informal survey of Frenchwomen about the years of magical aging is not gaining weight. Ever. If a Frenchwoman happens to see an additional kilogram or two on her bathroom scale, she will do whatever is necessary . ¡°I keep my weight steady, no ups and downs,¡± Ms. Caron said. ¡°I avoid all excess.¡±

Exercise has little to do with it. When my husband and I arrived in Paris and asked our personal banker ? everyone has one ? for a gym recommendation, her response was: ¡°Why? Gyms are a form of torture.¡± It seems the only acceptable way to burn calories is to walk.

If Frenchwomen don¡¯t walk enough to stay thin, there is always a pill, a lotion or a treatment . Pharmacies have counters full of diet and figure-improving remedies.

Frenchwomen also recommend facials, massages and spa ¡°cures¡± in their campaign against wrinkles, cellulite and saggy bottoms, bellies and breasts. One spa favorite is thalassotherapy, a seawater-based treatment .

As for makeup, Frenchwomen of almost every age regard less as best. Heavy foundation has a tendency to emphasize wrinkles and pores, and most women avoid it in favor of a bit of blush. Those who do use foundation make sure that it blends with the skin.

Of course, it¡¯s easy to look natural if your skin is great. And that may be where the French secrets really are. According to a 2008 Mintel report, Frenchwomen spend about $2.2 billion a year on facial skin care ? as much as Spanish, German and British women put together. If you happen to use the bathroom in a French home ? something that is not considered polite, by the way ? you might see a line of skin care products rivaling a shelf at a pharmacy.

As in America, some women turn to dermatologists , or even to cosmetic surgeons. But the objective of plastic surgery in France, according to Dr. Michel Soussaline, is ¡°to keep the natural beauty and charm of each individual woman, not to fit some current ideal of beauty.¡± In the United States, he says, women who spend a lot of money on facelifts want to show off their investments. (Maybe that explains the pumped-up lips and smooth cheeks that the American actress Ellen Barkin, 56, recently displayed at Cannes.)

Hair rituals come in two kinds: getting rid of the unwanted stuff on legs and underarms (older women tend to prefer depilatories), and making the most of what¡¯s on top of the head. That means a good cut every three to four weeks, and a reasonably natural color. A plethora of beauty salons and mostly low prices (as little as 18 euros for a cut, shampoo and blow-dry) make frequent maintenance easy.

For Frenchwomen, aging seems to be a matter of mind over makeup. If women feel good about themselves, right down to their La Perla 100-euro panties, they look good, too. Francoise Sagan once wrote, ¡°There is a certain age when a woman must be beautiful to be loved, and then there comes a time when she must be loved to be beautiful.¡± And many Frenchwomen seem to be well loved as they get older ? by their tight-knit families, their friends and, perhaps most importantly, themselves.