Celebrities jetting to the South of France this week for the Cannes Film Festival are sure to fuel their fair share of wedding season beauty inspiration. But just across the Boulevard de la Croisette, the surrounding beaches have proven themselves an equally fertile launching pad for easy summer hair and makeup. Kicking off her premiere gown for a strapless white one-piece in 1953, Brigitte Bardot, with sun-kissed skin and wisps of ocean-sprayed bangs, revealed the necessary foundations for that aspirationally laid-back Gallic approach to glamour—seemingly requiring only a costume change and a swipe of mascara to get back to festival mode.
Jane Birkin, in tawny lipstick, embraced the effects of a good sea breeze tousle on her blunt cut for added texture, while Grace Kelly, the American-born princess of neighboring Monaco, flexed her command of portside poise a year before she took the crown: clean skin, crisp lipstick, and a pristine ribbon-secured bun that no velocity of wind nor sailing knot could knock loose.
For Sharon Tate’s golden glow and sunny highlights, a slick center-parted updo and dab of lip balm navigated the May humidity with sporty appeal, while off-duty Elizabeth Taylor (who vacationed in Cannes in July 1959) and Sophia Loren proved that bold brows and a curvaceous silhouette are an eternally infallible beachside pairing. Here, a look at the iconic beach babes of Cannes who still set the bar for summer beauty.
