TYPICAL French chic or bare-faced cheek? The simmering diplomatic war between France and the United States has taken an ugly turn after French women accused their American counterparts of being "painted dolls".

French madames don't wear make-up, or at least pretend not to. Their new goal is to glow, with invisible pores and highly polished skin. Too much make-up, they claim, makes a woman seem older, or worse still, appear as if she makes a living walking the streets.

And they have singled out American women as the worst examples, while putting forward their own versions of perfection such as actresses Juliette Binoche and Audrey Tautou.

"In the US, even teenage girls are overly made up. And when you are overly made up, you send out the message that you are overly sexual, that you want to be visible to attract men."

By contrast, Mercier added: "French women are not flashy. They must be subtle. The message must not be: 'I'm spending hours on my face to look beautiful.'"

Michèle Fitoussi, one of France's leading social commentators and a columnist at French Elle magazine, branded the "painted-doll" look "vulgaire".

Certainly, the French delight in placing themselves in opposition to the US, no matter what the topic - food, wine, diplomacy, and now beauty. A recent issue of French Elle poked fun at what it called the "too much" look of "California Beauty", illustrated by a model in a shocking pink shirt, bicycle shorts, an orange print scarf, mirrored sunglasses, a Louis Vuitton handbag and gaudy, gold, high-heeled sandals, earrings, necklaces, chain belt, bangles and rings.

The French say Nicole Richie and Britney Spears have adopted the "overdone" look, while Madonna is forgiven since she is seen as a hard-nosed businesswoman and free spirit.

But the French disdain is aimed less at specific women and more at the overall 'overdone' look. This season, the unadorned look is more in vogue than ever in France. The weekly magazine L'Express calls it "Le no make-up" look.

To women in France, it represents something more profound than simply one's taste in skin care. Make-up is also the mark of the desperate housewife type who tries too hard.

"American girls worship the cult of the 'ideal woman'," she said. "No part of the face seems to be forgotten. And when you use too much make-up, it means you are hiding from yourself."

In a poll by the market research group Mintel, 64% of American women said they sometimes used foundation, compared with 47% of French women; 81% of Americans use lipstick, compared with 70% of French women, and 59% of Americans use blusher, compared with 43%.

The image "du jour" of "le no make-up" look is Audrey Tautou, with magazines featuring the 29-year-old Da Vinci Code star without jewellery or any visible make-up, except for a slight tint on her lips. Even her beauty marks have not been airbrushed away.

In political circles, the Socialist politician Ségolène Royal, a presidential contender, is successfully seducing the country in part because of her grass-roots style, broad smile and fresh-faced look. When she had an upper tooth straightened last year, the daily newspaper Libération labelled it an un-French act.

That may be because French women still lag far behind Americans in cosmetic surgery and sundry injections aimed at making them appear less flawed.

Catherine Deneuve, for example, with her painted face, is sometimes seen as an object of pity. Deneuve, 62, the icily beautiful star of Belle De Jour, was once considered so perfect that she was named France's "Marianne", the idealised embodiment of the French Republic. She now admits to wearing make-up even when she is gardening.

"Poor Catherine," said Terry de Gunzburg, creator of the By Terry make-up line. "She let herself get hooked by the syndrome of Dorian Gray, of eternal youth. It's sad."

On the whole, French women like to portray themselves as more balanced, more inclined to pamper themselves and take pleasure in daily rituals than Americans. In its most extreme form, the US is seen as a youth-obsessed, throwaway, quick-fix culture where women are more likely to look artificially young and totally "done".

Even French women of modest means are much more likely than American women to get treatments in spas or clinics that scrub, polish, buff, massage and cream their skins.

In this, the French government is complicit. Any woman who can claim to have a medically diagnosed skin condition, from eczema to acne, can receive a regimented "thermal cure" at spas in France once a year.

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