If you look around, beauty and magic are present in everyday moments. Content creator Léanne Ansar captures this sentiment with stunning imagery and the moving words she shares with the world.
Tell us about your background as a French-American. You split your time between New York City and Paris?
My grandfather was an American soldier based in France after the Second World War. He met my grandmother, who happened to be a French nurse working in the area at that time. They fell in love, had babies (my mother and aunt), and eventually got divorced. (Sorry to bring in the reality!) My mother moved back to France and eventually found my father, who was a French man from Tours. Then, eventually, I was born, a true French-American!
I love New York for the hustle and bustle and was living there full time for seven years. I was really starting to miss my family a lot, who are now all in France. So I decided to take the leap and get my dream place in Paris. I now travel a lot back to the USA because that is my biggest market on my social media platforms.
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a content creator and what inspired you to start?
I have to give the shout out to my wonderful maman (mother)! I was in between my bachelor’s and my master’s and had six months off. Like other people, I believe, you feel a little lost… You don’t know your place yet. You don’t know where you belong. She had a blog for single women who traveled alone. One day, she told me, why don’t you start a blog? She gave me some of her tips, had made me a website in the past, and showed me her ways. She inspired me and made me believe in myself. She was the only one that did for the longest time. This was before social media was ever seen as a successful platform. She saw what it could become!
How would you describe your personal style?
I grew up always being very feminine. I loved princess movies and classic tales. I always wore dresses, my mother got my nails done with her, starting wearing the mini sandal heels pretty young. Honestly, my mother was a huge style inspiration for me! After 25 is really where my personal style came in. I realized I wasn’t all that into trends and more into vintage styles with a romantic touch. In New York, there were so many vintage stores. It was a mini heaven.
Your posts portray beauty and a bit of magic. What inspires your aesthetic?
Thank you for saying that! Honestly, I think what inspired me the most is everyday life. If you just walk through Paris or New York or the countryside, anywhere… Magic is truly all around us. I think it’s about opening your eyes and seeing it. I always keep my eyes open and then write down some magic I saw that day. Magic is real. It’s all about changing your mindset and maybe taking life a little slower than what we usually do.
Can you talk a bit about your love of vintage and art?
Every summer, I would stay at my French grandparents’ house, and they filled me with love, culture, and history. They brought my brother and I to castles, museums, walks around small villages… I fell in a deep trance whenever I would hear my grandfather tell me stories of the places he would bring us to. I love vintage and art, but even more than that, I love history, and it all grew from there. To this day I still get lost reading Wikipedia pages and realize after a bit it’s been two hours. (Laughs.)
Who are your personal style icons?
Monica Bellucci, Iman, Audrey Hepburn, Bianca Jagger, Sophia Loren to name a few! It took me a while to figure it out. But realizing who your personal style icons are can really help you make purchasing decisions. I like to say my personal style is classic, romantic, and a touch of something iconic — this is usually red lipstick. I realized this is when I feel the most confident and comfortable.
What are a few of your favorite films?
Gigi, I feel like I have a personal connection to her character. I love any French new wave films: Lola, Breathless, Belle du Jour. Sophia Loren: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Audrey Hepburn: Sabrina, Love in the Afternoon, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Historical period dramas: Pride & Prejudice, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Becoming Jane, A Dangerous Beauty, Bel Ami, Anna Karenina. Musicals: Moulin Rouge, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia, Chicago, Funny Face, LaLa Land.
Do you visit the Hamptons/East End often, and if so, what are a few of your favorite places?
I used to when I was more in New York! I stayed in some really beautiful boutique hotels and wrote about them when I did more travel blogging. Baker House 1650 was lovely. There was Topping Rose House, which was incredible. I always ended up in Sag Harbor, walking and strolling around… I felt a sense of peace there.
Your posts often focus on travel. Can you share a few of your favorite places to visit in the South of France?
Travel is another form of magic! Of course, I love Provence… Being surrounded by nature, its flowers, its butterflies, and its ruins, has always soothed me. I love the small villages over there like Saint Paul-de-Vence, Èze, Menton. And on the other south side, that is less commonly gone too. I love Arcachon. It’s a more relaxed and less hyped-up town by the water. Right next to it are the tallest sand dunes in all of Europe… The Dune of Pilat. I love to go there early in the mornings and watch the sunrise. Then, when you head down south from there, you start getting close to Basque Country. I love it there.
