La Maison Guerlain: discover the French luxury beauty temple at the heart of Paris
Shared Magazine was invited to discover the universe of beauty, elegance and history of La Maison Guerlain, a Parisian symbol of luxury. Held during Les Journées Particulières, an LVMH initiative, Guerlain unveils the unique savoir-faire of the brand, the artisans work and the passion that fuels this icon of French chic for almost 200 years.
October rain is pouring over Paris, but no weather can dim the lights of the Maison Guerlain store at the heart of Champs Elysées. As tourists gather in front of the storefront designed by American architect Peter Marino, the Guerlain teams hosted a series of guided visits for press and media.
Every laced up perfume bottle, every rich cream sourced-ingredient, every test for a top-quality lipstick; nothing is left to chance when it comes to Guerlain products. The Maison walked us through the three pillares of their luxury beauty universe: haute parfumerie, skincare and make up.
Through them, we got a glimpse of the thorough process that comes into creating formulas that have endured through history and time – they still produce the Eau de Cologne Impériale since 1853, conceived for Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
As a pioneer in luxury beauty, Guerlain invented “Ne m’oubliez pas” in 1870, becoming the first modern lipstick in history. After its clear success, the company has keep innovating the formula and widening the colour palette. Since 2005, they have launched KissKiss and in 2009, Rouge G, with the widely popular double-mirror lip-case.
We discovered the universe of fragrances with Thierry Wasser, Guerlain’s nose and master parfumeur since 2008. His passion for sourcing best in class ingredientes is almost tangible, as he shares his travel anecdotes and invites us to catch a whiff of vetiver, Madagascar vanilla and bergamot, classical scents of the house.
His commitment is no less obvious, as he acknowledges the work of countless farmers, artisans and ground-workers. Did you know that a litre of Damascena rose essence is the result of 5 tonnes of collected petals?
As an avant-garde house for their time, Guerlain is constantly investing into research, innovation and long-term sustainability.
Cécile Lochard, Chief Sustainability officer of Guerlain, presents the various initiatives they work for not only making products and packaging sustainable, but also supporting the supply-chain and human-chain behind them. Alongside the brand ambassador Angelina Jolie, Guerlain shares their commitment pillars here.
More on Guerlain here.
