I can easily imagine Marie-Antoinette delighting in the sweetness of long walks at the end of autumn, savoring the tenderness of the still warm rays of the sun on her skin. Barely out of the Petit Trianon, her hand rests on the magnificent sophora that her husband had brought from China just a few weeks earlier. His gaze is lost in the shimmering reflections of the leaves of the trees, which over the days have taken on bronze hues before scattering the ground. We are in December 1774 and the gardens that surround it are only delight for the eyes, bringing together the most beautiful specimens from the four corners of the world. A few steps are enough to get an idea of it, the scalp oak gracefully alongside the cedar of Lebanon or even the maidenhair tree (ginkgo biloba), sacred trees among the sacred. The days are getting shorter and becoming too cold and too short to appreciate this exceptional setting at its true value: if her cheeks rosy with the cold undoubtedly add to her charm, her royal skin is still put to the test. Would this concern be reserved for queens only? I don't think so, so I've immersed myself in the beauty secrets of these ladies to concoct a cozy winter pampering ritual for you:
1. Gently cleanse
Whatever our skin type, our cocooning ritual begins with cleansing. Even if we took care to protect it this summer, our skin found itself exposed to a multitude of environmental aggressions that weakened our epidermis.
Daily, clean it with clean water morning and evening. This makes it possible to rid the upper layer of the epidermis of accumulated sebum and pollution (especially if our skin is oily to combination).
Our skin also requires delicate exfoliation once or twice a week. : ideally, we apply a moisturizing exfoliating mask, intended to clear the pores without attacking the skin.
My secret weapon
Tap, as always, into the beauty secrets of the great ladies of yesteryear, and not the least! The cucumber ointment, cherished at the time for its high hydration power, was indeed elevated to the rank of true standard of cosmetics during the Age of Enlightenment.
Inspired by this recipe, the Replenishing Exfoliating Mask combines cucumber and ultra-fine sand from Fontainebleau to exfoliate and hydrate our skin in a single gesture. This last point meets a need for all skin types: even if it doesn't come naturally, the oiliest ones also need to be hydrated!
2. We intensely hydrate
At the dawn of winter, dry skin suffer the aftershocks of the summer and then of the start of the school year. In fact, they are in great need of being taken care of. Our primary objective? Reduce the signs of aggression left by the Indian summer (wrinkles, redness, etc.) and nourish them deeply.
Oily to combination skin are not left out either: they tend to secrete more sebum, which leads to a shiny complexion, even the appearance of a few pimples... Like dry skin, it therefore needs a real cocooning ritual to gently rebalance it.
My secret weapon
Borrow from our famous ancestors one of their emblematic beauty secrets, the water of the Queen of Hungary. If it owes its name to a (pious?) lie, its qualities made it a cosmetic appreciated by the great ladies of the 18th century... Before Eau de Cologne relegated it to the background under the reign of Napoleon 1st. Yet the virtues of what was then nothing more than a distillate of rosemary are worthy of interest, even today! It is indeed credited with an antioxidant and stimulating action for the radiance of our complexion.
It is therefore, unsurprisingly, rosemary that is favored by the most delicate skins for this winter ritual. It is indeed attributed - among other virtues - an antioxidant power... Not to mention that it is second to none for enhancing the radiance of our skin!
Once our skin is cleansed, we apply every day in gentle massage the Baume d'Eclat (preferably in the evening, except for very dry skin). Care par excellence for dry to very dry skin, this balm is very nourishing, offering it a real cocooning ritual.
If our skin is rather oily to combination, we can also opt for the Crème d'Eclat, moisturizing while offering a light texture (ideal for not clogging the pores of this type of skin).
3. We complete our cocooning ritual in style by specifying the gesture
Largely forgotten in our beauty rituals, the eye contour is nevertheless particularly sensitive. The skin there is indeed very thin and the absence of pilosebaceous follicles does not allow it to assimilate fatty substances in an optimal way. However, the absence of correct hydration of this delicate area can cause an unwelcome "puffiness" effect...
For this reason, I concocted for our soft eyelids a Replenishing Eye Contour Care. Also inspired by Cucumber ointment, this treatment with a very light composition (only 8 ingredients!) is designed to smooth and relieve fatigue around our eyes, providing them with the hydration they need. Use morning and/or evening to sublimate our doe eyes!
Skin of infinite softness, refreshed eyes and above all the pleasure of giving yourself a moment just for yourself every day... Our winter pampering ritual would probably be the envy of the Court, right?!