Two months have passed since thee press launch of the brand new Replenishing line and already, summer is here! Oh, Summer, how we wait for you, after these months of hard work! And we are not alone: our skin, too, is languishing... Like us, she suffers the vagaries of modern life. And, even more than us, she suffers the consequences of a hectic lifestyle: long evenings, (always too) short nights, (always more) difficult awakenings, lack of hydration... Added to a sometimes dubious food hygiene and pollution, the results are distressing: we who secretly hope to admire Botticelli's Venus in our mirror, see in it only a work worthy of Kandinsky! Oh despair, only a few days away from a thousand and one summer pleasures... Fortunately, a few simple gestures to adopt in a summer beauty routine are enough to take care of our skin. For my part, I count three, which I can't wait to reveal to you... But first, how about a (delicate) parenthesis in Versailles? Because taking care of your complexion is not the prerogative of young women in modern times: at Court, it was already among the concerns of these ladies!
Facial complexion at the Court of Versailles
At the time, fashion was dictated by courtesans and precious women. When the former were gallant women by profession (in other words, prostitutes), the elegance of the precious ones was matched only by their refinement. Tired of the brutal mores of the mid-17th century, they wanted to offer another vision of love, imbued with delicacy in manners and language.
If today, the term "precious" can be imbued with a pejorative connotation, I nevertheless feel a certain affection for their philosophy of life... Although never, ever, would I put on my delicate skin what seemed to them then to have the most beautiful effect: to deceive, the great ladies used white lead.
Also called Saturn white, this synthetic white pigment was none other than the lead oxide used in the composition of make-up (excessively used at the time). The precious ones smeared it on their face and neck, sometimes going so far as to apply it to the birth of the throat and the arms! The complexion had to be pale and perfectly white., this color evoking purity and virginity. A color sign of wealth and idleness, in contrast to the weathered complexion of the lower classes.
All they had to do was let themselves be guided by the recipes available to them to whiten their skin or preserve their already pale complexion. Marie Meurdrac, in the work "La Chymie charitable et facile, en favor des dames" (1666), already proposed several.
To preserve this artificial whiteness, the precious wore a mask during their walks. maintained by a button between their teeth. If the primary purpose of this mask was to preserve their complexion, it was also a perfect excuse to avoid any unwanted conversation...
In an increasingly moralistic Court, the use of artifice became emancipatory. If Molière rallied its excesses, the precious ones nevertheless exalted the refinement of the body and the intelligence of the mind! It was also at this time that the term "makeup" was born, which then had a pejorative connotation, the fact of marking (or making up) the cards being a cheat.
The arrival of Marie-Antoinette and with her "la toilette de Flore", marked a turning point in the history of cosmetics at Court. If before the use of mineral pigments, however harmful, was appropriate, this young queen in love with botany relegated them to the background. As a follower of natural beauty, I confess to prefer this approach to cosmetics to that of precious ones, however delicate they may be.
Oneder his reign, minerals indeed gave way to plant extracts such as saffron or safflower: natural cosmetics was born. Hence these softer and more natural shades on the faces of the coquettes, transcribed to perfection by the paintings of Madame Vigée-Lebrun, Antoine Watteau or even Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
And, at the end of the 18th century, to protect your skin from the unwanted effects of the sun, people relied on the recipe proposed by the esteemed Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz in his book "Toilet de Flore":
Recipe from Buc'Hoz, "La Toilette de Flore", 1771
NB: Lupins are plants of the legume family or "Fabaceae"
For my part, I would have much less reluctance to apply this last recipe on my tender skin and adopt it in my summer beauty routine! But fortunately, this question no longer arises, due to the evolution of knowledge in the field of cosmetics...
Different times, different gestures: today, better knowledge in this area allows us to adapt our beauty routine to the real needs of our skin during the summer. Because if the sun, the swimming pool or the sea salt are all elements that favorably influence our morale, they can also prove to be very aggressive for our skin... Hence the importance of giving it the attention it deserves! There is no need for this to set up a complex and therefore unsustainable beauty routine over time... The secret ? We will bet on the quality of our gestures rather than on the quantity, by making ours three golden rules:
1- We PREPARE our skin,
One gentle exfoliation is the first ally of your summer beauty routine, it will gently rid the skin of dead cells that accumulate on the surface. Among the criticisms that can be made against them, they:
- Block up our pores
- Give us a gray complexion
- And make our skin texture uneven
So many inconveniences that we prefer to avoid! Still not convinced? What if I told you that the gentle exfoliation will also give you an even and longer-lasting tan... Would you?
Trick : to preserve the freshness of our pretty face, we will remember to repeat the operation once a week throughout the summer (yes!).
To prepare your skin and thus give it an even and lasting tan, I have concocted a Fontainebleau Sand Scrub, combining a gesture of hydration and freshness with a gentle scrub. Its ultra-fine grains of Fontainebleau sand gently exfoliate the upper layer of the cornea, without abrasive effect, to respect the integrity of your delicate skin. In doing so, it gets rid of dead cells and other impurities and excess sebum is regulated. The Bonneuil white cucumber it contains is a hydration and detoxifying booster. It will leave your skin healthy, soft and rejuvenated.
2 - We Pamper it...
In summer, the physiology of our skin will change. Combined, the sun, heat, wind, salt and chlorine will lead to generalized dehydration of our skin. Skin that will definitely not be spared the joys of summer, since it will tend to secrete more sebum on the face, while on the body it will dry out!
So what can she do to savor these summer pleasures without her suffering the consequences?
Trick : in our summer beauty routine, we will take great care ofmoisturize our face morning and evening with a moisturizing cream with a fresh and light texture and nourish body skin. Quite simply !
Is it difficult for you to find your way around as there are so many cosmetics on the market? Here are the treatments that I offer to pamper your (royal!) skin this summer:
Normal to combination skin will appreciate the benefits of Queen of Hungary Water Radiance Cream, used as a day and/or night cream. Its rosemary extract content (from the King's Vegetable Garden, please!), rich in antioxidants, balances skin flora and boosts complexion radiance. And, what does not spoil anything, it acts to prevent the signs of aging. What makes me melt in her? Its resolutely modern galenic offers a peach skin feel without leaving a greasy film (admit that in case of high temperatures, the rendering would not be the most glamorous!).
The Cucumber Day Cream, a veritable whirlwind of freshness, will be the ally of all skin types, as a day and/or night cream as well. It is particularly suitable for young acne-prone skin or skin attacked by the vagaries of daily life (stress, pollution, UV...)... And so perfect for this season! Its high concentration of Bonneuil white cucumber (an outstanding nourishing and repairing active ingredient), combined with a rhubarb active ingredient (rich in vitamin C) tones the skin while leaving it soft and perfectly nourished. Here again, I have worked on an innovative galenic to offer you a treatment with an airy, "whipped" texture and thus offer you a real cocooning gesture: the cream melts on application and penetrates instantly, with, as always, a non-greasy finish.
And what would a cocooning moment be if we didn't take care of our eyes, and more specifically of their contours? If there is one area of the face that deserves special attention, it's her! Indeed, in the absence of pilo-cebaceous follicles, the eye contour does not assimilate fatty substances. So what ? You will tell me. And then, if this area is not hydrated in the right way, it causes an unwelcome "puffiness" effect under the eyes. It is to counter this effect that I developed the Replenishing Eye Contour Care.
Suitable for all skin types (contact lens wearers and sensitive eyes included) thanks to its ultra-short list of ingredients, this regenerating jelly smoothes and refreshes the eye contour. I chose to include, as for the Replenishing Cream, white cucumber from Bonneuil, which comes here to provide the necessary hydration. Its natural tensor active ingredients, meanwhile, reduce wrinkles and fine lines already present, to preserve our doe eyes!
3 – And above all… We PROTECT it!
Some worship him, others shun him... Whether we are eagerly awaiting it or not, one thing is certain, the sun does not leave us indifferent! If he needs to be approached with caution, at the risk of burning his wings, he must be recognized as having the following qualities:
- It allows us to synthesize vitamin D which is sorely lacking when it hides
- It has a positive effect on our morale
- And even makes it possible to temporarily improve certain skin pathologies.
Be careful, however, not to be moved by these virtues! Because if there is one gesture, only one, that we cannot neglect under any circumstances in our summer beauty routine, it is this last one: make sure to protect your skin from UV rays. I know, I'm not telling you anything... But it's so easy, all in the euphoria of the holidays, to overlook this gesture! Yet, we can't say it enough:
- The sun can cause burns,
- It accelerates skin aging
- And increases our risk of developing skin cancer
And beware, this gesture is not reserved only for pale skin: whatever our complexion, whatever the place we have chosen to spend our holidays, the rules are the same!
Trick : we will apply a 50+ sunscreen in sufficient quantity on all areas that will be exposed. And above all, we will not forget to reapply after every swim!
Oh, and, I forgot... Do you know you're only two spritzes away from an absolutely glowing complexion? Now that you've prepped, pampered, and protected your skin, all that's left to do is enhance it!
My secret weapon in this summer beauty routine to permanently perfect your already radiant complexion? La lotion d'Eclat: this beauty elixir inspired by the Queen of Hungary's Water recipe is designed to instantly enhance the complexion thanks to a pure extract of rosemary from the King's Vegetable Garden. Two sprays on clean, dry skin, morning and evening, before moisturizing your skin, are enough to boost the radiance of the complexion! It would be a shame to deprive yourself of it, wouldn't it?
With that, the time has come for me to wish you a summer... Beautiful, of course!
MSG