What did your mother teach you...?
Among our heroes in the beauty business, Sylvie de Chantecaille and her daughter Olivia rank very high. Their passion for producing exquisite cosmetics and effective skincare, based on the most effective natural ingredients and cutting edge technology, is matched only by their devotion to the natural world. Imagine, if you will, a bevy of beauty editors turning up to a new season colour launch to watch a film not about lipstick and eyeshadow but about the plight of orphaned baby elephants.
That was 2011 and the Elephant Palette – so-called because each shade had an elephant imprint and the collection was based on the colours you would see in the ellies’ environment - gave a portion of profits to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, founded by Sylvie’s old friend Daphne Sheldrick. (Sarah immediately adopted a baby elephant - so do visit the site, www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org).
In 2012, Chantecaille married beauty with marine mammals for the Save the Sharks Palette (we reviewed it here) – not an obvious match for a beauty brand, as we observed, but no less heartfelt. We wait excitedly to see what collaborations 2013 brings.
And watch this space - because tomorrow (27th February) on www.beautybible.com we will be launching a prize draw featuring lovely sets of Chantecaille make-up.
And because Mother's Day is fast approaching - put March 10th in your diary - we thought it would be nice to give you a sense of the philosophy that drives Sylvie and Olivia. So we asked them for the most important life lessons they learnt from their mothers...
From her deeply creative mother, Sylvie learnt that…
• ‘I am loved’.
• ‘I must trust my inner voice because my soul knows best’.
• 'Every morning, I must dip a cotton pad in the strongest tea left in my tea pot and press it on my eyes to de-puff them – puffy eyes run in the family’.
• ‘I do not have the metabolism to eat candies… or sugar or bread’.
• ‘I am a blonde and never to think of trying anything else’.
And Olivia says that Sylvie taught her…
• ‘To follow my passion and always strive to do my best’.
• ‘To respect and appreciate Nature and all of its beautiful animals and flowers’.
• 'To be grateful every day for all of the good in my life’.
• 'To always take off all my make-up before going to bed’.
• ‘How to make the best scrambled eggs…’
Would you like to share the best lessons you learned from your mother, on Beauty Bible's Facebook page...? We'll showcase the best - and send you some gorgeous, glamorous goodies. (Click here to find it.)