THE EXPERT
MATHILDE THOMAS, CO-FOUNDER CAUDALIE
DECEMBER 06.2012
by AIMEE BLAUT
"My husband Bertrand and I created Caudalie back in ‘93 after we met Professor Vercauteren from the University of Pharmacy in Bordeaux. We were touring my family vineyard, and he told us that we were growing the best part of the vine. He let us know about the French paradox, how French people drink more wine than anyone else in the world but have the least cardiovascular disease, even though they eat a lot of foie gras and good cheese (laughs). It is because the polyphenols found in red wine strengthen your blood vessels and prevent cardiovascular disease. Those polyphenols are extremely efficient at fighting free radicals, which are responsible for four out of five wrinkles. But they were extremely unstable and turned creams red. So we met with him the next day and learned that he was patenting a way to stabilize these extracts. We convinced him not to sell his patent to a big skin care company but to work with us.
We were living in Paris and two years ago we decided to move the family to New York. We love it here; and always say we have a crush on New York like all the French (laughs). It’s an exciting time for us, we are opening our first worldwide boutique in December. We wanted to open it here in the city. The flagship will be on Bleecker and Grove in the West Village, I love the area.
When I get up in the morning I use Micellar Water, which attracts the dust and leaves my skin fresh. Then I wash my face. Right now I am trying my new cleanser that will be launched in early 2013. I am redoing my cleansing line because I found some new recycled packaging, and want to make it even greener. Then I use my Vine Expert Firming Serum and layer Premier Cru over that as my moisturizer. Under my eyes I put the Premier Cru Eye Cream underneath the Eye serum. I put a lot of layers on like the Korean women do.
Right now I am trying a BB Cream that we are launching in a few months, but otherwise I use the tinted moisturizer. I use Bobbi Brown dark eyeliner on my eyes, Lancôme Hypnôse mascara and NARS Orgasm blush on my cheeks. If I need to mattify my T-zone I use some Trish McEvoy white finishing powder. I don’t use a lot of makeup.
When I arrived here I had lunch with those Upper East Side girls and they all had beige nails. With my dark polish I felt like a gothic, crazy, rock and roll person (laughs). I was eating at Cipriani and at Cipriani it’s all beige.
One of our most popular products is the Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, which is used for brightening the skin and a clearer complexion. When we launched it, it was not a big hit, but then we had two French journalists who made the difference. One was a very heavy smoker and was using it morning and night and her complexion turned rosier and less grey. It became a sensation because all the French women smoke (laughs). The second journalist brought the serum to Saint Tropez during her holiday and she put it on underneath her sunscreen and wrote that her suntan lasted longer with no brown spots. It’s such a great product and after that it became huge.”
Photos by: Aimee Blaut
Tags: Caudalie Flagship, France, Mathilde Thomas, New York, Paris
YOU ARE A BABE
SABINE MAIDA, BEAUTY EDITOR, GLAMOUR FRANCE
JULY 30.2012
by AIMEE BLAUT
"In the Nineties there was a first Glamour magazine created by Condé Nast. It lasted for three or four years and after that it was finished. It was the greatest magazine I’ve ever seen in France. Very often people would say that Glamour was going to be launched again and each time I wanted to be a part of the team. For a while it didn’t come back, it would be Jalouse or another launch. When the new Glamour was finally launched for real I was eight months pregnant with an extra twenty kilos [laughs]. I was working for another magazine called, Vingt Ans then. It was a very special magazine that doesn’t exist anymore, but very funny and unique. I was the Beauty Editor for this magazine and their idea about beauty was different. But I said okay I am going to try to see the editor in chief for Glamour and I will see what happens. I was sure that she wouldn’t take me because I was so pregnant and we didn’t know each other but I sent her a mail with a book of my work. She called me and said ‘ok we can meet each other.’ We talked and then she decided that she wanted me for this position. Condé Nast took me during my maternity leave. This kind of thing doesn’t happen often so I was very touched they trusted me. But I worked during my pregnancy and my baby was one week old and I was at work and taking meetings. It was very hard in fact but I don’t have any regrets, I was very happy to work for Glamour and it was nine years ago now, so it is a very long love story."
“I am not such a beauty girl. I am very natural; I think I am very French for this. At the same time I am a woman and a Beauty Editor so I have to test some stuff [laughs]. When I wake up the first thing I love to do is spray rosewater on my face. Afterwards I have a green tea then take a shower. I have sensitive skin so for my face I use a lot of La Roche-Posay and Avène—more pharmaceutical products. For my body I can try everything. I love the smells and textures. I take the time to nourish my skin with lots of Clarins Sérum Corps Peau Neuve it’s my basic and afterwards I use Aesop.”
“I know American girls wash their hair everyday but I can’t. Since I was young I’ve been told that if I wash my hair everyday it will be too dry so I wash it every other day. I put a lot of oil in my hair before I shampoo it. I’m a Mediterranean woman, from the French Riviera so I love oil. I use the Kiehl’s Amino Acid Shampoo with coconut. I love Kerastase and the brands of L’Oreal Professional. Shu Uemura Art of Hair products have great texture and smell nice. After I wash my hair I use a serum like the one from David Mallet or an Aveda cream for texture so I don’t look like a big head of hair. I never use any blow dryers though. I think when you have curly hair you need to come as you are. In France we have a sentence that means if you want to forget your natural way it will come back fast and strong.”
“I love to wear some splash after I nourish my skin. Tom Ford’s Neroli Portofino is amazing. I use so many because for me it is a very feminine and important gesture. It is not so much about the smell because the scents are very subtle.”
“I only wear a little makeup. I don’t use a foundation, just some powder from Givenchy, Croisière . Now that it is summer I have some tan so I try to keep it. Afterwards I add pink because it can look too brown otherwise with the bronzer. I don’t like eye shadow or eyeliner so much because afterwards I can be a mess like a girl coming home with everything all over. I use a lot of black mascara by La Roche-Posay. I have very sensitive eyes and this one is very gentle. Sometimes I put blue pencil around my eyes just to change it up, but if I don’t use this blue, I use nothing. I think black looks hard on me. At the end of the day if I’m going to a party I’ll wear lipstick. I like a good matte lipstick with a lot of color like MAC Lady Danger. For the day I prefer something more sweet, with color but not too strong.”
“The last thing I do before I leave the house is apply real perfume. I love No.19 by Chanel. I have had it since I was seventeen. It is my first and my all and my everything, my first love [laughs]. Sometimes I use L’eau Froide, by Serge Lutens it means cold water. It is very special because when you smell it, it is very cold but it is hot at the same time.”
Photos by: Aimee Blaut
Tags: Aesop, Avene, beauty, Beauty Editor, Chanel, France, French, French Beauty, Givenchy, Glamour France, Glamour Magazine, Glamour Paris, Kerastase, Kiehl's, La Roche Posay, MAC, Paris, Sabine Maida, Serge Lutens, Shu Uemura Art of Hair, Tom Ford
YOU ARE A BABE
PRISCA COURTIN-CLARINS, NAIL FACTORY
JULY 24.2012
by AIMEE BLAUT
"I grew up in the beauty world, my grandfather and all of the family was working for Clarins so I lived in that world. It has everything for skin care and makeup but nothing for nails or hair. So I could start something for nail care or open a hairdressing salon, but nail culture is something missing in Paris. There was a need and we responded to it. I started Nail Factory with two partners. When we opened it was a big success, everyone was doing the queue to come in. We do nails, feet, shellac, acrylic, everything- which is very uncommon for people in Paris, in New York you see this everywhere. The worst thing is that in Paris we have to make nail appointments. In New York you don’t ever need to but here nail salons are so rare so you have to book a time."
“I only use Clarins [laughs] for sure, for everything! It is the best for me, I am used to it, if I put something else on my skin I am going to have a reaction–even my makeup is Clarins and what I use on my body. In the morning I wake up, shower and wash my face with Doux Nettoyant Moussant then I put on Lotion Tonique for the visage. Next I use the Crème Éclat for vitamins and radiance. Everyday I use Défatigant cream on my eyes. It is great to combat fatigue when I am very tired.”
“What I use on my body is very complicated [laughs]. I use a moisturizing cream, Baume Hydratant on my hands and calves. Then on my thighs I use Tonic Huile, which is the best and it smells so good. When girls are pregnant they use this oil to prevent stretch marks. It is to tonify the skin so I put it there and on my butt [laughs]. On my chest I use something special for the bust. It firms and pushes everything up, but you have to use it for a long time. And you have to do exercises also [laughs]. That is what our grandfather always told us, for him it was the worst for a woman to have her boobs fall down.”
“I use a light foundation to matify my skin so it doesn’t look shiny. Then I use blush and for sure mascara and a lipstick. The most important thing for me is to have some color on my lips like a light pink lipstick. I think I look very sick when I don’t have anything on my lips. And I always use Baume Lèvres Réparateur to keep my lips moisturized.”
“Our grandfather explained to us how to properly apply products. It is not just the products that are important but how you put them on your body. A girl can apply a very efficient cream incorrectly and then it isn’t efficient at all. For example when you put creams on you need to apply it upwards and never rub your face always pat it in.”
“I love pink polish because I have brown hair. I am going to Monaco tonight and am wearing Strawberry Margherita by O.P.I. it is the best, and lasts so long.”
Photos by: Aimee Blaut
Tags: Clarins, France, Nail Factory, Nails, O.P.I., Paris, Prisca Courtin-Clarins, Salon
