May 05, 2022

rd.com (Reader's Digest)

Ligne St. Barth, Tiare Body Lotion, Beautyhabit

Ligne St. Barth as seen on rd.com...

...and available online at Beautyhabit

Ligne St. Barth Tiare Body Lotion: 129 Gifts for the Mom Who Says She Needs Nothing—But Deserves Everything

Looking for the perfect present for the most important woman in your life? You're in the right place with these can't-miss gifts for moms!

Best for the lotion collector

Ligne St. Barth Tiaré Body Lotion

Instantly transport her to a tropical island with Ligne St. Barth Tiaré body lotion. This luxurious shimmery blend melts into the skin, leaving it smelling like the sweet and fragrant tiaré flower.

May 05, 2022

May 02, 2022

April 04, 2022

March 13, 2022

Groomed-LA.com

Beautyhabit premieres a brick and mortar, full retail location for their modern luxe apothecary concept. The delightful jewel box setting in Montecito Country Mart invites all to discover the best in global indie beauty brands now gathered together for the first time. Beautyhabit Montecito offers an exclusive curation of cult-favorites as well as exciting new discoveries scouted from around the world: Skincare, Bath + Body, Hair Care, Candles, Makeup, Fragrance, Natural + Organic, along with many hard-to-find brands, including Eau d’Italie Le Sirenuse Positano, Ligne St Barth, Parfums de Nicolai, Susanne Kaufmann, Harris Reed, (Child Perfume, ALTAIA also sold in store), Cultus Artem, Santa Maria Novella, and Bamford. Truly, Beautyhabit stands apart as a compelling new beauty destination for the Montecito community.

Eau d'Italie, Harris Read and Ligne St. Barth as seen on groomed-la.com...

... and available online at Beautyhabit

Beautyhabit: Modern Luxe Apothecary

Beautyhabit premieres a brick and mortar, full retail location for their modern luxe apothecary concept. The delightful jewel box setting in Montecito Country Mart invites all to discover the best in global indie beauty brands now gathered together for the first time.

Beautyhabit Montecito offers an exclusive curation of cult-favorites as well as exciting new discoveries scouted from around the world: Skincare, Bath + Body, Hair Care, Candles, Makeup, Fragrance, Natural + Organic, along with many hard-to-find brands, including Eau d’Italie Le Sirenuse Positano, Ligne St Barth, Parfums de Nicolai, Susanne Kaufmann, Harris Reed, (Child Perfume, ALTAIA also sold in store), Cultus Artem, Santa Maria Novella, and Bamford. Truly, Beautyhabit stands apart as a compelling new beauty destination for the Montecito community.

Teresa Mitchell, founder of beautyhabit.com, is proud to say that the brick and mortar location at Montecito Country Mart is the perfect way to celebrate this renowned, remarkably original online luxury beauty destination’s 25^thanniversary, “we’re more passionate than ever about traversing the globe to bring our clients amazing, unique creations that express individuality and make life pleasurable. Every day we are inspired to source the best products in the world with an eye for exquisite details, stellar craftsmanship, and the highest quality ingredients.”

Paula Weiser-Vazquez, Beautyhabit partner, assures all that the website’s spot-on customer care translates impeccably to this ultimate modern shopping experience. The intimate setting at Montecito Country Mart will showcase the Beautyhabit commitment to luxury and craftsmanship. “We see the interest online translating to our Montecito retail location as customers in search of the perfect beauty solution – whether it is discovering a new brand, replenishing a favorite product, or finding the perfect gift – will be pleased that their search is over. Our client base at Beautyhabit.com depends on us for a stellar selection and the clients that discover us for the first time in Montecito will find the same at our new retail location.” Beautyhabit will constantly update to be sure to consistently intrigue all shoppers.”

Beautyhabit AT MONTECITO COUNTRY MART

Hours are Monday – Saturday: 10am to 6pm / Sunday: 11am to 5pm

Montecito Country Mart 1026A Coast Village Road in Montecito.

March 01, 2022

February 04, 2022

January 27, 2022

January 01, 2022

December 03, 2021

IdentifyLA.com

Beautyhabit as seen on IdentifyLA.com...

...and available online at Beautyhabit

Beautyhabit Celebrates its 25th Anniversary by Revealing New Location at Montecito Country Mart

Just in time for Holiday shopping, renowned online resource for the best in indie beauty, Beautyhabit premieres a brick and mortar, fully-stocked retail location for their modern luxe apothecary concept. The delightful jewel box setting in Montecito Country Mart invites all to discover the best in global indie beauty brands now gathered together for the first time under one roof.

Beautyhabit stands apart as a compelling new beauty destination for the Montecito community. The location will be a unique opportunity to get “Up Close and Personal” with an international coterie of designers, brand ambassadors and entrepreneurs behind the cult-favorites Beautyhabit is known for. “We’re more passionate than ever about traversing the globe to bring our clients amazing, unique creations that express individuality and make life pleasurable,” Teresa Mitchell, founder of beautyhabit.com, shared. “Every day we are inspired to source the best products in the world with an eye for exquisite details, stellar craftsmanship, and the highest quality ingredients.”

Paula Weiser-Vazquez, Beautyhabit partner, says the intimate setting at Montecito Country Mart will showcase the Beautyhabit commitment to luxury and craftsmanship, as well as impeccable customer service. “This is the place for customers in search of the perfect beauty solution: whether it is discovering a new brand, replenishing a favorite product, or finding the perfect gift. Our client base at Beautyhabit.com depends on us for a stellar selection and the clients that discover us for the first time in Montecito will find the same at our new retail location.” Beautyhabit will be constantly updated to be sure to consistently intrigue all shoppers, Weiser-Vazquez added.

The brick and mortar location at Montecito Country Mart is the perfect way to celebrate this renowned, remarkably original online luxury beauty destination’s 25th anniversary! The prime location has a few exciting additions such as an appearance by Damien Flynn, Brand Ambassador for the luxe fragrance house, Parfums de Nicolai Paris, on 12/10. This is the first, or many, exclusive and informative in-store events which gives customers a chance to gain insights into newly discovered as well as beloved brands.

Beautyhabit is located at 1026-A in Montecito Country Mart, in the former location of Coco Cabana. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm, and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm. For more information, visit www.beautyhabit.com.

November 30, 2021

November 26, 2021

November 12, 2021

November 04, 2021

November 01, 2021

October 29, 2021

October 21, 2021

October 19, 2021

Forbes.com

Ligne St Barth, Skincare, Body Care, Men's Care, Fragrance, Beautyhabit

Ligne St. Barth as seen on forbes.com...

... and available online at Beautyhabit

How To Visit St. Barth Without Leaving Home

If there’s anything I love to do, it’s to discover beauty products in my travels. That is, local beauty products that are made with ingredients that are indigenous to the destination where I’m at. I’m currently in love with the luscious Ligne St Barth upscale line of luxury skin and body care made with the posh Caribbean island’s local fruits, flowers, and herbs (even though I’m writing this at my home office in Boston). Who wouldn’t like a visit to St. Barth – without the actual trip and jet lag?

It all started in repurposed rum bottles — it’s become a cult classic — and it’s quite the story.

In fact, the brand is luscious, gorgeous, and very French – sort of like Brigitte Bardot in her heyday.

Ligne St Barth is a family-owned business and Herve Brin is its CEO. Mr. Brin started the company in the 1980s selling pure, pressed avocado and coconut oils in re-purposed rum bottles to tourists on the beach. It is now a global phenomenon available in 30 countries, with 40 products in the line, including a collection tailored just for men. Beloved of celebs, tourists, and locals, Ligne St Barth has a spa at the Eden Rock, offers dockside yacht service of spa treatments in St. Barth – who wouldn’t love that? – and they offer natural sun and skincare products made from all that is local - mango, papaya, lily, vanilla orchid and more - with recipes handed down in their family from descendants of the Arawak Indians.

When you do arrive in St. Barth, you can enjoy a little slice of Ligne St. Barth at the Eden spa at the tony Eden Rock hotel. Mind you, this gorgeous getaway was the first hotel built on sunny St Barths, and for more than 50 years it has welcomed a privileged clientele seeking tranquility and white sands. I spoke with spa manager Laura Derozey, who told me, “We offer lots of treatments with Ligne St. Barth – it is an olfactory journey.” The most popular treatment, she told me, is the Eden Flower Treatment, a relaxing massage with frangipani (plumeria) flowers. “We chose an iconic local brand because we are an iconic hotel in St. Barth.”

I also conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Brin by phone from his office in St. Barth. Here is what he told me.

What made you decide to start a product line with ingredients from St. Barth?

It’s a funny story – it was a tradition in my family to produce our own coconut oil and avocado oil – my grandma was well-known physical therapist helping local people with health problems. I grew up with my grandma who taught me about plants and herbs. My nanny was my grandma. Later on I started in the discipline of science – and decided to make a business out of it – at that time my grandparents used to produce coconut and avocado oil – I decided to do something with it and modernize the presentation. I used rum bottles as the packaging – I hand-wrote the name of the products with a golden marker – I opened a small shop for locals and tourists. It took time but it prospered through word-of-mouth. Even celebrities come to my shop for the products.

What are some of the bestsellers?

In summer it’s the roucou oil – a tanning oil. (The deep red seeds of the roucou shrub were used as a traditional form of sun protection by the Arawaks due to the high proportion of Vitamin A.) And now we are developing a sun spray with SFP 30. The Avocado Oil with the tiare flower fragrance – people love it as a skincare oil. And the Mango Butter Cream.

What are some of the indigenous ingredients used in the brand?

Avocado oil from Martinique, roucou seed from Dominica, the aloe vera from Curacao, and some bottles from French Guyana. We have two shops — one in Gustavia by the harbor and one at the facilities where they are produced. It’s in the countryside.

Tell me about the products offered dockside for yacht service??

We have a full spa service such as at the Eden Rock– and at five-star hotels around the world. Spa service, upon request from clients on their yachts — our teams of spa therapists can go dockside and provide treatments from our spa menu — that works very well Our clients love it.

What is your bestseller for men?

The Aloe Vera Gel With Mint. Men love it as an after-shave. It’s very refreshing with spearmint.

What celebrities use the products??

Princess Charlotte of Monaco (Prince Albert’s wife), French actors and Steven Spielberg used to order a lot of products from us. Claudia Schiffer. Melanie Griffith.

Why is St. Barth so loved by celebrities?

It’s very peaceful - a very relaxing atmosphere – no one will try to sell you anything – they are captivated by the beauty of the landscape, the brightness, friendliness, cleanliness. No advertising billboards or fast-food-chains. Very good infrastructure and very good Internet services, and a good food supply chain from the US and Europe – we have world-class gastronomy with great chefs and great choice of restaurants. Plus French cabarets in a beautiful atmosphere. Here, women can wear their most beautiful jewelry and men can wear their most expensive watches.

Ligne St. Barth, I would say, is the epitome of fragrant flowers, exotic fruits – and Caribbean nonchalance. It is available at beautyhabit.com but the brand site at www.Lignestbarth.com is also extensive. Voila!

October 15, 2021

October 05, 2021

LuxuryTravelMagazine.com

Ligne St. Barth as seen on luxurytravelmagazine.com...

... and available online at Beautyhabit

Ligne St Barth Skincare Line Transports You to the Caribbean

CEO Herve Brin started Ligne St Barth in the 1980s, selling coconut and avocado oil on the beach in re-purposed rum bottles. Using only local fruits and flowers and recipes handed down for generations, he has built a natural skincare line coveted the world over. From dockside service on arrival to pampering spa sessions at the Eden Roc, Ligne St Barth is a must have when it comes to making time on the Island an extraordinary indulgence.

Q. Who does Ligne St Barth appeal to?

With a following - for decades now - of world travelers who seek natural luxuries wherever they go, Ligne St Barth is one of those “in-the-know” brands that’s quietly, secretly coveted. From fashionistas to CEOS and Supermodels Ligne St Barth’s healing oils, gels, and creams have been a “bring home from St Barth” must have since the collection’s early days when it appeared on the beach in repurposed, hand-labeled rum bottles. Ligne St Barth has its origins in a time well before ounces mattered and plastic was - when traveling - preferred.

Q. Why does Ligne St Barth have staying power?

It’s results-driven. The skincare is made from the local plants and flowers and it’s made to deliver olfactory rewards as it keeps our skin and bodies youthful -- with perfect travel-ready packaging.

These super emollient-based unisex skincare creams and lotions are indeed impressive. Essentials - a “maintenance tier” - are indulgent basics from Ligne St Barth. Whether you’re a sunworshipper or a shade-seeker, after a day at the beach what revitalizes? A head-to-toe scrub for regeneration that also keeps an even skin tone. Start revitalizing aprés sun and before cocktails with Papaya Peeling Shower Cream. Follow with Ligne St Barth Cream Mask with Pink Clay and Passionfruit. The Frangipani Flower Cleansing Milk is a blissful treat twice a day, aloe vera, mango butter and sweet almond oil soothe while they refresh, certainly this cleanser is a lusg treatment for all, but a necessity for fair, sensitive, or sun-parched skin. Make your shower the best part of the day with Amber & Vanilla Shower Cream or Extra Mild Shower Gel With Vetyver & Lavender. Post-sun and surf, the Melon Tonic Lotion is perfect for a reset, just spray and head out the door!

Still family-owned, Ligne St. Barth’s formulas date back generations. Made from raw and potent fruits and flowers the line has hardly diverged from the original naturopathic remedies. What will you discover in the line? Pure avocados, aloe pulp or squeezed mango-lime juice with herbs - an excellent a topical antiseptic that helps soothe burns, relieve aches and, naturally help repair mature complexions. Years, even a century or so has passed since these natural cures were first used, so naturally, their effectiveness is proven over time.

Q. What is the basis of the Ligne St Barth formulas?

CEO Hervé Brin, who founded Ligne St Barth in 1983 and continues to steer this family-owned business, wants us to understand that Ligne St Barth “products and their healing properties come from plants with purpose.” Today, his grandmother’s concoctions are still the barometer for maintaining levels of excellence. “Potent, live actives” is Brin’s mantra for Ligne St Barth’s curative skincare, after all the line is genuinely a reflection of a childhood spent with a botanical pharmacy growing in his backyard.

Jumping off a sailboat or splashing in the pool, what to have handy? Sunsplash Face & Body Splash for dockside refreshing; Aloe Vera Gel With Mint as an after shave or post-sun soother; Avocado Hair & Skin Oil or Coconut Dry Oil as a daytime/sun hair treatment and pre-shampoo protectant. For that citrusy pick me up, bring along a travel size of Ligne St. Barth Eau De Toilette Homme spray just in case, or Patchouli Arawak Eau de Toilette if a sunset cocktail is next on the agenda.

Q. Ligne St Barth skincare/bodycare is unisex but aren’t there ALSO choices just for men?

For sure, men may shortlist Ligne St Barth as go-to necessities on land or at sea. Mango seed oil, Caribbean sea water and shea butter are a potent healing combination for men, they smoothly deliver pure unsaturated fatty acids in the Moisturizing Facial Fluid boosting natural collagen production —where we need it most— where men can see the ravages of time from neck to pecs. Even though this easily absorbed facial fluid hydrates as well as a cream, it’s light and matte, a shine-free treatment. You could say it is a yachtsman’s best friend. The wind and sun, St Barth’s natural elements, deplete the skin, robbing it of elasticity and hydration, Rich Mango Butter Cream restores firmness, replacing stolen nutrients. When the sun sets and those legs ache from a hard day sailing or a few too many hours spent splashing among the waves, the evening elixir to take the edge off is the Relaxing Body Oil with Camphor & Menthol.

Q. Where can one find Ligne St Barth?

Of course, you can find Ligne St Barth locally on the Island at the fabulous and famous, Eden Roc Hotel. Arriving with immediate gratification being your goal, book for on-yacht service the moment you dock. A facial, body treatment, full range of massages or a men’s rapid head, hands, and foot service is sure to help you face the music for a night of dancing at Nikki Beach. Back home and needing to replenish? Head to Beautyhabit.com and Island indulgence straight from St. Barth will be yours for days, weeks, months to come.

October 01, 2021

September 29, 2021

BeautyIndependent.com

Asklepios Garden as seen on beautyindependent.com...

... and available online at Beautyhabit

New Brand Asklepios Garden Showcases The Luxury Of Plant-Powered Skincare

Asklepios Garden founder Nicholas Bradford Fritz has always gravitated toward creative fields. He’s designed furniture, handled marketing, made chocolate and, before launching his gender-fluid, vegan, luxury skincare line in April of this year, entered the beauty industry at haircare, skincare and body care brand Sangre de Fruta Botanical.

“This small beauty brand offered me a position to make their product because there are a lot of similarities in the way that skincare and chocolate are made,” says Fritz, who joined Sangre de Fruta in 2017 when it was a fledging business run out of a friend’s kitchen. “We kind of grew up together.” When his role at the brand ended in 2020, Fritz figured he’d return to marketing, but realized his thirst for building beauty products hadn’t been quenched.

“I thought to myself, ‘You know what, I’m really loving this clean beauty world,'” he recounts. “It just lit a fire within me, but I also felt that I needed to educate myself.” To educate himself, Fritz enrolled in online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica as the pandemic hit last year. “It was an incredible experience. It taught me all the foundational skills for skincare formulation, for product stability, for ingredient sourcing and safety,” he says. “It really gave me the confidence to create my own formulations from scratch.” While studying at Formula Botanica, Fritz began developing the brand that would become Asklepios Garden.

Rooted in his passion for art history and ancient mythology, Fritz designed a logo for Asklepios Garden that references Asclepius, the Greek god of healing. “His symbol is the serpent because he learned the secrets to healing from watching a serpent carry medicinal leaf to another serpent,” explains Fritz. “I made my logo a take off that. I really wanted to create a brand that touched on the history of ancient skincare routines and use some ancient ingredients, but I also wanted to incorporate modern skincare technologies.”

Housed in Italian glassware, Asklepios Garden’s debut collection features $79 Oleum Deorum Nourishing Oil Cleanser, $59 Creme Fraiche Gentle Creme Cleanser, $98 Jardin Flaneur Light Creme Moisturiser and $128 Prima Materia Phyto-Actif Facial Serum. A toner called Élixer de Philosophe Herbaceous Facial Toner, which took 20 renditions to get right, is up next. It’s been delayed due to a pump issue in Italy, not an unusual predicament given the supply chain chaos disrupting the beauty industry. After the toner, Fritz plans to release an exfoliating scrub and mask, and an unscented moisturizer.

Asklepios Garden products contain ingredients such as shea butter, pomegranate seed oil, aloe vera, ashwagandha and helichrysum. They also contain hyaluronic acid, organic, cold-pressed oils and herbal extracts Fritz draws from organic herbs, including licorice and dandelion roots. Some of Asklepios Garden’s products use aloe vera as a “richer, more nutrient-rich” alternative to water, according to Fritz.

Preservatives aren’t off limits. “There’s a scary trend in the beauty world where some brands are going preservative-free. This is actually quite dangerous, but I use preservatives that are approved by the European Union standard of organic green beauty,” says Fritz. “There’s a natural preserving agent in all of my products that contain water, which is very important.”

Asklepios Garden’s skincare consciously crosses gender boundaries. “I really wanted to bridge the gap between the genders and create a high-quality, organic, vegan product that men, women or non-binary people can all use without feeling alienated by gendered marketing,” says Fritz. “I stand behind inclusivity—aging inclusivity, gender inclusivity—that’s just something that’s very, very important to me.” Giving back is integral to the Vancouver, B.C.-based brand as well. It donates a percentage of each sale to the LGBTQI support organization Rainbow Railroad and environmental nonprofit The Nature Conservatory of Canada.

Asklepios Garden is primarily sold via direct-to-consumer distribution on its website, but has picked up wholesale accounts. Notably, it’s carried by beauty e-tailer Beautyhabit. “I’m trying to keep the growth as organic as possible and trying to partner up with some great retailers that have the same point of view on clean beauty,” says Fritz. “I’m in talks with a lot of really exciting retailers. I can’t really say everything right now, but there’s definitely exciting things ahead, and I definitely plan to expand the the product range to complete the whole skincare routine.”

July 23, 2021

wwd.com

Eau d'Italie, ALTAIA, Fragrance, Eau de Parfum, Beautyhabit

Eau d'Italie and ALTAIA as seen on wwd.com...

... and available online at Beautyhabit - Eau d'Italie and ALTAIA

The Couple Instilling the Essence of Italy in Fragrances for 20 Years

On occasion of the 20th anniversary of beauty brand Eau d’Italie, founders Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena launched a new fragrance and revamped packaging, setting the tone for the label’s next chapters.

MILAN — Even through a screen, talking to Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena is an energizing experience.

The couple behind the beauty brand Eau d’Italie and fragrance label ALTAIA were all smiles throughout an hourlong Facetime call during which they shared anecdotes and reflected on the evolution of their businesses.

Their setting likely played a role in their upbeat mood, too: rays of Mediterranean sun coming through the windows of the legendary Hotel Le Sirenuse in Positano, Italy, lent them a natural glowy filter (and certainly elicited envy from the other end of the phone).

Sersale and Alvarez Murena’s story is inherently intertwined with the the iconic location — an 18th-century palazzo that was turned into a luxury hotel by Sersale’s father and his siblings in 1951. Ever since, it has attracted an international audience of renowned intellectuals and celebrities, and, in modern times, dominates the Instagram accounts of influencers, high-flying travelers and fashion lovers alike.

As the hotel turned 70 this year, the Eau d’Italie brand marked its 20th anniversary by continuing its mission to exemplify the Italian lifestyle in its fragrance collection, which also includes ambiance scents and body care products.

“In 2001, the hotel was turning 50 and big celebrations were to be staged in October with 400 international guests in attendance, but 9/11 changed everything. The whole world stopped,” recalled Alvarez Murena. In the following months, the younger generation of the family conversed and shared ideas on how to mark the milestone in lieu of the event when Sersale and Alvarez Murena came up with the concept of creating a fragrance that could “bottle the feeling of being at Le Sirenuse in summer.”

Although the couple didn’t have a background strictly focused on beauty — with Sersale boasting a career as a documentary filmmaker and Alvarez Murena with a past as journalist — the duo stepped into the niche perfumery arena to develop the juice and packaging of both the celebratory scent and related body care line for the hotel.

“We didn’t want a classic citrusy fragrance, but thought of replicating the smell of our terrace in summer, defined by the smell of terracotta warmed up under the sun,” continued Alvarez Murena, underscoring that the duo wanted to shy away from stereotyped representations of the Amalfi coast.

They embraced the same approach while designing the minimal packaging. “We are in a baroque palazzo but this place has a contemporary quality in it, such as our spa designed by Gae Aulenti. So we wanted the scent’s look to mirror this appeal and be modern in order to fit in every house, not just here,” said Sersale about the essential, white flacon.

The Eau d’Italie fragrance got immediate — and unexpected — visibility, as requests started to come through by the likes of 10 Corso Como in Milan and Colette in Paris.

“We thought it was so cool but the demand got unmanageable, so we had two options: either let go of this project or evolve it and open a small company,” said Alvarez Murena. The couple went for the latter and since 2004 has been expanding the Eau d’Italie offering, which currently counts 10 scents bearing names such as “Easy to Love” and “Un Bateau Pour Capri.” Drawing inspiration from different, Italian experiences, the range was enriched this year with the newest “Jasmine Leather” scent paying tribute to the country’s artisanal traditions.

Distribution gradually expanded, too, with products currently available at the hotel’s emporium as well as roughly 300 doors worldwide, ranging from Bergdorf Goodman to platforms such as beautyhabit.com in the U.S. The brand also has a flagship in Rome and e-commerce shipping in all Europe.

Throughout the years packaging underwent three revamps, the latest of which was designed to mark the 20th anniversary and set the tone for the brand’s future chapters. Transitioning to a more luxe interpretation, the founders maintained the linear silhouettes but revisited proportions. They additionally scaled back on the popping colors that used to distinguish the different scents: Now colored accents just outline the new labels that adorn the white lacquered glass flacons and mark the textured paper of the restyled outer boxes.

Each bottle is topped by a mirror-polished solid brass cap, which nods to the look of the hotel’s bar counter and is engraved with the two mermaids of Le Sirenuse’s logo.

In sync with the image elevation, the couple also adjusted the price positioning to be more in sync with the brand equity and market conditions, which over the last years registered a spike in the demand of niche perfumes. Prices for each 100-ml. sized edp switched from 125 euros to 150 euros, or around 170 dollars.

Beside Italy, key markets for the label include the U.S, the U.K., Germany and especially Australia, where the brand is available at Mecca Cosmetica.

“We have had a little exposition in the Middle East, maybe because our look was perceived too Occidental. But over the past 10 to 15 years, Middle Eastern consumers have changed a lot and had such an interesting evolution, also in terms of taste, so it makes sense that we now explore that market,” said Alvarez Murena about future plans.

The company is also implementing a pilot launch in Japan to test the local market. “Even if Japanese consumers don’t have a long tradition in using perfumes, they appreciate the attention to details. We noticed in our sales points that these customers purchased our products not much for the fragrance per se but as a sort of sculptures to keep at home,” he said. “Plus, they love storytelling and we have plenty of that. So not sure what will happen in that market but it is worth a try.”

Meanwhile, with the experience gained from the Eau d’Italie project, the duo also launched a second, higher positioned brand. In 2012, Sersale and Alvarez Murena discovered by chance that their families crossed paths in Argentina centuries ago — the former is the great-great-granddaughter of entrepreneur James Morrison and the latter the great-great-grandson of General Bartolomé Mitre, who became unified Argentina’s first president in 1862 and opened the country to foreign investments, including Morrison’s.

The ancestral link inspired the couple to create ALTAIA, acronym for “A long time ago in Argentina,” and celebrate their storytelling through fragrances. The brand now includes seven scents, ranging from “Don’t Cry For Me” to the newest “Atacama” fragrance.

The Altaia scents are distributed via the same channels as Eau d’Italie’s, but the couple’s ultimate plan for this brand is to keep it strictly focused on perfumery rather than exploring other categories.

June 17, 2021

June 11, 2021

May 25, 2021

May 12, 2021

NYTimes.com

Eau d'Italie, Rosa Greta, Eau de Parfum, Beautyhabit

Eau d'Italie Rosa Greta as seen on NYTimes.com...

...and available online at Beautyhabit

52 Fragrances and How to Think About Them

An encyclopedia of some of the most interesting floral, woody, fresh and spicy scents around.

How do you organize perfume?

Michael Edwards, the perfume historian and author, founded and runs what is arguably the most extensive database on perfumes, fragrancesoftheworld.info. It contains over 38,000 scents and counting. This is nuts. How is anyone expected to make sense of these things? You organize them into categories. OK, pretty obvious — categories exist explicitly to give us a common language we can use to talk about things with one another. The less obvious question, then: How do you create your categories?

Perfume categories have always been based on raw materials. The medium is around 4,000 years old, and one of the oldest known scent material markets was in Kannauj, India, which remains the country’s perfume capital today. At first, the ingredients were limited: A few flowers whose oils (which are almost always the part of the raw materials that contain the scented molecules) were extracted with rudimentary methods. A few kinds of woods that, when dried, gave off a scent. Various benzoins — the saps and resins of local plants and, eventually, those that grew around the Persian Gulf, and in East Africa and Southeast Asia. Spices, of course. Green herbs and dried seeds. Fruit peels, which are loaded with oil, particularly those of citrus fruits.

Then came the 20th century and, with it, solvent-made absolutes, carbon dioxide extractions and molecular fractionations, and the number of raw materials exploded. Almost everyone still divides perfumes according to their predominant raw materials, but Edwards now uses a full 14 categories, and others use even more.

In the name of simplicity, we decided, for our own guide to some of the best and most interesting fragrances on the market today and where they live in relation to others — part of T’s Beauty & Luxury issue — to use just four: floral, woody, fresh/citrusy/green and spicy/gourmand — which means that the perfume smells as though it is made of edible ingredients. The dozen or so options in each category should give you a general sense of the range and complexity of the medium, even if what “woody,” or for that matter any label here, means when you apply it to a work of art — and indeed, so-called woody perfumes are some of the most inventive, strange and beautiful ones around — is somewhat arbitrary, or at least subjective. After all, to smell a perfume is, by design, often a personal exercise in imagining.

Floral

The Italian fragrance house Eau d’Italie could already lay claim to one of the most beautiful rose perfumes, Paestum Rose — a richly textured late-evening fragrance created by Bertrand Duchaufour in 2006 — when its founders and creative directors, Marina Sersale and Sebastián Alvarez Murena, commissioned what would become Rosa Greta, named for Greta Garbo’s home on the Amalfi Coast, from Fabrice Pellegrin. Around his central structure, Pellegrin applied fresh, pure lychee and white tea, which lift the rose, making it glass-smooth and almost weightless.

May 11, 2021

May 07, 2021

May 05, 2021

May 04, 2021

February 23, 2021

February 19, 2021

Caviar Affair

Ligne St. Barth, Skincare, Body Care, Hair Care, Fragrance, Men's Care, Beautyhabit

Ligne St. Barth as seen in Caviar Affair Magazine...

...and available online at Beautyhabit

Global Brand, Local Luxury - Unisex Anti-aging botanicals keep it simple—for men, too

Product beauty shot Top Left: Ligne St. Barth’s curative formulas are based on naturopathic remedies dating back generations. CEO Herve Brin is quick to say “our products’ healing comes from plants with purpose,” noting that his grandmother's concoctions are still the barometer for maintaining levels of excellence.

Product beauty shot Bottom Right: the unisex anti-aging botanicals in Ligne St.Barth keep it simple—for men, too. Packed with natural active substances from tropical mango, coconut and shea butter, each product is lightly scented with the Eau de Toilette’s fragrance – a hint of lemon, subtly tangy and aromatic, with a soupçon of salty surf.

Ligne St. Barth is one of those in-the-know brands that has empowered many an understated, prestigious group of jetsetters for decades. It’s common knowledge that fashionistas, business titans and supermodels had carry-on bags full of Ligne St. Barth healing oils, gels and creams in repurposed, hand-labeled rum bottles—before the whole world was forced to change packing habits. The solution? These olfactory emulsions have remained and evolved into resultsoriented, targeted solutions in perfect little packages that keep our skin and bodies youthful.

These super emollient-based unisex skincare creams and lotions and their maintenance tier of Ligne St. Barth are impressive. Sunbather or not, I urge everyone (especially men) to do a head-to-toe scrub for regeneration and to keep even skin color just from being in the outdoor tropics. First, use PAPAYA PEELING SHOWER CREAM and their CREAM MASK WITH PINK CLAY AND PASSIONFRUIT. Twice a day I’d use FRANGIPANI FLOWER CLEANSING MILK with Aloe vera, mango butter and sweet almond oil, a luxurious treatment cleanser for anyone, but really great for fair, sensitive or sun-parched skin. Showering can be the best part of our day. Heighten that experience with AMBER & VANILLA SHOWER CREAM or EXTRA MILD SHOWER GEL WITH VETYVER & LAVENDER. The MELON TONIC LOTION is the perfect post-cleanse spray toner or gym/sport item for any human needing a fresh reset while out and about.

The brand’s St. Barths origins have been producing raw and quite potent formulas dating back to the founding families’ generations of medicine women’s type of naturopathic remedies. Why is it that we still use pure avocados, aloe pulp or squeezed mango-lime juice with herbs as a topical antiseptic, to cure burns, soothe aches or slow down skin aging? Because they work. Ligne St. Barth’s founder, Hervé Brin, was quick to say “our product’s healing comes from plants with purpose” noting that his grandmother’s concoctions are the barometer for maintaining levels of excellence. While our conversation toggled my poor “Frenglish,” we laughingly landed on the same thing: A childhood spent with a botanical pharmacy growing in his backyard is precisely why the brand’s curative skincare ethos revolves around potent, live actives. No wonder.

What about pool-hopping, a beach or sail day? Here’s what I’d toss into my sailor’s duffle: SUNSPLASH FACE & BODY SPLASH for dockside refreshing; ALOE VERA GEL WITH MINT as an after shave or post-sun soother; AVOCADO HAIR & SKIN OIL or COCONUT DRY OIL as a daytime/sun hair treatment and preshampoo protectant.

And definitely pack a travel size of LIGNE ST. BARTH EAU DE TOILETTE HOMME spray just in case, or PATCHOULI ARAWAK EAU DE TOILETTE if a tête-à-tête is on the horizon.

Lucky me. Almost a decade ago, a hotel chain owner in St. Martin gave me the entire Ligne St. Barth Homme men’s line as a welcome basket from his luxury resort. As a veteran beauty editor covering antiaging skincare and spa, I have to use and test my mature skin with hundreds of products regularly. I use layers of serums, plumpers, lifters and line reducing creams because I have to. And I love that.

Here’s the rub; as a man, if my career didn’t demand such a complex regimen, Ligne St. Barth would be shortlisted as a go-to mainstay. Because the potency that comprises MOISTURIZING FACIAL FLUID for men is primarily mango seed oil, Caribbean sea water (genius) and shea butter, there’s an unrivaled delivery of pure unsaturated fatty acids that feeds the skin. This penetration boosts our body’s natural collagen production—where we need it most—on our face and decolletage. The latter applies to men’s shrink marks, from necks to pecs. Further, this absorbable facial fluid hydrates just like a cream, but feels light and matte as a shine-free treatment. A yachtsman’s best friend? After a full day of wind and sun, RICH MANGO BUTTER CREAM restores elasticity and facial firmness, replacing nutrients robbed by the island’s natural elements. But the best evening elixir by far is the RELAXING BODY OIL WITH CAMPHOR & MENTHOL for soothing aches or sore legs.

Ligne St. Barth’s body line is renowned for supple skin. While featured locally at the famed EDEN ROCK HOTEL, you could also have your island host or concierge book a spectacular facial, body treatment, full range of massages or a men’s rapid head, hands and foot service, on-yacht or poolside. Back on the mainland? purchase at Beautyhabit.com. You may never just towel-dry yourself again.