May we introduce: Sophie

Here at Baie Botanique we have a warm relationship with our customers and we think you deserve to meet the team. First, we'd like to introduce you to our founder, Sophie Oliver. She launched this organic skincare brand in 2014 and it's been getting more and more enthusiastic responses ever since.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE BAIE BOTANIQUE?

Since I was very young, I have loved beauty in all things. When I was very young, my father worked as an international sales manager for several major cosmetic brands and I went to shows and exhibitions. I absolutely loved playing with the products and pretending that all the stock in the garage was my own shop. This probably had a big influence on my training as a beauty therapist and later as a make-up artist.

I have always felt it was my passion to help people look their best with the minimal makeup and achieve fresh, clean and radiant skin.

Over the last 15 years I have become more and more interested in health and vitality through the food we eat and the products we use and in general I live as close to natural and clean living as possible. This is where my passions converged and now I put all my knowledge and great interest into developing wonderfully structured skincare products to compete with the classic skincare brands. While the latter are full of synthetic ingredients, we use wonderfully powerful natural, plant-based and mainly organic ingredients instead.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE BAIE BOTANIQUE IN A BRIEF WAY?

"Innovative, purely plant-based, skin-care".

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PRODUCT FROM THE ROSE RENEW RANGE?

'Our new Rose Renew Regenerating Eye Cream is my new favourite, followed by the Anti-ageing Serum. Our new eye cream is so silky and smooth and feels wonderful on the skin. It has a great instant firming and lifting effect based on red algae, edelweiss stem cells and hyaluronic acid, to name just a few of the superstars...'.

WHAT IS THE BEST SKIN CARE ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?

I think it was the advice to start taking care of my skin early. I started using eye creams etc. quite young, around 19. I think starting so early means you don't miss the critical time when the skin slowly starts to lose collagen and elasticity. Secondly, protecting my skin from the sun and keeping my face in the shade whenever possible, wearing big brimmed hats etc. My mother, being a sun worshipper, loved sunbathing, which was definitely not good for the skin, so I have decided to be paler and use sunscreen whenever I am outside for a few hours, even on cloudy days. The hard part is finding a nice cream with SPF. We will be launching our own in the near future.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO USE PRODUCTS THAT ARE NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS?

`Because there is no need to make animals suffer in any way just so we can take good care of our skin. Nature, through plants, gives us everything we need and more to keep our skin youthful and healthy. Most people would much rather avoid animal testing than accept animal ingredients in their products. I think it is far too often overlooked how destructive our lifestyle can be for our environment and everything in it. To me, `not tested on animals´ literally means `cruelty-free´, because bees, for example, which play an important role in our ecosystem, are harmed and often killed in the production of honey and beeswax. Our products do not contain any animal ingredients and are certified by `PETA´ as "cruelty-free and vegan".

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PRODUCT FROM THE ROSE RENEW RANGE?
That's a pretty difficult question. My most sacred products that I use every day, morning and night, are the serum and the facial oil, the 'Skin Glow Duo'. These are my go-to skincare products. I need these two to keep my skin feeling moisturized and nourished and looking fresh and plump. If I had to choose one other product, it would be the eye cream as it really camouflages my fine lines.

CAN YOU LET US KNOW ANY SECRETS ABOUT NEW PRODUCTS?
Suffice it to say that I am hyper-precise when it comes to perfecting our formulas. They have to meet many criteria and, above all, be able to compete with a non-natural luxury product, which is not always easy when dealing with natural, genuine raw materials. I have been working hard behind the scenes to perfect our next range, which uses sea buckthorn and neroli as a powerhouse to illuminate and restore radiance to dull, dehydrated and sun-damaged skin. In the meantime, we will be launching our new lip care early next year.

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