LIPSTICK WITH AN ECO-CONSCIENCE.

words La Bouche Rouge and nicolas gerlier editor Logan Verlaque IMAGES La Bouche Rouge

Screen Shot 2020-09-10 at 2.47.20 PM.png

JUST ON TIME FOR VALENTINE’S DAY, WE INTERVIEWED JOHN HACKET, CEO OF ARENA FLOWERS

SHORT ANSWERS FROM JOHN

LESS IS MORE: IN BEAUTY

LAST ITEM I PURCHASED: A GARDEN (*LBR Created a green garden setting to welcome its new makeup line exclusive at Le Bon Marché Paris - See it here)

LAST ITEM I RECYCLED IS: A BOTTLE OF WINE

BEING SUSTAINABLE IS: NO MORE JUST AN OPTION BUT AN URGENCY

MY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS: A HEALTHY PLANET FOR MY CHILDREN

“Today, true luxury implies sustainable objects and formulas.”

ON CREATING AN ECO-CONSCIOUS AND SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY BRAND

After a long career working for a large cosmetics group, I wanted to take on a project that resonated with my values. As a father of three, I wanted to show them that it was possible to build a better world: with La Bouche Rouge, I created a company that respects the planet and that avoids all use of plastic, a problem that wasn’t considered at that time. After creating an iconic object, the lipstick, I wanted to create beautiful, desirable objects that are made to endure and accompany women all throughout their lives. I wished to work with French artisans and artists, to create a brand that is alive, intelligent, creative, and which has a purpose and impact on the world. This, for me, is true modernity. We start a revolution with each of our daily choices. La Bouche Rouge is part of that.

We have been working on the new range for two years now, to invent the future of Clean Beauty.

Screen Shot 2020-09-10 at 2.47.12 PM.png

ON LAUNCHING WITH A LIPSTICK

I see lipstick as an icon. It’s an accessory in every purse. Do you realize that a billion lipsticks are thrown away every year in the world? An eighth continent of waste is ready to implode! It’s just a fact that we cannot continue to consume the way we do. There is no planet B! We invented plastic 100 years ago and today more than 82 % of oceans are polluted with plastic. Also, women and men are wearing lipsticks full of toxic products and microplastic, it was crazy to discover that we eat microplastics in lipstick formulas. Our lipstick, le Sérum Rouge, is the first ultra-pigmented and pure lipstick. The first fine-line, plastic-free, refillable lipstick. The first eco base refill without micro plastic and petrochemicals free. Vegan and Cruelty-free.

ON MAKING THE ENTIRE PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE PACKAGING, SUSTAINABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Today, true luxury implies sustainable objects and formulas. Of course, we are always trying to do better through our own R&D team. Producing and consuming in a sustainable manner is no longer solely urgent, it’s now also vital. We really intend to lead the way in reinventing everyday objects, guiding women to consume differently and think in a new manner. La Bouche Rouge creates and develops its products in its own laboratories, on the edges of the Loire, near Orléans. This allows us to have complete control over each step of production. The materials used are selected for their quality, efficacy, and their origins. We can thereby guarantee that the ingredients were produced with respect for people and the planet.

Our specifications are constantly evolving, for us sustainable beauty must be the perfect balance between performance, design and durability. For each product development, the difficulty is the same as at the beginning because we challenge every step of the production process, from the formula to the supply chain and the traceability of the ingredients. Even if the world of beauty evolves, we remain pioneers and for all developments we do what hasn't been done before. Clean beauty can no longer be just a matter of a formula or a pack, even a refillable one. It must be holistic. We no longer have a choice. We are not perfect, but we challenge our commitments and our processes to go further in a continuous improvement process.

Our leather cases are sourced from Du Puy Tannery in Auvergne. Bearing the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) label, which honours excellence in French savoir-faire, the tannery and its artisans are renowned for mastering rare, traditional techniques. In its upcycling approach, La Bouche Rouge uses Du Puy Tannery’s last meters of produced leather. We thereby create ephemeral collections that adapt to the seasons and trends. For the Fall/Winter 2020 season, the case will be available in black, red, camel and chocolate, and in black for the vegan alternative.

“We start a revolution with each of our daily choices. ”

ON THE SIMPLISTIC AND MINIMALISTIC DESIGN

Because Less is more! Less is more is a way to create a sustainable trend and so a timeless cherish object.

One of our cherished values is to aspire to artistic and intellect. Design and simplicity is part of our DNA and furthermore, this is the challenge and prism that helped us creating this line. The fight against plastic also guided us a lot. We are committed to this through each step of our products’ creation. This also entails the quality of our products, with their clean formulas, which are easy and pleasant to use. The future is also a world without plastic. Since 1950, only 9% of plastic waste in the world has been recycled, and around 12% is burned. Most of it ends up in dumps, nature, or the oceans. The cosmetics industry has the potential to bring about tremendous change: it is the third most polluting industry in terms of plastic, after automobiles and fashion. That is why we are working towards a path of cleaner beauty. We created beauty without plastic at each step, from production to our formulas, even, for instance, with regards to our lipstick molds and how we present our products in stores.

The most challenging product was the mascara: how to create a plastic free version of this iconic beauty product? We did not want to use recycled plastic for the bottle or even the brush. Recycled plastic is the exact opposite of sustainability. It is a material that is still poorly transformed: most recycling methods still pollute and create waste. The methods that recreate plastic that is 100% reusable are rare. Because of its brittleness, plastic, even recycled, continues to leave microparticles. We conceived the first mascara brush with vegetal castor oil fibers. Once solid, it can be used just as long as the mascara itself, without transferring into the formula. It is the first of its kind in the world! So pure you can sleep with it.

ON THE CONCEPT OF FRENCH BEAUTY INSPIRING THE BRAND

For me French Beauty is effort less and chic. A bold red lip, a clear and healthy skin and that’s it. That’s how we conceive Beauty.

70 % of the selective make-up market is represented by French Brands, and yet not one is fully sustainable or clean. We are the first Parisian clean beauty brand!

ON WHO SHOULD WEAR LA BOUCHE ROUGE

I would say, absolutely everyone should wear la Bouche Rouge because it’s good for you and the planet. It’s true, It’s ideal for pregnant women because you are eating your lipstick every day and your baby does too!