Bastide’s Commitment To Naturality
There is a lot of content these days on "all natural" or "clean beauty." We want to open up and share with you about what we have in mind when we talk about natural beauty. It is an ever evolving conversation, and we are always learning. We hope you will join us on this discovery.
When Frédéric and I began restoring our 18th century house, our Bastide, in Aix-en-Provence yeas ago, we began spending more and more time in Provence. Gradually, we discovered a beauty there that we haven’t seen anywhere else in the world. The beauty comes from a relationship with nature that is built on respect, patience, and appreciation, and this beauty truly radiates throughout nature, the lifestyle there, and very evidently in the people. We found ourselves feeling (and yes, looking) better after doing life on Provence time – eating directly from the garden, buying simple foods from our favorite butcher, our favorite baker, our favorite fishmonger, the list goes on. We always still had fun and made lots of time for rosé but the awareness of what we ate and how it made us feel revolutionized our perspective.
The next step in our realization was this - we pay attention to what we put in our bodies, so shouldn’t we also pay attention to what we’re putting on our bodies?
When I became a mother, I realized that everything I used on myself and in my home would probably get onto my kids in some way. Many beauty and home products are made with harmful ingredients such as formaldehyde, silicone, BHT and BHA, Phenoxyethanol, to name only a few. All these chemicals are not only harmful to the environment, but to your body too− including all those parts you’re longing to pamper and treat beautifully. Because of this, we set out to create our collection as 100% non-toxic - this means every ingredient has been scrutinized and evaluated to be safe for you, which is our ultimate standard. "Organic" and "clean beauty" can mean so many different things and oftentimes can misleading, so we are as transparent as we can be about what we never use by our extensive blacklist and focus on the quality of the ingredients we do use. We are always learning about natural beauty and invite you to join us in this journey.
Our life in Provence has taught us that nature is the most prolific creator of beauty, so when we set out to create Bastide, we committed to working diligently to keep our products clean and healthy. We sourced everything like we source our food – we found Beautisans (beauty artisans) that are experts of their individual craft – creams from the best cream maker, soap from the best soap maker, and so on. We also relied on their generations of savoir-faire to guide us on making a product that is safe, non-toxic, and still luxurious. Our close partnerships with these eco-certified labs have given birth to beautiful products - 98% of our ingredients are natural, and we have delicate, safe scents along with rich yet non-greasy, hydrating formulas that are gentle and non-irritating.
Our ingredients are sourced from Provence and true to their origins – using rose, olive oil, coco oil, macadamia oil, almonds, and orange blossoms − evoking the essence and beauty of the windswept Provence countryside, lush with lavender and the golden light of the sun.
We used traditional, tried-and-true practices, like saponification, to create our unique formulas, forgoing excessive human or chemical intervention, to create products closer to nature. We have so many beloved animals in our lives, and Bastide never, ever tests products on animals, always remaining true to our love and respect for the earth and all living creatures. Instead, we rely on a trust test panel of ourselves (and our families & willing friends!).
Because Bastide’s products are natural and safe, we highly encourage indulgence without moderation! When you apply them to your skin and bring our products into your life, we hope you feel a sense of calmness and tranquility, a transportation of your senses to our beloved Provence – taking in the heady air, napping under a fig tree, or strolling through ancient roads dotted with flower fields.
Like cooking, we believe love, care, and passion make up the magic sauce. For our products, we take the same approach in crafting products that are good-for-you, good-on-you, and good-for-nature, even to the recyclable packaging that minimizes waste.
This is our wish - our products are balms for the senses and for the soul; tender and caressing, and so alluring. Made with refined care and love, Bastide works in harmony with nature, bringing you a new sense of balance with the world.
