Gacilly Days. A trip to France With Yves Rocher

Hello Loves!

Do you ever think about where the products you use really come from? How they came to be? I do! Often! I wonder who had the genius to create this? How did they create it? Who physically made this? I know… I have waaaay too much time on my hands.

But anyway, the other week Sameer and I had the absolute honour and privilege to head to France to do just this. To explore the genius behind what is Yves Rocher.

June 18th 2019, over 100 people from over 17 different countries descended on the quaint town of La Gacilly in France. We were there to celebrate 60 years of Yves Rocher. I was thrilled to be invited to represent Canada as we learnt and celebrated the incredible story of Yves Rocher, where it all began.

La Gacilly is the cradle of the brand, *cough this line was totally stolen from Yves Rocher pamphlet I was given, but it’s the perfect illustration for this story. In 1959 in the attic of Yves Rocher’s family home in the picturesque town of La Gacilly, is where his dream of a brand that would change the way we do beauty, to use natures finest to create a botanical beauty legacy would come true. What I love the most about this story is that even after his huge success Yves Rocher never turned his back on La Gacilly. The brand has created over 10,000 jobs and still distributes 85% of products from factories in surrounding areas. They are the true starters of sustainable beauty.

Now let me gush a little bit about the main point of this trip… the 60th anniversary celebration! Listen, you can’t invite a Brit to a party and expect them not to have a GREAT time. Oh and did I ever have a GREAT time. We were greeted at the Botanical Beauty Valley, (which is actually open to the public) by the most beautiful botanical party I ever did see. There were flower crown stations, botanical tattoos and makeup, petal hand and foot baths, vegan food trucks, enough instagrammable photo stations to fill your feed for a year and my fav… the museum. The interactive Yves Rocher museum fuels you with information and excitement about the brand, botanical beauty and the support it gives to some pretty incredible females around the world… I don’t want to give too much away, because if you ever find yourself in La Gacilly, you have to go to the museum.

Talking about if you ever find yourself in La Gacilly, you’re going to need a place to stay. The must stay, the happening place has to be La Grée Des Landes, which is an Yves Rocher Eco-Hotel Spa. Which if you hadn’t guessed it, is full of wonderful Yves Rocher bath products! This is the ultimate place to switch off and find yourself. With limited wifi, you will have no problem tuning out from the daily grind, and find yourself walking amongst the herb gardens or enjoying their extensive list of spa treatments…. or just laying out in the sun listening to the birds chirp… ahhh heaven. There are also loads of wonderful activities to enjoy in the town, like boat and bike rides.

Ultimately, my time with Yves Rocher was wonderful. I met the most incredible people from all walks of life, and confirmed (not that it needed confirming) my love for Yves Rocher and all the wonderful work they are doing in the beauty industry. I really can’t stress how incredible they are, they are the pioneers of how all beauty should be. Eco friendly, vegan, sustainable. They are helping our skin without hurting the Earth. My kind of people.

If you haven’t checked out Yves Rocher and their extensive list of products… what the heck, have you been living under a rock? Here are just a couple of my must have summer favs.

1. Monoi de Tahiti – giving me that perfect summer glow
2. My Pure Calmille – keeping my body silky smooth and hydrated
3. Almond Orange Blossom Perfume – the most delicious summer scent

 xoxo Fil

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