Postcard from provence
by THE STEPWELL
In 2005 I worked on a joint venture with French fragrance and body care company L’Occitane. L’Occitane was founded by the eclectic Olivier Bauson who originates from the Haute-Provence region. Olivier developed a line of distilled essential-oils into an international consumer brand. Initially he harvested lavender and plants from the local fields and soon married them with emollient shea butter from Africa.As the brand grew he recruited in-house chemists and developed scents with the finest fragrance houses in Grasse. The corporation I worked for in the US partnered with L’Occitane to bottle their artisanal ingredients and storytelling. The inspiration behind the brand is a convent called Le Couvent des Minimes.
The convent was home to a group of charitable sisters and an ancient apothecary where garden grown ingredients were fused into healing balms. This little commercial venture breathed new life into the centuries-old convent which was renovated, replanted, and revived into a Relais Chateaux spa and inn. I can not vouch for the rooms but it is a little green oasis: perfect for a refreshing swim and summer lunch.
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