For our founder Gaelle, green beauty is far more than a fashionable movement. Her vision for Gaelle Organic came when her daughter Sabrina was in her early teens, bringing home over-the-counter chemically-laden “junk” to soothe her teenage skin. Following Gaelle’s alarm over the products’ ingredient safety—or lack thereof—Sabrina challenged her mother to create her own skincare line based on the cream she made for herself (her now best-selling Crème Supérieure).
Gaelle rose to the opportunity, having long since started her love affair with soothing botanical emollients and therapeutic essential oils, and passionately researched ingredient potencies and compatibilities to formulate an entire line of organic, yet effective skincare—a niche that at the time, seemed entirely contradictory.
Today, we sit down with Gaelle to reflect on her journey and discuss all things clean beauty.
Have you always been interested in beauty?
I have always been interested in the beauty, everything should be beautiful.
What motivated you to create Gaelle Organic?
Primarily, my daughter when she was fourteen who was bringing home products that were harmful and useless. I had been making my own products for years, partly due to skin reactions and sensitivity caused by too many synthetic products on my face during my modeling career. Sabrina inspired me to practice what I preached, so I tested my cream on twenty of my fussiest friends. When all of them came back to tell me it was the best moisturizer they had ever used, it gave me the confidence and courage to start my business.
What does ‘clean beauty’ mean to you?
Organic and natural ingredients that nourish and beautify.
What are some common misconceptions about clean beauty?
That it doesn’t work. That you need to use harsh chemicals in order to see results. This couldn’t be further than the truth. Too many cosmetic companies misrepresent “clean beauty.” We’re fortunate to live in a time with information at our fingertips where we can simply Google an ingredient we’re not sure about—always asking ourselves the question: is it safe and is it effective? Too often, conventional cosmetics are filled with harmful fillers so that the company can keep their high profit margins. With clean brands—especially organic—you get what you pay for: carefully selected high quality natural ingredients that won’t harm you or your environment, which are not just as powerful, but often times more so.
What makes Gaelle Organic special?
Simply put, the results! We are very proud of our complete list of ingredients and how they work. We spare no expense in sourcing the highest quality ingredients and they absolutely must be organic. The more raw and untouched the ingredient, the higher its potency. This is the reason we aligned with Ecocert, as we found their values and standards completely in line with our own.
If you were to describe your brand in three words, what would those words be?
Organic Timeless Beauty
Which clean ingredients are you most in love with and why?
There are too many to name! I’m an ingredient obsessive and all the botanicals, clays and minerals I use in my products offer their own unique purpose. Edelweiss is fabulous and featured prominently in many of our products. It grows wild in high alpine meadows where the sun’s rays are most intense, and contains abundant antioxidants that are more powerful than vitamin C. I was delighted when we found a commercial grower so we could add this fabulous ingredient to our line. We actually won the BSB European innovation prize for including Narcissus Bulb extract in our anti-aging products—given its proven ability to smooth and protect skin from the appearance of aging. Yet, some of our more “unique” ingredients, such as responsibly-sourced bovine Colostrom powder and finely-milled Breton Sea Salt are what make our products truly shine.
Which Gaelle Organic products can you not live without and why?
Exfoliant Supérieure, Masque Supérieure, Serum Supérieure and Crème Supérieure. They rejuvenate, nourish and moisturize your skin creating a beautiful, healthy glow.
Do you think the ‘clean beauty’ trend is here to stay?
Absolutely. Why would anyone ever want to go back to harmful ingredients that don’t work?
What’s on the horizon for Gaelle Organic skincare?
We have two new upcoming products—a new serum and masque, which we can’t wait to launch! The results we are seeing from our testing are Amazing!!
