Lancôme’s new parisian muse

Lancôme has decided to team up with a creative figure of many talents. In addition to being a model and music producer, Caroline de Maigret is one of the most fascinating examples of the Parisian woman. This is due to her style, of course, which is regularly reported in detail after a concert or runway show: an ultra-chic casualness that elevates careful nonchalance to the ultimate form of sophistication.

It is also due to everything about her and especially the fact that she is the granddaughter of a minister who himself is a descendent of a Polish king and a French empress. She is therefore aristocratic, but free, with an eclectic taste that perfectly and effortlessly reconciles an edgy rock feel and good manners.

She is so many things: the muse of designers whom she inspires before walking the runway for them, because she gives life to their creations (attitude is an art mastered by Parisians…); the companion and associate of musician Yarol Poupaud with whom she created Bonus Tracks Records and Yarock Productions; the favorite subject of the most renowned photographers of the last two decades; a woman from the fashion world, but one who prefers style in its every form to fashion itself; a strong woman, above all, with great intellectual curiosity and an exceptional grasp of people and things.

For Lancôme, which has imparted the ideal of French beauty for almost 80 years, what could be more natural than to ask the woman who embodies it so well to decipher this femininity as clearly defined as it is universally coveted? It was an obvious conclusion, inciting the brand known for its rose to come up with an absolutely unprecedented form of collaboration. A collaboration planned in several steps. A collaboration that starts in September by accompanying Caroline de Maigret as she travels all over the world for her book release. First published in the United States, How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits (Doubleday, September 2, 2014), is a book by ‘Parisiennes’. It is a humorous book of attitudes and tips, at once pertinent and impertinent, for all women who want to understand what makes French women so unique and irresistible.

Co-written with three old friends, three equally accomplished Parisian women from very different fields (writer Anne Berest, journalist, screenwriter and director Audrey Diwan and film producer Sophie Mas), this work offers a witty initiation into Parisian life. It is a playful, inspired and beautifully illustrated codebook about the well-being and self-confidence behind the style of Parisian women. Ultimately, this vision of femininity is in perfect harmony with Lancôme. The brand saw Caroline de Maigret as an expert with whom they could have an intelligent discussion in order to better transmit a different, liberating form of beauty, a smart mix of indulgence and perfectionism, carefreeness and commitment.

A collaboration that has only just begun and that will truly take off in 2015 with the creation and development of an original makeup collection dreamt up by Caroline de Maigret down to the very last detail, and with other isolated interventions.

«I am delighted by this collaboration, which is unlike any other and which truly reflects Lancôme», explains Caroline de Maigret. «It’s the beginning of a lovely adventure with this brand that I love so much. A brand that offers a different vision of femininity: one that is free, intelligent and that touches both the heart and mind».

Francoise Lehmann, General Manager of Lancôme International, adds: «Our relationship with Caroline de Maigret inaugurates a new way of working with women who inspire us by placing them at the centre of our activity. Caroline has this very French form of curiosity and creativity that can be applied with an open mind to extremely varied fields, from art to music, from beauty to fashion. This is a way to revisit every subject, even the most serious, in a light-hearted, enjoyable manner and offer a completely new and surprising vision. It’s also a way to consider life as an inexhaustible source of happiness».

Founded in 1935 by the visionary pioneer Armand Petitjean, Lancôme immediately performed in selling perfume, beauty care and make-up to an international clientele. Today, the brand is present in 130 countries, with 20,000 beauty advisers in as many points of sale relaying a message of French excellence, with great services and iconic products (Trésor, La vie est belle, L’Absolu Rouge, Hypnose mascara, Teint Idole, Advanced Génifique, Visionnaire, Absolu L’Extrait, etc.).