There are many beauty rituals out there but CHA LING, an ancient forest Pu’Er tea cosmetics harvested in Yunnan, China and developed by LVMH Research makes the most sense.
You don’t have to use their beauty products, but I highly recommend their tea and the one tool you need besides your fingertips, the GUASHA, which can be used in many ways, but for most it is all about meditation and inner beauty.
IRMA: How do you describe Meaningful beauty today?
LAURENT BOLLOT: CHA LING invites you to slow down, to rest, to rediscover your presence in yourself and in the world, if you want and can three times a day.
IRMA: Why is rest so important in our society today?
LAURENT BOLLOT: CHA LING, is a meaningful and spiritual beauty treatment, encourages everyone desiring it to re-centre themselves, here and now, to discover relaxation methods in order to deal more serenely with times of intense stress, which can have harmful effects on the body, heart and mind.
It invites you to initiate yourself into meditation to better welcome its sensations, to awaken your emotions and liberate your thoughts. CHA LING thus offers a number of initiations into ‘mindfulness’ type meditation. Practising mindfulness means opening up a larger space within ourselves, one in which we identify more with our own feelings, emotions and thoughts. We welcome them. It is a learning experience, inside us, around us and beyond us.
CHA LING this is also reconnection biological rhythms: All of our organs, including the skin, function according to a well-defined circadian rhythm. Respecting this natural cycle enables you to help your skin recover its balance and beauty. Against this background, CHA LING thus offers formulas and rituals appropriate for every time of the day (morning, middle of the day or evening), of the week (with a specific programme for weekends) and also the seasons.
Acupressure movements have been developed to accompany the benefits of the treatments and stimulate the flows of vital energy in the body according to the time of day via certain specific acupuncture points.
This meaningful approach dear to CHA LING aims at re-harmonising the functions of the skin and the other organs which play a role in our health and beauty.
IRMA: Which are the main ingredients you use during the CHA LING massage?
LAURENT BOLLOT: We use all the range of products developed by Cha Ling all developed aiming of awakening all the senses, , enabling you to be open to new emotions and develop new awareness, CHA LING involves all five senses in each of its rituals. Taking the time during each beautifying action to see, feel, breathe, listen and taste.
IRMA: Tell me about the Pu’Er Teas, which are served before or after the treatment
LAURENT BOLLOT: Pu’Er has become to Chinese tea what les grand crus are to French wine. Genuine Pu’Er forest teas inspire a peaceful and authentic attitude to life. For some experts, they encapsulate the very essence of Chinese culture.
The Pu’Er you have been served is organic, harvested in the village of Jingmai in Yunnan.
Tasting this exceptional tea requires a similar initiation to that of fine wines. Collectors think nothing of spending a fortune on pressed Pu’Er for its aromas, but also for its extraordinary regenerative properties. While authentic Pu’er forest teas delight the palate, they also do wonders for preserving the most precious resource we humans have: our health.
IRMA: The meaning of life is true beauty, how important are the roots of a sustainable beauty brand today?
LAURENT BOLLOT: CHA LING believes that the beauty of our skin depends today and tomorrow on the health of our planet. For CHA LING, sustainable development is today self-evident as an essential element in innovative, effective and cutting-edge cosmetics.
IRMA: What is the tool GUASHA used for and why is it important to brush or rub your skin regularly?
LAURENT BOLLOT: GUA SHA – an expert massage tool used in Traditional Chinese Medicine , Gua Sha, from ‘Gua’ – to scratch – and ‘Sha’ – illness – is traditionally used to encourage the circulation of energy along the meridians and repel illness. Reinterpreted and redesigned in ceramic by CHA LING, the Gua Sha and its associated energising movements are here used for an original and surprising beauty treatment, like a caress on the skin. Designed to perfectly mould the curves of the face and neck, and associated with massage movements created by CHA LING, it helps to tone the support muscles, drain toxins, stimulate blood circulation and oxygenate the tissues while stimulating key acupressure points. The radiance returns, the contours are remodelled and the skin is brought back to life.
When in Paris, you can try a treatment at The Peninsula. It is worth to take some time off during the day and escape into that ritual.
LAURENT BOLLOT
Passionate about Chinese culture, an aesthetic soul and a nature lover, Laurent Boillot, the CEO of Guerlain (LVMH Group), first met Josef and Minguo-Li, the founder of Cha Ling on a trip to China. Like them, he was astounded by the extraordinary beauty of the rainforest, “where the unexpected grows constantly”, the simplicity of local objects and the purity of the ceramics. He shared their desire to preserve this unparalleled landscape and the three of them formed a friendship, which was strengthened over time by shared values and ideals.
A man of intelligence, heart and action, he wanted Josef’s dream to continue. So he asked himself a question: Why could the hidden treasures of this region not become part of preserving and publicizing it? The solution became evident: he must create a line of cosmetics based on Pu’Er tea, from which part of the profit would be used to preserve these millennia-old forest.
