After all my colleagues had visited Paris in recent months, Jet, Liesbeth and May did Fashion Week and Daniëlle did Beyoncé, it was really my time now. So off I went. A beauty trip from Yves Rocher. Now you should know that I have experienced a beauty press trip before. It's always a party because you go to the nicest destinations, eat at the best restaurants, sleep in lovely hotels, oh yes, and of course you get interesting presentations. So you understand that I was really looking forward to this.
Wednesday started early. A quarter past seven on the Thalys, just calculate back with my beauty ritual and packing stress what time I got up, is not daily business. But of course with pleasure. In Amsterdam, a nice one was waiting. That is of course still the question, because during a press trip you are also dependent on each other and so I find the company extremely important. If it’s already cozy at 8 o'clock in the morning, you know you will get through the day well.
After I had been annoyed for three hours in the Thalys, no, not because of my travel companions, but because of the WIFI, we arrived in Paris. I thought I could work on the train, but nothing worked out. Once arrived in Paris that annoyance naturally disappeared like snow in the sun, because then you sniff the scent of the city, see that nice Gare Du Nord and then you know; it’s good.
Snacking on macarons
When you step into a taxi van and are taken to the lunch destination, it is fortunately a bit bigger. LaDurée on the Champs-Élysées. Now I have really been to LaDurée to snack on a few macarons, but I have never enjoyed a lunch there. This time I did. We were taken to the restaurant on the first floor, where we first took photos of the beautiful location for a quarter of an hour, before looking somewhat hungrily at the menu. If you know you are at LaDurée, you only think ‘macaron macaron’, but we had to postpone that for a bit. After a three-course menu, where all our bellies were filled, the dessert tarte-du-citrôn, the macarons came to the table. Even though I had really eaten well, there is always room for a little macaron. And at LaDurée they taste even better. With a happy feeling, we left there.
Free shopping
After lunch, we walked to the Flag Ship Store of Yves Rocher on the Champs-Élysées. Diagonally opposite LaDurée and on the corner of Louis Vuitton is not a bad location. An incredibly beautiful store, where they welcome 1 million visitors a year. It is the largest store of Yves Rocher, so there is really everything, but then also everything to be found. As if you end up in a candy store, because the products of Yves Rocher look like candies with all those nice colors and beautiful packaging. In France, Yves Rocher is also number 1 in beauty and personal care, so they can also boast a bit. They don’t actually do that, but it would be quite justified.
But well, there we were saying a bit ooh and ah in the store. Then came the liberating word. We could free shop for half an hour. FREE SHOPPING. Now I always thought that Free Shopping was immensely suited to me. I even dreamed a few times of a minute of free shopping in a supermarket. But in the Yves Rocher store, it’s a bit more difficult. Because actually, you want to have everything, but actually not really, because I felt a bit burdened to fill my basket. I stood there dreaming for the first ten minutes with an empty shopping cart. Free shopping turns out to be the hardest thing there is. In the end, it worked out, I’m not the hardest to please, and I loaded the most wonderful creams, beautiful makeup products, and lovely shampoos. LaDurée plus free shopping at Yves Rocher, I am a happy person.
Plants and processes at Yves Rocher
With euphoria, we loaded all our bags and products into the taxi. Somewhat burdened, because hey, we just stocked our beauty cabinet, but on the other hand also quite happy. After the free shopping, the official part of the presentation began. I can’t elaborate too much on that yet, because the launches will come around March 2015 in the Netherlands, but the presentation was particularly interesting. It was about plants, Yves Rocher is known for sustainable development, and a new process where the quality is even better. They can also express that, because with a director who developed Sublime from CHANEL, they really have quality in-house.
Mama knows what’s good for you
After the presentation, we went to the hotel. Mamashelter. It’s located outside the center, but it has always been a hotel where I really wanted to stay. A ceiling illustrated by Philippe Starck and hotel rooms that are so cool that you feel at home very quickly. The dinner was delicious and cozy. After a few glasses of wine, I went to my hotel room to play shop with my acquisitions of the day. I had taken very light on the way there, but on the way back, I went fully packed.
