One of Guerlain’s most cherished partners, Maison Bernardaud has crafted Orchidée Impériale Black’s iconic jars since the collection’s launch in 2018. The Maison’s artisans worked for months to perfect the delicate black lacquer and gold leaf design, creating the ultimate in luxury sustainability for this limited edition Kintsugi masterpiece.
With intentional home curation and aesthetically-pleasing design bleeding into all aspects of modern life – from the kitchen pantry to the entryway gallery wall – a carefully curated and design savvy assortment of skincare products has become the natural next step to a consistently visually pleasing home…. and while many skincare products may come to mind when visualising a pretty powder room pantry display, there are certain potions that rise to the top; the ones you actually want to display front and centre not just because they nourish your skin the best but also because they’re the ones your eyes are naturally drawn toward for their thoughtful design aesthetic.
That’s why Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Black Cream Bernardaud Kintsugi Limited Edition reigns supreme in our books. An exceptional jar inspired by the traditional Japanese art of Kintsugi, combining the genius of modern day science, the healing powers of natural ingredients, and the skill of hand craftsmanship, this limited edition Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Black was made to foster a unwavering sense of sophistication and finesse while working in tandem with the surface of the skin to hydrate and nourish well beyond the top layer.
With a botanical name, Cycnoches Cooperi, inspired by its ebony color and swan-long neck, the Black Orchid is an orchid like no other. Formulated by an executive team of scientists in order to harness unmatched anti-ageing power that goes beyond skin deep, Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Black puts into play an extraordinarily unique Peruvian black orchid extract is considered to be one of the world’s most precious plants.
Native to the Peruvian Andes, its natural habitat is rare that it sees sunlight. To survive in such extreme circumstances without direct light, Black Orchid has developed unusual features. For example, unlike other plants whose flowering periods last from two to three months, the black orchid blooms only for three weeks a year to preserve its metabolism. Even more remarkable, is that plants carry both male and female flowers so that their reproduction can constantly adapt to external conditions.
For Guerlain Scientific Research, these unique and rare features have made black orchid a precious raw material, allowing it to become the very essence of Blackimmune™ Technology heart of the Orchidée Impériale Black line. At the heart of this technology, which affects 95% of the cells involved in the self-defense mechanisms of the skin, is Cycnoches cooperi, chosen from 30,000 species of orchids.
Guerlain Scientific Research combined it with a combination of ingredients specially selected for their total protection response and their ability to allow cells to play their defensive role. As a technology, it works on two levels: first on the level of the defense system through the protection of Langherans cells, then at the level of the innate immunity system by regulating TLR* proteins, sentinel proteins found in the skin that continuously monitor the environment. It is on this second level that black orchid extract intervenes, as pointed out by the Orchidarium® by Maison Guerlain for its proven effect on TLR proteins.
To celebrate this anti-ageing talisman, Guerlain commissioned French Maison Bernardaud to create a limited edition jar for the Impérial Orchidée Black Cream. Since 1863, the prestigious porcelain manufacturer Bernardaud has embodied French excellence and shared numerous values with Maison Guerlain. In particular, a rich savoir-faire fusion of creativity and audacity handed down through generations.
For this special edition, Bernardaud House took inspiration from Kintsugi, the traditional Japanese art of decoration from the 16th century, that uses gold up to fill and enhance porcelain slits and crevices. Once enhanced, each creation becomes even more beautiful and takes on a new life.
Here, artisans from Bernardaud have adapted the Japanese art of Kintsugi to the expertise of French porcelain. Each Kintsugi Orchidée Impériale Black edition jar is made entirely by hand and embellished with 24-carat gold. In France, just as in Japan, precision and excellence in the execution of gestures are unalterable. From modeling to cooking, from glazing to decoration, each stage of processing depends on the perfect techniques used by each craftsman,since each move isdetermined and influences those that precede and follow.
Each jar required a month of work by 50 artisans. Entirely covered in glossy black lacquer and embellished with a gold leaf, the jars echo two key elements in the Orchidée Impériale Black cream.
A texture as soft as a balm that offers an exclusive sensory experience. After a month of use the defensive barrier of the skin becomes stronger. The skin is more elastic and is visibly more beautiful and durable. The skin looks smoother, denser to thetouch, brighter and incredibly radiant. As protected from the inside, the skin can concentrate all its revitalization resources.
Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Black Cream Bernardaud Kintsugi is available at Guerlain boutiques and selected stores worldwide. Come into the beautiful worlds of Guerlain and Bernardaud.
Yakymour 