Far away in the beautiful, picturesque and pristine Ardèche countryside, south-central France, natural and organic Melvita products are produced in an eco-factory site. Melvita has its origins in beekeeping as its founder, Bernard Chevilliat moved to Ardèche in 1977 with his brother and set up a farm where migrant beekeeping became their main activity.
In 1983, Nûriël, Bernard’s wife joined and founded Melvita which means Honey (Mel) and Life (Vita) in Latin. They developed natural and organic beauty products designed for people to use everyday without the need for harsh chemicals. Melvita were already producing organic products before ECOCERT was established in 1991. Melvita was one of the first to gain the ECOCERT certificate for organic products in 2002.
Today, Melvita uses more than 600 natural ingredients in its products and has several ranges of skin and bodycare to suit all skin types. Each product takes between 18-24 months from research to completion. There are bestselling products such as the Rose Floral Water, Argan Oil and Rose Hip Oil, Apicosma Luxurious Body Balm and Revitalizing Cream, Bio-Excellence Extraordinary Fluid and Naturalift Anti-Wrinkle Cream.
Melvita’s Head of Education and Training, Monsieur Didier Thevinin was in in town recently to introduce the brand to some blogger and media recently. It’s the leading ecological and organic cosmetic brand in France, present in 2000 organic stores, 5– pharmacies and 4 own boutiques (its flagship store is at Rue de Rennes, 6th Arrondissement, Paris). The brand is sold in 10 countries outside France.
As one of the leading organic beauty brands in France, Melvita offers 250 products, all organically certified by ECOCERT. This is one of the largest ranges of certified organic products in the world. These are the conditions which must be met before gaining ECOCERT Certification:-
• At least 95% of the total ingredients are natural
• At least 95% of the total plant-based ingredients are organic
• At least 10% of the total formula are organic
• No synthetic fragrance, coloring, no mineral oil, no silicone, no glycol, no ethoxylated products, no parabens or phenoyethanol
• Recyclable packaging
• No animal testing
M. Didier Thevinin said that although ECOCERT presently allows sulfates to be in products, Melvita has excluded this ingredient in anticipation of a time when ECOCERT may request that it be removed. ECOCERT stipulates that for products to be deemed organic, they must be 95% organic when water is not added and at least 10% organic when water is added. Most of Melvita’s products, if not all are a lot more than 10% organic even when water has been added.
The brand is most famous for their Floral Waters, Floral Bouquet Extraordinary Waters and Beauty Oils. Here’s a brief intro to these 3 with more details in a later post once I have used them for a longer period of time:-
• Floral Waters – they are distilled from organically grown plants and flower (fresh or dried), naturally rich in active ingredients
• Floral Bouquet Extraordinary Waters – they have been especially designed to answer facial beauty needs and specially formulated for Asian skins
• Beauty Oils – they are obtained from the first cold pressing of carefully selected seeds, fruits & roots and contain the active nutrients specific to each plant
According to M. Didier Thevinin, organic skincare is not less effective than regular skincare as lots of actives are the same. The difference is that they come from organic farming which is always safer. He pointed that 2-3 tbsp of Cornflower Floral Water can be mixed with crushed avocado and used as an eye compress to soothe swollen eyes, dark circles and puffiness.
His favourite range is the Bio-Essentials range, a full range of skin and body care to combat the first signs of aging. This range uses a bouquet of flowers and fruits and harnesses their active ingredients fight dryness, dullness, fine lines and wrinkles and restores skin’s youthful hydration and radiance. M. Didier’s favourite product is the Argan Beauty Oil which can be used on face, all over the body and hair.
The Apicosma range utilises all the treasures of the beehives – honey, propolis, pollen and royal jelly. It’s formulated to nourish, moisturize and soothe even the most sensitive skins. There are products for dry skin, sensitive skin and normal/combination skin.
Melvita will be available in Malaysia once the 2 Boutiques open (scheduled September 2011) at C15B, Concourse Floor, KLCC and F141, 1st Floor, 1 Utama.
