A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to Paris with the lovely ladies at Birchbox to learn more about some of their favourite Parisian brands that are stocked on the Birchbox website. One of the stops on our trip was a little apothecary-style boutique that is home to Huygens. I’d never heard of the brand before, and was instantly intrigued by the pretty blue facade.
Their unique, unpretentious approach to aromatherapy is quite charming…
They talk you through all of their aromatherapy oil blends, finding out both what you want to get from your products, what you like and what you don’t like. They are then able to mix each individual blend with any of their bath, body, hair or skin care products (all of which are also formulated with 97-100% natural ingredients) to create your own bespoke selection right there in the shop.
Aside from the concept, the products themselves really are lovely (hence the delay in putting this post up, I’ve been giving them all a good road test!) The facial exfoliating cream is possibly my favourite. This is the one product I came away with that you can’t actually personalise the scent of, it has a gentle citrus scent and the thick, luxurious formula leaves your skin feeling smooth, soft and rejuvenated but not stripped.
My other favourite is the bath oil, which I personalised with their ‘Hercule’ oil blend. The scent fills my entire hallway and has an utterly relaxing affect with it’s notes of rosemary, eucalyptus and lavender (perfect for bedtime!) The founder Daan also recommended that I try their shampoo personalised with Hercule for my sensitive, irritable scalp and it’s working really nicely for my hair.
The personalisation process…
Finally, I also adore their Verveine scent. It’s quite strong but something about it is sweeter than similar products I’ve tried before and I find it really uplifting. As Huygens is still a baby brand, they can only be found in the UK via the Birchbox website. Birchbox currently only stock a selection of their products, but seeing as it’s such a gorgeous brand, I have a feeling that may well change in the future! You can take a look at Huygens’ own website here, and if you happen to be in Paris any time soon, I would thoroughly recommend paying their delightful little shop a visit at 24 Rue du Temple!
