Lifestyle

An interview full of inspiration with Jeanne Damas x Juliette Lévy-Cohen

To celebrate the launch of our summer washbag collaboration between Rouje and Oh My Cream Skincare, founders Jeanne & Juliette talk about being an entrepreneur and share their vision of beauty. And of course, we tell the tale behind this summer’s must-have beauty and fashion collaboration! 

Have you always been passionate about beauty?

Jeanne My mother passed on to me simple and essential values of beauty. I understood at a very young age that the sun could be very bad for my skin and my health: we didn't go out in the sun from noon to 4pm and I've always used factor 50 cream. Even today, I include sun protection in my beauty routine every day of the year. I have also always loved to see the skin, the little features I call "perfect imperfections" and expression lines. I'm all about makeup that reveals rather than hides.

Juliette I have always been passionate about beauty, as far back as I can remember. As a little girl, I would sit on the edge of the bathtub and watch my mom get ready before she went out, chatting with her and trying on her products. I always thought she looked good without overdoing it, and she gave me a taste for "less is more", in skincare as in makeup: she taught me very early on the right gestures, to use the right products, to enhance rather than conceal. She is the one who, at the end of my studies and when I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, encouraged me to do what I loved, to finally listen to myself and make my passion my profession.

When was your lightbulb moment? When did you realise you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Jeanne: I have always been a go-getter. Very early on, I trusted my tastes and my instinct and even tried not to do what others did. I started my career with theater, which I was passionate about, and I trained as an actor at Blanche Salant for 3 years. Then castings and a few projects... but very quickly, I understood that depending on the desire of others was the opposite of what made me happy and that I needed to create myself, to choose, to surround myself. To be free. It was after this discovery that I started to undertake and dare to think about creating my brand.

Juliette I feel like I've always been an entrepreneur at heart. I grew up in a family where starting a business was quite common, with the desire to be very free and independent myself quite early on. I felt trapped in my internships, frustrated not to be perfectly in agreement with the decisions sometimes taken, oppressed not to have carte blanche. I quickly realized that I would only be truly fulfilled if I had a lot of freedom to act. I am also a very passionate person, and when I identified a gap in the beauty field that I loved, I didn't hesitate to jump in.

Jeanne, share your Oh My Cream story with us?

Jeanne: I discovered Oh My Cream thanks to its very first boutique in the Marais, because it was the only place that sold my rather niche and natural products like Léonor Greyl or Joëlle Ciocco. These were brands that I had adopted after I stopped taking the pill and realized that my hormonal skin problems needed to be soothed by products that were as clean as possible. And a few years later, a store Oh My Cream ! store opened its doors around the corner from Rouje and it became my almost weekly stop to ask for advice, test new products or buy gifts.

And for you Juliette, what was inspirational in the Rouje story?

Juliette: Jeanne embodies for me the ultra-chic and effortless Parisian woman: everything I aspire to without necessarily achieving it ;-) Her brand is a huge success, recognizable and unlike any other: I love her fluid and light dresses, her retro prints, her feminine cuts, and I fell for the "Les 4 Rouje"palette as soon as it came out!

How did you come up with the idea for the collaboration between your two brands?

Juliette: Many of the girls on our team are fans of the brand and of Jeanne, so it was only natural that Fanny, our Communications Director, suggested that she design and dress our famous Summer Kit. Jeanne is an Oh My Cream customer and very knowledgeable about beauty, so it was the perfect match!

How did you come up with the design and the print for the bag?

Jeanne I love to have all kinds of pouches, boxes or vanity. I bought a lot of them in the Arles area, which I used as toiletry bags or makeup bags. This Provence side was the inspiration behind this vanity with a very fresh orange pattern, which is one of our studio prints, like many of our prints at Rouje.

Could you tell us what’s inside?

Juliette: I love the fact that this Summer Kit contains everything you need to go on vacation every year: no need to think about packing, everything is there, no more and no less! It includes the essential double cleanser (including our cult classic Cleansing Balm), essential especially in the summer to effectively remove sunscreens, thePlumping Oil to nourish and illuminate the skin after a day in the sun, our shower essentials with the Cleansing Gel very refreshing, the Gentle Shampoo which can be used daily, and theConditioner to detangle and repair manes damaged by the sea and the pool, and of course the Toothpaste.

My favorite ? The Sunscreen SPF50+ Cream for the body, whose cleansing filters respect the skin and the environment without leaving any white trace, in 100ml format to be able to go into the cabin, and which I love the creamy texture and the fragrance that smells like summer!

Inside the Rouje x Oh My Cream Skincare bag

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