Vanilla Planifolia
Vanilla
Planifolia
Our story begins with a race against time – to hand-pollinate its short-lived bloom, which wilts within 24 hours. Skilled organic farmers grow and harvest the rare pods. Once picked, they journey to Paris where their active molecules, les Éphémères, are extracted and crafted into SUBLIMAGE creams.
Our story begins with a race against time – to hand-pollinate its short-lived bloom, which wilts within 24 hours. Skilled organic farmers grow and harvest the rare pods. Once picked, they journey to Paris where their active molecules, les Éphémères, are extracted and crafted into SUBLIMAGE creams.
REVITALISATION
REPAIR
Artisans at work
REVITALISATION
REPAIR
There are approximately 120 species of wild vanilla plants in the world. CHANEL’s researchers began working with Vanilla Planifolia for its essence in 1995, subsequently starting a journey towards unlocking the plant’s myriad of unique revitalising properties.
This delicate orchid requires optimal conditions to bloom and bear fruit. The artisanal cultivators tend to their crops by hand, pollinating each flower manually, one by one, during the flower’s fleeting bloom. Techniques used go back over a century, handed down through generations of local artisans.
As local botanist, expert in Vanilla and CHANEL partner, Professor Aro Vonjy Ramarosandratana explains, “As with any plant, the quality of the product itself depends on its environment. Therefore, it depends on temperature, it depends on humidity, it depends on the soil, but it also significantly depends on the people who take care of it.”
Thoughtfully grown
Natural ingredients are sustainably and consciously sourced, every step of the way. Organic farming is closer to the natural cycle of the nutrients in the soil, producing the highest quality ingredients. This is essential to artisanal integrity, and is in keeping with the traditional techniques used for generations.
Vanilla Planifolia is of outstanding quality and has been one of the most sought-after varieties of the plant since its beginnings.
Les Éphémères
EXFOLIATION
REVITALISATION
The revitalising treasures of the Vanilla Planifolia plant were discovered by the experts at CHANEL Research. Named after their very brief annual emergence, Éphémères de Planifolia are a family of molecules that appear in the young green pods of the plant. Éphémères activate an enzyme that protects ‘life factors’ in the skin, making them ‘revitalisation boosters’. Time is of the essence when it comes to the creation of SUBLIMAGE products.
CHANEL scientists such as Nicola Fuzzati, Director of Innovation and Development of Active Ingredients, study the plant in its entirety to find its optimal uses. The revitalising Éphémères molecules are found in the green, unripe pods; the anti-oxidising properties come from the flower; the seeds are used as an exfoliant; and the leaves hold repairing stem cells by biomimicry.
EXFOLIATION
REVITALISATION
Each of these key elements is refined using customised scientific crafting processes exclusive to CHANEL, which produce very pure and effective active ingredients. Thanks to the polyfractionning process, the fruit’s elements are combined into Planifolia PFA, one of the enriched active ingredients in SUBLIMAGE.
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