Last night, I had the opportunity to visit  Phyto Universe in celebration of Bastille Day, which is a national french holiday that commemorates the storming of Bastille on July 14, 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution (little history lesson.)

Phyto Universe (source) is the latest invention from Mr. Patrick Ales, the creator or renowned botanical hair care products, Phyto and PhytoSpecific. His life long mission is to treat the hair and scalp with the utmost care and respect and create a destination where consumers and stylists alike can immerse themselves in the “universe” that is PHYTO: plants. Nature reigns at Phyto Universe. Shrouded in an oasis of live botanicals, Phyto Universe invites you into a serene, tranquil environment.

When I arrived with my friend Kim, we were greeted by Jenna, then had a glass of wine and hors d’oeuvres and looked around the studio at the various products. We were then escorted to the back for our french, skin care, and hair care lessons.

Our first lesson was conducted by Alliance Francaise and we learned many terms dealing with hair, skin, and perfume. I took French for four years (5th-8th grade) and I had no idea what the instructor was saying!  We learned words like mask(un masque), hydration (l’hydratation), shine(de brillance) and a host of others.

We then had a lesson on skin care given by Catherine Raubiet, the Lierac National Training director. She gave us excellent tips and statistics. Here is a recap of what I learned:

• European women, specifically French women, start getting facials around the age of 14.
• In France, facials are not luxury, they are necessities.
• European women are not as busy as American women, so they spend more time taking care of themselves (not talking about makeup, but skin and body care)
• French women do not partake in abrasive procedures that can potentially damage the skin.

She also gave us a few skin care tips:

1. Prevention is the key. We must start taking care of our skin early. We should not wait until we are in our 20s to use  moisturizer, we must start as teenagers. (It is never too late to start)
2. Use light makeup to enhance beauty, not hide it. The United States, sells way too many makeup products to cover up problems with the skin instead of treating it.
3. Keep it gentle. Minimize lasers and chemical peels. With early prevention, these methods are not needed.
4. Develop and stick with a skin care routine. First, remove the makeup, then cleanse, tone, use a serum, moisturize and then apply sun screen.
5. Exfoliate. Depending on your skin type, you should exfoliate once or twice per week.
6. Take care of your body. Cellulite products are the most popular products being sold in the United States.  98% of women world wide have cellulite and 2% men. 30% of what happens to our body (how fast we age, cellulite etc.) is based on genetics, 70% is up to us, so take care of yourself.

We also received a lesson in hair care by celebrity stylist and salon owner Julien Farel (who said I had great hair 🙂 ) Here is what I learned from him:

1. Your hair changes and so the products you use must change also. You should not use the same products for a long period of time because they won’t have the same effect on your hair after a while.
2. *Important for summer hair care*Before getting in the pool, or going to the beach, wet your hair and add some type of leave in conditioner or pre-shampooing treatment. The conditioner or pre-treatment will prevent damage from chlorine and also salt water.
3. Use various products to target various problems with your hair. You should use products that focus on preventing frizziness, that promote shiny hair, adds volume, etc. What ever your target area is for your hair, use a specific product for that area.

The night ended the small conversations with other bloggers and of course a gift bag.

The bag consisted of

• Phytojoba Intense Hydrating Mask for suppleness and shine. It regenerates your hair and your hair regains softness and elasticity.
• Lierac Paris Diopti Demaq– Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. It is a crystal-gel that removes makeup from eyelids and lases with leaving an oily film. Vitamin B5 and keratin derivatives help prevent the loss of lashes and restore their strength, suppleness and thickness.
• Caron  Paris Fleur de Rocaille  eau de toilette natural spray.

It was a great event, very informative and a great place to network. Other bloggers and media professionals that were there, Kim from Makeup By Kim Porter, Misha from The Fab Chick, Shaunequa from Temple of Glam, Wanda from The Black Dress Traveler, Felicia from This That Beauty, and Tracey Ferguson and Judene Walden of JONES Magazine.