Yves Saint Laurent Beauty has opened a garden in the Ourika Valley to be used for the brand’s skincare and makeup products. The garden is an essential addition to YSL’s beauty research as it allows their own cultivation of flowers and herbs. In the YSL Ourika garden, mint, prickly ears, verbena, saffron, hibiscus, walnut leaves, marigold, and lilies are all being grown. Saffron, in particular, is a time-honored and lucrative practice in Morocco. To produce one gram of saffron, Moroccan women must pick 115 flowers. These ingredients can be enjoyed in products and lines like Rouge Range (saffron), Top Secrets range (walnut), or the Touche Éclat (Marigold).
The Ourika Gardens are located 35 km from Marrakech at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. Ourika was designated as Morocco’s first organic garden of aromatic plants in 1998.
The YSL garden took four years to create and required the assistance of landscape designers and scientists along with agriculture experts to design the gardens. The result is a magnificent garden with over 40 botanical species.
Yves Saint Laurent Beauty includes makeup, fragrance, and skincare signature. Since 1964, Laurent’s history has been particularly successful with its Opium, Paris, Black Opium, Mon Paris and L’Homme fragrances. YSL is also known for being a leader in innovation and technology. It’s signature make up includes Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils, Rouge Pur Couture and Vernis À Lèvres glossy stain.
YSL Beauty has been awarded the Butterfly Mark for its measure impact and commitment to sustainability. The Butterfly Mark symbolizes that the products are packaged in recyclable boxes, that the company is committed to fair-labor practices, reduces water consumption, promotes equal pay, reduces waste, sources it’s materials responsibly, and that products are free from microplastics and PVC.
The Yves Saint Laurent Ourika garden was created in honor of Yves and to acknowledge his love for Marrakech and fascination with nature. In the Ochre City, the legendary fashion designer’s couture museum sits adjacent to the Majorelle Gardens, which was purchased by Laurent and his husband Pierre Berge in 1966. The Majorelle Gardens is considered one of Morocco’s most enchanting and has dozens of cactus varieties sprawling on two and a half acres.