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Despite its infancy in the universe of luxury beauty brands, Hermès recently appointed established makeup artist Gregoris Pyrplis as its creative director of beauty. Pyrpylis — with his deft technical skills and unique view on beauty’s role in a person’s life — couldn’t be more fitting.
GRAZIA had the pleasure of speaking with Pyrpylis on a recent trip to Australia, where he was in town to properly introduce the metier’s latest launch, Plein Air (praise the return of international travel!). Inspired by the lightness and vibrancy of nature, Plein Air is composed of complexion products that aim to illuminate and nourish while simultaneously preserving raw, real skin.
read more: LIGHTER THAN AIR. HERMÈS BEAUTY ENTERS THE COMPLEXION CATEGORY WITH PLEIN AIR
Here, Pyrpylis shares his insights on Plein Air, some stellar application tips, and the intricacies that come with working for a storied 185-year old house.
Read the interview below.
On the inspiration…
Plein Air is a French word… like a phrase we use when speaking of the outdoors, nature and fresh air. The house of Hermès was one of the first to introduce a sporty spirit, and to empower women in sport. Émile Hermès was the director at the time, and he had four adventurous daughters — he wanted to create garments that would comfortably support their lifestyle, but with an air of elegance.
It’s been a similar approach with this collection. We want to enhance skin in a way that’s elegant, comfortable and freeing. At Hermès, we aim to never impose but propose. It’s all about revealing a healthy, radiant complexion — a natural kind of beauty that enhances the skin by offering both care and coverage in an effortless way.
On the Complexion Balm formula…
When you apply the Complexion Balm, it’s almost like a caress of the skin, like a breath of fresh air! We worked with trusted laboratory partners in Japan to create the formula, and it truly is a new category. It’s very fluid, creamy and generous with a natural but very radiant finish. It evens out the skin, enhances, hydrates and protects through hyaluronic acid, green tea, primrose extract and Chinese skullcap. We also included the much-cherished white mulberry tree extract, which is well known for its antioxidant properties.
The Complexion Balm also offers a mineral filter that affords SPF 30+ protection. We chose to use mineral filters because we wanted our formula to be appropriate even for the most sensitive skin.
On application…
The best way to apply the balm is with fingers, really massaging it in — that’s why you won’t see a specific complexion brush in the range. It’s very buildable, and I really think there is beauty in an imperfect application. But there’s no handbook, it really can be used however you wish!
On the rest of the Plein Air range…
The range also includes two beautiful objects: The Radiant Matte Powder and Radiant Glow Powder. Both are extremely smooth, like butter, and leave the skin looking refined but very natural.
The Radiant Matte Powder is very fine — it’s mattifying, but doesn’t deposit any heaviness on the skin at all. Radiant Glow is enriched with a subtle sparkle in a pinkish golden tint that’s universally flattering.
The complimentary brush constructed by a French artisan who’s house has been active since 1793. We used natural goat hair to keep it as soft as possible, and the hair is simply extracted by combing the goat, so it is a very gentle process.
I like to roll the brush across the powder compact, before dusting the product across the face.
Finally we have the Blotting Papers, constructed by another Japanese expert. They are composed of hemp and kosovo from white mulberry that gives them a light but wonderfully absorbent quality. The tiny ‘H’ is actually created using a specific Japanese watermark technology, as well.
On Hermès House Codes…
Hermès is a house of objects; of creation and design and colour. But it’s also a house with 185 years of history. There’s a lot to discover and the archives are endless… I have maybe discovered less than one hundredth of what exists. But silk, leather, every metier has a history!
Beauty to me has been innately present since day one of Hermès. It is rooted in the DNA of the brand because founder Thierry Hermès was obsessed not only with function, but with the beauty of how something was made. Every choice was extremely deliberate — even in the early days of saddlery, it was not just about the human, but the way it felt on the horse. This beautifying art form has been around since the inception.
Beauty rituals are very common, and so our goal with Plein Air is to afford elegance and comfort in the everyday lives of our clients. While we’re guided by our history, innovation, function and fun are at the core of the range.
SHOP PLEIN AIR
HERMES PLEIN AIR COMPLEXION BALM, $130. SHOP NOW
HERMES PLEIN AIR BLOTTING PAPERS, $65. SHOP NOW
HERMES PLEIN AIR Powder Brush, $210. SHOP NOW
HERMES PLEIN AIR RADIANT GLOW POWDER, $145. SHOP NOW
HERMES PLEIN AIR RADIANT MATTE POWDER, $145.SHOP NOW
