A woman with a vision

She grew up surrounded by the meadows of Brittany, often taking long walks along the Morbihan coastline – and this love for natural elements has never faded. The water, the wind, the tides, the plants… they were all part of her childhood in Brittany. There were fields full of red clover and "simples" medicinal herbs growing wild. The rich and diverse vegetation of one of the most beautiful regions of France offered so many benefits. She took it all in and turned it into memories that would one day serve her well.

It was later, however, that the revelation came to her… She was made Cosmetics and Fragrance Development Manager for Kenzo, where she worked on the creation of the Kenzoki skincare line. It was something completely new – a revolution that involved starting everything from scratch: textures, names, terminology, benefits, etc. Nathalie Lamandé worked particularly on "plant waters" – an innovative concept and method at the time. "It was my first baby," she says, when she talks about it.

After the incredible success of Kenzoki, "I felt the need to design products that were closer to nature, more authentic, with more of a focus on their real benefits than on the marketing behind them," she recalls.

Nathalie Lamandé is certainly not lacking in technical skills. For every product she dreams up, she knows exactly what sensorial and ethical qualities it will have. She deliberately chose not to go 100% organic as she knows that the constraints entailed will limit possibilities and sensoriality. In 2008, in the early days of Condensé, Nathalie Lamandé wanted to focus on authenticity while offering a complete, sophisticated, targeted product offering. Thus the 18 products that she designed in close collaboration with a chemical engineer offer the technical performance she was looking for. In 2010, Condensé was born.