Arts de la Table, Bastide
We are blessed here in Provence to have the best ingredients when it comes to producing scents (and eating!). Grasse is the perfume capital of the world; not surprising considering the endless fields of lavender, roses, fruit blossom and wild scented herbs that create the varied landscape that is Provence. The smell of this place is incredibly distinctive.
Arts de Table Photo Shoot by CuriousProvence
These gorgeous basic ingredients allow locals with a vision to create products that embody not only the scents of Provence but the lifestyle as well. One of these brands is Bastide, Aix en Provence created by famed hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai and his wife Shirin von Wulffen.
Frédérick, born in Aix and trained in Paris, opened his first namesake salon atop New York’s Bergdorf Goodman Department Store and has since created two well-known hair care brands.
Provencal Lifestyle
Together, they’ve bought and reinvigorated the Bastide brand to reflect what they see to be the idealistic lifestyle of Southern France. The family comes here during the summers to their gorgeous property just outside Aix en Provence where they find an oasis of beauty, food and family life.
Shirin reached out to me at the beginning of this year to collaborate, most likely noticing my love for the real Provence. I’ve since done a couple photoshoots for the company including the pictures here for Arts de Table which was a fun project that aims to show the different ways in which you can use luxury soap products. Here, as place settings!
My favourite fragrance? The Ambre Soir.
I don’t advertise many company brands because I feel like I really have to admire the product and I must say that is the case with Bastide. Shirin and Frédérick are truly in awe of the artisans here and aim to showcase their pride and talent. Their company values dictate that the products must be organic and they must give back. Once they reached 5,000 followers on Instagram they donated 5,000$ to OFA which is an organization here in France that helps to grow the bee population. This number of followers doesn’t come without some hard work. Unless they decided to get instagram followers for free, that’s the only way something like this would be possible!
Luxurious, Dreamy Provence
The dreamy videos on the website of artisans simply cutting mimosa is enough to make you fall in love with Provence all over again. I also admire that they use blown glass for all their candles.
The new store has opened in Aix en Provence, check it out if you’re in town. Otherwise, the visually stunning website is worth a peruse or their Instagram as well.
The scents are more complex than the usual Provence scents and add value to the original products. The packaging is luxurious. Anything from Bastide would be a lovely Christmas gift. It’s not just a bar of soap, it’s the dream of Provence.
Curious about other dreamy French products? Check out My Stylish French Box.
Have tried their products and loved them!