At Time Tide, claiming that we harbour a weak spot for formulations that combine natural and lab-created ingredients with resulting lingering herbal scents as we strongly feel that they elevate the banal and everyday into something sensual, would be an understatement par excellence.
Needless to say, when we came across Saint Charles Apothecary during a recent visit to Vienna, we were intrigued by seemingly having found a brand that is inherently designed to improve our lives.
Originally incepted close to 150 years ago by Alfred Blumenthal in Austria, Saint Charles incarnated with its headquarters in 2006 in Vienna with the primary focus of its product portfolio firmly set on reimagining natural cosmetics for the body, skin, hair and mind based on traditional European medicine.
What made us instantaneously fall in love with Saint Charles is the way its stores and products are designed, which marries centuries-old traditions with modern aesthetics, thereby serving as a natural extension to how the brand reinterprets the tradition of pharmacy with a holistically sound approach. The fact that we were hosted by an immensely knowledgeable and engaging store attendant only lend credibility to Saint Charles’ narrative and authentic gestures.
Infusing its cosmetic products with the learnings of traditional European medicine, the compound effect of the trifecta that is the healing power of nature, aromatherapy and herbal medicine is given centre stage and presents the defining factor of the DNA of Saint Charles’ product portfolio, which is nowadays comprised of over four-hundred products and flanked by partnerships with entities as illustrious as pharmacies, concept shops, natural cosmetics shops, restaurants, yoga studios and aromatherapists.
Saint Charles’ ( https://saint-charles.eu ) purist, design-centric approach to the creation of its products, stripped-down, subtle packaging, and boutiques adds another welcome effortlessly stylish facet to a brand that is different by design as its ethos is rooted in values that sets it apart from other companies – values that exude a delightful poetic expression.
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Words by AW.
Photo courtesy of Saint Charles.