Unveiling Ad CAELIA: Claire Andréewitch’s Pledge to Holistic Beauty
*AD CAELIA
*AD CAELIA
Claire Andréewitch's Ad CAELIA Skincare embodies a revolutionary approach to beauty, marrying Scandinavian purity with French elegance to redefine holistic skincare. Drawing from her naturopathic expertise, Claire champions treatments that address the root causes of skin concerns, advocating for lasting health over temporary fixes.
Ad CAELIA, inspired by the Swedish nature where Claire grew up and underscored by a commitment to environmental stewardship, stands as a testament to authentic, sustainable beauty. Through its flagship product, Sparkle of Joy, and a comprehensive wellness ethos, Ad CAELIA is not just a skincare line but a movement towards embracing "beautifully aging," highlighting a future where beauty is a harmonious blend of internal wellness and external care.
What inspired you to create Ad CAELIA Skincare, and how does your personal philosophy influence the brand?
The desire to create true excellence (all levels) for a beauty brand. The health of the skin being the focus obviously and being able to convey my own vision of true beauty. I felt I needed to create my own dream brand, after being disappointed over and over in the past either about results or philosophy of brands. I experienced a huge demand amongst my clients for a high standard beauty experience – and personally I want that same thing (especially now reaching 40;) I want Ad CAELIA to become a brand of reference in terms of efficiency, transparency, client experience, committed to support the planet and the health & wellness of women.
Regarding my personal philosophy: I’m a naturopath so of course I see beauty in the same way as our overall health – to see change and improvement one must start by treating the cause! I’m not interested in any skin quick fix – I want long term results for me and my clients.
Can you share the story behind the brand's name, Ad CAELIA?
It’s a very personal name: the initials of my boys which represents the most beautiful thing in the world to me, and I wanted just that to represent the values of my brand (love, authenticity, generosity, optimism, universal beauty...). “Ad ” is latin and it means “thriving towards” so… a brand encouraging us to thrive towards these beautiful values. Also the latin touch for my dad who always told me to include more latin in my life ;) He was my biggest inspiration.
How do you balance the elements of Scandinavian excellence and French refinement in your products?
I carefully choose very precious Scandinavian actifs, for example the ultra-antioxidant rare berries included in the formulas. I’m also very inspired by the Swedish nature – where I grew up – and it reflects in the general holistic philosophy of the brand. I organize Scandinavian beauty retreats every year to enhance the Nordic beauty philosophy, and also share my own personal “Swedish paradise” with my clients.
I’m also pretty “French” after 18 years in Paris. Not only you can feel the French refinement through the visual experience of the brand, but also in the precise formulas representing our scientific approach. It’s truly about science meeting the best of nature. Most activities are either French or Scandinavian. are either French or Scandinavian.
Ad CAELIA emphasizes a holistic beauty approach. Can you explain what this means for your brand?
Indeed, I already mentioned a part of it but it’s truly about looking deeper than the surface of the skin: we want to encourage woman to embrace self care and educate them towards a more vibrant living. Beautiful skin is dependent on global wellbeing! So I keep organizing masterclasses, holistic retreats (with yoga, meditation, nutrition and beauty workshops), and constantly keep this approach through the communication for Ad CAELIA. I wrote a book about Inside out beauty in 2018 called REVEAL YOUR GLOW (Révélez votre glow in French). I think it resumes the vision for my brand as well.
What was the driving force behind starting with an eye care product, particularly the Sparkle of Joy?
I felt it was the most « urgent” product to be created, as I’ve always been disappointed in the past trying out hundreds of eye creams…
Either it feels like they are made for young girls without “issues” as they give absolutely no results, or they are very “active” but not at all clean.
I felt the same desire from my clients. It’s my dream product for the eye area, and the results have been proven 💜
How does your background as a naturopath specializing in skin health inform your product formulations?
It’s all about bringing HEALTH to the skin. We all want beautiful skin, but the starting point for this is health and wellbeing. You need to address the cause problem to treat, heal and embellish. It’s my approach inside out, as I mentioned earlier, I never believed in quick fixes but am looking for long lasting results.
What challenges did you face in formulating the Sparkle of Joy eye care product, and how did you overcome them?
The most challenging part was sourcing, as I did not want to use Chinese actives. This request is unfortunately rare today, and I knew Chinese actives were the most common ones used in skincare today, but I do admit I was very surprised to learn I was the first brand with this specific demand in the french laboratory I’m working with. Let me underline that they have been working with a lot of brands since many years back. So, it’s taken time to find mostly Scandinavian and French alternatives, and much more expensive of course! But so worth it.
The brand focuses on efficiency and respect. How do these values translate into your product development process?
-The high quality of the actives
-Each formula includes patented actives and for the rest they are all scientifically proven to give results and of course with the right quantity required)
-The specific (and complex !) synergies perfectly adapted even to sensitive skin
-Thorough clinical tests, and a larger panel for the personal tests (at least 50 people each time)
-The cases and bottles are recyclable (mostly glass) apart from a small plastic part inside the pump system – but this is part of the “to do list” to constantly look to improve each detail as we move forward.
-10% of our gains are attributed to WWF France each year and we’ll also organize a yearly event – Ad CARE- to raise money through an inspiring beauty and wellness event.
Can you discuss the importance of ingredient sourcing for Ad CAELIA and how it reflects the brand's ethos?
Just as I believe it’s essential for our health to put food and water into your body that is the cleanest possible, the same goes for our skin. Actually, maybe even more so… what we eat goes through a filtering system before we assimilate it so we do have some protection there, that’s not the case with the skin. Toxic molecules reach the bloodstream much quicker. So yes, I wanted the right actives and ingredients for my formulas but also the cleanest ones to enhance healthy and beautiful skin.
What makes the Sparkle of Joy unique compared to other eye care products in the market?
It’s a “Multipurpose power eye cream”. It's highly efficient (targeting all different eye contour issues), 100% clean, and it’s an “intelligent” product regarding the use. The pump is easy to use and allows for the exact amount needed to come out each time, so no waste as with so many eye creams with pump systems… And last but not least: the texture is divine, I need all my products to bring pleasure when being used! Highly hydrating but absorbs well. For me it needed to tick all the boxes. And I'm happy to say it's been a succès so far, it's sold out since last weekend!
How does Ad CAELIA contribute to the conversation around aging and beauty?
I love this question! The “anti-aging” approach is so depressing right ?
I think of it as a “Beautifully -aging” approach and I even protected this name as Ad CAELIA do manifest for a more respectful beauty and we don’t approve of the idea of “fighting” against age. I really think we should learn how to honor aging to live more at peace with ourselves. But at the same time who doesn’t want to look and feel beautiful? We should take care of our skin and bodies, it’s a good way of honoring it. But it’s about the attitude behind the gesture. Yes, to carefully take care of ourselves and our beauty but it needs to come from the inside too, we need to dig deeper and learn how to love and appreciate who we are.
As a wellness advocate, how do you incorporate holistic health principles into your skincare line?
So to begin with every product has to be perfectly clean – no toxic additives, nothing that could potentially harm the body and our hormonal system. The skin is part of a complex system, this system needs to be preserved for the skin to thrive. It’s always about looking at the big picture.
Then as I mentioned, the cause for a problem needs to be treated to obtain long lasting, satisfying results. We cannot focus only on the symptoms. That’s why the formulas are first and foremost intended to heal, balance and support the skin before “treating” various skin issues. Meaning for example that we truly respect the skin's microbiome.
We encourage our clients to use our products as a part of a true wellness ritual AM and PM. The ritual you create for yourself can make a huge difference for your overall health, beauty and confidence. A product from Ad CAELIA always carries a more “inspiring” name to embellish the ritual. Like our first eye contour called the Multipurpose power eye cream but also Sparkle of joy. This inspires a new inner conversation every time you use it. I believe in the power of words and the message of joy is an important one every day. Cultivating your own “sparkle of joy” is essential for our beauty, it will show far more than a few wrinkles around the eye area;)
And I can add that my Swedish roots do inspire me to keep a very close and respectful relationship to nature and what it has to offer, and it reflects in every aspect of my brand. Nothing could ever compare to the power of nature as our main source of beauty and health.
What is your vision for the future of Ad CAELIA in the evolving landscape of the beauty industry?
I believe we are evolving towards more respectful and holistic beauty every year! Big conventional brands all have to adapt slowly but surely because we just don’t want to start eating cleaner and at the same time put “junk formulas” on our skin ! As a brand we have an opportunity to speak up- we have a voice. And we should use it to gently educate people about the intimate bond between skin health, overall health and the health of the planet. We just cannot keep consuming unconsciously. I see a much brighter future for skincare, a more innovative one, a more demanding one. A smarter one. Fingers crossed…
What advice would you give to someone starting their journey into holistic skincare?
Get advice from a holistic skin therapist, do not “assume” you have a certain type of skin based on advice from a magazine or from what someone told you 10 years ago. We evolve, so does our skin and the best way to get beautiful results is to start off “right” so it’s important to take the time to learn about your own skin and personal needs before treating it. I’ve had so many clients using expensive routines, investing a lot of time on their skin every day yet having fragile and unhealthy skin. If the products and gestures are not adapted to your skin, you won’t obtain the right results. Also: start off with a very simple routine and stick to it, AP & PM for about 6 weeks. Then build up. Consistency is key.
Can you share a memorable moment or turning point in your career that led to the creation of Ad CAELIA?
Not one in particular but several moments really… I’ve often been disappointed and even choked learning about “bad practices” in the skincare industry. Learning also sometimes that the brands I was using (and loved!) were being dishonest about formulas, sourcing etc… I wanted to change things around. I NEEDED to change things around, as the skincare passionate person that I am ;) I felt I needed to create my own dream brand, for me and my clients to prove that you can obtain excellence on all levels. It’s really a matter of vision, about HOW you want to invest and WHY. Ad CAELIA will always put quality first.
How do you plan to expand Ad CAELIA's product range in the future?
I have a quite long to-do list ;)
We have an exciting new launch coming up end of May, 3 new products are launching as to have a first complete beauty routine : the 2 in 1 AHA glow cleanser (Glow like a queen), the Ideal balance serum (I love my skin) and the Ultra moisturizing smoothing cream (Like a dream).
Then I have some other beautiful products coming for fall/ winter 2024/25 !
And of course, on top of the “traditional” skincare treatments, we are already working on some inside out holistic surprises... But as everyone know : good things take time 🙏🏻
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Credit photo: Ad CAELIA