“I love touching, producing, passing on knowledge. Continuing to learn with the new discoveries in skin biology, combining them by triangulating them with the formulas I create… It’s my hobby!”
ANTI-AGE Magazine: What are the origins of the Valmont brand?
Sophie Vann Guillon: It has medical origins: the Clinique Valmont came about in 1905, in Montreux, Switzerland. Originally a sanatorium, it became a neurological rehabilitation centre. The high-class clientèle (artists, actors, royalty) were used to being “pampered” and asked for a range of cosmetics to be created, something I continue to honour. This original range was bought by Didier Guillon’s father’s pharmaceutical group, then by Didier Guillon himself, and he continued developing the brand in Switzerland.
I was working at Yves Saint Laurent and, in 2000, Didier invited me to take care of production, since the brand had been such a rapid success. I established new processes, set up the new logistics chain and managed human resources. In 2003, I launched my first creations. We went from around fifteen products in 1990 to 130 today!
The Prime Renewing Pack, our best-seller, was completely reformulated in 2014. I gave it a “fluffy” yet dense texture. This year, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of this iconic treatment, which has earned the nickname “Happy Mask”. With a formula containing mainly natural-origin ingredients, it removes all traces of fatigue: in 5 minutes, with just a thin layer, we achieve a daily “Photoshop” effect. But in my opinion, our greatest technical prowess is the Time Master Intensive Program. We developed a DNA liposome inserted into an ultra-fine 500-nanometre emulsion. You can feel its power as soon as it is applied to the skin!
Today, we have around a hundred employees in Switzerland and 660 worldwide, with a number of loyal employees who have been with us for the company’s entire 28-year lifespan.
AAM: Could you tell us about the connection between you and the aesthetic medicine world? “It’s where we’ve come from and where we are heading!”
SVG: The brand is born from science and the medical industry, that’s its pedigree. It is an anti-aging brand, to which I have added a touch of glamour while respecting its identity. Valmont has always demonstrated its efficacy in cell revitalisation and skin repair, and whenever I launch a range, there is always a protocol designed for professionals: how to stimulate the tissues, activate the nerves, the muscles, the meridians. It was time to strengthen our medical heritage by proving our legitimacy in the eyes of women who associate aesthetic medicine with tissue repair. Valmont offers a post-procedure protocol that includes an assortment of products, selected to reduce downtime after a medical procedure. It is made up of a pre-soaked collagen mask to stimulate cell activity, a healing cream and a moisturising cream. This kit can be used as a complement to the treatments available in laser centres and aesthetic clinics. The creams’ action is quickly visible: it reduces redness, soothes the skin and stimulates skin repair.
AAM: Why is it important for you to associate your products with the aesthetic medicine world? Are women eager to achieve real results?
SVG: We need to get resultsif we want our clients to come back. If the products are not effective, customers will not buy from us again! We have always been in the high performance bracket; we were born with the culture of visible efficacy.
It’s in our DNA! Skin biology sets the right formula and it has to penetrate in just the right place.
AAM: We often talk about the differences between women’s skin and their expectations according to which country they live in. Is it important for a brand to accurately target the consumers with ethnic offers?
SVG: We have an ethnic approach, but we do not promote it. The message is conveyed in the recommendations and training. On certain skins, the depth of the wrinkles is inversely proportional to the phototype. The darker the skin, the fewer wrinkles it will have. Asian skin and black skin are denser and more compact, they tend to have fewer wrinkles but quickly become dehydrated.
One of my best-sellers, Moisturizing with a Cream, answers these ethnic expectations well.
AAM: Can you tell us about your forthcoming missions?
SVG: My role is to contribute to skin repair. I am working on the mechanism of energy propulsion, always rebooting the skin’s energy mechanisms, while looking for avenues that are coherent with the brand. We are working on how the products penetrate, using chemistry and science to help skin biology and not the other way around. Valmont is a brand that has a strong identity, with a distinction that targets a community that is demanding in terms of efficacy and that accepts no compromises. We might think up an effective formula, but it might not correspond to Valmont’s demands.
Over the long term, I am thinking about what we are passing on. A brand is often connected with a woman, and in cosmetics there is a vision that needs to be perpetuated. Reconciling this medical and scientific heritage while modernising it is a real challenge! We need to ensure the timing is right for our future products.
AAM: Beyond a passion for your brand, you have various other interests: biodiversity, Valmont Foundation, art…
SVG: I want to mention the strong commitments we have maintained for a long time, such as biodiversity, CSR, recyclability. Some of our formulas are 97% natural origin. Bees give us an opportunity to demonstrate these commitments: educating children in Switzerland, biodiversity for bees, and scientific research into pollination in Europe. But also the influence women have as beekeepers in the Middle East and the scientific studies for defending the species in the United States and Canada. For every Essence of Bees product from Elixir des Glaciers, €20 is donated to four different charities, and two beekeepers are fighting in Brussels to preserve the biodiversity that is necessary for bee protection.
With regard to art, I grew up in Paris and often visited exhibitions. Didier comes from a family of gallery-owners and benefactors, so art is part of his essence, it’s in his genes. For me, it came through my education, and we’ve developed this affinity together. Didier has also supported several artists and became an exhibition curator. Every year, we pay tribute to a modern artist by producing a limited series of pieces. There is now a Valmont Foundation in Venice, which was inaugurated in 2015 with more than 400 listed pieces and a room dedicated to perfumes (we created three fragrance ranges in 2018). Finally, we have four exclusive residences (Verbier, Barcelona, Venice, Hydra) where guests can experience Valmont’s hospitality.
AAM: Who has inspired you?
SVG: I like extraordinary stories such as those of Coco Chanel, Albert Einstein and Elon Musk, but I also love Simone Veil because she conveyed a message and fought for it. Jean d’Ormesson led me to become wiser about life. I also admire some well-known Swiss people; I like their discretion, they are very modest and they manage this extraordinary country well, enabling it to preserve its unity with a public spirit.
My hobbies? Golf, plants, trees, nature and biology…
Where to find her: La Maison Valmont Le Meurice, 6 rue de Castiglione, Paris 1er – Tel (33) 1 44 58 59 77
Head Office : 1 place du Port – 1110 Morges – Suisse
