ABOUT SHERINE BICHARA
A lifelong passion
My father was in the cosmetics industry, and as soon as I could walk, I accompanied him to his lab, where I blended ingredients and discovered their different properties. By age 10, I had created my own parfum, including the packaging.
My childhood preoccupation became my life’s passion –– to start a company that creates high-quality, natural, good-for-you massage, skin care and bath and body care products. After graduating from the Institut de Parfum, Aroma and Cosmetics in Montpellier, France, I had the opportunity to work for several well-known companies including Yves Rocher and Rhodia Rhone Pouleng.
Getting started
I started by developing a massage lotion that was more affordable and of higher quality than any available at the time. I duplicated the industry standard’s advanced lotion and then improved the formula. Local massage schools, therapists and spas started switching to my product, because unlike my competitors’, mine contains no mineral oil, which can plug pores, and no almond oil or parabens, which are carcinogenic.
It was a natural progression to move from creating massage lotions to skin care and spa products. To me, developing a recipe for a skin care product is an art just like cooking!
International expertise
Working in the top labs in France, Senegal and the United States has enabled me to develop formulas that combine the finest ingredients from around the world with the latest technology to provide natural, healthy and safe products at affordable prices. My main objective is always to improve the feeling of a product and its results.
Along with developing my product line, I also have participated in researc to improve the SPF of sunscreen, the results of which were published in the well-respected science magazine "Cosmetics and Toiletries" I also appeared on Brazilian TV to talk about the natural properties of SB Cosmetics.
O’Shun and Armonie
I named my antiaging, bath and body care line after the West African goddess, O’Shun. Her mythical beauty is reflected in jewels, amber, cowrie shells, brass, gold, river rocks, perfume, mirrors and shades of yellow. She represents the cosmological forces of water, moisture and attraction. My professional massage and skin care line, Armonie, derives its name from the Greek word “harmonia.”
My intention is to spread beauty, love and harmony just like the goddess O’Shun.
My mission is to create safe and effective products by using natural ingredients from around the world. And, my purpose is to be eco-sensitive, respect the nature of skin and help the world to age well!
Moisturizing, antioxidant, anti-aging properties
What makes O’Shun and Armonie products so luxurious and beneficial is that they all have organic baobab extract in them as well as many other essential, organic ingredients. Baobab oil is a natural moisturizer, an emollient. It soothes the skin and helps it retain its elasticity. It is excellent for dry skin and eczema. Plus, it has a high content of vitamins A, E and F as well as essential fatty acids such as Omega 6 and 9 and sterols. Baobab fruit and leaves also contain alpha and beta-carotenes, and vitamin C.
What’s missing from our products are synthetic surfactants, carcinogenic paraben and pore-clogging mineral oil, silicone and nut oils.
Sidebar: Baobab –– The Tree of Life
Baobab trees grow in sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa and Madagascar. Typically, they live as long as 500 years, while some are known to have lived for 5,000 years. They can reach 65 feet in height with a trunk of 39 feet in diameter. Locals refer to them as the “Trees of Life” because in addition to the seed oil, the bark, the leaves and the fruit pulp are all used.
Baobabs provide meeting places, shade and shelter. Their hollow trunks serve as places for storing equipment and grain, stables for mules and horses, chapels and shrines, bars and prisons. In drier areas, they are used for storing water. In fact, many settlements were established because of the presence of a baobab.
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