The special role of the bee in the history of the Guerlain house

The International Day of the Bee, the symbol of the House of Guerlain, is celebrated worldwide on 20 May. For almost two centuries (since 1812) nature has inspired the Guerlain House to create innovate products to preserve youth and beauty. For 12 years the Guerlain House has focused all its efforts on nature conservation. Guerlain actively cooperates with the Breton Black Bee Association (ACANB). Since 2011 the Guerlain House has provided financial support for the work and research of the Association. Since 2020 Guerlain has supported the UNESCO Beekeeper Training Program to help create and spread beekeeping around the world. The program also focuses on the positive impact of pollination on the biosphere. Together with the Goodplanet Fooundation, Gurlain House draws the attention of future generations to the problems of bee conversation.

Bee products are one of the most effective healing agents in the world. Professor Descot, the chief surgeon at the University Clinic in Limoges, has been experimenting with honey – based bandages for 25 years and has proven its remarkable healing power. On the basis of these medical studies, Guerlain laboratory specialists are constantly studying the various types of honey and uterine milk in an effort to find effective ways of using their exceptional healing properties in the fight against skin ageing.

In search of the best quality bee products, Guerlain explores traveled to Wessan Island under UNESSO protection. On this Breton island, a unique biological subspecies, the Wessan balck bee, lives in extremely clean ecological conditions. It produces organic honey, which is an absolute quality standard. Guerlain bee farm of 200 hives, exclusively for the production of ABEILLE ROYAL skin care products, is located in La Firth Saint-Auben, in the Solon region, known for its wildlife diversity. In order to ensure the highest quality of uterine milk, Guerlain House exercises control over all stages of the production process. 

The experts of the French House share the most interesting facts about bees:

1) Bees are the only insects in the world that produce a product consumed by humans.

2) To produce 1 kilogram of honey, you have to collect pollen from 1 million flowers.

3) There are 1,000 different species of wild bees in France, and 20,000 species worldwide.

4) Today, the mortality rate of bees is 30% - 5% is considered normal.

Bees are the bio-indicators of our time and are vital to the planet’s biodiversity. They play a key role in the pollination process, without which plants cannot reproduce. The survival of bees is a critical stage in the process of ensuring food security worldwide. You can draw the attention to the topic of keeping bees on Instagram with the Guerlain stickers created for World Bee Day. #Guerlianforbees, #Inthenameofbeauty, #Thankyoubees