Only an hour for lunch? Now you can book Bikram in your lunch-break thanks to {YUNI Beauty’s} clever gym bag must-haves. Developed to help streamline our increasingly hectic lives, this capsule collection of time-saving body essentials is ideal for hard-working men and women who want to workout but struggle to squeeze a yoga, spin or treadmill session into their already too-few hours…
With convenient {Shower Sheets} to help you freshen up post-pilates, as well as heat-activated treatments and muscle-soothing roll-ons to ease any aches and pains, we caught up with the brainchild of the brand – Emmanuel Rey – to get the low-down on this edit of athletic essentials…
{Cult Beauty} Hi Emmanuel! First up, could you begin with a little bit of the brand back-story? How {YUNI Beauty} came to be, and what differentiates it?
{Emmanuel Rey} My wife Suzanne and I have been in the beauty industry for over 20 years in various corporations – Suzanne was Head of Global marketing for Aveda – and in 2012, we decided to leave the corporate environment to travel around the world for a full year.
At that stage, we had been practicing yoga for a decade, and we took advantage of our trip to obtain a teaching qualification in Ashtanga Yoga. While talking to our fellow students, we found out that there was no beauty brand that had been specifically designed for ‘active people’ and at the same time, we started to notice a growing demand for so-called ‘athlesiure’ brands (the likes of LuluLemon, Sweaty Betty, Outdoor Voices etc.).
It became clear that there was a ‘gap’ in the market for beauty that catered to those living ‘active’ lifestyles and when we landed back in California we looked at the numbers (37 million people practicing yoga, 45 million gym memberships) and decided to start working on some very unique formulas.
{CB} Can you explain the brand name and the significance of your slogan ‘Seekers of Good’?
{ER} Yoga in Sanskrit means union and we thought adding a ‘Y’ in front of ‘uni’ would give it distinction. Also, graphically the UN in the middle means one in French. Oneness is a central part of the Yoga philosophy.
We are defining ourselves as ‘Seekers of Good’ as we are looking for goodness in ourselves, in all we do, in people around us and the world as a whole.
We believe in stepping lightly on our planet and doing good in the process.
{CB} Your range was created with yoga practitioners in mind, how do the products benefit yoga and meditation?
{ER} When we worked with a large group of experts in yoga and fitness, we identified three key insights: saving time, enhancing performance and relieving stress.
While we developed the range with yoga and fitness in mind, as it is our background, it became clear that other people could benefit from our products (who does not want to save time, perform better or manage stress?).
That being said, yoga is a very personal ritual, a moment you take away from the rest of the world. Beauty is also very much a personal ritual and that is why, through our products, {YUNI} helps to reinforce these rituals. YUNI prepares the body and the mind, delivers treatment benefits while you workout, accelerates the post-workout freshen up and speeds up recovery time.
{CB} There’s an ever-increasing focus on keeping fit and healthy these days and your range fits perfectly around active lifestyles – but how do you appeal to those who are a little less workout-orientated?
{ER} As mentioned before, we believe that saving time, enhancing performance and relieving stress is attractive to anybody. By creating non toxic, nature based and sustainable products, YUNI clearly attracts health and wellness aspirants and green beauty consumers even if they are not particularly active.
{CB} What do you consider the ‘hero product’? The one that’s guaranteed to kick-start a {YUNI Beauty} addiction?
{ER} The {Shower Sheets} are very popular as they are portable (single packets), natural (made out of wood pulp), sensorial (infused with citrus and peppermint essential oils), affordable and sustainable (made in a solar powered factory). They’re also amazingly effective – perfect for cleansing whenever you’re in a rush.
{CB} The range features some ingenious no-shower solutions for on-the-go body cleansing – how do these products work to refresh and purify the skin without water?
{ER} Our {Shower Sheets} are large body wipes infused with neem (natural antibacterial), saccharomyces (for natural deodorising) and citrus/peppermint essential oils, while the {Flash Bath} is a very light foam – again with neem, a splash of alcohol and a cocktail of essential oils. Once you have towelled off the excess sweat, {Flash Bath} can be applied on skin and works as a sanitiser (but without the nasties!)
{CB} And finally, aching muscles and injuries are an all-too-common side effect of exercise for many. Are there any products you would specifically recommend to combat this?
{ER} Yes, we developed {Chillax Muscle Recovery Gel} specifically for this situation. It is packed with peppermint – which reduces the pain level – and with arnica, which is one of the strongest anti-inflammatories you can find in nature. You can use it pre-workout if you have some muscles or joint discomfort and its effects last for about 40/45 minutes, so long enough to go through your session.
It can also be used post work out to recoup faster and reduce soreness level, and we discovered that a lot of people who work on computer use it on neck and shoulders as well.