Known as silver star, glacier star, snow immortelle or even lion's foot, this rare and virtuous perennial has always been at the heart of Pure Altitude cosmetics. It all began 36 years ago in a beautiful alpine garden at Les Fermes de Marie.

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Often, it all starts with a small seed or a crazy idea, like that of Jocelyne and Jean-Louis Sibuet in 1989, when they built a luxury hamlet in Megève, with a Ferme de Beauté at its heart, which would also be the first mountain spa. As was Jocelyne's desire for beauty to resonate with the surrounding peaks, with her secret eye for detail. Hence her idea to create an alpine garden, followed shortly afterwards by a line of skincare products based on mountain plants, starting with edelweiss.

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A magic plant

Taking its name from the German "edel", meaning noble, and "weiss", meaning white, this "star" with its white leaves encircling delicate yellow inflorescences grows in alpine pastures between 1,800 and 3,500 meters. Edelweiss has always been reputed for its medicinal virtues, notably as a cough suppressant, tonic and astringent, but it also has formidable skin-soothing properties. It is used as an infusion, powder or tincture, i.e. macerated in alcohol. Able to adapt to a harsh environment and withstand extreme cold as well as strong sunlight (it is native to the Siberian steppes), edelweiss naturally has a highly effective defense system against external aggression as well as the signs of skin ageing, containing mineral elements and active compounds that protect, anti-oxidize, regenerate, remineralize as well as soothe and nourish.

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Pure Altitude, Forerunner of Clean Beauty

In 1989, Jocelyne Sibuet, passionate about naturopathy and working with the help of a botanist, created mountain baths based on plants and essential oils. An encounter with a laboratory inspired her to go one step further. "I immediately wanted to create a line with edelweiss as a signature ingredient, as I was very interested in its adaptogenic properties and virtues." No one had yet thought of using this protected plant, which has been banned from harvesting for over a century in Switzerland and Austria, and highly regulated in France, in cosmetics. In 2000, she developed a dozen highly concentrated Pure Altitude treatments for the Spa des Fermes de Marie cabins, which she decided to market in 2009. A true pioneer of Clean Beauty, Pure Altitude uses only organically-grown edelweiss from the heights of Martigny, in the Valais region of Switzerland. Each year, it is carefully harvested by hand by an agricultural cooperative specializing in the organic cultivation of medicinal plants, as part of a program to safeguard mountain plants. Edelweiss is used in all the brand's formulas, which now include some 50 skincare products in seven ranges. It is used in the form of simple extracts, derived from macerates, and in the form of powerful active ingredients derived from stem cells, the latter, developed since 2015, representing the purest plant extract. For this reason, they are mainly found in high-end, technical skincare products such as those in the Lift'Alpes anti-aging line.

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Beauty from the Cold

Edelweiss has many scientifically proven properties, and is a comprehensive protective active ingredient rich in antioxidant compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, etc.). Highly effective in the fight against free radicals, it protects cells from oxidative stress and the damage it causes, while rehydrating and remineralizing the skin. It also has a depolluting action on skin and hair, with soothing and astringent properties, tightening pores and reducing sebum production. The result? It visibly combats premature aging of the skin, refines its texture and soothes aggressions such as irritation, pollution and stress. Not to mention its powerful photoprotective qualities against UV rays and the formation of spots. What's more, to perfect its formulas composed of 95% natural ingredients, i.e. ingredients derived from nature and transformed by natural processes, Pure Altitude has decided to combine its queen plant with some fifty mountain flowers and minerals, as well as a highly specialized selection of rare plants and active ingredients from the extremes, including the Bolivian Andes and Antarctica. In short, all these wonderful active ingredients enhance the properties of edelweiss, bearing in mind that the higher the altitude at which it is grown, the richer it is in molecules of interest such as phenolic compounds.

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With its smooth, velvety textures, refined fragrances and rare ingredients, Pure Altitude has invented a new approach to beauty... from the cold. With 400 points of sale and two recently opened concept stores in Megève and Chamonix, Pure Altitude is a perfect blend of mountain lifestyle and beauty. For 15 years, Pure Altitude has been developing cutting-edge plant-based dermo-cosmetics, with no animal ingredients or animal testing, and formulas that are as natural as they are magical. Like this snow immortelle.

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