MEET VALESCA GUERRAND HERMÈS: BEEKEEPER AND FOUNDER OF CLEAN BEAUTY BRAND
Valesca with her beloved children Lucien and Cléa. Cléa has created V. Reserve Beauty with her mother.
Favorite luggage:
For weekends, a vintage Hermès leather bag—tattered, well-traveled, and full of memories. For longer trips, I’ve used a Rimowa because the wheels pivot smoothly. It's a simple convenience but makes a big difference. However, they have started to get a little pricey, so I will start looking for alternatives soon.
Visiting a very special loved one in France.
Travel uniform:
A cotton-cashmere pinstripe suit with a classic T-shirt, a soft scarf, and my favorite sneakers—comfortable at 30,000 feet and presentable on landing.
Travel tips:
Hydrate in the air; cabin air is dehydrating. I keep a hydrating serum and a nourishing lotion in my carry-on so I can refresh mid-flight and arrive with calm, glowing skin.
Never-without essentials:
Beyond passport, wallet, and charger, my agenda. I jot down what I did and saw each day so I can relive a trip in a few pages.
Favorite destination:
Impossible to choose—each place has its own special quality.
Most unforgettable trip:
Safaris. Being in the wild and seeing nature’s balance up close changes how you see the world.
Dream list:
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bhutan.
Do you collect anything on your travels?
Small mementos—shells, stones, pebbles—from special places. They live in a bowl in my bathroom; even on rainy days they bring the trip back. My kids and I used to make little rock faces with the shells. If something else speaks to me, it comes home too.
Next up:
Likely Costa Rica for Thanksgiving—stunning and largely unspoiled. I’m also often in France visiting family.
Family time in Costa Rica includes surfing.
CREATING A CLEAN BEAUTY BRAND: V. Reserve Beauty
How did you find your farm? Was it already working, or did you create what it is today?
My late husband and I first came to the property as a summer escape from the city. We fell in love. The house dates to 1784—once a working farm—so we set about bringing it back to life. Little by little, we restored the rhythm: gardens, orchards, chickens, and eventually, bees.
How did beekeeping come about? Were you intimidated at first?
I’ll admit I was terrified—I had a childhood run-in with a hornet’s nest—but bees are very gentle when respected. Honey is often adulterated; I wanted ours to be truly raw and traceable, and I knew how vital pollinators are to healthy land. What started with one hive became a love story. We shaped the farm around the bees—planting for forage and working to their patterns—and they showed me what “clean” really means, which now guides how we formulate.
What sparked the idea to create clean beauty with honey?
I learned simple skincare from my grandmother—she’d have me mix a little raw honey with warm water and wash my face with it. I kept making small batches for myself and my family, and in 2020 my daughter said, “You should share this—healthy, clean products that actually work.” There’s room for skincare that’s radically simple and genuinely effective—the kind that earns a place on your sink, not just your shelf. That’s the heart of V Réserve: minimal ingredients, real actives, no fluff.
I’d be doing this anyway—I want effective, truly clean skincare for me and my family—and it’s special to share it with others. Building this with my daughter has been a real learning curve; we’ve made every decision together so it stays honest and true to our story. Most of all, we keep the active ingredients active. We design the formulas and manufacturing to protect potency—avoiding unnecessary high-heat steps and harsh additives that can weaken enzymes, vitamins, or peptides. I use them every day, and I trust them.
