Fab Find of the Week: Officine Universelle Buly Baume Nettoyant Superfin Cleansing Balm

We are fans of hand-writing. Of calligraphy. Of paper and pen, and correspondence that you can touch and feel – all such balm for the senses, in the digital age.

And that is one reason why this extraordinary package – from Officine Universelle Buly – pushed all our buttons, a couple weeks ago.

Inside the envelope (which was a beauty in itself): a hand-calligraphed letter. A tag, ditto. An exquisite, whimsical copy of a mini-magazine about ‘Twenty Four Hours in the Skin of a Woman’, with glorious script almost dancing across the front page. And this cleansing balm launch…

And while this was specially pulled together for a press launch, we are huge fans of the way that this resurrected Parisian beauty brand – who have an outpost here in the UK in Selfridges – offer personalised options, monogramming and calligraphy, around many of their products.

Officine Universelle Buly, who we’ve often written about on this site, is actually a fascinating beauty resurrection story: a 19th‑century Parisian apothecary that has been reborn as a modern beauty brand, without (and here’s the clever bit) losing its magic. Founded in 1803 by perfumer and cosmetician Jean‑Vincent Bully (two ‘l’s, there), originally the house became famous for its patented vinaigre de toilette – an aromatic vinegar used for skin clarity, showcased at World’s Fairs and much-loved by high society.

Fast‑forward to 2014, and retail genius Ramdane Touhami and his equally genius wife Victoire de Taillac (who we have known and admired for many years), tracked Bully down in the archives and revived it as Officine Universelle Buly, tweaking the spelling but keeping the nostalgic aesthetic. Today – and it doesn’t get more successful than that – Buly sits under the LVMH umbrella, with a range that incorporates water‑based perfumes, plant oils, clays, tooth powders and grooming curiosities, all styled as if the 19th century never quite ended. And oh, we absolutely love that!

Officine Universelle Buly Baume Nettoyant Superfin

This COSMOS-certified organic Baume Nettoyant Superfin , for instance – see above – comes in a beautifully decorated toothpaste-style tube, squeezed to reveal a gentle, make-up-melting balm that works on all skintypes and is just a dream for removing make-up (including eye make-up – and as we know, that’s not always the case). Swish away with a hot, wet cloth, as you’re probably familiar with, when it comes to balms.

And as for that personalisation that we referenced? For UK customers, Buly’s online service – which includes engraving and calligraphy – is available via the dedicated UK/English‑language site, although orders are fulfilled from Paris and shipped by DHL Express.

Eligible products show ‘personalisation services’ (such as calligraphy or engraving) on their pages. For fragrances, candles and certain accessories, you can add a calligraphy message at checkout; Buly then handwrites this on a label or separate card and includes it in the parcel. Buly can also mail a separate calligraphed message directly to the recipient. And it’s very special indeed.

If you head for the Buly counter in Selfridges, meanwhile, you’ve lots of personalisation options there, too (sadly not available online) - for soaps, have your initials stamped in an elegant heritage font directly onto their Savon Superfin soaps, or have your initials or a short name engraves onto combs, brushes and toothbrushes. You can also choose a colourful vegan leather case for your lip balm and have your initials embossed or engraved in gold.

And if you happen to be in Paris? You might just find a resident calligrapher in one of the stores – shown below, for instance, is a photo from one of our early visits to their first store on rue Bonaparte, where the table was all set up for pen and ink. If you get lucky, watching the script flow across the page is a thing of joy – and as glorious an antidote to this crazy digital age that we can imagine.

As for Buly’s description of the cleansing balm? We had to share it. ‘Every beauty ritual begins with a glance... yours, cast upon this audacious tube. Its deep red colour is the ideal backdrop for the accumulation of golden decorative elements with a thousand and one curves and just as many details. A clear (and deliberate) evocation of the grandiloquence of the Baroque and the whimsy of the Rococo.’

Altogether a fabulous way to conclude a day (and cleanse your face), in our opinion.

£45 for 75ml – buy here