Plants have been around much longer than humans, and over their hundreds of millions of years on earth have diversified to thrive in the entire range of earth’s environments, be it at the bottom of the sea, the top of a mountain or the harshest desert. This diversification naturally means that there is a wealth of chemical ingredients to be found in the plant world, and with over 300,000 species of plant to investigate, that means that the secrets to many of our diseases could well be hidden in an uncharted patch of rainforest, ocean or sand dune. It’s easy to forget just how diverse the plant world is, but it’s a kingdom that includes mighty redwood trees, Venus fly traps, algae, beautiful flowers and cacti, and they are all suited to their environments thanks to their unique genetic makeup.

And talking of makeup, it’s not only diseases that could benefit from the plants of the world. Cosmetics companies have for a long time looked to plants to extract the bountiful ingredients that can give their products an edge. Sometimes they find them in the laboratory after years of research; other times they will have come from traditional skin care applications passed down through generations to combat the eternal problems of dry, oily and combination skin. Both ways are essential the same, of course; the process of experimentation leading to success or failure; it’s just that nowadays we’re better at finding out why, not merely whether, something works.

One of the cosmetics houses at the forefront of the philosophy of using plant extracts for cosmetic purposes is the French company Nuxe. The brand’s name is a portmanteau of Nature and luxe, French for luxury, and this gives a clue as to where it places itself. Nuxe was founded in 1989 by Aliza Jab