Officine Universelle Buly presents: Ancient Beauty Rituals

The legendary Ching Shih, nicknamed "Queen of the Pirates", is no fictional character! Born in China in 1775, Ching Shih, whom legend has it was once a prostitute, was in fact the terror of merchant ships in the China Sea in the early 19th century. A true military genius, when her pirate husband died, she took command of 40,000 men, some say 80,000.

Her insatiable thirst for power made her a formidable strategist. In this episode, we introduce you to a woman who was powerful in many ways, the owner of a large part of the China Sea, the head of all the city's gambling tables and, last but not least, a true pirate.

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The Mongols are regarded as the greatest conquerors in history: Genghis Khan's empire stretched from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean to the Pacific Ocean, including Far Eastern Europe, the Near East, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Russian steppes and part of Siberia as far as the Baltic Sea, northern India, Mongolia and the whole of China. That's more than 20% of the world's land!

An unrivalled military tactician, Genghis Khan led a small army, but with the most gifted horsemen and archers, and the best strategists at the helm of his empire.

These conquests were achieved at the cost of violent conquests, but at the end of the day, the establishment of the Pax Mongolia enabled unprecedented commercial, scientific and artistic exchanges, bridging the gap between East and West. 

Genghis Khan guaranteed his people complete religious freedom, even though he practised shamanism. In fact, he included shamans in all his military campaigns, but called on them above all in the field of health: growth, care of the wounded, protection against the natural elements, but also beauty. 

It is against this backdrop that we meet Alakhai Beki, daughter of Genghis Khan, worthy daughter of her father, woman and warrior.

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The Ottoman Empire, multinational and multilingual, at the crossroads of the Eastern and Western worlds for six centuries, was powerful both financially and intellectually.

The Sultan possessed a harem of the most beautiful women in the empire, who benefited from the best teaching in dance, poetry, music and erotic art. Concubines were pampered, adorned with the finest jewels and the finest clothes. Their sacred moment of relaxation was the hammam, where the treatments they received immersed them in a hushed universe, disconnected from their life of pomp.

But the limit to this idyllic picture was freedom, symbolized by the Sublime Porte, the French name given to the monumental gate of honour of the Grand Vizier in Constantinople, the seat of the Sultan. Which our character Emel dreams of crossing to find her first love...

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The 1920s in the United States saw a resurgence of African-American culture in all creative fields, and the birthplace of this revival was Harlem, New York. It was also a time of blossoming for African-American women, who emancipated themselves from the diktats of beauty long reserved for white women. C.J. Walker, the daughter of a slave, illiterate and self-taught, was the ultimate icon, becoming the first female millionaire in the United States. 

Hear the story of this generation of women as Zora, a young African-American writer, prepares for an exceptional evening.

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In this episode, we tell you about the beauty ritual of a great samurai in Japan in 1730. 

Bathing has a religious significance in Japanese culture. As well as being hygienic, it serves to cleanse the soul. Numerous onsen (natural hot springs) and sento (public baths widely available) gave everyone access to ablutions. Before important ceremonies with religious or social significance, such as a wedding, it was important to take a purifying bath. The bath was taken with unheated water while reciting Buddhist sutras. This was followed by a visit to the temple or deity.

Buly describes this purifying ritual, for both body and soul, which continues to this day, through the story of Tadeka, the great samurai.

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In this episode, we shine the spotlight on a ritual that is not just for women, but for a change, for men. We visit Souverain Raya, in the south of India, at the very beginning of the 16th century. This was an area prolific in spices, used for culinary, medical and cosmetic purposes, whose value could approach that of gold. In the "best provisioned city in the world", King Raya took as much care of his health as his appearance.

The Officine Universelle Buly goes back in time to reveal this beauty ritual, based on the principles of Ayurveda or "the science of life" – a millennia-old custom of holistic healing.

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Justine takes us by the hand and leads us to the Centre-West of France in 1863. More precisely, to the Aurillac ball, a vibrant dancing performance on which the curtains of our story open.

But no ball is complete without a preceding beauty ritual. After a long day on the farm, Justine walks hastily back to the house and invites us to plunge headlong into the intimacy of rural grooming in the 19th century. A number of customs are thus revealed to us: hierarchical baths, the bar of Marseille soap and, lastly, the obvious importance of face and hand care.

L'Officine Universelle Buly tells you all about these beauty rituals, handed down from generation to generation.

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In this episode, we reveal a beauty ritual practised in Rajasthan, India, in the early 19th century. 

Troubled by the English romanticism that offered her a glimpse of Western freedom, young princess Alka found appeasement in a meticulous series of vigorous head and body massages, and in the famous Indian ablutions ceremonial. 

In the form of a tale, Buly tells you all about this ritual, which is as much a spiritual process as anything else.

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In this first episode, we reveal the beauty rituals in vogue in ancient Rome, following a young noblewoman, Cassia, in her cosmetic routine, with Phoebe, her favorite ornatrix.

If their complexion was generally damaged by poor hygiene, illness or the composition of their makeup, 

The Romans were on the other hand renowned for the great care they took with their appearance, thanks to necessarily natural products: donkey's milk, fat extracted from sheep's wool, crocodile dung, but also oyster shell powder, swan fat and snail ash.

As a tale, L ‘Officine Universelle Buly tells you in detail about this ancient ritual.

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Do you know how makeup was applied in ancient Rome? What was the legendary aura that allowed African-American women to beautify themselves in Harlem in the 1930s? Can the mystery of steam baths be unravelled? What were the beauty and skin care rituals practiced in France during the Second Empire?

Constantinople, Okinawa or Rajasthan, these ancestral rituals are at the origin of our own contemporary beauty rituals.

Through the prism of history and the expert historians we have consulted, we have travelled through the centuries and across the world. Today, we are delighted to share these tales of beauty.

You will find an episode of our Ancient Beauty Rituals every week on all podcast platforms.

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