Conversation with Kenza Keller
This year, we wanted to refocus, to ask ourselves what is essential to us, what is intimate to us: in our daily lives, in our rituals, in our tribe and the people who make it up.
The essentials
Conversation with Kenza Keller
We have a date with L’essentiel.
And this year, we wanted to refocus, to ask ourselves what is essential to us, what is intimate to us: in our daily lives, in our rituals, in our tribe and the people who make it up.
To explore this question further, we teamed up with talm, a French natural cosmetics brand, and interviewed its founder, Kenza Keller.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Kenza Keller, I am 36 years old, I am the mother of two little girls and I live in Paris. I am the founder of talm, the first brand of ultra-sensory and safe skincare products dedicated to women during pregnancy, postpartum and throughout their lives as mothers.
Could you share three of your essentials with us (in your routines, rituals, objects or the people around you)?
Firstly, I would say taking care of my skin every day, morning and evening (I use Mega Water, our skin-perfecting mist, then Mega Plump serum and Talm cream; in the evening, I alternate with Mega Oil).
Secondly, taking up exercise again a year and a half ago: since then, I can't do without it. I've become a big fan of Karine André's classes at Dynamo, I run and I occasionally do Pilates Reformer at Episod.
Thirdly, I would say the weekly Wednesday evening dinner with my friends. We made this a regular fixture in our diaries and it has become an essential part of my week.
Do you think that what is essential to you today has changed compared to a few years ago? Why?
When I read this question, I inevitably think of my daughters, who have completely changed my relationship with work and my career. Far from diminishing my ambition, they have allowed me to view my daily life differently, which is now entirely built around them. I left the corporate world to become an entrepreneur, and I don't think that would have been possible if they hadn't been there. Talm gives me more freedom in how I organise myself and how I take care of my daughters.
Has motherhood changed your definition of what is essential to you? How?
I think I've always had a very clear vision of what is essential to me, namely a very strong relationship with my family and friends. When my daughters were born, this bond and this vision were only reinforced.
When you created talm, what were the core values you wanted to share?
When I created talm, I wanted women to have access to exceptional products during their pregnancy, postpartum period, breastfeeding, etc. I wanted them to feel valued and supported, with expertise and kindness. That's why I created talm, a range of ultra-sensory and safe skincare products that they enjoy using every day. Formulated with the highest quality natural and organic ingredients, they are as good as they look in their bathrooms! Women deserve to be taken care of, especially at these times in their lives. I am delighted to see that today our products are often given as gifts when a pregnancy is announced or a baby is born: because a soft toy is nice, but a skincare product for the mother is even better!
How do you manage to refocus on what's important to you, between your life as an entrepreneur and your personal life as a woman and mother?
I'm still figuring it out! It's not always easy, but I'm looking for harmony rather than balance: there are times when I have to work really hard for Talm, and I inevitably get caught up in issues related to my life as an entrepreneur and am less present at home, and other times when I'm more available. I try to stay in tune with my feelings, my fatigue, my desires. My husband is also very involved in our family life, and even though it seems normal to me that he is, it allows me to juggle all these different aspects at once.
What are the essentials you would like to pass on to your children?
‘It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye’: this quote from Saint-Exupéry sums up quite well what is essential to me, especially in this day and age when everything around us seems to be increasingly unstable. Find joy along the way, meet people, love, and above all, don't forget to dance!
