Surrounded by perfectly manicured grounds that overlook the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, I find myself in the luxuriant Ourika Community Gardens, about 30 kilometres outside of Marrakesh. The peppery notes of wild lemon trees mingle with the scent of fresh mint wafting from the cup of tea I’m sipping, reminding me of just how far I am from Canada. My visit to the Berbers’ homeland has been all about discovering the botanicals—and social initiatives—that YSL Beauty cultivates here in Morocco, where a large quantity of the ingredients that are used in the brand’s fragrances and skincare products are grown. It’s quite literally a garden-to-face operation.

“You’ll find at least one ingredient from the Ourika garden in every single product the brand makes,” says Caroline Nègre, international sustainability and scientific director at YSL Beauty. It all started with saffron—the pistils of which contain regenerative properties—and the brand’s Or Rouge line. Today, there are more than 200 plant, herb and flower species growing here at Ourika. “There’s calendula—used in the Touche Éclat line for its hydrating and plumping action—as well as poppy flowers, which are essential for crafting specific shades of red. We also cultivate iris root, Moroccan walnut, pomegranate, jasmine…” The beauty brand is working to replace all raw materials derived from petrochemical sources with natural, renewable ones. “Today, our products are made with 75 percent natural ingredients, but our objective is to make that number 95 percent by 2030,” Nègre explains.

Ourika is fertile ground for many sought-after ingredients, but YSL Beauty is also in it for the people, giving back to local communities and supporting the women here. Since 2017, Ourika Community Gardens has worked with a co-operative that’s made up of more than 30 female employees and founded on equity: Working hand in hand with an NGO called the High Atlas Foundation, the women who help make these botanicals flourish are also part of the decision-making process. In the fields, they can choose to grow products—like olives (which they use to make oil that they sell for their own profit) and grains (which they harvest in summer and sell through their local village co-op)—for themselves. This whole project is based on promoting the skills of the region’s people to help them advance their financial independence.

The initiative is already a resounding success, but the effort to make the jobs and harvests here even more sustainable, ethical and environmentally responsible continues. In 2022, YSL teamed up with Re:wild, an organization whose mission is to restore nature and preserve biodiversity by reintroducing native species and bringing natural habitats back to health. The organization works closely with local communities, involving them in the preservation efforts happening right in their backyard. During my visit, I even get the chance to get my hands dirty planting trees and flowers.

Anyone who knows a little something about Yves Saint Laurent is likely familiar with the rich relationship between the house’s founder and the North African kingdom. During a picnic in the garden, Laurence Benaïm, YSL’s official biographer, tells me that by being exposed to a completely different culture, Saint Laurent was able to strengthen the sense of duality that already existed in his work as a master couturier as well as in his expressive aestheticism. Upon visiting Marrakesh’s Majorelle Gardens—which Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé, purchased in 1980—with its natural bursts of indigo blue, lemon yellow and cactus-flower fuchsia, I understand how important Morocco was as a source of creative inspiration for the designer once referred to as the “King of Paris.”

Nature has long been an integral piece of the Yves Saint Laurent story, so the Ourika Community Gardens is in a way a home for YSL. It’s more than just an exotic place to grow botanicals for precious elixirs; it’s the beating heart of a brand and its master couturier, a man who left his forever mark with his peacoat, safari jacket and Le Smoking. Walking along the plains below the Atlas Mountains, I can’t help but make a connection between YSL’s fashion creations—cut from the most beautiful fabrics and designed to embellish the female form—and its beauty products: Both are made with ingredients of the highest quality and with the intention to enchant and elevate those who use them.

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