A Unique Interior Blending Classical and Modern Elements

YUMAN Tomoki (hereinafter, Tomoki)It’s been about two months since the shop opened. Is this located between Ebisu and Daikanyama? I haven’t been to this area in a while, and the town’s atmosphere seems to have changed.



Victoire de Taillac (hereinafter, Victoire)We weren’t particularly set on this exact area, but Ramdane and I have always liked Ebisu and Daikanyama. We looked at about 100 properties in Tokyo before finally settling on this location. We decided on this building because it was modern, both inside and out, and it was a new construction, so no one had lived here before, which felt like a good starting point.

TomokiWith the opening of this store, this area seems poised to become more stylish.

VictoireWe’d be happy if that were the case. Our Paris boutique is on Rue Bonaparte, on the Left Bank, and it’s also a bit tucked away. Thankfully, people still seek out the store. Perhaps we simply like the style of being a little hidden, just off the main street.

TomokiI think that kind of atmosphere is wonderful.

VictoireThank you. We love this store very much, so we look forward to coming here every morning.

TomokiThe interior design clearly reflects your attention to detail.



TomokiDid you actually bring artisans from France?

RamdaneYes. The French team came and worked alongside the Japanese team, each with their assigned roles. I held overall meetings with the construction companies. Although the artisans didn’t communicate directly, it was a very interesting experience.

TomokiIt doesn’t feel like the same space. It’s very unique and wonderful. How many stores do you have worldwide now?

RamdaneWe opened a store in New York on April 18th, shortly after this one. Including the London Dover Street Market location and our direct-run Paris boutique, we currently have six stores. We plan to open five more by the end of this year.

TomokiDo you reflect the character of each location?



TomokiI see. That’s wonderful. I also really like the wall design here.

RamdaneWe embed dried plants, encased in acrylic resin, into the concrete. It’s actually a very difficult technique. First, preserving the natural color of the plants is quite challenging. The technique of drying while maintaining the color without discoloration is something only Japanese artisans can achieve, we discovered. We loved this technique so much that we decided to open a dried flower shop next to Buly’s second Paris store, which is opening in the Marais district in July.

TomokiWhere did you learn about this technique?

RamdaneIn Japan. We did extensive research. Every time I went to a flower shop, I asked, “Can you do this?” Through a chain of introductions, we finally found this artisan. Then came the even more challenging part: encasing them in acrylic resin. Each window uses about 40 kilograms of resin, and the total amount used in this store is four tons. There are no suppliers in Japan with this much resin, and every inquiry was met with a “no.” All the suppliers I contacted in Japan told me, “Your idea won’t work,” or “The deadline is impossible.” But with the mindset of “You’re telling *me* it’s impossible?”, I resolved to make it happen.

TomokiThat’s incredible. So, who did you end up commissioning?

RamdaneHehehe, that’s a secret.

Page02.Products Featuring Eye-Catching Packaging and Carefully Selected Ingredients

Products Featuring Eye-Catching Packaging and Carefully Selected Ingredients

TomokiAre the plants displayed here related to the ingredients used in the products?



TomokiThat’s an astonishing number of products.

RamdaneBuly carries 700 to 800 types of products, and we aim to stock 500 to 600 here in Tokyo. Oh, and if you need to shave, I highly recommend our Crème Pogonotomienne...

TomokiMy skin is sensitive, so I tend to break out, which is why I use an electric razor.

RamdaneAh, that’s a shame! This is, without a doubt, the best shaving cream in the world. Our toothpaste is also very popular. It’s made using thermal spring water from Gascony, in southwestern France, which is also Victoire’s ancestral home. We have three flavors: mint and coriander, orange and ginger, and apple. I personally don’t care for commercial mint toothpastes, so this is one of my favorites. We’ll also be launching dental floss soon. And our mouthwash, reminiscent of Moroccan mint tea, is quite popular too.




TomokiThe packaging for all of them is lovely.

RamdaneIsn’t it? Buly’s bottles also use metal for the caps; none of them are plastic.

TomokiThey look very chic.

RamdaneThey make great gifts, too. Anna Wintour placed a large order last Christmas and said it’s her current favorite, which made me very happy. Michelle Obama received Buly products as a Christmas gift.

VictoireWe offer a wide range of products, so let me give you a brief overview. This is the room fragrance section. Having previously managed a long-established candle brand in France, candles are one of our key products. The containers are made of marble, and we use plant-based wax. Our most popular fragrance item is a scented stone called Alabaster, housed in a ceramic vessel. It’s made by layering highly absorbent stones, similar to those used in bonsai arrangements, and then dripping fragrance liquid onto them. To intensify the scent, you open the container; once the room is sufficiently filled with fragrance, you close the lid. It also doubles as a small decorative object, so many people place it in their entryway.



TomokiThat seems like something you could even take traveling; that’s nice.

VictoireIn France, there’s a custom of using matches to eliminate odors in small spaces like restrooms. We thought it would be lovely to add fragrance to that, so we developed these scented matches together with great enjoyment. When you light one and let it burn halfway before extinguishing it, the smoke leaves a pleasant scent in the room.


TomokiUsing matches to scent a restroom sounds so elegant. The packaging is also charming.

VictoireThank you.

RamdaneWe redesigned all of them based on the original packaging from that era. A designer created hand-drawn illustrations, which led to the current packaging.

TomokiI see.



While the ingredients have been updated with modern formulations, this toner and our face cream (Pomatum Virginialis) are sufficient for basic care. We’ve kept the fragrances in our face care products subtle, designed so they wouldn’t interfere even when dining at a sushi restaurant. Ramdane mentioned earlier feeling like one foot was in Paris and the other in Tokyo; similarly, we feel one foot is in the past and the other in the future. Buly’s spirit lies in inheriting the best of the past while utilizing modern technology and effective ingredients.

TomokiDid Buly also develop new technologies back then?

VictoireYes. Perfumes and body lotions were among his greatest achievements and seemed to be particularly popular items. We also wanted to create products using new technology, which led us to develop water-based perfumes. The development was prompted by Ramdane’s dislike for alcohol-based perfumes.

RamdaneI didn’t like the strong skin irritation caused by alcohol perfumes, nor the fact that the scent was too overpowering and spread too widely. After two years, we developed an alcohol-free perfume with French technicians. Its milky appearance is because it’s mostly water. We produce this perfume using a process similar to that for making vinegar.

TomokiWhy is alcohol used in perfumes in the first place?

VictoireAlcohol gives perfumes strength and longevity. This technique was developed in the 19th century; before that, only oil-based perfumes existed. Alcohol perfumes were also inexpensive to produce, making them a sensational invention at the time, but we went a step further and created these water-based perfumes.

RamdaneThis is the first of its kind globally, and while the industry wants this technology, we’ve said “no” to everyone.

VictoireWith alcohol perfumes, you first smell the alcohol when you spray them, so you have to fan it to let it evaporate before the actual scent emerges. However, the alcohol mixes with the skin’s components, altering the scent. With water-based perfumes, the blended fragrance is immediately apparent. Since the original scent directly touches the skin, it lasts longer, and the scent remains unchanged even when mixed with your skin. Furthermore, it has moisturizing effects.

TomokiIt’s an invention!

VictoireA French technician and we invented the water-based perfume. In the future, it’s likely that other brands will adopt this technology, and in ten years, water-based perfumes might become the industry standard. We hope that customers will eventually be able to choose between alcohol-based and water-based options.

Page03.We Want Our Customers to Be Delighted by Our Meticulously Crafted, Heartfelt Hospitality

We Want Our Customers to Be Delighted by Our Meticulously Crafted, Heartfelt Hospitality

TomokiIs this hand cream? I love the cute hand illustration.



TomokiThe pomade-like or ointment-like texture has a nostalgic feel, which is lovely. These soaps are also nice.

VictoireAs perfumers, we’ve infused neutral soaps, like those sold in pharmacies for sensitive skin, with our original fragrances. We also offer a service to engrave your preferred initial.



TomokiDoes that take time?

VictoireWe use a laser for engraving, so it’s completed in about five to six minutes.

TomokiSo, you can choose a scent and then personalize it with an initial engraving – it’s customizable.

VictoireExactly. Speaking of personalization, our corner offering pure oils and powders made from natural ingredients sourced from around the world is also very popular. We offer single-ingredient products: pure rosehip oil, pure argan oil, or pure calendula oil. We wondered if this style would be popular in Japan... and it turns out this corner is currently the most popular. In France, roses are popular, and rosehip oil and rose water are bestsellers. However, Japanese customers also enjoy selecting oils that suit them, asking, “Which oil is best for me?” We, along with our staff, stand at the counter and offer guidance, such as, “If you’re concerned about dark spots or dullness, you can make a mask with this powder, add a few drops of this oil, and apply it as a pack.” We’ve created a catalog that explains how to use the products and the benefits of the plants, so customers can learn as they care for their skin.



We source selected products from 55 countries worldwide, but our original products are, with a few exceptions, all made in France. We offer a total beauty lifestyle, not just cosmetics, so we also search for beauty accessories from around the globe, much like our oils and clays. This is a brush made from bundled plant roots, imported from India, and it’s perfect for body massages in the shower. We offer several types of massage brushes alone, including ones we found in Italy and volcanic stones from Morocco that soften the skin.

TomokiDo you have any recommendations?

VictoireMy personal favorite is a massage brush made from fine copper fibers and horsehair, which I found in Germany. It’s a standard in Northern Europe for dry brushing – brushing the skin while it’s dry. It has wonderful benefits, such as stimulating the skin and generating ions, and it leaves the skin feeling soft. I can’t live without it.

RamdaneI don’t quite understand the appeal of that brush (laughs). What I focused on was the variety of combs. We produce combs made from plant-derived acetate at a factory in Switzerland, where they are hand-shaped by artisans. I was captivated by their unique craftsmanship.

VictoireAcetate is not a petroleum-based plastic. Ramdane designs original plates, which are produced at a factory in Italy and then sent to the Swiss factory for handcrafting. Normally, when you look for combs in a store, you might find four or five styles. But at the Swiss factory that captivated Ramdane, as we continued to develop new designs, Buly’s comb collection grew to over 100 types! Ramdane is truly obsessed with combs.

RamdaneWhile 20 types would be considered a lot, Buly has about 100 types of combs, and I believe we have more comb varieties than any other brand. The reason we place such importance on accessories is our desire for customers to beautify their bathrooms with various tools and items, just as they would their kitchens. We plan to continue expanding our product line.



TomokiAre there any items exclusive to the Tokyo store?



This led to the creation of our original paper soap, combining French fragrances with Japanese technology. It’s popular in Paris as well, and our Japanese customers are delighted with it. I personally find it very useful for things like flights or when I’m out and about.

TomokiIt’s convenient and uplifting. You mentioned moving to Tokyo last year; was that specifically for the store opening?

VictoireWe’ve always loved Japan and wanted to live here, so yes, we moved to Tokyo to establish Buly. Since the Tokyo store is directly managed, we have to control everything ourselves. We are meticulous about details, so we felt living in Tokyo was the best way to manage each aspect personally. Ramdane used to visit Japan about seven times a year, but he had never lived here. My brother-in-law is Japanese, so we already felt a connection, but living in Japan has brought many new discoveries, and it’s very enjoyable.

TomokiEvery time I visit Paris, I’m struck by how different French pharmacies are from Japanese drugstores. This is called an ‘Officine’; is that different from a ‘pharmacie’?

VictoireA ‘pharmacie’ is a pharmacy, while an ‘officine’ is perhaps somewhere between a pharmacy and a specialty store. This is an ‘officine’ – a specialty store for skincare and beauty. We combined it with ‘universelle’ (universal) to signify that we offer beauty secrets from 55 countries worldwide.

TomokiI see. My image of a pharmacy is a place where you go with a prescription to buy medicine. So, this is a category of beauty-specialty pharmacy? I always found it curious that cosmetics were sold in Parisian pharmacies. But they’re also different from Japanese drugstores...

RamdaneFrench pharmacies have started selling cosmetics recently, but they must have a pharmacist present. American and Japanese pharmacies sell food items, which would be unthinkable in France.

VictoireIf you can buy cosmetics at a place with a pharmacist, it might lead people to perceive beauty itself as medicinal or related to pharmaceutical affairs. The French might be seen as overly serious, wouldn't you say?

TomokiI always thought it was chic and appealing. So, this is a general store, a new type of business then.

VictoireYes. We are not a supermarket. Naturally, we don’t offer plastic bags. When a customer asks for a product, we retrieve it from the shelf, package it, wrap it as a gift if requested, ask for their name, and then hand-write calligraphy on the box on the spot. It might take time, but we believe that providing meticulously crafted hospitality and delighting our customers is of utmost importance. Our staff receive calligraphy lessons and train under a master. Our customers are pleased, and our staff are happy to gain the skill of calligraphy. And we are happy to work with such staff. Everyone is very happy.

RamdaneWhile we change the exterior and interior design depending on the store and city, we want to continue with the same spirit.

TomokiThank you for your time today. I’ll be sure to visit the store again.

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