© Lilia El Golli
French brand L’Atelier Shelter is out to bring new life to men’s grooming and skincare products with its minimalist, refillable packaging and vegan formulas. Appartement 103 is behind the brand design.
Gearing up for its official launch this July, L’Atelier Shelter was founded by entrepreneur Antoine Rouvroy. The brand is seen as a natural step for Rouvroy, who founded barbershop supplier O’Barbershop in 2015 and traveled to the US, Australia and the UK in search of the best men’s grooming products to distribute in France. Having failed to find the perfect products for three-day beards, he decided to create his own.
“To our knowledge, we are the only French men’s grooming brand offering refill packaging,” Rouvroy says. “Our formulas are vegan, and we worked with a French formulator on products that offer a sensorial experience - a ‘fresh effect’ when applied to the skin.”
Urban, L’Atelier Shelter’s first collection, consists of six products, including cleanser, moisturizer and beard oil that come in sleek black packs conceived almost as design objects. “In terms of design, we wanted packaging that shakes up the traditional men’s grooming codes,” explains Rouvroy, highlighting the “enigmatic” aspect of the packs and the way the combination of matte and glossy effects makes text appear or disappear depending on the light. “The goal was to create something that men are proud to display in their bathrooms,” he adds.
The cleanser, moisturizer and shaving gel come in square glass flacons (Vetroelite) featuring matte black lacquer and glossy black screenprinting. They are equipped with black PP pumps (Europackcom).
L’Atelier Shelter also opted for glass for its beard oil, which is housed in a black lacquered dropper pack (Virospack), while the foamer pack (SR Packaging) used for the leave-on mousse cleanser is in HDPE.
The refills – for the cleanser, moisturizer, shaving gel and beard oil – come in doypacks (Daklapack). For its secondary packs (DS Smith) assembled without glue (with the exception of a dab on the sheath), L’Atelier Shelter opted for recycled paperboard.
Rouvroy is looking to go further regarding the packaging’s environmental impact. Integrating recycled content into its primary packs, finding a recyclable doypack option and using plant-based inks for its secondary packs are all under study.
Priced from €35 to €45, L’Atelier Shelter products will be sold online and at barbershops; the brand is also looking to enter concept stores and department stores. A second collection is set to launch next year, with notably an exfoliant in the works.
Glass flaconsVetroelite
PumpEuropackcom
Dropper packVirospack
Foamer packSR Packaging
Doypack refillDaklapack
BoxDS Smith
DesignAppartement 103
