In the salon, out and about or while preparing a lovely collaboration: through her work, Babassu founder Heidi meets plenty of women who inspire her. Heidi also draws inspiration from her friends. After eight years sailing around the world aboard the Silverland, a twenty-metre wooden sailing cutter from 1957, with her husband Marco and son Mathies, Babassu’s Beloved Beauty Marije den Breems has embarked on a new adventure. Through her Instagram account, we love following her adventurous life.
BABASSU BELOVED BEAUTY
Marije den Breems (50): “I’m currently building a house in Portugal. The building permit has only just come through. It all took far longer than I expected, and I find it difficult to be so dependent on others and to have no say over the process. But I’m almost there. The build will really get under way in September.”
Are you no longer sailing?
“It was a very special time that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss, but living on a boat means being together 24/7, coordinating everything, making arrangements, and I missed being able to work. I also had a real need for solid ground beneath my feet, for a job of my own again and for the independence of a home base, without always having to say goodbye to the lovely new friends we made along the way.”
What does your new adventure look like?
“I’ve bought a plot of land and a prefabricated wooden house, with a small cottage beside it to let. The houses are being insulated, so this winter I’ll finally have a warm home. Marco is still sailing, but Mathies and I no longer live on the boat; for now we’re in a small flat in the village of Lourinha. Mathies and I are really looking forward to our new home. Mathies is going to build a large pond with fish, and we want to plant fruit trees and vegetables in our garden.”
How do you know Heidi?
“I’ve known Heidi since we were around twenty. We took classes at the same gym, and I would often be in her chair for a facial; back then she ran her salon within a perfumery. I remember so clearly when Heidi started her own business: Babassu! It was so stylish.”
So that was exactly 25 years ago! What did you make of Heidi opening a beauty boutique and salon?
“I think Babassu is a wonderful concept. Beautifully designed, with gorgeous products and always something special or surprising. I love the fragrances and the atmosphere!”
What do you buy at Babassu?
“My sun creams! Standard Procedure is my favourite. The creams are water-resistant and suitable for both face and body. I also really like the surf vibe. Because sun dries out skin and hair so much, I always wear the Sunscreen 50+ Lipbalm by Standard Procedure while surfing, and before bed the Lip Moisturizer by Santa Maria Novella, which is wonderfully soft and nourishing. For my body I use the Alantoine Body Butter by the vintage Portuguese brand Benamôr to counter dryness, alternating with the Avocado Oil by Ligne St Barth, which comes from one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean: St Barthélemy. My hair dries out terribly in the sun and salt water, but now and then I’m given a luxurious jar of Moisture & Control Deep Treatment Masque by Oribe. After a mask like that I see my hair revive straight away: it regains its lovely golden sheen and bounce.”
Do you have a favourite fragrance?
“My favourite fragrance of Heidi’s was always Aria di Mare. These days it’s Aura Maris by Lorenzo Villoresi. In fact, any fragrance built around water or the sea is a favourite of mine. I even named my dog Mare.”
What were you doing 25 years ago?
“I had an enormous need for freedom and a deep urge to see the world. As a little girl of nine, I already told my mother I was a gypsy and wanted to travel around on horseback. I’ve always felt I didn’t quite fit in the Netherlands. I love freedom and light-heartedness, and more than that, I wanted to throw myself into adventure!”
What is your passion?
“My passion is surfing: wave surfing, SUP surfing and kitesurfing. I also longed to surf in all the most beautiful places in the world. And it was wonderful to watch my son grow up so closely. I carried him up mountains clinging to my back like a little monkey, took him along on my kitesurf board, snorkelled with him among sharks and manta rays with a rope around his waist, because he was always swimming off. We’ve leapt off waterfalls together, and it took us weeks to cross the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.”
Didn’t Mathies have to go to school?
“I homeschooled him the whole time. We were a real pair. During the voyage, being together came very naturally. Homeschooling went reasonably well until he turned eleven. From then on it became more difficult, but the last two years were an outright disaster. Mathies didn’t want to do anything any more, only biology and history and certain topics in geography.”
Is your son as adventurous as you?
“Sadly, he doesn’t want to surf. We now live near Peniche, the surf mecca of Portugal. And he still doesn’t enjoy going to school, which makes me sad. Happily, he has moved up a year and made friends. As for me, I’m feeling really comfortable in my own skin at the moment. I’m a Dutch teacher and a journalist, and this past year those two qualifications have let me create a lovely job: I give online lessons to expats in the Netherlands.”
What does your future look like?
“I can now work from home and set my own hours, which leaves me plenty of time to surf, to kitesurf or to give surf lessons. Once the house is finished, I’ll let the little cottage on Airbnb, offering meals on request, bike hire and surf lessons alongside it. And when I miss sailing, I simply breathe in Sailing Day by Maison Martin Margiela. Its aquatic accord, blended with red seaweed, salty ambergris and coriander, calls to mind a sunny day out on the ocean.”
