Founded by Philippe d’Ornano’s parents, Hubert and Isabelle d’Ornano, Sisley has long occupied a singular position in luxury skincare: uncompromisingly plant-based, rigorously scientific, resolutely independent.
“My mother is still involved in the company,” he explains. “There’s really a continuity. Each time I take a decision, I think my father would make the same one. He was very pragmatic. He would adjust to a situation.”
That pragmatism has proved essential as the world — and the beauty industry — has changed dramatically over the past 15 years.
Growing without buying
Digital transformation, the expansion of retail, the increasing importance of service, and the creation of entirely new brands within the Sisley ecosystem have all marked this period. Rather than acquiring ready-made concepts, Philippe chose the more challenging path.
That conviction led to the development of new brands created from scratch — an unusual strategy for a group of Sisley’s scale. Hair Rituel, a range of luxury haircare products, proved the model; Neuraé, a neurocosmetics brand based on neuroscience, confirmed it.
“Neiman Marcus told us it’s the biggest success of the skincare brands they launched in the last eight years,” he says. One of its standout products — the Neuraé Harmony Sleeping Mask – Replenishing & Renewing — taps directly into contemporary concerns around sleep, stress and regeneration. “The most asked question is: can I use it every night? Which is a very good sign.”
Skincare as wellbeing
The idea that skincare can support wellbeing, not merely appearance, runs deep at Sisley. Philippe speaks openly about confidence as both a social and psychological force.
“In all cultures, appearance has importance. It creates social pressure. If you can [instil self-confidence in people] through good products, you’re doing a great job. That’s really the deep sense of the work we do.”
It’s also why the brand has never reduced its philosophy to simple botanical storytelling. Sisley’s reputation rests on its use of plant-based actives at concentrations that are, by industry standards, unusually high. But communicating that reality requires nuance.
“You have to explain, but you also have to be careful not to oversell,” he says. “Some clients are very interested in the science. Others just want an efficient product. Sometimes they try it, they see the result, and that’s enough.”
Science, sensoriality and listening
Behind that apparent simplicity lies formidable scientific investment — research into skin mechanisms, actives that work without provoking intolerance, and sensorial pleasure that turns efficacy into ritual.
“The pleasure of use is very important,” Philippe says.
A recent example is an “active perfume” initially developed for Hair Rituel by Sisley. When clients asked for it as a standalone fragrance, the brand resisted — then listened. The result, Hair Rituel by Sisley’s Le Parfum, has been a success.
“People were coming into the stores asking for the perfume,” he recalls. “It’s very fresh, a different type of note. And it’s working really, really well.” (Look out for it at top South African retailers in February 2026).
Sustainability as necessity
Such responsiveness depends on a supply chain that is both exacting and ethical. Protecting biodiversity, Philippe explains, is not optional — nor is it purely altruistic.
Rosewood is one example of what they don’t use — it’s a protected resource, subject to strict CITES regulations. Even when cultivation is possible, scale and security of supply matter.
“Sometimes the actives don’t need to be exotic,” he says. “Some come from simple plants that can be easily cultivated.”
Others, like certain wild plants in Madagascar, require precise harvesting at peak concentration and close collaboration with local communities. “We work with suppliers in a fair-trade way. Sustainability is not a slogan for us — it’s a condition of survival.”
Innovation at the high end
In a fiercely competitive global industry, Sisley’s high-end positioning offers a degree of protection. “Not all brands have the image to sell our level of quality,” Philippe notes.
Still, innovation never pauses. The launch of the new Sisleÿa L’Integral Anti-ÂgeLongevity Essential Serum reflects advances in epigenetics and ageing research that did not exist even six years ago. Designed for skin typically 50-plus, it complements existing programmes of protection and repair.
After three months of sales in the US, the response has been fantastic. “You really judge a product after two years,” he says. “But the start is very, very good.”
When packaging meets science
Formulation complexity brings its own challenges, particularly in packaging.
“Our concentrations are not usual in the industry,” Philippe explains. “It’s much more difficult to find packaging that fits the formula.”
As a result, sustainability ambitions must be balanced carefully with scientific realities. Sisley won’t compromise one value for another.
Giving structure to responsibility
Beyond product, the Sisley Foundation gives structure to the family’s broader commitments. It focuses on five areas — environment, social, health, culture and education — with particular emphasis on women and, increasingly, mental health.
“It’s the biggest issue in the world,” he says plainly. “One out of five people in France are affected. And it’s true everywhere.”
Leadership without entitlement
Despite leading a global luxury brand, Philippe resists the idea of inheritance.
“I never felt myself as an inheritor,” he says. “The company was young when I joined. It was a common adventure.”
Preserving that spirit — collaborative, forward-looking, intellectually restless — remains the hardest thing to preserve as the business grows. “Big organisations are more complicated,” he admits. “Decisions are slower. Hierarchy increases. The challenge is to keep creativity, flexibility, and people free to speak.”
It is a challenge he relishes. “I like it,” he says. “It’s interesting.”
Replenishment, perspective and health
When he needs to recharge, his answers are as human as they are unexpected: poetry, theatre, time with his daughters, and sport (especially rugby).
“South Africa is a country of my heart. I love wildlife. I love surfing. I love running. And I love human contact. I came for the first time 20 years ago, playing in the Rugby World Cup, but this is my first visit to Cape Town.”
Even here, the conversation returns to mental health. “If I’m tired, if I didn’t drink enough water, if I didn’t sleep enough, I’m not going to be a good manager,” he says. “Health education should be part of management education.”
A lifetime with the product
For someone who has spent much of his life outdoors — exposed to wind, sun and the physical demands of competitive sport — Philippe’s skin and hair tell a different story.
He has been watching his parents create Sisley products since he was nine years old, and, as he puts it, he has been using them his “whole life”.
That lifelong familiarity did not always sit easily with locker-room culture. Rugby, he notes, is a world of diverse backgrounds where discretion matters.
“Yes, of course,” he says of the teasing. “When you play rugby, you’re very discreet about these things. You want everything to go well in your friendships.”
Over time, however, curiosity replaced mockery. “As they know me better, very quickly they ask you questions,” he adds, particularly among younger teammates.
Beyond vanity
What still surprises him is how quickly conversations about skincare ignite interest far beyond sport.
“When you go to dinner parties, and you start to speak about cosmetics, both men and women are fascinated,” he says, laughing. His sister has observed the same dynamic. “Men talk to her and ask her questions.”
Behind the humour sits a cultural shift he finds deeply telling. “Nearly all the women are interested — but more and more men also. We live longer, and the big subject for all of us is: are we going to be in good health as we live longer? And the look, the appearance, it has an importance.”
For Philippe, this is not about vanity. It is about dignity, confidence and the psychological weight of how we present ourselves in the world. If skincare can support that – quietly, effectively and without excess —it fulfils a purpose far beyond the surface.
A brand that keeps questioning
Perhaps that is the clearest insight into Sisley Paris today. A luxury brand grounded in nature, driven by science, but shaped by an understanding of the human condition — attentive to how people live, age, and feel in their own skin.
Restless rather than reverent, it continues to evolve without losing its centre, always questioning, always refining, and always looking forward.
