GYV Mesoamerican Beauty is an infusion of luxury and culture. With their company’s mission “to celebrate the rich history of the land, spanning from Central America to Mexico, by showcasing the voices, scents, flavors, and places of this historic region” they have done just that with their richly fragranced, high quality line. The LVBX Editors recently had the opportunity to sample this gorgeous product line and discuss its inception with the founders.
FOUNDER Q&A:
Tell us about the philosophy behind GYV Mesoamerican Beauty: GYV Hope, GYV Love, GYV Freedom, JUST GYV. Our company’s mission is to celebrate the rich history of the land, spanning from Central America to Mexico, by showcasing the voices, scents, flavors, and places of this historic region. Our passion for Mesoamerican staples, voices, flavors, and fragrances will guide our efforts to find and support organizations who are nurturing and improving the communities that inspire us.
How are your fragrances selected? Flavors and fragrances are so prevalent in my life, and as part of the GYV ethos, we wanted to showcase the scents so prevalent in Mesoamerica today. Take Mango for example, the inspiration was a raspado de mango (shaved ice) a mixture of mango, lime and a hint of chili. We worked with several fragrance houses and it took 18 months of tweaking and working with perfumers to develop our Mango. The decision to go with Mango as one of the five fragrances was to transport a person back to Mesoamerica, no matter what city you visited, Cabo, Allende, Antigua, Playa del Carmen, you will find a quaint plaza, with street vendors selling you a version of Raspado de Mango.
Tell us about your collection; how is your product line developed? Horacio has worked in the beauty and personal care area for more than 12 years and has seen how Mesoamerican staples are key ingredients in today’s formulas, all of the ingredients in our hand cream collection for example are being used by several companies just not together. We wanted to utilize natural ingredients from Mesoamerica, the task was to formulate a unique hand cream to protect, enrich and renew your skin. We tested among our friends and family for almost three years before launching it. The bean extract helps nourish the skin, the pumpkin seed oil helps repair dry skin, the chile is a natural antioxidant and promotes circulation and the corn will condition and protect. Finally, the prickly seed oil with its high tocopherol content and its fatty acid boost helps increase cell renewal.
“The bean extract helps nourish the skin, the pumpkin seed oil helps repair dry skin, the chile is a natural antioxidant and promotes circulation and the corn will condition and protect. Finally, the prickly seed oil with its high tocopherol content and its fatty acid boost helps increase cell renewal.”
What makes GYV Mesoamerican especially beautiful and unique? When you receive one of our products, the first thing you will notice is the striking design that is etched into the glass that surrounds our wonderfully fragrant candles or our hand cream tube. Here at GYV, we found inspiration in the artistic expression of Mesoamerican cultures, Mixtec, Choi, Totonac, and especially the Otomi. In the GYV print, you can see ornate birds, deer, and agave alongside other native flora like the four staples. As your candle burns, the shadows will come alive, casting the animals and plants of Mesoamerica onto any surface that is touched by your GYV candlelight.
Who is the type of woman who wears your scents? The type of woman who wears our scents are sophisticated women with a sense of adventure. Our scents are meant to embrace one’s inner young women and bring to life the beauty of the Mesoamerican culture through fun vibrant fragrances like Mango, Jamaica, Lemon, Limon, and Vainilla.
LVBX EDITOR REVIEWS:
ROBIN KEYSER, LVBX EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I am truly a canary in a coal mine when it comes to scented-perfumed anything. Just a whiff of synthetic oils and I am immediately in migraine territory. So, I was hopeful, yet skeptical when my GYV Vainilla Candle and Hand Lotion arrived on my doorstep. The packaging was divine and the story of this brand is front and center. However, it was the list of ingredients that reminded me that this is no ordinary candle/scent company.
“A Proprietary wax blend of Coconut, Corn, Pumpkin and natural waxes, uniquely blend to ensure a clean burn and even fragrance dispersal.
“Vainilla, pays homage to the Vainilla of Papantla, with a heavy dose of Red Cedar and hints of Chile, tobacco. Its sweetness comes from caramelized raw sugar.”
This is a smell that feels like coming home–warm and subtle and pleasing. The quality of the candle wax makes the room smell divine even after the flame is gone. Most importantly – not even a hint of a headache for me.
The Vainilla Hand Lotion had me at the twist top. Simple and genius.
The scent — see above.
They say:
“Rich in moisturizing botanicals using our proprietary formula and our signature fragrance Vainilla to leave your hands feeling beautifully soft and smooth.”
Soft and smooth I would have expected. What I didn’t expect was instant relief for my burning sunburned hands. Must be something magical in this Mesoamerican formula or maybe it’s just the heart of this company coming out in their products.
Either way. I’m under the spell.
NICOLE GUSÉ, LVBX EDITOR
Lush might be the best way in which to describe the GYV Dalia Hand Cream and GYV Dalia Candle.
“Dalia pays homage to the official flower of Mexico. This scent is a luxurious mix of Dalia, Jasmin de Media Noche, Plumeria de Yucatan, Vainilla Bean and Red Cedar.”
This spell-binding scent is both rich and sweet, and yet not overpowering. The fragrance lingers 
beautifully and fills a room. It also burns evenly and cleanly, which I greatly appreciate.
Not only is every product in this line expertly crafted – the clever packaging is no exception. Their packaging makes you feel as if you’re opening a beautifully wrapped gift, and the smart twist top on their hand lotion makes for easy (and safe) transport in your handbag.
They are upfront about what’s inside too. No parabens, either.
These beautiful products are only made possible due to the intentional company they are formed by.
To learn more, visit GYV Mesoamerican Beauty.
Images courtesy of the brand.
