Manon Félix, founder.

From the stars of Medellín to the earth of Cameroon.

I was 24 when I first landed in Colombia, in 2013. I remember every detail of that night: the drive down to Medellín in an old royal-blue car from the 1990s, and the carpet of lights stretching across the valley like an ocean of stars. It was love at first sight, and it would last a lifetime.

In 2014, I flew to Cameroon for an NGO assignment focused on local agriculture and women's empowerment. There, my view of beauty norms was turned upside down: watching the free and proud relationship African women had with their own bodies, I understood that the Western standards I had been imposing on myself were not universal.

“I didn't just want to make cosmetics. I wanted every creation to fund the passing on of knowledge, beyond the world of beauty.”

After that turning point, I went back to Colombia in 2015, and it was in my small kitchen in Bello, on the outskirts of Medellín, that I started making my own cosmetics. I had no plans to start a business yet; I simply wanted to learn how to take care of myself. Very soon, friends and neighbours were asking me for them, and Ocre was born. For eight years, the project grew organically, without any capital; with my team, we trained more than 800 women and saw around ten cosmetics micro-businesses launched by our students.

Coming home, to begin differently.

A major life change brought me back to France in 2024. I left the commercial side of my Ocre project in Colombia, but kept my connection to the land.

During this transition, I rediscovered the French ecosystem of committed brands and skilled artisans, and the protective model of ESUS-approved companies. I realised there was a space here to carry on the human impact that had begun in Colombia.

The idea was not to copy what existed there, but to transpose it: a project with local standards, French artisans, ingredients from our regions and first-rate formulation — while keeping a strong, fair and lasting link with Latin America.

Terres d'Ocre, step by step.

In 2025, the name Ocre became Terres d'Ocre: ‘Terres’ means ‘lands’, and the plural links these two territories. I then met Laurie, who reformulated our make-up with bio-based ingredients in her laboratory in Île-de-France, and Sylvain, a woodworker in Haute-Loire, who reinvented our long-lasting oak cases.

In December 2025, the French State officially granted us ESUS approval, legally sealing an impact model shaped by our eight years of action in Colombia.

Amid all this excitement, my life was transformed: the arrival of my son Sam in January 2026 turned my daily life upside down and gave the project new strength. In May 2026, everything sped up and the team grew, as Dur, the Wedooall team and finally Mathilde joined us. Our first product, the Solid Colour Balm, is about to launch, followed by the opening of our online shop. Our next innovation, the Solid Mascara, will see the light of day in March 2027.