“We empower women through pleasure.”

Bijoux Indiscrets‘ HOROSCOPE collection is truly unique as the concept at its core is based on the amalgamation of two worlds – astrology and sexuality. EAN had the opportunity to speak with Elsa Viegas, co-founder and designer at Bijoux Indiscrets, to learn more about the product line and the elements of aroma therapy, astrology, lithotherapy, and self-love that are incorporated therein. And of course, we also asked her how HOROSCOPE can help in breaking down existing taboos and fostering a free, fulfilling female sexuality.

Your HOROSCOPE line is the talk of town. What has made this collection so successful? Is it the zodiac sign element? Or is it the composition of the individual sets within the product line?
Elsa Viegas: The HOROSCOPE collection offers a new approach to pleasure products. It is a holistic pleasure kit inspired by the 12 zodiac signs. A 3-step pleasure ritual, to reconnect with our feminine energy, that includes a gemstone necklace to balance your energy, a clitoral balm inspired by your sign’s natural element – Fire, Water, Earth or Air – to reconnect with your body, and a finger vibrator to explore your pleasure areas. 12 kits to awaken your full physical and emotional potential, to find yourself through pleasure.

Each kit offers made-to-measure orgasms according to your sign’s personality traits, your element’s state of mind, and your body’s desire. Combining aromatherapy, astrology, lithotherapy with self-love; HOROSCOPE makes for a gorgeous, personal gift for the women in your life who embrace astrology, self-care, and sexual wellbeing and pleasure.

Could you give us a short summary of the individual sets and the products they include?
The HOROSCOPE kit includes a necklace with your sign’s gemstone. The stones are well known for their power to balance energy with many healing properties associated to the different kinds available in nature. For HOROSCOPE, we use natural stones with the perfect properties to balance the energy of each sign.

It also contains an orgasmic clitoral balm, scented with a fragrance inspired by your zodiac sign’s natural element – Fire, Water, Earth or Air. This balm with its tingling effect will keep you focused on your body and what you are feeling.

The finger vibrator is the perfect tool to explore your pleasure areas. Made of soft silicone, it has 10 vibration modes, one button, and the right shape to be used on the entire body.

When and how did you get the idea for HOROSCOPE?
We dedicate our work to women’s pleasure and how to break the taboos, myths, and fears surrounding our sexuality. In our industry, we have so much information and still women are afraid to explore their own bodies and still not happy about their sex lives. We believe that this is the result of years of repressing all the shame and guilt around female masturbation.

HOROSCOPE brings a very friendly and holistic approach to it, eliminating the initial fear and offering the right tools to reconnect with our feminine energy.

Astrology and sexual pleasure – do you have an explanation for the popularity and success of this combination?
We are living in a time of change where we question all the established norms and search for answers outside the usual channels. According to WGSN, the world’s largest trend portal, young people aged 25-35 years have broken away from tradition as regards spirituality.

“Mixing three concepts – faith, health, and wellbeing, millennials have developed new spaces, experiences and products to disconnect from routine and press pause on the fast pace that appears to govern their lives. Ancient ancestral practices such as astrology have resurfaced and gone mainstream, with YouGov reporting that beliefs in astrology have risen by 24% among city-dwelling millennials this past year.”

Women’s sexuality has changed too, but we are still afraid of claiming our pleasure and there is still a certain fear of trying sex toys. Female masturbation is still a big taboo. Knowing this, we mixed two worlds: self-pleasure and astrology. Sexuality has changed, but we still need to explore more, know more and most of all dedicate more time to self-pleasure. Astrology is on the rise, we turn to alternative ways to cure and pace our doubts and fears. We mixed these two worlds bringing the perfect tools to align ourselves with the energy of the universe.

Bijoux Indiscrets has definitely left its mark on the industry since the inception of the brand 13 years ago, proving a pioneering force time and again. How hard is it to steer that course and keep innovating?
It is very hard, especially because we love concepts! We develop new concepts every-single-time. Behind each new launch there is always a story. We put a huge amount of creativity, research, trend watching, and design time in each collection. We are always informed about consumer behaviour and macro trends and we develop products that match their needs.

The market has changed a lot in recent years. How does Bijoux manage to adapt to this changing landscape again and again?
13 years ago, when Bijoux Indiscrets was created we were focused on couples. Our products were developed with couples’ sexual and romantic lives in mind. During the past 13 years, the role of women in society changed, and it is still changing. We saw a new wave of feminism, we talk about empowerment, equality, and the pleasure gap. We dedicate our work to all these women who claim their right to equality not only in work opportunities and wage, but also in pleasure. We dedicate our work to give women the right products to enjoy their sexuality in a playful, healthy ways that are free of guilt and shame. We empower women through pleasure.

Your products are available in more than 40 countries today. Does that make Bijoux Indiscrets one of the few real brands in the erotic market?
Wow! What an amazing compliment in form of a question! We put a lot of passion in what we do. Bijoux Indiscrets is not just a brand of products, it is a lifetime kind of passion. We really feel and love what we do! We do fight for what we believe is right. We are feminists. We are women. We are aware that we can make a difference in people’s love and sex lives and that is a huge responsibility that we don’t take lightly!

Obviously, a brand is more than a name and a logo … What is your definition? What is it that makes a brand a brand?
Real passion and real business! We have an amazing team that shares the brand’s philosophy but that is not afraid to share their ideas, even the craziest ones. We try to keep faithful to our values and we fight for them. And along with all this passion, we always have the retailers and the consumer in mind, so not only do we take our business and taking care of our partners very seriously, but we also make sure the consumer gets the best in every step of the process.

Vibrators are not the focal point of Bijoux Indiscrets’ activities, but I’d still like to know how you feel about the current developments in this segment. Are we seeing a changing of the guard in terms of stimulation technology as more and more brands veer away from vibration?
I love to have so many women in the sex tech industry. Developing products that are female-focused. This is the biggest revolution and we are part of it. We get to live it!

I adore the new brands such as Dame products, Elvie, Chakrubs, to name a few.

On the other side of the spectrum, there’s the sex tech trend. Do you feel that this category will change the market in the long term?
I do believe it is the future of our industry.

Being a brand producer, are you worried about the multitude of private labels launched by wholesalers, distributors, and retailers? Is there less room for brand products in the market?
There is space for everyone, but we need to take care of our brand in order to get brand recognition and keep on offering something that the private label doesn’t. We have to be attractive to the retailers and to the consumers, after all the market needs more than just different flavours, colours and shapes, right?

Some feel that the invasion of producers from the Far East was the biggest development of the past years, other are more worried about the erosion of the traditional supply chain or the power of Amazon in the online space. What were the biggest tectonic shifts for your business in the past years?
It true that business changed. Retailers are facing problems as the consumer starts to slow their buying pace. The price war is real. The cheap products are also a threat. But every time adversity arrives, we need to reinvent ourselves and the business.

Today, the experience is more important than the product itself so we as a brand reinvent ourselves too to offer better solutions to the retailers and to the consumers. Every single collection is more and more about what you could experience and less about the product itself. Another change is minimalism. The market is slowing down. Consumers tend to buy less and better and this is also an opportunity for brands.

What are your plans for the upcoming months?
We will have an amazing collection for pleasure being prepared for the 2019 eroFame! Fingers crossed! It will be a revolution.