In my 10-year run at Victoria’s Secret, we had few rituals. In my case, as fashion director and head of product development, I was always supposed to be thinking outside the box. In Paris with my colleagues, I learned to think inside the box — inside a box of Ladurée macorons, chosen for their sublime color and mouth-watering tastes of every ice cream flavor imaginable.

Laduree is one company I always celebrate as a truly sensual brand and example of the relationship the French have with guilty pleasures. Unlike Americans, the French are perfectly at peace with sinning on occasion. After all, this is the country that installed Adam’s first wife Lilith right there with Eve atop the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

Les Merveilleuses de Laduree was inspired by the Merveilleuses of 18th Century France, who were known for their extravagant, decadent behavior and fashion styles inspired by the ancient Greek and Romans. Laduree developed a makeup line that places a great emphasis on blushes with three different formulas, as during the age of the Merveilleuses. Blushing the cheeks was the main means of playing up one’s feminine allure back in the day, prompting me to ask if western women blush ever these days.

The French understand that eating an occasional macaron does not make a woman fat. And thinking about food doesn’t cause us to eat more of it. In fact, scientific research indicates that Imagining Food Pleasures Decreases Actual Consumption.

I’ve long believed that America’s obsession with sin, sex and guilt is a major factor in our obesity epidemic. Granted, the French are more vigilante in monitoring food consumption than Americans. But they also enjoy pleasure and their bodies, too. Food is not a substitute for the denial of life’s other pleasures.

Within this mindset, blushing and bathing with Les Merveilleuses De Ladurée products makes perfect sense and a divine personal treat, like wearing that splendid French lingerie that only its owner may see. Facing herself in the mirror, she sees a real treat, a feast better than food — a woman at peace with herself. ~ Anne

Related: Ladurée’s Most Sensual Macarons Nurture Fantasy & Pleasure Worldwide with its reminder that American women can be scandalous when in France.