Lingerie, Rosé & the Mediterranean
Inside the Sugar Cookies x Brooklyn Boudoir Marseille Retreat
Some trips stay with you long after you’ve unpacked. Marseille was one of them.
This August, Sugar Cookies and Brooklyn Boudoir returned to France for our latest Lingerie x Boudoir Retreat. After unforgettable retreats in Paris, we wanted this year to feel entirely different. Warmer, a little more relaxed and perhaps a little more unexpected.
Marseille gave us exactly that.
Set against the Mediterranean, we spent a few extraordinary days with an intimate group of guests, experiencing a side of the South of France that felt sensual, unexpected and distinctly our own.
A Prelude in Provence
Before the retreat officially began, we escaped Marseille for an afternoon at Château La Coste in the Provençal countryside.
Part vineyard, part winery and part destination for contemporary art and architecture, the estate offered a beautiful introduction to the days ahead. We wandered the grounds, explored the vineyards and, naturally, tasted the wines of Provence.
It was an unofficial first day and the perfect prelude to Marseille.
An Afternoon with Scandale
The retreat officially began with one of its most anticipated moments: a private invitation to the Marseille headquarters of Scandale, the brand formerly known as Maison Close.
Our relationship with Scandale has always extended beyond simply carrying the collection at Sugar Cookies, making the opportunity to bring our guests directly into their world especially meaningful.
We were welcomed for a private presentation of the latest collections, with time to discover new pieces, try on favorites and experience Scandale in its home city.
It was a rare glimpse behind the doors of one of France's most seductive lingerie houses and a fitting way to begin our time together.
Marseille, Through the Lens
At the heart of every retreat are the private boudoir sessions with Brooklyn Boudoir.
With professional hair and makeup and the Mediterranean in the distance, each guest had her own time in front of Stephanie's camera.
Samantha of Rosa Ribelle joined us during the shoots with a selection of pieces from her collection, giving our guests even more to play with as the afternoon unfolded.
There is something we love about watching the lingerie, styling and setting come together in front of the camera. A piece someone may not have imagined wearing suddenly becomes a favorite. Nerves disappear. And eventually, so does any awareness of the camera.
Later, we made our way to Tuba Club, perched above the Mediterranean, for dinner as the evening light turned gold over the water.
Dinner, wine, the sea and nowhere else we needed to be.
Into the Calanques
For our final day, we traded the city for the water.
A private catamaran carried us along the Mediterranean coast and into the Calanques, past dramatic limestone cliffs and secluded blue coves.
After several days together, it felt like exactly the right ending: swims in the Mediterranean, sun, conversation and one last afternoon with nowhere to rush off to.
Somewhere in Between
Looking back, it would be easy to remember Marseille by the places.
Château La Coste. Scandale. Tuba Club. The Calanques.
But some of our favorite moments happened somewhere in between.
The long conversations. A bottle opened a little earlier than usual. New lingerie worn for the first time. Someone stepping in front of the camera and surprising herself. Women who arrived as strangers beginning to feel like old friends.
That has quietly become our favorite part of these retreats.
Yes, they are about beautiful lingerie, extraordinary destinations and photographs you will keep forever. But they are also about creating a few days where indulgence doesn't need an occasion and the only real expectation is to enjoy where you are and who you're with.
Sometimes that means dressing for dinner overlooking the Mediterranean.
Sometimes it means buying the lingerie.
And sometimes it means spending the afternoon on a catamaran with a glass of rosé and absolutely nowhere else to be.
Until Next Time, Marseille
To everyone who joined us in Marseille, thank you for trusting us with your time and becoming part of another unforgettable chapter.
And to Brooklyn Boudoir, Scandale, Rosa Ribelle and everyone who welcomed us and helped bring these few days to life, merci.
What began several years ago as an idea between Sugar Cookies and Brooklyn Boudoir has become something we look forward to more with every trip.
And we're already dreaming about the next one.
Sugar Cookies x Brooklyn Boudoir returns in 2027 with an entirely new destination.
We're keeping that destination to ourselves for just a little longer.
But Marseille has certainly given the next one quite a lot to live up to.
2027 destination coming soon...