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When Francisca Ors Jarrión, Paquita, studied Pharmacy in Valencia, there were few university students in Spain in the late 40s. Paquita's mother, a cultured right-wing lady who favored that women had their own resources, was imprisoned by the Republicans and escaped twice on the verge of being shot.

Paquita, his only daughter, was sent to study Pharmacy in Granada, where the young woman fell in love with an attractive companion with whom she married at the end of her degree. In her first pharmacy in Valencia Paquita Ors saw the damage to the skin of the people of the countryside, the fishermen of the Albufera and the workers of the shipyards. He then began to develop a series of products based on plants from the Valencian orchard. She also advised her clients on how to take care of themselves, at age 60, women back then were invisible and treating their skin something unimaginable. Paquita's research showed that plant-based products can be very powerful, effective and affordable and that taking care of oneself was valid for all social classes.

More than 60 years have passed and Paquita Ors cosmetics is a reality as a recognized, respected, powerful company within reach of the majority. "For maids and ladies," someone wrote in an interview with her son Jerónimo Ors, a pharmacist and continuator of his mother's work. Together they have created more than 700 master formulas while continuing to investigate in their laboratories in Zaragoza, where they innovate every year.

"That phrase of maids and ladies is from a long time ago," Jerónimo explains to LOC. It was said because to the consultation of our store come both women who earn a hard living, as duchesses with their driver. We treat all of them with the same affection, respect and interest. My mother and I have always set prices that practically everyone can afford. To do this, we dispense with advertising and marketing." Adds.

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The shop on Calle Velázquez in Madrid looks like an old pharmacy with art-deco stained glass windows and Jerónimo in a white coat, impeccable bow tie and the appearance of a nineteenth-century gentleman. Clients sit patiently waiting for their turn for Ors to examine their skin with a magnifying glass, diagnose and prescribe what suits them best.

Paquita, on the other hand, is still there, lying for years and with her mind in other worlds, in her son's house in front of the Retiro and cared for with all the affection. She was active until she was 89 and lost her mind when she stopped working. Until the end she was tireless in her eagerness to investigate to develop a very social cosmetics, being also very modern and feminist.

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The pharmacist was not happy in her marriage. She was separated from a husband who didn't like women working, including her own. When they had to move to Zaragoza for work reasons, they both opened their respective pharmacies, in a neighborhood of working people where families had children without measure. Condoms were sold at Paquita's pharmacy. In her husband's, there was no such product. Many women went to Paquita's to consult, not only about skin problems, but also about family planning or unwanted pregnancies.

She was slow to separate so as not to lose custody of her son. When he was free, he lived for 26 years at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid. The day she finally had to go in a wheelchair did not stop showing off her heels, it was groundbreaking until the end.

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In her professional life she was an advance and personally, brave. In the 70s there was a swimming pool in Zaragoza that segregated by sex, and banned the bikini. One day a girl from outside appeared there with a two-piece and they threw her out unceremoniously. The next day a series of women, including Paquita, showed up at the pool with their swimsuits whole, scissors in hand and cut them in half. The matter came out all over the press with great resonance.

QUESTION.- Do you think, we asked Jerónimo, that his mother would be the Spanish Helena Rubinstein?

ANSWER.- You could say, yes, although in a small light. At that time there has been no woman who was professionally dedicated to researching and developing cosmetics professionally.

Q.- What do creams that cost 60,000 euros have?

A.- It is not justified that any cream is worth that, none. It is more a matter of marketing, to give an image of exclusivity. We buy the most expensive and powerful raw materials that exist and we don't need to set those prices. We shorten profit margins so people can buy them.

And Ors adds that all the effects on the skin can be treated, both stress and anemia or hormones, personally studying each case and each circumstance, then looking for the appropriate treatment.

"

The active principles of plants work and people notice it. Therein lies our success. It is not a question of wrinkles, but that the skin has luster and light at any age."

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