How to build emotional connection with a digital experience

This skincare site seems to have zero interest in selling you their products.

Bourii is a London-based botanical skincare and wellness brand built on natural oils, aromatherapy, and Ayurvedic principles. But that's not the interesting part. I know nothing about aromatherapy or Ayurvedic principles, and yet I spent a long time on their site, despite having zero interest in the product they sell.

Founded by Shirin Van Lare, Bourii sells natural oils, but what it's really selling is ritual. The conceptual model is powerful: it links skincare to an emotional state. They're not inviting you to buy an oil, they're inviting you to buy "vata": a feeling of energy and creativity.

And as if that weren't enough, they've also built a "rituals" page, with three different practices ranging from 4 to 10 minutes. A single visual, minimal typography, a calm voice guiding you through the whole thing. For you, it's 5 minutes of self-care. For them, it's a chance to build attachment to the brand. And not just that, they're constructing a reason for you to come back to the site, one that has nothing to do with their products.

One last thing before you move on to something else. The founder doesn't assume we already know what Ayurveda is (I had to double-check the spelling myself): 90% of the homepage is devoted to the brand's story, to what Ayurveda actually is, to the ingredients, to the values. It reads like the result of very deep work on the business itself. They don't seem to be trying to sell, they're doing something deeper, building a precise idea around the brand.

Bourii has a brand identity far stronger than its current business size would suggest. Instead of offering 27 products and forcing the consumer to navigate ingredients, acids, retinol, ceramides, Bourii asks one simple question: "What's your state?" and the product follows from there.

All very lovely so far, but one doubt remains: Ayurveda is a cultural heritage, a complex traditional system. Bourii turns it into a very simplified consumer language, but is that enough to convince me to buy a €78 oil? Still, it's a genuinely interesting business concept.

Credit to the respective designers.