Blending California’s signature eco-chic cool with a healthy dose of French savoir-faire, Odacité serves up a more luxurious natural skincare experience. Odacité, is a brand that had the audacity to be one of the pioneer of Clean Beauty. And with one foot firmly planted in France, the home of beauty, and the other in California’s revolutionary wellness scene, it’s no wonder that this unique brand has become one of the most successful clean beauty brand in the US and abroad.
Launched by Valérie Grandury, inspiration for Odacité’s natural, potent and toxic-free promise came off the back of her own life journey. A journey that took her from being diagnosed with breast cancer to becoming a wellness coach and ultimately a skincare innovator championing new product safety standards.
Since then, Odacité has won acclaim for its 18-strong range of Pure Elements serums, a line of concentrated oils individually designed with biological active ingredients to target a spectrum of complexion dilemmas. With a handy size that has won them legions of fans, their blends continue to garner praise among beauty mavens. Look no further than their luscious carrot oil formula for glowing proof.
Credits: @odacite / Instagram
But beyond its ever-popular oil concentrates, Odacité has also forged a pioneering attitude towards crystals. Boasting a line-up of must-have crystal Gua Sha facial tools, touted to promote skin contour and glow, the brand continues to prove it can marry tradition with innovation.
An early fan of the brand, Leila Rochet sat down with Valérie to discuss the Franco-Californian magic at the heart of Odacité, how wellness vibes have infiltrated the beauty world and the unique beauty expertise her brand has to offer.
L: California feels like ground zero for indie brands like Odacité. How has the Californian narrative been key to Odacité’s development?
V: France boasts a tremendously high level of beauty expertise and artisanal know-how. Not to mention an art for cultivating beauty that is envied across the world. But with this love of tradition also comes a fear of change. When I began discussing my plan to create a potent natural skincare range combining California’s green-living ethos with the French art of skincare, the feedback I got from either side of the Atlantic was very telling. Many of the French voices I heard chimed in with all the reasons my plan would fail, while in California all I heard was why my idea was awesome.
It’s this positive outlook that really drives California. The Californian vibe, its enthusiastic attitude, its green perspective and its “think different” mindset gives me wings. It has become an essential part of my creative energy and the entire reason I decided to move away from my home country. Of course, I’ve always kept challenges, dangers and obstacles in mind, but I’m motivated by California’s enthusiastic outlook. It’s where I feel safe to create, where I am inspired to rethink conventional practices and where I am empowered to disrupt the status quo. There’s just a different level of enthusiasm here. Here in California we believe in change whereas in France we often don’t. That being said, Odacité just wouldn’t exist without the extraordinary inspiration and know-how France provides me. It’s just as fundamental to Odacité as my Californian influences. Odacité’s heart beats to a Californian-French rhythm.
“Odacité’s heart beats to a Californian-French rhythm.”
L: In recent years Odacité has been singled out as one of the best-known clean beauty brands in the industry, which product do you think has been key to your France-meets-Los-Angeles success story?
V: The 2013 launch of our Serum Concentrates was really important for us, mainly because it piqued a lot of interest from the press and exclusive retailers. We launched in Nordstrom in the US and in Colette in Paris with these 18 issue-focused serums. Made from a concentrated lipidic formula, they’re designed to address the complex biology of different skin types and the many daily factors that affect them. Just by adding one to two drops they give a boost to any regular AM or PM beauty routine.
I think our success comes from this, the fact that our innovative oil-based formula is customized and can be added to any existing routine. Plus, we target specific issues for effective results. Today, many women want to use natural ingredients, but aren’t necessarily ready to go all-in on a fully natural routine. So, for them our Serum Concentrates offer a great alternative.
Credits: @odacite / Instagram
L: As you go international what are the main challenges your brand faces? Is being independent a strength?
V: Having an indie status is a strength, but maintaining it is a constant challenge. Some days it’s wonderful and some days, not so much. Even more so for a brand like ours which has been growing exponentially and has had large financial costs to reconcile. For example, in 2018 we grew by 75%. When it comes to logistics that meant that we had to double the size of our workspace, double our lab space, double the capacity of our shipping warehouse and hire 15 people. In short, a lot of work.
“On the other hand, we have managed to adapt to this growth in a really organic way, only launching products we really wanted to and not rushing into offering discounts. And all with the luxury of also being able to pick our retailers and select amazing product ingredients that didn’t sacrifice our integrity, quality or vision.”
On the other hand, we have managed to adapt to this growth in a really organic way, only launching products we really wanted to and not rushing into offering discounts. And all with the luxury of also being able to pick our retailers and select amazing product ingredients that didn’t sacrifice our integrity, quality or vision. If I had had an investor telling me I needed to hit 75% growth I would have been stressed out and much less focused on my job of creating the best possible product I could without compromise.
For now, I’m enjoying our independent status and I’m safe-guarding it knowing full well that the time will come that we will eventually need a partner. Just one who understands how to protect our uniqueness and what differentiates us.
To dive into Odacité’s world of beauty, visit www.odacite.com
Want more of the scoop on the clean beauty scene? Take a look at Cosmetics Inspiration & Creation’s special dossier on clean beauty within its latest USA makeup inspiration report and contact the agency for more information.