Confessions of a French Beauty & Wellness Lover
Interview adapted from To Health & Beauty Issue 001.
We caught Valérie Grandury, Founder and CEO of Odacité, jet-setting from Paris to LA. Here she tells her story, opens up about her battle with breast cancer and why she created Odacité.
Where did you grow up? When did you move to LA?
I was born and raised in Paris, fell in love with California and then moved to LA with the new millennium in 2000.
What was life like before Odacité?
I used to produce commercials all over the world. Lots of fun, partying way too much, traveling through time zones like they did not exist and raising two boys as a single mom. My schedule was a bit crazy, but I loved how it allowed me to meet extraordinary people all over the world and trained me to solve the most complicated situations.
Odacité - made in California with French Savoir-Faire.
How did it all begin?
Having breast cancer made me absolutely passionate [and sometimes a bit rigid] about non-toxic living. It led me to look into everything that came in contact with my body. I was horrified when I found out about the toxicity of skin care products and their direct link to breast cancer. Us French take skincare very seriously since we don’t wear a lot of makeup, so our skincare really needs to work and create that fresh healthy glow. Not finding products that would bridge the efficacy of my French skincare with my newly adopted toxin-free lifestyle, I decided to create a line of products that would bridge the best of my two worlds, French savoir faire (know-how) and green California living. And so Odacité was born.
What sets Odacité apart in the fast growing
green beauty industry?
Our Californian/French approach to skincare.
Is there a story behind the name of your company, Odacité?
Yes, it’s a French play on Audacity. The audacity to redefine skincare convention, the audacity to reinvent your life!
How do you define beauty?
I may be a bit biased on that one because I’m French :-) After 17 years of living in LA, each time I go back to my home town Paris, I’m stunned by the beauty of French women. I tried to figure out why. They are not “plastically” as beautiful as LA girls, their nails are not freshly manicured, nor their hair perfectly blow dried and their wrinkles erased by injections. Instead, a femme Francaise seems to embrace her years and age gracefully with a “je ne sais quoi” of “fabulousness.” That fabulousness at all ages is, for me, is the epitome of beauty. They are the incarnation of “You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life.”
"YOU CAN BE GORGEOUS AT 30, CHARMING AT 40, AND IRRESISTIBLE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."
How do we get that French Beauty?
First work on your inside glow: love and be loved. Nothing will make you more beautiful than happiness. Tackle the outside glow by pampering your skin morning and night. Skin is the most important fashion accessory to any French woman. Be yourself and cultivate your own sense of style. Learn one new thing every day. Carry yourself with good posture. Last but not least, rejoice in the art of being feminine all the way into your 90s.
You talk about breast cancer as an opportunity,
what does that mean to you?
After hearing the news, I of course had the most crazy thoughts starting with I don’t have time to be sick (what was I thinking!) Then more dramatic ones like: My kids need their Mom; I’m too young to die. Followed with guilt trip ones: What did I do to deserve it? And then the social ones: How am I going to tell my family and friends? Then came the vain ones: I don’t want to lose my hair, nor my breast. Then I thought, what if this was an opportunity to reinvent my life? I realized that if I wanted to heal, not only did I need medical treatment but I also needed to completely change my lifestyle. Cancer was going to be the motivation to reinvent myself. I quit my job, sold the big party house in the Hollywood Hills, moved to beautiful and unpolluted Topanga Canyon, went back to school to become a health and wellness coach, studied with the best healing minds, adopted a raw vegan diet, and started yoga and meditation daily. I started to look at cancer as an opportunity to become more of who I really wanted to be.
"WHAT IF THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REINVENT MY LIFE?"
What does your winter skincare routine look like?
My routine has to be effective and fast because I don’t have a lot of time... Winter is all about hydration. Key ingredients are Hyaluronic Acid and oil serums. Hyaluronic Acid is naturally present in your skin cells and diminishes with age and dry/cold weather. Hyaluronic Acid will transform your skin from a raisin to a grape.
My 4 Hyaluronic Acid heroes are:
Aloe + Immortelle Hydra-Repair Treatment Mist: I use it throughout the day or on airplane to refresh my complexion, it’s a real miracle.
Deep Hydration Masque: Three times a week (while I hike with the dogs). If my skin needs an extra boost I use it as a night cream.
Night Time Antioxidants Repair Serum: I use it as my day and night moisturizer.
A Winter In Paris: This oil serum will quench the thirstiest skin and bring its antioxidants deep into the skin. Oil serums are magical as they give instant results.
Are there any special surprises or new products for
Odacité this year? Can you share a sneak peak?
I’m so excited for what is coming in 2018! Spring will see the birth of a Cooling & Purifying Cleanser that envelops all your senses in an ultra-fresh breeze of mint. Summer will be all about a Lip Treatment to plump, while hydrating and preventing lines. Fall will come with an amazing Asian-inspired surprise ;-).
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