Inside the Philosophy of Odacité with Founder Valérie Grandury
*ODACITÉ
*ODACITÉ
In the story of Odacité, the word "audacity" isn’t just a clever play, it’s a lived motto. For Valérie Grandury, who once thrived in the polished corridors of advertising and the sun-soaked sprawl of Los Angeles, beauty was never just skin deep. It was first learned in the quiet gestures of a French childhood, rosehip oil massaged into a grandmother’s cheekbones, a ritual of care passed down with reverence, not routine.
Then came rupture. A cancer diagnosis forced Valérie Grandury to strip everything back. The products she trusted? Reexamined. The life she built? Reconsidered. What emerged was a new relationship to beauty, one centered on healing, vitality, and truth. This rebirth didn’t just change her life; it seeded a movement. In 2009, Odacité was born—not with marketing fanfare, but with a mission to merge radical purity with uncompromising performance.
Today, the brand is a touchstone for what "clean" skincare can truly mean when it’s rooted in science, sustainability, and soul. From replacing water with aloe vera to pioneering AI farming of Edelweiss, Valérie Grandury continues to question every norm, and quietly reshape them.
But perhaps her boldest act isn’t innovation for its own sake. It’s inviting us back to something deeply human: to live well in our skin, to listen, and to care, with elegance, with intention, and yes, with audacity.
In the conversation that follows, Valérie Grandury reflects on the choices that shaped Odacité, the meaning of biocompatible beauty, and why the future of skincare begins with how we choose to live.
Growing up in France, what was your earliest relationship with beauty, was it cultural, personal, or something in the air you breathed?
Growing up in France, beauty wasn’t something you did—it was something you lived. It was in the rituals, the simplicity of a well-curated routine, the way my grandmother massaged rosehip oil into her face. It was cultural, yes, but deeply personal too. Beauty was never about covering up; it was about honoring the skin you're in, with elegance and intention. That ethos still runs through everything we do at Odacité.
After a successful career in advertising and a seemingly idyllic LA lifestyle, what moments signaled that something needed to shift for you, before the health crisis?
I remember feeling this growing dissonance between the life I was projecting and how I felt inside. The deadlines, the constant hustle, the emptiness behind the curated smiles, the disconnection from my own body. Even before my diagnosis, I felt a longing for something deeper, more meaningful. I started craving nature, simplicity, and authenticity. Looking back, those quiet whispers were my soul nudging me toward a different path.
The cancer diagnosis became a profound turning point. Can you share how that experience reframed your understanding of beauty, health, and self-care?
That moment shattered everything I thought I knew. Suddenly, beauty wasn’t about aesthetics—it was about longevity, vitality, and how deeply we nourish ourselves. Beauty became a daily ritual of healing, both inside and out—a path toward achieving optimum health for both the skin and the body. That philosophy is now embedded into every Odacité formula.
In eliminating toxins from your life, where did skincare fit in, and what surprised you most about the products you had trusted for years?
Personal care was one of the first places I turned to. I was shocked to discover that many of the “luxury” products I had trusted for years were filled with ingredients I would never dream of putting into my healing body. That moment of betrayal pushed me to clear every shelf and begin formulating myself—using only ingredients I could source and trust from around the world. What surprised me most wasn’t just how much more radiant, balanced, and healthy my skin became, but how incredibly effective these formulas were. That’s when the concept of Biocompatible Performance® was born. This shift wasn’t just about skincare, it was about reclaiming my health, my intuition, and my power—one ingredient at a time.
At what point did you realize Odacité wasn’t just a personal project, but a brand with the potential to reshape the beauty industry’s relationship with clean, high-performance skincare?
When people began reaching out to me—not just to compliment my skin, but to ask if I could formulate for them as well - LA is a big city and a small world at the same time, a few celebrities and press started to talk about my skincare approach and I realized I had tapped into something bigger. There was a hunger for clean skincare that didn’t compromise on performance. That’s when I knew this wasn’t just for me. Odacité was born in 2009 out of that dual promise: radical purity and clinical results and pioneered what is now known as the Clean Beauty movement.
The name “Odacité” feels like a manifesto. What does “audacity” mean to you, both as a founder and as a woman in the beauty industry?
To me, audacity means daring to challenge the status quo—to say “just do it” when others say "it’s impossible." It’s about having the courage to create what doesn’t exist yet. In daring, we embrace innovation and in action, we awaken possibilities. As a woman and founder, it means leading life and work with vision and vulnerability. Odacité is an invitation to live boldly, to choose what’s best for your skin and your soul.
Your philosophy of Biocompatible Performance® is central to Odacité. Can you explain what this means in practical terms for your formulations, and for the skin?
Biocompatible Performance® means that every formula is meticulously designed to work with your skin, never against it. We select ingredients the skin can recognize, absorb, and truly benefit from, to help you achieve your best skin at every stage of life. We live at the intersection of science, nature, and sensoriality, bridging the long-standing opposition between Clean and Clinical. Our Biocampatible Performance® doesn’t compromise, it delivers it all: efficacy, purity, and a sublime sensory experience.
Odacité avoids water as a base, using ingredients like aloe vera instead. How does this impact the efficacy, potency, and sustainability of your products?
By replacing water with ingredients like organic aloe vera, every drop of our formula becomes an active contributor to skin health. Aloe doesn’t just hydrate—it delivers hundreds of nutrients and enhances absorption. This choice boosts both efficacy and sustainability, reducing water waste while increasing potency. It’s a conscious formulation philosophy with real impact.
How do you balance ancestral plant wisdom with cutting-edge clinical research, especially as you explore ingredients like edelweiss through AI farming?
We start with reverence for nature—plants that have been healing for centuries, and then we ask how modern science can help us unlock their full potential. With edelweiss, for example, AI farming allows us to optimize growing conditions to concentrate its bioactive compounds. The result is an ingredient rooted in tradition, yet elevated by innovation.
Speaking of AI, your recent work with AI farming and edelweiss is fascinating. How does this technology allow you to push the boundaries of potency and sustainability in skincare?
AI farming gives us 24/7 precision over every element of cultivation—light, nutrients, and temperature—ensuring maximum efficacy with minimal environmental impact. For edelweiss, this means a higher concentration of specific actives with a lower carbon footprint. It’s how we make sustainability and performance not just compatible, but inseparable.
The “clean beauty” space has exploded since 2009. Do you think the industry has stayed true to its promises, or do you see a widening gap between marketing and substance?
There are pioneers doing extraordinary work, but yes—I see a growing gap between what’s promised and what’s delivered. "Clean" has become a marketing term rather than a commitment to transparency, safety, and results. At Odacité, our mission has always been to go beyond clean—to be uncompromising in both purity and performance.
When you think about the future of beauty, what do you believe will define the next generation of products, more technology, more nature, or something in between?
I believe the future of beauty lies not in choosing between science and nature, but in the integration of both. The next generation of skincare will be defined by its ability to marry ancestral plant wisdom—the time-honored rituals and remedies passed down through generations—with the precision and power of biotech innovation (like the AI farming of our Edelweiss.) But beyond performance, the true promise of this integration is longevity—not only in the lasting health and radiance of our skin, but in the enduring sustainability of the ingredients we choose, the rituals we embrace, and the planet we protect. When we honor the earth’s intelligence and the brilliance of human innovation, beauty transcends aesthetics to become a force for healing, connection, and long-term transformation.
Let’s talk about the launch of Odacité’s SPF range. Why was creating sun protection such a crucial step in your brand’s evolution, and what makes these formulas stand out?
Sun protection is the cornerstone of every effective skincare routine. At Odacité, we knew that creating SPF meant more than just high protection—it had to reflect our deepest values: performance, purity, and pleasure in application. That’s why our SPF 50 formulas are mineral- based, non-nano, and infused with skin-nourishing actives that protect while they care. This is not just suncare—it’s skincare, reimagined in color. Designed to deliver a radiant, breathable finish that looks like your skin, only better. From our Tinted Mineral Drops SPF 50 to our new Color Balm SPF 50 blush, each formula is crafted to elevate your routine with protection you’ll actually want to wear—every single day.
What does your own daily skincare and wellness routine look like? What are your non-negotiables for skin health and overall wellbeing?
My non-negotiables are simplicity, consistency, and joy, without joy nothing sticks. Each morning begins with a grounding cup of ceremonial grade matcha and a 20-minute meditation—a sacred ritual that invites clarity, calm, and presence into the day ahead. Skincare has always been my daily “me time”. I never skip the essentials: a gentle cleanse, a quenching mist, a targeted serum, and SPF every day and In the evening, I indulge in my absolute favorite—Crème de la Nuit. I close my evening routine with a slow, intentional gua sha ritual, sculpting, lifting and removing tensions with far more grace and efficacy than any face tape ever could. Three times a week, I exfoliate and mask to renew and reset my skin. When I return home from work, I take a long walk with my dogs—this is joy in motion, where nature and the presence of my dogs turn any stresses of the day into a smile and so much gratitude. At the heart of it all is a plant-based way of living—a conscious choice rooted in vitality, longevity, and a tender reverence for all living beings and the Earth we share. And then there is yoga, one of my greatest healers. It teaches me to listen—to the wisdom of my body. It’s more than movement—it’s medicine for my soul.
At the end of the day, what do you hope Odacité leaves behind, not just as a beauty brand, but as a movement for how we think about skin, health, and self-care?
I hope Odacité leaves behind a legacy of integrity, innovation, and empowerment. A reminder that beauty is not something we chase, but something we cultivate from within. If we can inspire even one person to care more deeply for themselves and the planet, then this journey will have been worth it.
