The Art of Stickcare: How Olivia Bordeaux-Groult Is Rethinking High-Performance Skincare with JOD
Skincare has spent the past decade advancing ingredients and technologies while leaving one of its most basic assumptions largely untouched: the ritual itself. The way women work, travel and organise their days has changed. Bottles remain heavy, routines remain long, and application still tends to begin with product dispensed into the hands. JOD starts by questioning that structure.
For Olivia Bordeaux-Groult, creation has always sat between ideas and execution. Literature sharpened her sensitivity to storytelling and aesthetics. L'Oréal taught her the rigor of product marketing and the value of consumer knowledge. At Sisley, she learned that creativity only matters when it is carried by exceptional formulas, then experienced the near-intrapreneurial work of helping to build Hair Rituel: not simply a range, but a new category, identity and consumption habit.
She chose entrepreneurship at 42, after more than a decade spent developing products and bringing innovations to market, while becoming a mother of four. The timing shaped the company she wanted to build. JOD would not be rushed into existence. It took 3 years and hundreds of formulation trials to make waterless skincare feel light, gliding and luxurious rather than waxy or reductively functional.
The result is a complete facial-care proposition organised around a new application tool. The stick travels easily, applies directly to the skin and turns the movement itself into part of the treatment. Removing water allows JOD to concentrate its formulas around ceramides, lipids, cold-pressed French oils and active plant cells derived through green biotechnology. But Olivia's ambition is not to make the absence of water the experience. Her measure of success is more demanding: that women forget the products are solid and waterless because their performance and sensoriality come first.
That principle now moves across cleansing, day and night care, masks and daily sun protection. The Masque Soin Lumière is Olivia's own five-minute answer to tired, lacklustre skin. The SPF 50 is designed around a problem the category has never fully solved: making reapplication pleasurable enough to become a habit. Around those formulas, colour, art, fashion and natural fragrances developed in Grasse move clean beauty away from the clinical codes Olivia wanted to escape.
JOD is already present in more than one hundred points of sale across France and neighbouring countries, according to Olivia, with partners including Le Bon Marché, Oh My Cream, Galeries Lafayette and Monoprix. Yet the larger ambition is categorical. She wants JOD to become a recognised reference for Stickcare across Europe: the brand that made facial skincare more intuitive, concentrated and attuned to the way women actually live. In this conversation, Olivia discusses the career that prepared her to build it, the patience behind the formulas, the pleasure she refused to sacrifice and the new beauty gesture she believes can last.
Read the conversation below.
Your path took you from literature and ESCP to L’Oréal, La Roche-Posay, and more than a decade at Sisley. How did these different worlds shape your definition of beauty and your standards as a product creator?
My path has always been driven by the desire to create. Studying literature first gave me a strong sensitivity to storytelling, aesthetics and ideas, which naturally led me toward marketing, a discipline where creativity meets strategy. L'Oréal gave me an exceptional foundation. It taught me the rigor of product marketing, how to build brands with a structured, data-driven approach. It was an invaluable school that taught me how to leverage consumer knowledge to turn it into a successful product. Sisley added another dimension. It combined creativity with a deeply artistic vision of beauty, while maintaining an uncompromising commitment to product quality. There, I learned that creativity only has real value when it serves exceptional formulas. Looking back, these experiences shaped the three pillars that still guide me today: strong marketing fundamentals, a genuine creative sensitivity inspired by art and design, and an unwavering ambition to develop products of the highest quality that bring meaningful innovation to an increasingly saturated beauty market.
At Sisley, you helped launch Hair Rituel, extending the house’s skincare expertise into hair care. What did building a new category within such an established brand teach you that later became valuable when creating JOD?
Hair Rituel was a fascinating project because, although it was developed within Sisley, it felt almost like intrapreneurship. From the beginning the ambition was not simply to create haircare, but to apply Sisley's skincare expertise to the scalp, the living part of the hair - therefore introducing an innovative active-treatment approach to haircare. Beyond the credibility of the "Hair Rituel by Sisley" endorsement, we also had to create a completely new identity. The artistic direction was deliberately different from Sisley's traditional skincare universe, using bold colour blocking while remaining connected to the parent brand. It was a rare opportunity to build both a product range and a brand almost from scratch. What I particularly enjoyed was moving beyond product development into broader brand creation. I had the opportunity to contribute to everything from defining the range and its identity to thinking about distribution strategy alongside the executive team. It gave me a much more entrepreneurial perspective on what it means to launch a new category successfully. That experience taught me that true innovation isn't just about creating a new product, it's about creating a new approach to beauty, a new consumption habit. That philosophy became one of the foundations of JOD.
You chose entrepreneurship at 42, after an established career and while raising four children. What clarity did that moment in your life give you about the kind of company you wanted to build?
I've always believed that before becoming an entrepreneur, it is invaluable to learn within established companies. By the time I launched JOD, I had spent more than 10 years developing products, studying consumer behaviour and bringing innovations to market. That experience gave me both confidence and perspective. At the same time, I was also reaching a new chapter in my personal life. As I was becoming a mother of four and navigating the realities of everyday life as an active woman, I wanted to dedicate myself fully to building something of my own. More importantly, I felt I had accumulated enough experience to create a brand with a genuine reason to exist, based not on intuition alone but on years of observing the market and understanding women's needs. Entrepreneurship in my forties also came with a different mindset. I wasn't trying to launch a brand as quickly as possible. I wanted to build it properly. JOD took three years to develop because I wanted every formula, every texture and every detail to meet the standards I had met throughout my career. Experience taught me that lasting brands are created with patience, discipline and uncompromising attention to quality.
You have described watching women redo their entire beauty routines after a lunchtime workout, surrounded by oversized products. What did that everyday scene reveal to you, and how did it shape your vision of what modern beauty should be?
That anecdote was really just one illustration of a much broader observation. Over the past decade, our lifestyles have changed dramatically. The way we work, travel and organise our days has evolved, yet skincare routines have remained surprisingly static. The beauty industry has continued to innovate in ingredients and technologies, but very few brands have questioned whether the ritual itself was still adapted to the way women actually live today. For me, modern luxury is increasingly about simplification. We have simplified the way we communicate, the way we move around and the way we work, but skincare routines often remain long, with heavy packagings that aren't designed to move with us. Whether it's after a workout, during a business trip or simply at home, I felt women deserved products that are more precise, easier to use and that avoid unnecessary waste. I also wanted to rethink the application itself by moving away from using the hands and introducing a more direct, intuitive gesture. That reflection ultimately led to JOD. Removing water made it possible to create highly concentrated formulas in stick format that naturally adapts to the rhythm of modern life.
JOD took three years to develop. Why was it important to build an entire facial skincare routine in stick form from the beginning, and which standards were non-negotiable for you?
From the very beginning, my ambition wasn't simply to create another skincare product. I wanted to introduce an entirely new beauty gesture. The stick became a new application tool that allows women to apply skincare directly onto the skin without using their hands, making the routine more intuitive, more precise and better suited to modern lifestyles. Building an entire routine from day one was essential because it allowed us to rethink skincare as a whole. We started with three complementary products: a Milky Cleansing Balm, an Essential Day Cream and Melting Balm Night Care, working in synergy to cleanse without disrupting the skin barrier, protect the skin during the day and support cellular renewal overnight. Another non-negotiable principle was creating formulas without water. In traditional skincare, water often represents up to 90% of the formula and mainly acts as an emulsifying agent, requiring preservatives. By removing it, every ingredient in our formulas contributes directly to the skin's health. We replaced water with ceramides, precious plant oils, lipids and active plant cells that help reinforce the skin barrier, preserve hydration and support the skin's natural protective function. For me, innovation only matters if women enjoy using the products every day. Performance, sensoriality and uncompromising quality had to coexist; and none of those standards was negotiable.
You have said that if people forget JOD’s products are solid and waterless, then you have succeeded. What sensations did you need to recreate or reinvent for solid skincare to feel genuinely luxurious?
Sensoriality was probably our biggest challenge. Waterless formulas have long been associated with textures that feel heavy or waxy. I refused to compromise on the pleasure of application. We spent three years and carried out hundreds of formulation trials to develop textures that are lightweight, gliding and luxurious while delivering high-performance, clean formulas. Each product offers its own sensorial experience, with its dedicated texture, fragrance and colour association. Our Milky Cleansing Oil transforms into a delicate milky veil on contact with water. The Essential Day Care leaves a soft-focus, almost powdery finish. The Melting Balm Night Care is rich, cocooning and deeply comforting. To me, skincare should never become purely functional. It should remain a moment of pleasure. That's why every product is also accompanied by subtle natural fragrances developed around white flowers, green tea and other delicate notes. They're entirely natural and formulated without labelable allergens, creating rituals that feel calming, elegant and deeply comforting.
JOD’s waterless formulas combine cold-pressed French oils with whole plant cells derived through green biotechnology. How did you arrive at this formulation philosophy, and what does it allow you to deliver in terms of both performance and sensoriality?
After spending many years in the French beauty industry, it felt natural to build JOD around the best resources France has to offer. On one side, we work with precious cold-pressed French plant oils sourced through short supply chains. Cold pressing preserves the quality of the oils and their richness in essential fatty acids, allowing them to nourish the skin, improve suppleness, and reinforce the skin barrier. On the other side, we combine these traditional ingredients with one of the most advanced innovations in French green biotechnology: active plant cells. Unlike traditional botanical extracts, these cells preserve the integrity of the plant's active molecules while respecting the natural resource, to create formulas that deliver both immediate and long-term results. For me, this philosophy perfectly reflects what modern skincare should be: combining the best of nature with the best of science to bring comfort, efficacy and long-term performance.
At JOD, the stick is more than a format. It turns application into a targeted massage gesture. How do the formula and the movement work together to make the routine both effective and pleasurable?
The stick isn't simply a packaging format, it becomes part of the treatment itself. Because our formulas are anhydrous and naturally rich in lipids, they have an immediate affinity with the skin. There's no waiting for water to evaporate before the product starts working. The formula melts directly into the skin, allowing for instant comfort and rapid absorption. The application gesture adds another dimension. Applying the stick with gentle pressure naturally stimulates the skin, encourages microcirculation and helps oxygenate the tissues, which contributes to a fresher, more radiant complexion. It also allows women to focus on specific areas that benefit from massage, such as the eye contour, the jawline, the neck or the décolleté. The pressure helps relax facial tension, decongest tissues and stimulate key pressure points. Finally, it's simply enjoyable. The gesture is intuitive, playful and gives women the freedom to spend more time on the areas they want to nourish, smooth or firm. The formula and the movement work together to transform skincare into a true beauty ritual.
The Glowing Skincare Mask has become one of JOD’s signature products. Why do you think it has resonated so strongly, and how do you like to incorporate it into your own routine?
When I created the Glowing Skincare Mask, I wanted to develop the kind of product I couldn't find on the market. My ambition was to create an instant radiance treatment that could benefit every skin type and every age. A product capable of soothing, plumping and illuminating the skin in just five minutes. What's special about it is that it combines immediate visible results with long-term skincare benefits. We selected highly effective ingredients such as Low Molecular weight Hyaluronic Acid to deeply plump the skin, together with a Myrtle and Olive Plant Complex that helps smooth the complexion, calm inflammation and reinforce the skin barrier. Personally, I use it whenever my skin looks tired or lacks radiance. It's the product I reach for before an event, after travelling or whenever I want to quickly restore radiance and comfort. In just a few minutes, my skin feels smoother, more hydrated and visibly more luminous.
With the SPF 50, you brought the stick into one of skincare’s most technically demanding and behavior-dependent categories. What excited you about reimagining daily sun protection, especially reapplication?
Innovation is at the heart of every product we develop, and sun care was no exception. With our SPF 50, I wanted to create much more than a sunscreen. I wanted to develop an anti-ageing skincare product that combines the latest generation of organic UV filters with a complex of active ingredients targeting pigmentation, wrinkles and loss of firmness, while reinforcing the skin's protective barrier. Our ambition was to bring the standards of a premium skincare formula into a sun protection product. The serum-oil texture is ultra-light, melts instantly into the skin and leaves it feeling softer, smoother and more radiant, both immediately and over time. Reapplication was another key objective. Too often, people avoid reapplying sunscreen because traditional formulas feel thick, sticky or unpleasant. We wanted to create exactly the opposite: an invisible, non-sticky formula that's suitable even for sensitive areas and that people genuinely enjoy using. The white floral fragrance also contributes to that experience, transforming reapplication into a pleasant self-care ritual rather than a chore. Ultimately, the easier and more enjoyable a sunscreen is to apply, the more likely people are to use it correctly throughout the day.
JOD’s visual world draws on art and fashion, while its natural fragrances are developed in Grasse. You have also spoken about restoring pleasure to clean beauty. What do you want women to feel from the moment they first encounter the brand?
Above all, I want women to experience the effectiveness of our products. But I also want them to reconnect with the pleasure of taking care of themselves. Skincare shouldn't feel like another task on a to-do list. It should become a precious moment in the day, a moment of wellbeing, femininity and self-care. The gesture, the textures, the fragrances and the colours all contribute to creating that experience. Colour plays an important role in JOD. I wanted to move away from the often-clinical codes of clean beauty and create a world that feels joyful, bold and spontaneous. Each product has its own colour palette, inspired by art and fashion, designed to evoke a particular emotion depending on the moment of the day, whether that's energy in the morning or comfort in the evening. The fragrances, developed in Grasse (France), follow the same philosophy. They're subtle, entirely natural and designed to subtly accompany the ritual. Every detail is there to transform skincare into an experience that women genuinely look forward to.
Through “Women in Motion,” JOD celebrates women who live many lives in a single day. Who is the JOD woman today, and what have you learned from the community growing around her?
The JOD woman is generally over 35, active and constantly balancing different aspects of her life: her career, her family, her personal ambitions and everything in between. She expects products that are both highly effective and reassuring in their quality, ingredients and manufacturing. As our community has grown, we've discovered that these women come from very diverse professional and personal backgrounds, yet they all share the same expectations. They want practical, durable skincare without compromising on effectiveness and the quality of the experience. Our community plays an essential role in the development of JOD. They constantly inspire us and help shape our future innovations. Our ambition is to remain close to them: through our social media channels but also through our increasing retail network.
In an early interview, you named Le Bon Marché as one of the places where you dreamed of seeing JOD. The brand is now sold there and expanding through Oh My Cream, Monoprix, and Galeries Lafayette. What has this growing retail recognition meant to you personally?
For me, this retail expansion is above all a tremendous vote of confidence. Today, JOD is available in more than one hundred points of sale across France and neighbouring countries, allowing more women to discover the products and truly experience the brand. Our retailers are recognised for discovering and supporting innovative beauty brands, so their decision to partner with JOD validates the quality of both our products and our vision. Le Bon Marché was particularly meaningful because it was one of the places where I had always imagined seeing the brand. It gave JOD immediate credibility while helping introduce a completely new skincare category within its beauty selection. More recently, joining Oh My Cream, Galeries Lafayette and Monoprix has allowed us to present JOD in environments that share our values of quality, expertise and customer experience. As we continue to grow, we're very selective about our retail partners. It's important that every point of sale reflects the same level of advice, proximity and product experience that we want women to have when they discover JOD.
Your first funding round brought together respected beauty entrepreneurs and investors connected to L’Occitane, Filorga, Founders Future, Impala, and MAD Advising. What did their decision to back JOD validate for you, and what ambitions can you now pursue?
From the beginning, our objective was not simply to raise capital, but to build a group of experienced investors who could actively support JOD's development. We wanted to surround ourselves with leading figures in the cosmetics, technology and brand development sectors, to support JOD in a new cycle of expansion within the booming beauty and wellness market. Their decision to invest was an important validation of the relevance of our model and our potential for large-scale growth. It confirmed that the market recognises the uniqueness of what we're building. This funding now allows us to accelerate several priorities: accelerate our innovation pipeline, strengthen our retail presence and continue to professionalise our organisation with several key recruitments as the company grows. More broadly, it gives us the resources to support JOD's next phase of expansion while remaining faithful to the standards of quality and innovation that have guided the brand since day one.
As you imagine JOD five years from now, what do you hope the brand will have changed about the way women experience skincare, and what would make you proudest to have built?
In five years, I hope JOD will have become a recognised reference for Stickcare in France and across Europe. My ambition is to build a complete range of products known for both their efficacy and their sensoriality, and to establish JOD as the brand that redefined skincare through the stick format and waterless formulations. A new way of experiencing facial skincare that's more intuitive, more practical and better suited to modern lifestyles. Beyond products, what would make me proudest is knowing that JOD has become part of the daily routines of more and more women who have embraced this new gesture as an essential part of caring for their skin.
Finally, I hope we'll have built a strong international community of women, founded on trust, transparency and long-term relationships. Whether in France, across Europe or in English-speaking markets, my ambition is for JOD to continue growing while staying close to the women who inspire us every day.
