We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Odette Fontaine. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Odette below.
Odette , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
It started, as many good things do, with longing.
I grew up watching black and white films, absolutely enchanted by the glamour of old Hollywood—The idea of a personal scent felt so romantic, so iconic. I became obsessed with finding mine much like the starlet legends.
But nothing ever felt quite right, so I
opened the chapter of creating a fine fragrance for myself. So I began sketching . Quietly, obsessively. I ordered materials and read perfumery textbooks late into the night. I worked by intuition and instinct, teaching myself through trial and error. My first finished fragrance was Pas de Chat, inspired by my years in ballet, my cat Oberon and luminous beauty of performance.
The moment it was finished I knew: this is what I’d been looking for. And if I’d been searching for it, maybe others were too.
Odette Parfum Co. was born from that sense—that there was space in the world for handmade, story-driven perfume.
What excited me most wasn’t just the idea of making fragrance, but the idea of giving someone that feeling. That moment when you find a scent that feels like it belongs to you alone. That kind of magic is timeless.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Bonjour, I’m Odette Fontaine—founder, self-taught perfumer, and the one-woman-show behind Odette Parfum Co.
By day, I’m a French pastry chef. Before that, I trained for years as a classical ballerina. Both of these disciplines—dance and pâtisserie—taught me the beauty of precision, patience, and storytelling without words. That same quiet devotion shapes everything I do in fragrance.
Odette Parfum Co. was born from the space between longing and instinct. My two biggest inspirations are classical ballet repertoire and French pastry. They often converge and intertwine in each parfum.
Our offerings include seven permanent full-size eau de parfums, amuse bouche repertoire set, and seasonal limited edition parfums that exist like a ballet performance season.
What sets Odette apart is our devotion to feeling. These parfums hopefully tell a story and capture moments in time that can unfold slowly, to become part of your skin and your story.
I’m most proud of the connections these scents have made. I’ve received letters from people who say they finally found the one—a fragrance that doesn’t just smell beautiful, but feels like home. That kind of intimacy is everything to me.
To new followers, clients, or fellow dreamers: Odette Parfum Co. is an invitation. To slow down. To savor. To find yourself reflected in a bottle, not because of branding, but because something inside it resonates. I’m so honored to share this world with you.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Art is subjective, and all artistic expressions cannot and will not be beloved by everyone. It can be a very hard pill to swallow when something you created from such a deep
personal point of view is rejected. Unlearning that what you create must please everyone has been a formidable challenge. Not every parfum I create will resonate and enrapture each person in the way it does for
me – and that is the reality which can be both difficult and beautiful.
How did you build your audience on social media?
People can sniff out inauthenticity, I post what I am passionate about deep in my soul and I am so lucky people have responded positively and wanted to see more. I love the community that shows up, I lovingly call them swans — in my head we’re all in the corps de ballet together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.odetteparfumco.com
- Instagram: odetteparfumco
