Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Caroline Pélissier, I am Parisian and the founder of Racyne, a brand new alternative haute parfumerie house! I love olfaction, reading, cooking, art, nature, traveling, and a touch of madness...
What are the 3 adjectives that could define you?
Determined, creative and sensitive. When I have something in mind, I do everything to give myself the means to achieve it and I have many interests, ideas, I love to use my imagination.
What are you most proud of?
Having dared to leave the well-trodden path of my career in a large company to create Racyne, it took a lot of courage on my part. And my other pride is of course my family and my circle of friends, they support me and advise me on a daily basis, it is thanks to them that everything is possible.
What is the most important value that you would like to pass on to your children or that you radiate around you?
Courage.
What makes you feel good?
Sport is key to my balance, it helps me take a step back and I love the feeling of freedom when I run for example. I also attach importance to my beauty ritual, it is a special moment in my day where I take care of myself: cream, facial massage, a little makeup and perfume!
Beyond that, I try to live mindfully, to be present in the world and to maintain an ease of wonder in everyday life: a play of light, the smell of a storm, a hot coffee, a smile, dawn... Happiness often arises from small details.
What are the moments you like to share with family or friends?
A big dinner on the terrace on vacation: talking, eating, laughing, without constraints.
What would you like to achieve that is more environmentally friendly?
Paying more attention to my daily water consumption is a real personal challenge to limit myself because I have a weakness for showers…!
How do you see yourself in 15 years?
Ideally at the head of Racyne, making it evolve more and more positively, living between Paris and the countryside, with children.
What advice would you give to the person you were 20 years ago?
I would tell him that everything will be fine: to relax and move forward without fear!
What is a typical day in your life?
I get up at 8am, breakfast, tea then coffee. I start work at 9am. Depending on my appointments, calls, I eat lunch quite quickly, then I stop around 7pm. I try to do some sport, for example running. I often cook, I love it, it relaxes me and I like to try new recipes, make variations, I have dinner with my boyfriend or have a drink with friends, depending on the schedule of the moment. I always read a little before going to sleep, reading is very important to me, it allows me to live a multitude of different lives.
What makes you beautiful?
When I have confidence in myself, it seems to me that that's what really changes everything.
And also sleep! I need at least 8 hours, no miracle morning on my side!
What is your essential beauty routine?
The one to perfume myself, obviously. It is really the essential step that closes my beauty ritual, which I choose according to my mood, my desires or the season. In my sometimes rather intense Parisian daily life, perfume really brings me a moment of pause, it is a powerful, sensory ritual, which anchors me… it is also this conviction that I explore with Racyne.
There is another beauty routine that I have adopted: I very often apply SPF. I worked on a sunscreen launch about ten years ago and I had studied the scientific file on UVA/UVB closely, which convinced me to protect myself.
What do you have in your handbag?
The essentials: mini card holder, keys, perfume sample, La Bruket lip balm that I love and my Vélib card.
What made you want to start a business?
I feel like I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur, to change things. I also had the spark when I realized that I no longer wore perfume while I was working in it... that was the beginning of a long reflection: why? What didn't suit me anymore? And if it didn't suit me, I said to myself, go for it and try to change things.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Reading on my couch while I have a very, very long to-do list waiting for me!
What are your plans?
To develop and make Racyne a reference in alternative high-end perfumery, the brand still needs to flourish, strengthen its distribution, its expression with new juices, new galenics... There are lots of exciting things in the pipeline! And on the personal side, going on a big hike in France with friends and moving to tame a new neighborhood.
What makes you strong?
My entourage. The challenges I have successfully completed that give me confidence for the future.
What would you like to change on earth for your children?
More tolerance for otherness.
What is your definition of beauty?
Beauty is plural and relative... In the end, beauty in someone is, for me, above all the fact of loving oneself, I think, of simply being comfortable in one's own skin.
What does being natural mean to you?
Fully accept who you are, be aligned with your choices and your life.
Your biggest regret?
Having stopped drawing, I started very young, took lessons, practiced a lot and today I don't take the time at all!
Your wildest dream?
That's a secret I'll never tell! xoxo
