Fanny Fortin Descamps and Edwina Réthoré won their spurs in the perfume and beauty industries, with major brands, perfume companies, and retailers. If they share a strong passion for fragrances, they also draw inspiration from fashion, gastronomy and, more broadly, contemporary culture.

“We are constantly keeping an eye on everything happening around us, because fragrance does not exist in a vacuum”, emphasizes Fanny Fortin Descamps.

The first Fascent fragrances were launched in 2023. Today, the collection is composed of eight fragrances: the latest one, Corn Star, was launched last May.

“With Fascent, we want to demystify the codes of niche fragrances, making them more inclusive and accessible, with carefully considered pricing. And we are actually doing well, since the perceived value is often higher than the actual price”, she adds.

Layering rather than signature fragrances

Fascent’s fragrances are deliberately gender-neutral, so consumers are not confined to a gendered olfactory identity. Instead, the brand champions a free approach to perfuming, where you can switch up your scent according to your mood, desires and needs, wearing fragrances on their own or layered together.

“What matters most to us is that Fascent users feel good when they are wearing our creations, which we develop with CPL Aromas or DSM-Firmenich”, explains Fortin Descamps.

If the signature fragrance concept is not part of the brand’s DNA, some of its fragrances did become best-sellers: for example Crème Brûlante, with vanilla, amber, and woody notes, and I Fig You, which was composed around green tea, citrus fruit, and sage. As for Radical Softness, this intimate, musky, soft fragrance is a best-seller in Japan, while C’est La Vie, inspired from sun-kissed skin, is much successful during the summer season.

All about transparency

When it comes to development, Fanny Fortin Descamps explains that the brand sticks to “detailed specifications ranging from juices to packaging".

For its compositions, Fascent has been working on finding the right balance between natural raw materials and synthetic molecules selected for their quality, “without aiming for a 100% natural approach, which could jeopardize the fragrance’s creativity, lasting power, and how it evolves on the skin”.

The juices are vegan and free from preservatives, colorants, UV filters, CMR substances, controversial molecules and proven endocrine disruptors. Currently at a 15% concentration, all the fragrances will soon be increased to 20%.

As for packaging, Fascent has its PCR glass, tailor-made bottles made in India – by its sole supplier outside Europe. They are all identical: only the cap colour changes depending on the fragrance. The brand chose a refill system using recyclable glass ampoules with snap-off tips – a format rarely used in the perfume industry.

The cases are made from paper derived from FSC-certified forests and printed with water-based ink. Lastly, the caps, initially 3D-printed by Dagoma, are switching to injection molding with Codiplas starting from this month. This logical change is in line with the brand’s scaling up.

Globalization

Fascent’s fragrances are now available in over 350 points of sale in 28 countries, mainly in France, Germany, Italy, and the US. “We very frequently open new doors, for example in the UK, where growth is picking up, and in the US. We are also widely present in Asia, in particular in Japan and Vietnam, and in Eastern Europe, where the brand received a warm welcome. Recently, we entered the South American market, including Mexico”, says Fortin Descamps.

"The funds raised from 14 business angels with complementary expertise (finance, logistics, marketing, etc.) will help us take our business to the next level, particularly in the US, a market offering significant growth potential”, she explains. The brand will be at the ScentXplore show in NYC, on November 5-7, 2026.

This injection of capital will also make it possible for the brand to step up its influencer marketing efforts. They have also planned investments to develop new fragrances and new formulas. “In a few weeks, we will launch a range of 10-ml scented charms, again, in line with our concept of ‘accessory-fragrance’ which has guided our work since the beginning”, concludes Fortin Descamps.