Meet Melanie Apple | An Olfactory Journey of Clean Artisanal Perfume, Candles, & Body Products

Initially, I was a clothing designer with my own brand and decided to take a perfume Class and offer candles to all the buyers at a trade show I was doing in New York City. I subconsciously was creating a whole new business based on my journeys and memories of my childhood. I thought about how much I have always loved fragrance, and how places I lived and visited brought back such extraordinary memories. The basement scent of Montreal where I am originally from, the neroli-orange blossoms of Los Angeles, where I grew up, and jasmine, lavender, Pizboin (suntan lotion), and Muguet (Lily of the Valley) the Côte d’Azur/Mediterranean where I spent most of my youth. I wanted to bring all these parts of me to a healthy, greener way of perfume and candle making

I am a risk taker. I don’t compare or think about what anyone else is doing. As many people in my life have told me not to do something, I have always ignored it and done ii anyway. First, with creating my own eponymous clothing line Melanie Apple, and then with my fragrance line Voyage et Cie. I believe that from our passions and hard work comes the success. I always give 100% of myself to what I am passionate about. I am one of the first to create a line that is organic, and healthy to burn. It was a challenge at first because I didn’t have a single resource or friend to refer me to anyone in the industry. I found my way through perseverance and made it happen. I started 18 years ago in my kitchen, and now have over 5000sq/ft in the Arts District downtown Los Angeles.  I learned that not much is made in the United States, and I’m proud to be a female entrepreneur/manufacturer in Los Angeles.

Favorite restaurants: E Baldi Beverly Hills, interesting people watching, excellent food. Nobu Malibu for excellent Japanese food and the most stunning seating and view of the Pacific Ocean. The Hollywood Bowl, or Greek theatre seeing anything is a thrill, a stunning evening to share a bottle of wine and listen to a magnificent concert. Cafe Stella in Silverlake for a great French meal, and my favorite cocktail the Sophia. The Broad, MOCA, or temporary contemporary museums in downtown LA.  Hauser & Wirth art gallery and their adjacent restaurant Manuela for tapas and great drinks.

My love of history helped me imagine a future in what I do. I would like to mention Jean-Louis Fargeon perfumer to Marie-Antoinette and The book the Scented Palace, by Elisabeth de Feydeau for inspiring me. My Mother for her love of L’air du Temps by Nina Ricci, and for buying me my first bottle of perfume, Chanel 19