Welcome to MakeUp HerStory. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’ll be highlighting Black women in beauty who are taking the industry by storm and making history in their own right. Each week throughout March, talent—everyone from rising beauty brand founders, to behind-the-scenes PR mavens—will discuss their career journeys, biggest inspirations, and more.
For Asia Grant, fragrance is more than just a scent—it’s a memory, an emotion, and a conversation. As the founder of Redoux, an artisanal fragrance and body care brand, Grant has transformed her passion for scent and storytelling into a business that deeply resonates with consumers.
But building a beauty brand comes with its own set of challenges—from navigating industry pressures to maintaining financial sustainability while staying true to her vision. In an exclusive interview with ESSENCE, she shares her journey from business school graduate to fragrance entrepreneur, the inspiration behind her Scent Social Club perfume tours, and the complexities of balancing creativity with the realities of running a business in the competitive beauty space.
A Passion for Fragrance, Rooted in Family and Food
Grant’s journey into fragrance began in an unexpected place—the kitchen. “My passion for scent actually came from food,” she shares. With a Jamaican father who loved to cook and a Filipino mother, her childhood was filled with rich culinary experiences. Her father would crush herbs in his hands and have her identify them by scent, unknowingly giving her an early education in olfactory memory. While she initially pursued a traditional business path, being rejected from corporate beauty jobs led her to carve her own lane, launching Redoux with her best friend. “I wanted to work at a L’Oréal or Estée Lauder. They rejected me, so I thought, ‘I guess I’ll just start my own beauty brand,’” she says with a laugh.
Crafting Scents with Emotion and Meaning
For Grant, every Redoux fragrance tells a story. “Each fragrance has its own universe, its own mood,” she explains. One of the brand’s signature scents, 529, is inspired by the first trip she took with her co-founder to New York. “It’s about that feeling of whimsy and wonder, mixed with a little bit of mischievous fun,” she says. She wants people to connect with fragrance on a personal level—not just by notes, but by emotion. “When I help people find a scent, I ask them: ‘How do you want to feel? How do you want to be remembered?’”
The Birth of Scent Social Club
Grant’s now-popular Scent Tours started as a social experiment on TikTok, where she would help friends find their signature scent. “People were obsessed with it,” she recalls. When she floated the idea of doing in-person tours, over 150 people signed up immediately. Now, through her company Scent Social Club, she curates intimate fragrance tours in Nolita every weekend, taking participants to three boutiques where they explore scents that align with their identities. “I want them to walk away with a sense of inner alignment and self-expression,” she says. “We all have different versions of ourselves, and scent can capture that.”
Navigating the Challenges of Beauty Entrepreneurship
For beauty founders, the pressure to scale quickly can be overwhelming. From securing investors to expanding retail presence, the industry often pushes brands toward rapid growth. However, Grant has taken a different approach—one inspired by advice from Byredo’s Ben Gorham. “If you want to grow something that stands the test of time, grow slowly,” he told her.
That wisdom shaped her perspective on building a sustainable brand. In the early days, one of her biggest challenges was balancing financial sustainability with intentional growth. “You only can sell someone something so many times,” she explains. Instead of chasing fast expansion, she focused on authenticity, consistency, and earning consumer trust over time. By staying true to her vision and resisting the pressure to rush, she’s been able to create a brand that resonates deeply with her audience.
The Future of Redoux
With Redoux steadily gaining recognition, Grant has big plans for the brand. “We’re always evolving,” she teases. From new fragrances to expanding the scent tours, she’s focused on creating more immersive experiences for fragrance lovers. “Fragrance is about connection,” she says. “If I can help people find a scent that truly represents them, then I’ve done my job.”
Asia Grant’s story is a testament to the power of passion, resilience, and the magic of scent. Through Redoux, she’s proving that fragrance isn’t just something you wear—it’s something you feel, experience, and share with the world.
