A graduate of KEDGE Business School, Sophie Maisant has built a remarkable career within some of the world's leading beauty and luxury brands. After more than twenty years with Chanel, Shiseido and Huda Beauty, she decided in 2022 to take over Bastille Parfums, a brand of natural, committed fragrances.

Today, she looks back on this major turning point and shares her vision as an entrepreneur.

To the question " After more than 20 years in beauty and luxury houses, what made you want to take over Bastille in 2022?" she explains:

"After twenty years working in some very fine houses, I wanted to get back to something simpler and truer : creating with my hands, rediscovering the thrill of 'anything is possible', feeling that I could once again shape a vision from A to Z.
Bastille came at a time when I wanted to align myself. Its commitment, its freedom, its willing impertinence... all resonated with what I wanted to defend personally. When I took over the brand, I felt like I'd picked up a notebook with its first pages still blank, and could finally write my own story. "

Asked about one of the highlights of her adventure, she recounts:

"One of the most memorable moments for me was our launch at Credo Beauty in the United States. At the time, we were the only French brand listed, and seeing Bastille find its place in the country's most demanding clean beauty chain was a real turning point.
I remember the pride and emotion of discovering our bottles lined up in the New York boutique, and feeling that our 'ultra-natural, ultra-transparent' vision was resonating with an international audience.

The launch was more than a commercial success: it was confirmation that Bastille had legitimacy well beyond our borders, and that our commitment could speak to consumers who are highly informed, very demanding, and deeply in search of meaning.
It was a moment when I realized that the brand could travel far... while remaining true to its French DNA 🇫🇷."

On market challenges and opportunities, Sophie Maisant confides:

"Developing a niche perfume brand today means constantly balancing ambition and realism. The main challenge, for me, is to stay on course in an environment where everything moves very fast: trends, consumer expectations, raw material costs... Nothing is ever completely stable.
But that's also what makes the adventure so exciting. The niche offers incredible freedom to create fragrances that don't try to please everyone, but that tell a true story.

And then there are the opportunities that you can only see coming as you move forward: a meeting, a country opening up, a partner who believes in your vision.

Internationally, I've been struck by the extent to which a small French company can reach customers on the other side of the world if it embodies something authentic.

In reality, the greatest challenge - and opportunity - is the same: staying true to our DNA while growing. It's this balance that makes Bastille so beautiful (and sometimes complex).

What skills or experience gained in the luxury goods industry serve you best today to manage and develop Bastille?

"What my years in luxury have taught me above all is a way of looking at things: with exacting standards, curiosity and respect for detail. It's amazing how reflexes acquired at Chanel or Shiseido reappear on a daily basis at Bastille, in the way we smell a raw material, think up a launch, or even structure a team.

But more than technical skills, I think it's the encounters that have served me most. Working alongside brilliant creatives, passionate perfumers, visionary managers... all this has taught me to listen before acting, to never underestimate intuition, and to maintain courage even when projects seem out of proportion.
Today, Bastille requires me to be both strategist and craftsman, to have the rigor of a large group while retaining the flexibility of a young company. And in the end, my past experience has given me exactly that: the ability to juggle between the dream and the concrete, while remaining true to a vision. "

"If I had to give just one piece of advice, it would be don't wait until you're 'ready'. You never really are. Whether in beauty or in entrepreneurship, we learn most of all by moving forward, by making mistakes, by starting afresh.
I'm also a great believer in the importance of getting to know yourself: understanding what makes you tick, what you want to contribute, what you refuse to sacrifice. This sector can be intense, but it's also incredibly generous for those who put meaning into it.
And don't get me wrong. Entrepreneurship is not a solitary journey: it's the encounters, the partners, the teams that transform an idea into something real.
Finally, keep your courage up. Moments of doubt are part of the journey, they say nothing about your worth, just that you're building something that matters. "