Before There Were Candles, There Was Rihanna.

An unconventional little origin story.

I think one of the funniest things about owning a candle company is that absolutely none of this was part of the original plan.

Before DEHV, before spending an unreasonable amount of my life thinking about fragrance, I was in the beauty industry.

And at one point, Rihanna was flying me to New York to give her a spray tan for the Met Gala.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's Rewind

Before I was pouring candles, I was painting faces and spraying bodies.

I started my career in beauty, working in makeup and eventually building my own spray tanning company, appropriately named Sprayed by Jade. Subtle??

What started as a career in beauty turned into something I never could have imagined. I found myself working with incredible people, building relationships, and getting opportunities that, looking back, still feel a little surreal.

One of those people was Bad Gal herself, Rihanna.

For 10 years, I made sure her skin was red-carpet ready for the Grammys, countless events, and eventually, the Met Gala, when she flew me to New York for 24 hours just to give her a spray tan. (That's how good I was ;)

There are certain moments in your career you know you'll remember forever. That was one of them.

Along the way, I also had the thrill of working on Dancing with the Stars, Vogue cover shoots, and serving as the makeup department head for some of your favorite music videos.

Not too shabby for a gal from Franklin, Massachusetts.

But beyond the exciting moments, what I really loved was building something of my own. I had created a business, a reputation, and a career that was entirely mine.

And for a long time, I genuinely loved it.

A Creative Is a Creative Is a Creative

Looking back, I don't think my transition from beauty to home fragrance was as random as it might seem.

Both industries are rooted in how something makes you feel.

Beauty is personal. Fragrance is personal. Both have the ability to change your mood, create a memory, or make you feel like a slightly more fabulous version of yourself.

I've always been drawn to the details. The colors, the textures, the packaging, the experience. All of it.

And I've always loved the process of making something from absolutely nothing.

Whether that was building a beauty business or eventually creating a candle brand, I think the common thread has always been creativity.

...creativity and a mild inability to work for anyone else.

2019: The Year I Did Both

When I started DEHV, I didn't immediately walk away from my career in beauty.

For about a year in 2019, I was doing both. Running an established beauty business while trying to get an entirely new candle company off the ground.

Two very different worlds, and for a while, I had one foot in each.

But I found myself increasingly drawn to DEHV. The fragrances, the design, the process of creating a physical product from scratch. The possibilities felt endless, and I couldn't stop thinking about what the brand could become.

I could feel myself being pulled toward something new.

In true Gemini fashion, I made the decision to go all in on DEHV.

There was something both terrifying and incredibly exciting about walking away from a business I had already built to pursue one that was still finding its footing.

But I've always believed there's something to be said for recognizing when a chapter of your life has run its course, even when it was a really good chapter.

I Traded Spray Tan Solution for Soy Wax

Not exactly a conventional career trajectory.

But the funny thing about starting over in a new industry is that you don't actually start from zero.

Everything I learned in beauty came with me.

How to work with people. How to build trust. How to create an experience. How to make something feel special. How to be resourceful, figure things out, and occasionally pretend I knew exactly what I was doing until I actually did.

And maybe most importantly, how to believe in an idea before anyone else has a reason to.

Today, DEHV has grown into a brand that's allowed me to collaborate with incredible companies, create custom fragrances, and explore parts of my creativity I didn't even know existed.

It's a completely different world from where I started, but in a lot of ways, it feels like a continuation of the same story.

The Plot Twist

If you had told the younger version of me, the one packing up her spray tanning equipment and heading to celebrity appointments, that she'd eventually own a candle company, I'm not sure she would have believed you.

But I think she would have liked the idea.

I've been fortunate enough to experience some pretty extraordinary things throughout my career. I've also spent plenty of time doing the decidedly unglamorous things that come with owning a small business.

Both have shaped me.

And I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned is that you're allowed to change your mind about what you want your life to look like.

You're allowed to be really good at something and still want to try something else.

And sometimes, the thing you never planned for becomes the thing you were meant to do.

So that's a little piece of the story behind DEHV :)

Life is funny. Thanks for being here.

xx, Jade