20/08/2026
Hello! People keep asking me "Michelle, what made you start a fragrance business in France at 60?” Good question! 😂 So here is a little about me,
Honestly? It wasn’t the plan. Not remotely.
I’ve had a rather eclectic career. I was a musician, spent 16 years in the military, then became a consultant and coach. Eventually I moved to France with my French husband, where I was quite happily getting on with life.
And then I started making candles.
Not to start a business. I just really love candles and scent.
I quickly realised that France isn’t quite as candle-obsessed as the UK, and I couldn’t find the sort of candles I wanted for my own home. So I started experimenting with making them myself, initially trying to recreate the sort of beautiful, expensive candles I loved.
And then something else happened.
I started playing around with the idea of pairing fragrance with reflective words and thoughts, something that could make you pause for a moment rather than simply make your room smell nice.
And somehow, from that rather innocent experiment, Meliusse was born.
So here I am, at 61 now, apparently a candle maker 😂
I’m still not entirely sure how that happened.
But I’m having rather a good time finding out where it leads.