Carina Chaz founded Dedcool in 2016 while she was still in college. What started as a dorm room project rooted in her love of fragrance and green beauty has evolved into one of the most distinctive names in modern scent. Dedcool is based in Los Angeles and known for its clean, vegan and genderless formulations designed to be layered across body, fabric and space. The brand is sold at Sephora, Space NK, Mecca and other retailers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, and its range now includes fine fragrance, body care, home fragrance and laundry detergent.
In the session from Glossy’s Beauty and Wellness Summit held this week in Los Angeles, Chaz described her unconventional beginnings. “I started Dedcool out of my passion for scent and fragrance, and it was born in my dorm room. I never anticipated anything [growing] out of my Instagram page.” She added that the brand grew out of self-expression. “The concept came to me as a lover of fragrance and someone who cared about green beauty, which wasn’t quite a hot topic in 2016, especially not around fragrance. … It was this moment of creating something I could use myself and share with friends.”
At the same time, she said, there was no roadmap. “Going into this, there was no financial model, no five-year mapping, no plan. It was just a young girl with a dream, and I did everything possible to make it a reality.”
Her approach resonated. “We were growing over 100% year over year in the early stages because we were so small. I understood there was market fit and opportunity, and I knew we were pioneering a category that people were excited about.”
Dedcool remained self-funded for years, but that changed in late 2022 when Chaz met equity fund Sandbridge Capital founder Ken Suslow. The firm, known for investments in U Beauty, Madison Reed and Everist, quietly took a small stake in Dedcool at the time. Chaz described it as “a very small check from a large and notable private equity firm,” adding that the business was able to stay “profitable, cash-flow positive and continuously grow” while expanding distribution.
By April 2025, Sandbridge had increased its minority stake after Dedcool’s 600% growth since the initial investment. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but industry sources expect the brand to reach between $25 million and $30 million in net sales this year.
Retail partnerships have been central to that trajectory. “The retail environment has shifted. Sephora is focused on brand building. … We’re very lucky. Sephora has been an amazing partner.” Dedcool’s expansion beyond personal fragrance to laundry detergent, pet products and collaborations, such as a detergent collab with Ouai, launched in October 2024, has further reinforced its multi-category positioning. “We joked that we weren’t a real business until 2020. That’s when we launched more ancillary products, like our laundry detergent, which is now a huge category and pillar of our business.”
Accessibility remains a core part of the brand’s ethos. “Fragrance is a very expensive category in beauty, but Dedcool is really in that under $100 range. I started this when I was 21 [years old], when I couldn’t afford a $300 fragrance. Fragrance needs to be accessible.”
While Dedcool’s aesthetic projects ease, Chaz is clear about the persistence required to build it. “Nothing happens overnight. It’s a constant grind. It’s hard, and it’s not for the weak. Fundraising is not for the weak.”
As Dedcool continues its global expansion, the brand’s strategy reflects Chaz’s own evolution as a founder. “We’ve had this fast mentality where we throw things at the wall and see what sticks, but it’s about staying focused. I’m still green behind the ears, and I’m learning every day. The most important thing is creating a brand that can live 10, 15, 20, 50 years.”
Through the conversation, one idea remained constant: Dedcool’s blend of intuition and integrity is its differentiator. As Chaz put it, “I am the brand, and the brand is me.”
