About Riddle

Chelsea Voge’s love for fragrance started as a child, spending weekends at her hometown apothecary, mesmerized by the shelves filled with incense, candles, perfume oils, and lotions. She would experiment by blending unscented lotions and body products with different perfume oils, unknowingly laying the foundation for what would one day become her career.

In 2013, after leaving the music industry, Chelsea set out to open an apothecary of her own. While curating products for her store, she revisited her childhood passion for scent mixing. One of her first creations turned out to be something special—a fragrance so subtle yet intoxicating that people couldn’t quite place what smelled so good. She named it “Riddle” because of its mysterious allure.

What started as a personal project quickly gained momentum. Friends, and then friends of friends, began requesting the perfume oil. Soon, Chelsea pivoted from her original apothecary plan to launch Riddle as a fragrance brand. The scent became a Venice Beach favorite and caught the attention of fashion designer Aurora James, who shared her love for it in French Vogue. That moment sparked international interest, and orders from Europe began rolling in.

Chelsea expanded the line to seven signature scents, offering them in roll-on perfumes, spray lotions, body oils, and candles. She eventually renamed the original fragrance to “Original,” a nod to its timeless appeal. Today, Riddle has been featured in major publications and is sold in boutiques worldwide. Through it all, Chelsea has stayed true to her vision—creating effortless, confidence-boosting fragrances that become a part of you.

(Where it all started: Maggie's Pharm Apothecary in Memphis, TN.)

A letter from our Founder:

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Lao Tzu

My name is Chelsea Voge, and I am the Founder and CEO of Riddle.

Riddle began with a simple idea: a girl who wanted to write her own story. I was 26 when I created our first scent, Original. The moment I smelled it, I thought, This is the best scent in the world. And to this day, I still believe that.

I knew I had created something special, and I wanted everyone to experience it. I didn’t have a business degree, but I had unwavering belief, persistence, and a hunger to learn. Someone once told me that in life, we all have to choose our kind of hard. Either we take on the challenge of hustling, learning, and working long hours to build something meaningful, or we accept the hard that comes with playing it safe and letting life happen to us.

Looking back, chasing my dream only seemed hard in hindsight. At the time, working from 8 AM to 2 AM didn’t feel exhausting—it felt exhilarating. Watching my creation grow and evolve fueled me every step of the way.

I had to learn things I never expected. For years, I did it all—formulating products, building the website, negotiating pricing, fulfilling orders, handling customer service, attending in-person events, shooting product photography—the list goes on. Before I ever brought on help, I knew my business inside and out.

With just $500 in starting capital, I bootstrapped my way through. I never took on outside funding (and still haven't) — I simply reinvested every dollar back into the business to keep growing. When I look back at my early designs, images, and bottles, I sometimes cringe. But if I had waited for everything to be perfect or let doubt creep in, I might have never started at all.

Today, Riddle is sold in over 900 boutiques across the U.S. and has expanded internationally. We ship thousands of online orders each week to customers around the world. I’m still in awe of what we continue to accomplish.

Riddle is proof that big things start with one simple step. We all face choices in life—what hard will you choose? I want you to know that you are capable of anything if you’re willing to bet on yourself. You don’t have to have all the answers right now—you’ll figure them out along the way. All that’s required is the courage to take that first step and start writing your own story.

With all the love in my heart, thank you.

"I wrote the story myself." -Mae West

(The Beginning)