I have a love/hate relationship with perfume. As a child, I was obsessed with those beautiful tiny bottles filled with obscure scents from France with names like Ma Liberte and Le Nuit de Noel. Occasionally, I'd dream of moving to Grasse to become a professional perfumer (also affectionately called 'le nez' or 'the nose'). I'd imagine myself picking gardenias in the fields of Provence or standing around in a lab coat as I skillfully nodded 'yes' or wrinkled my nose 'no.' As I got older, I quickly realized that my nose was likely too sensitive - most perfumes actually made me want to retch.
That is... until I received some samples of the most delicious smelling perfume this side of the Hollywood Hills.
TRANCE ESSENCES.
With names like PINK KAT and WHYTE RABITT, they might *sound* like a hippie's wet dream, but don't let that fool you. With six hand-blended fragrances they really do 'tempt the olfactory senses and send the mind on wonderful journeys.' And you know how much Jaunt loves a good journey.
What we like best?
They don't make us sick, they smell divine, they have interesting unique names, and each scent carries an equally unique mantra (that actually smells just like the description on the bottle).
"Natural fragrances of all kinds have always been intoxicating for me," says founder, Janna Sheehan. "The earthy smell of dirt after a rain shower, a freshly mowed lawn, fresh orange blossoms, and flourishing flowers, but why couldn’t I find a fragrance that I could wear without feeling sick?"
Ditto, Janna! Dit-to!
Confused by this phenomenon and tired of forcing herself to withstand nausea, she gave up. She headed two hours north to Ojai where a bit of divine intervention met her confusion. "Demystifying the perfume “why” phenomenon happened to me when an eccentric Ojai friend revealed that she was a perfumer," Janna reveals. "She created an elixir especially for me that smelled so pure and clean. It didn't smell like traditional perfume, because it wasn’t—it was made with essential oils."
Clarity followed.
For the next two years, they blended up to 25 different essential oil and perfume combinations to make Trance Essence nectars. She called them 'journeys' as they evoked the trips she wanted to take with each inhale. London in the sixties; down a rabbit hole; a hot, Moroccan nightclub in the summer; a Chinese garden of citrus at dawn; the Indiana woods after rain; and an exotic gardenia and rose garden from a childhood story. The result? Six complex and alluring Trance fragrances that will take you on a trip whether you're stepping into the boardroom... or boarding a plane. Trance Essence 'Journeys' include:
- CHEN XI - A Mandarin Garden At Dawn
- GENIE IN A BOTTLE - A Sultry Moroccan Nightclub In Summer
- ABBEY ROSE - The Rambunctious Streets of London In The 60's
- HAIL MERRI - A Dewy Forest After Rainfall
- WHYTE RABITT - Down A Psychedelic Rabbit Hole Where Time Stands Still
- PINK KAT - A Gardenia and Rose Garden From Childhood
Word on the Hollywood streets: Goldie Hawn bought the entire line for her daughter, Kate Hudson, Pamela Anderson wears PINK KAT, and Cher... what else? She anoints herself with HAIL MERRI.
FYI - The collection is a first run so only 200 bottles of each perfume and 200 candles of each scent are available!
From $52 - $103
Sold at Planet Blue in Malibu and Venice, Fred Segal in Santa Monica
www.tranceessence.com
