Personality Scents & Company has opened and is enjoying a successful start in their debut retail store. Please call for additional information.
(585226-3715
 
As seen in Live...Ins & Outs of the Genesee Valley. Premier issue~2008
"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" pg. 25..."Check out Personality Scents (Genesee St in Avon) where they'll create your very own fragrance based on your personality!"
 
As seen in the Genesee Sun "Local Entrepreneurs Enjoy the Smell of Success "
Genesee Sun Article
Joshua Cameron

When you enter a room what is one of the first things you notice? Most likely it is the aroma. Often we associate things with the way they smell – campfires, flowers, your favorite (or least favorite) fragrances.

Cheri Bearce and Sonya Jensen realized the power of smell and capitalized on it with their own "custom scents bar," which is the main attraction of their new shop, "Personality Scents" located at 57 Genesee St. in Avon. The store is only three weeks old but serves as a culmination of a simple goal.

"If there isn't a niche you want, make it," Bearce said.

That is exactly what they have been doing for the last three years. Starting out at various craft shows around the state, Bearce and Jensen began with 4 products and 44 scents.

But these two entrepreneurs didn't always have their eyes set on owning their own business and actually weren't more than acquaintances when they worked together waitressing at Peppermint's Restaurant, in Avon.

However, Bearce found herself taking medical leave from her job in order to donate a kidney to her ailing brother. Jensen helped Bearce in a fund raising project for her brother and it was during that time that Jensen said Bearce called her up one day and suggested starting the business.

"I was sick of waiting tables for the same people who ordered the same food everyday," Bearce said.

It was a natural fit with Bearce's business background and Jensen's background in sales.

"We complement each others shortcomings and weaknesses very well," Jensen said.

What is truly unique about these fragrances is not only the variety available but the fact they are 100 percent natural due to a concern from both women that the everyday products people were buying were doing more harm than good.

"If you knew what was in them you wouldn't want to wear them." Bearce said.

She explained that most personal care products were alcohol based, which means they have that potent alcohol smell and are the source of many common allergic reactions. Bearce said, when used in large amounts, these products often dry out the skin, giving it the opposite of the desired effect.

What makes their custom scents even more extraordinary is they are just that – custom. The variety has grown from 44 to 128 scents and includes aromas like honey and orange to slightly less common ones, such as "pipe tobacco" and "bread pudding".

But that is hardly the end of the line, on top of the plethora of scents and combinations available, each scent is given its own personality trait and can be found on the product's label, hence the name Personality Scents. For example if you favor the "Monkey Farts" scent that means you are warped or demented.

But Bearce said the traits are purely for entertainment purposes only and shouldn't be taken for more than face value.

All of these scents can then be added to the base products found in the store such as body sprays and washes.

According to Jensen it is as simple as picking a product, picking a scent and putting them together.

On top of the custom scent bar, Personality Scents also features locally produced products ranging from pottery to pasta and come from a variety of areas, including Livonia to Buffalo.

The store is currently open for partial hours only because Bearce and Jensen also offer their services at home parties, craft fairs and other gatherings. August 11 is set as the official grand-opening for Personality Scents. After this date the store will be open for regular operating hours.

In the end the duo attribute their passion to their kids and an attempt to show them they don't always have to go with the flow and they can make their own paths in life, Bearce said.

It's been exciting, we have poured our hearts, souls, money and time into it." Bearce said.

[This is part of the August 1, 2007 edition of Genesee Sun.]