Meet the Maker JennScents

 

Tell us the story of how you got started in your work.  I like to say that aromatherapy found me, and saved my life…literally. I am a former banker and insurance underwriter, which are time and labor demanding careers. During this time, I was more focused on my work responsibilities rather than my health. Needless to say, after several years of neglecting my mind and body needs, it stopped working for me. I ended up with some severe IBS, Colitis and other health challenges that restricted me from continuing in that same work capacity, forcing me to take a sabbatical. As I was seeking remedies to gain my health back, I became a customer, then friends with a local health store owner, Wendimere Reilly. She educated me, offering guidance, mentorship and encouragement that I could one day, be healthy again. Meeting her was a crucial moment in my life as medical doctors were out of solutions and giving up on me.

 

My body was failing and it seemed like I was out of options. One day, Wendimere invited me to a “tea n’chat” event she was hosting. She shared information about a new remedy she just learned about – Roman Chamomile essential oil. To be honest, I don’t really remember the information she shared about it, but she made me a roll-on that contained some Roman Chamomile essential oil with almond carrier oil and told me to take it home and apply to my abdomen when my IBS cramps started. My IBS typically acted up in the very early mornings, so I slept with it under my pillow. When my IBS attack started the next morning, I grabbed that roll-on, put it on my stomach and within minutes, the cramps started to subside. I thought this was a fluke. After taking multiple prescriptions for years, none of which did what this Roman Chamomile roll-on did in minutes, how could this work so fast? So, I waited until the next day for another IBS attack, and tried it again. It worked. And kept working.

 

Wendimere insisted that I stay in touch and visit with her daily if possible. So I did. She hosted weekly classes that I attended so I could become more knowledge, but also to be surrounded by a positive, loving and healthy environment. When I visited her store during the day, she allowed me to share my story and aromatherapy experience with her customers. One day, one of them asked if I could make an aromatherapy remedy for headaches. I said, “sure, let me research that and I’ll call you when I have something ready.” At that time, there wasn’t much education or guidance in the world of aromatherapy, as there is today. I found a couple of aromatherapy books to read and formulated a “headache roll-on”. The customer tried it, it worked and kept working for several other customers. I thought, there is something to this aromatherapy. Wendimere offered me an opportunity to start a “custom blending bar” inside of her health store. I still was not well enough to go back to my insurance career, so I gave it a try. JennScents was born and 15 years later, I am still sharing aromatherapy.

 

What about your work makes you feel energized? I love working with essential oils and creating customized blends for people and pets that inspire, encourage, support and help them in some way, whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Once you start working with essential oils, you start seeing them as “people”. They have certain personalities and characteristics that make up their therapeutic power. Discovering and learning about various health challenges, then being able to pair up certain essential oils, like creating a team, to conquer those specific and unique needs, is very exciting to me. It gives me a sense of accomplishment that I am able to enrich someone’s life with my gifts and talents of formulating aromatherapy blends.

What accomplishment in your life makes you the most proud?  This is a tough question. Of course there are events in my life that have brought me joy, from winning awards in elementary school, to graduating high school and college with honors, starting my own company, being a guest speaker (I had an extreme fear of public speaking), marrying my best friend, authoring several books, and helping family members through some tough health challenges. Although having milestone accomplishments is rewarding, I am proud of each and every challenge, goal and success I have ever experienced or endured. I don’t really compare accomplishments, as each one is different in some way. I am able to do my best in any given moment, with the tools I’ve gained to that point, operating in the environment of that time which afford me the ability to accomplish any goal I commit to. I feel like every day, I am someone new. Better for the people who have enriched my life, testimonies from clients, life challenges that me and my friends endure, and life lessons I’ve been blessed with. Every year, I reflect on my past experiences, to see what I can learn and take away so I can continue to be successful. This allows me lead forward and strive to be a better version of myself in the coming year, both personally and professionally. How can I strengthen my family life to serve me and them? How can I grow and develop my business to continue serving others to the best of my ability? I have been blessed so much throughout my life with many positive mentors and role models who inspired and encouraged me to learn all I could, practice my skills, and share often. This awareness to be grateful and appreciative of the blessings I have in my life, is a satisfying and proud accomplishment. Being able to pay forward my blessings and instill these virtues in the people I meet and connect with, is priceless.

 

Jennifer creates all three of the essential oil blends in the laurelbox shop.  Can you tell us the story behind your products in the laurelbox shop. What purpose do you hope they serve the women who receive them?  laurelbox and I connected at a pivotal point in my life. I had just lost my father and grandfather a couple months prior to our first conversation, and was still grieving. There wasn’t anything anyone could do or say to ease my pain. I was emotionally drained and physically exhausted. I needed to be nurtured, replenished and supported. Hearing about laurelbox’s vision was very inspiring. It was something special that I personally needed and could use. I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of, to help lift others during their time of need.

 

You could say the blends I formulated for laurelbox are a labor of love and honor. The blends were somewhat self-serving for me and also to meet the needs of others I encountered on my grieving journey, and the countless others I have not met yet. We hold the emotion of grief in the lungs and love in our heart, so I wanted the blends to nourish the physical aspects of the lungs and heart, but also the emotional components. I wanted the blends to provide some stability, comfort, care, strength, hope and joy. My wish is that each time you smell a laurelbox blend, you will feel your feet grounded, heart open with love and mind filled with wonder and courage.