Recipes From The Vault

Here are 4 more randomly-selected perfume recipes from the Essense recipe vault.  Taken from over 45 years of Essense history. These are very real, exquisite fragrances created by actual customers!

This unnamed perfume was created way back at the Edgartown store in the 1980’s, which was a very busy, bustling time for Essense.  Visiting Martha's Vineyard from New Jersey, this customer loved  classic TEA ROSE, a lighter and sweeter version of the classic ROSE.  Half this perfume is TEA ROSE and the second-half is divided 2/3 to 1/3 ratio of equally classic but very heady GARDENIA to APRICOT.  The APRICOT top-note gives this perfume a fruity-fling of warmth, allure, and youthful playfulness.

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A smaller percentage of Essense customers are male, but when they make themselves a signature scent, it’s usually a big hit with those important people in their lives!  This gentlemen named Joe, created a terrifically refreshing scent for himself featuring BERGAMOT, which is the mesmerizing citrus scent widely recognized in Earl Grey Tea.  He chose one of the Essense tree resins called AMBER #1 for his base-note, comprising 2/3rd’s of this scent.  Essense has many AMBERS, all which add  soothing, smooth undertones to any other fragrances notes layered on top. AMBERS are considered beneficial for emotional healing and for the heart chakras. Joe included TUNISIAN HONEY in his signature scent, which adds significant "edible" sweetness, without detracting from the fresh masculine quality.

This is one of the “funniest” perfume projects I can recollect, in all my 26 years of perfumery.  During the Essense of Martha’s Vineyard Oak Bluff years, this long-time married woman came to me to help her make a perfume that would “get rid of her husband!”  I guess he liked her TOO much!  She said she was “sick of him!”  Oh my!  We had lots of fun concocting her this potent “man repellent.”  In the end, however, I think it smelled pretty darn good, so I’m not sure it had the desired effect?  I reasoned that if we used an “alpha-male” perfume, like MICHAEL JORDAN’s designer-type, perhaps it would be effective in deterring unwanted male attention.  The MICHAEL JORDAN fragrance is superb ~ but it smells very different on a woman than on a man!  We also added PUMPKIN PIE SPICES & LAVENDER, trademarked by Essense. This is a blend of many things that men presumably prefer in "blind" smell tests, but generally worn by men, rather than women. This customer chose TUNISIAN OPIUM for her base-note, which is really "uni-sex," though the scent changes to powdery-softness on many females and something much spicier on males.  Unfortunately for this attractive lady, the TUNISIAN OPIUM which she really liked, is also the sexiest perfume in the entire Essense arsenal. Ever since that day, I’ve wondered what the results were when this lady went home, and applied her perfume!  Don’t you?

This scent was created during the first season that Essense reopened as Essense Parfumerie in NH.  This is a fabulously simple “2-oil mix” that our customer named “Memories.”  1/3rd is the Essense classic, sexy, but slightly mysterious CHINA MOON which is a blend of  ever-popular CHINA MUSK with various JASMINES.  The remaining 2/3rds of this signature scent is the newest version of PATCHOULI at Essense, called PATCHOULI FLOWER.  It's so hypnotic!  It has the same earthy quality, reminiscent of the 1960’s, but it’s much lighter and more modern.  I know a certain husband who says he'll "take a gallon" of this PATCHOULI!  I love this perfume!  I guess I love them all, but I really love this one!