Perfecting a Personal Perfume at The Grapeseed Company

At the Grapeseed Company (21 W. Ortega St.; thegrapeseedcompany.com; [805] 456-3655), playing doctor and pharmacist while exploring aromatherapy is addictive fun.

Customers can self-diagnose and then browse through an encyclopedia of aromatic therapies to pinpoint the associated healing scents. They then mix and match from a selection of more than 100 steam-distilled essential oils and phthalate-free fragrance oils to customize their personalized sniffing cure.

“We often have people come in and say they need help relaxing at night,” said Kristin Fraser, Grapeseed’s CEO and founder. “They can make a calming bath potion or a mist for their linens so they can apply it before bed for the aromatherapy benefits.”

Whether customers seek to escape stress with the tranquilizing or bewitch a lover with the tantalizing, Grapeseed’s Scent Bar allows them to experiment with making an original perfume as well as organic, locally sourced soaps, creams, and other home scents. “Scent is something that is so individual,” said Fraser, who makes a full menu of innovative products for more than 150 retailers nationwide. “It’s my favorite part of the whole process.”