Shocked and saddened by the news of one of my best friend's diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer a few years ago, we were on the search for natural products that she can use while undergoing treatment. While there were many in the market, some still had unnatural ingredients like Sodium Laurel Sulphate (SLS) in them even though they are suppose to be all natural.
I then took a good and hard look at the products I was using and I realized that I was using generic commercial brands filled with chemicals. I could not even pronounce many of the ingredients in my favorite products and I was applying these harmful chemicals to the largest organ in my body - my skin. My body is absorbing them on a daily basis.
Her diagnosis was definitely my wake up call and that was my AHA moment. I thought...why not create a line of products that everyone can enjoy, including people who are battling cancer or who are cancer survivors. I wanted a product line that is 100% handmade and natural. I wanted a product line that uses simple and sensible ingredients that everyone knows and can pronounce. Ingredients like olive, coconut and castor oils, natural colorants like turmeric, activated charcoal and micas and pure essential oils to scent the products. I took about 1 year to do the necessary research and testing and Scent and Sensibility was born in 2013.
Bathing has also long been considered therapeutic both for the mind and soul. Bathing is like taking a mini vacation from the toils of work and rigors of daily life. What better way to jump start your day or wash away your weary after a long day than by using soaps and fizzies that are visually beautiful with sensuous scents and which remind us of scrumptious libations and desserts. As much as some of our soaps look like desserts, I do not recommend eating them!!
While I have to admit I am not 100% chemical free in the products I am using, I am definitely more conscious about what I put into my body and on my skin - choosing always chemical and preservative free if I have a choice.
Our products are hand made in small batches and some products like bath truffles, lip butters, conditioners and scrubs are made upon receipt of your order to ensure freshness. In order to cater to different customers, we have 100% natural soaps and products that do not contain any mica or fragrance oils. For those who want more fun and variety of scents and colors, we have soaps that have mica and fragrance oils and the fragrance oils are always phthalate free.
Charity and giving back is something close and dear to our hearts and core values. When we first started out in 2013, we donated about 18 soaps to a Zumbathon event for Breast Cancer research. These soaps were given to instructors who donated their time and talent. In 2014, we donated a gift basket worth $50 (retail amount) to the Furniture Bankwww.furniturebank.org in Toronto for their silent auction when we were approached by a friend who volunteers there. We also sold $30 worth of little soaps at a Zumbathon event that benefits families with kids who have autism and donated the entire amount. We started out wanting to donate 2% of our profits from each sale to Breast Cancer Research Foundation. After the first year, we decided that it just wasn't enough and this year, we came up with a charity auction idea. We put together a nice gift basket worth $148.00 and did a online public auction on our facebook page and we managed to raise $500.00 for Breast Cancer Research Foundation! A breast cancer survivor was matching every donation and we ended up donating $1000 in October 2015! It feels really wonderful to give back in any way we can and we will continue to do this every year.
I am happy to say that my best friend is now well on her road to full recovery and is living a wonderful and full life. With your support, I am hoping that Scent and Sensibility will be here for a long time too, creating quality products that everyone can use. We will be adding more products in the years to come!
Thank you for stopping by and for your time and support!
Jolene Sing