Fragrance a memory of cosy, old bookstores
CHELSEA van Rijn is experiencing the sweet smell of success - and something much deeper - after a fragrance she created was chosen to go global.
The Ipswich businesswoman created Wisdom, a blend of essential oils with the aim of evoking recollections of a cosy, informal study.
Ms van Rijn said her creation was chosen by Perfect Potion, a Brisbane-based aromatherapy company, to be marketed around the world.
"The man who created it - Sal Battaglia - doesn't do blends of essential oils usually; he makes them up himself," Ms van Rijn said.
"But then he announced a competition for his new Sacred Space range and they put it out to all Australian and Japanese residents to enter their own blend.
"They narrowed it down to two winners and mine was one of them."
She said Mr Battaglia was impressed by the relative simplicity of her blend.
"Sal said it was amazing because most of the entries contained at least 10 oils and mine was so simple because it contained only four," she said.
I based it on my favourite oils and my 'sacred space' was my very small library study and Sal said it reminded him of an old bookstore.
Ms van Rijn, who sells Perfect Potion at her Trevallan Lifestyle Centre, said it had stores in Australia and Japan, but they were also online, so it was basically available worldwide.
It's amazing; every now and again I'll go to the Perfect Potion website and it actually says on the link, 'developed by Chelsea van Rijn' and I say, 'Yeah, that's me," she said with a giggle.
"I'm really excited to have been chosen with my Wisdom blend, having personally first-hand seen the results for my family and also clients from our shop, but most of all, it's another small spotlight on Ipswich and who the people are that live and work here.
"Also I got to go to Brisbane and be congratulated by Sal and there it was in a big display and I thought: That little bottle's me'.
"I did aromatherapy many, many moons ago, so it was like revisiting that part of my past as well."
