Beauty Scents: In a Trance Over Trance Essence

A few weeks ago I attended an event where I had the opportunity to discover a line of natural Parfum sprays, roll-on perfume oils and hand-poured soy-based candles. Trance Essence is the creation of Janna Sheehan, a perfumer/designer and lover of natural scents… and they smell like no other. Each of the Trance Essence Nectars contains up to twenty-five essential and perfume oil elements.

There are currently six scents to the collection:

Abbey Rose – London in the sixties
Whyte Rabitt – Down a rabbit hole
Genie in a Bottle – A sultry Moroccan nightclub in the summer
Chen-XI – A Chinese mandarin garden at dawn
Hail Merri – An Indiana forest after a rain shower
Pink Kat – The gardenia and rose garden from a childhood story

More recently I had the opportunity to interview Trance Essence’s creator and founder Janna Sheehan.

SCS: When did you start Trance Essence and why?

JS: The concept of Trance Essence started in 2004 with the simple liberating notion that I could make perfume. At that time, I was inspired by discovering the different lines of unique natural perfumes – blended with essential oils – new to the marketplace.

Big corporations then dominated the fragrance industry and I had not experienced positive associations with wearing commercial perfume (most gave me headaches) so before this, I was not compelled to look beyond a quick sniff and the bottle and package designs.

My newfound liberty and creative drive to invent a perfume that I could wear was the seed.

SCS: How did you get into fragrances? What is your background?

JS: Of course, once I had decided that I wanted to make perfume, I had the fortuitous occasion of meeting a perfumer and aroma therapist whom I studied with for 3 years.

I am an artist who has studied and painted figurative art and printmaking. Also professionally worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as an art director for many years.

SCS: Why are your perfume’s essential oil based? What makes them different from the myriad of perfumes on the market today?

JS: My experience with traditional perfume was disappointing and frustrating. As much as I tried to wear traditional perfumes they, were too acrid and overwhelming for me. My design of the combination of essential with perfume oils give Trance Essence a cleaner more natural smell than most commercial fragrances. Each fragrance is designed to enhance the wearer’s own body scent as opposed to the perfume dictating the body scent.

SCS: What is your inspiration?

JS: My inspiration comes from a voracious drive to be creative and translate my history and life experiences.

SCS: What is your most popular scent?

JS: Genie in a Bottle, but Hail Merri is a close second.

SCS: Who wears your fragrances?

JS: Anyone who has an adventuresome spirit, or loves something pure and natural. Kate Hudson has the entire collection of roll-ons.

SCS: Are you working on any new fragrances and if so, can you tell us about them?

JS: I have a new perfume coming out that fits into the green fruity Whyte Rabitt family. And, I am working on a new line using just the naturals. All I can say is, it will be gender free…

SCS: What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

JS: Never look back.

SCS: Where do you see yourself/business in ten years?

JS: My life and business will take the shape as it is meant to. Thinking about things in that vein, 10 years from now, torments me…

You can purchase Trance Essence fragrances and candles at tranceessence.com & beautyhabit.com 

– Lauren Dimet Waters