Scents by Design — Local services in City of Rochester

Such a fun afternoon celebrating a friend's birthday! You smell 110 scents, write down your favorites, select a vessel to purchase, go over to the candle bar, and discuss with a specialist which of your scents will blend together well in a candle. Three is a good number to choose. You take those essential oils and slowly drip them into a little metal bowl, stirring them with a long spoon, and sniffing as you go along to see if you like the blend you’re creating. (Did I mention: you can purchase a mimosa or glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage to sip during the process. 😊) You control the ratio of each oil, based on which of the three scents you want to be stronger. When the little bowl is full and you’re happy with the blend, the specialist takes the vessel you’ve chosen and fills it with hot soy wax from a machine that looks like a Tastee-Freez dispenser. She returns it to you, and you use the long spoon to blend the combined oils into the wax. You go have lunch for 90 minutes (I recommend delicious Magnolia’s on Park at Oxford) while your candle cools and solidifies. Go back and pick it up, and you’re on your way. Very attractive packaging.

You pay according to what vessel you choose. The least expensive is $21 plus tax ($22.68); they vary in size and style, with several in the $30 range. I chose the translucent cobalt blue one ($22.68), and my friend selected a copperish one for $26 ($28.08).

Oh … you get to name your unique, personal blend, and write it on a label to be adhered to the bottom. My friend blended mahogany, pumpkin spice, and balsam fir, aptly naming her blend Woods of Winter. I chose sea foam, balsam fir, and elderflower, naming the blend Highway One, reminded of the drive down that breathtaking, fragrant, California coastal highway. It's as if your label tells a story.

I kept this activity a surprise, convincing Vickie to trust me she’d enjoy the experience. We both did. Highly recommend! We truly appreciated the friendliness of the staff, the convenient use of their restroom, and the exhibited art by local artists. We easily found street parking right in front of the store; there's also a lot behind the store. The atmosphere is so cozy with several couches and chairs. If you can go on a weekday, it's less busy than a weekend.

I christened my candle last night, and it smells great. As planned when I blended, the sea foam is the primary scent and just lovely. My friend and I are both candle freaks and couldn't believe we hadn't heard of this hidden gem before. A man and woman were finishing up their candles when we arrived, and he admitted he was surprised how much he enjoyed the experience. Not just for women!

[FYI - Only because I'm a slow sipper, I'd pass on getting a beverage next time because the process didn't take very long, and I only sipped about half of my mimosa. But that's just me. * Recommendation to the delightful staff: when one person is paying for more than herself/himself and using a credit/debit card, please try to be discreet when having them finish the transaction on the large electronic device, so the total amount isn't big and bold and visible by the person being...

It’s a fun atmosphere, the staff is welcoming and friendly. They have a wide variety of scents to choose from and you can add things like crystals to your candle. They also have a bar. I loved the experience. However as far as the actual candle itself… Not so much. I got both a wood wick and a regular wick, both smell amazing…. But leave soot….everywhere. The inside of my nose was black. Cleaning it off of my walls and ceilings. I have two air purifiers in my tiny apartment, and both filters were black. I thought maybe it was because of the woodwick but the regular wick did the same thing as well. Really disappointing considering how expensive they were. Like I said, they experience making them and mixing scents and having some drinks at the bar was fun, but the product itself, needs some work. Maybe it’s best to just be admired instead of burned but that literally defeats the purpose of a candle.

Response to owner: thank you so much for the offer, I appreciate you for trying to make it right. I did make sure that it wasn’t near a drafty area and I made sure to chop down the wicks with the wick cutter that I bought at your shop, But it was the same result. I’m pretty familiar with candles, as I’m a huge candle fan… But I have to say I’ve never experienced this much soot. It’s definitely the product. Maybe I got a bad batch of wax or wicks or something.. I’m not sure but I loved how it made my house smell, just not a big fan of the soot. What I am going to do is change my rating from a three to a five star because you did offer to make it right and I really truly...

For a custom product based company where the main attraction is to customize a candle or fragrance.. customer service/experience was not there. Felt as though they were not interested in helping myself and two other friends. Also, no direction on how to build your candle/fragrance and if you don’t like the scent, no options are given for another sent. Idk I made a custom fragrance, I didn’t like one of my scents when asked for another one it seemed as though it was a bother and they never came back to give me the other scent, I had to ask for it. When asking for other recommendations, it just seemed as though they wanted you to pick the three and move on. They were kinda busy to be fair but they had plenty of workers and not a single worker could help us out properly. I have to admit the lady when you initially walk in is absolutely so nice and was so helpful!! Idk we just felt after our experience like we were a bother to the staff. Trying to make your product felt like a guessing game with no clear directions. Waited to be cashed out only for them to ask me what I made when you make the product in front of them at the bar where you cash out. I don’t know this is my first experience and thought it was such a cool concept, but can’t say...