The next time you're perusing The Perfect Petal boutique for some olfactory pampering, pay ZENTS (think zen + scents) a little extra love and attention, as the story behind this local-gone-global company holds a special place in our hearts.
THE STORY
Following a bad car accident, Cord Coen spent two years in rehabilitation for chronic pain, migraines and practically no sense of smell -- only to find he wasn't healing. Refusing to believe his doctors' predictions that he would never get better, he took a life-changing leap from Boulder to India through the support of an Indian host family.
After a year of yoga, massage, herbal treatments, daily pranayama practice and deep meditation, his pain subsided and he could taste and smell again. However, Cord not only became highly sensitive to certain perfumes that would trigger migraines, but realized he wasn't the only one with these struggles. He wanted to create scented soaps, lotions, oils and more from pure, natural ingredients that would uplift the mind, body and spirit.
It was through this healing and realization that Cord founded ZENTS, a mindful, luxury body care company based in Colorado.
THE PRODUCTS
ZENTS products contain Organic Shea Butter (hand-harvested by women in Africa) and nourishing botanicals and herbs that are grown at Cord's Boulder-based family farm. Before being distributed to high-end spas, resorts and boutiques all over the planet, each bar of soap is triple milled by a small soap maker in England, and each stone Concreta is hand-carved by families of artisan stonecrafters in India, thanks to the stonecrafting business that Cord's host family runs.
"The more we grow, the more we can help these amazing artisans and their families, so we are doing our best to ensure the number keeps increasing," says Jodi Walter, ZENTS Marketing Director.
To learn about about their giving programs, ingredients and culture, read more on their values page.
STAFF FAVORITES
Cindy Ollig, Owner | Designer: "My fave is Earth mixed with Pear or Oolong!"
Serra Dorozan, Boutique Manager: "My favorites are Mandarin, Petal and Oolong. Mandarin is exotic and smells like you are walking through an Indian spice market. Petal is feminine and smells like fresh flowers after the rain. Oolong is sophisticated with notes taken from a High Tea Ceremony. I love to mix them in different combinations. Right now, I love mixing Mandarin with Petal or Oolong with Mandarin.
"In the shower, I love Water and Earth. Water is meant to smell refreshing like the crisp, blue waters of the Mediterranean in Greece. Earth is meant to smell clean and new, like a Colorado wooded forest, early in the morning, still wet with dew."
Anna Wells, Designer: "My favorite scent is Earth in the body oil. If I feel like lightening it up for a more summery fragrance, I add Mandarin Concreta. It makes my skin glow and it feels silky smooth!"
Melony Sebastian, Designer: "My favorite scent is Oolong. The bar soap is amazing and uses shea butter. It's so moisturizing that I use it in place of shaving lotion."
GIFT IDEAS
ZENTS has three aphrodisiac scents that would make great gifts for anniversaries, weddings, or Valentine's Day: Petal (delicate lily), Sun (seductive vanilla), or Ore (sensual jasmine).
Ore has aphrodisiac properties that women are drawn to and Sun has properties that men are drawn to, so why not give the gift of dueling love potions?
Come by the boutique and sample all the scents yourself!
