Scentcerely Yours creates personalized scented candles in Geneva

GENEVA – If you take a walk in downtown Geneva and you smell something heavenly – you might end up following your nose to Scentcerely Yours, at 211 W. State St., Geneva.

Not just another scented candle shop, but a place that offers more than 100 scents. You can buy a ready-made candle, or create one that you can choose the oils to mix yourself in a personalized scented soy candle.

Owners Susie and Rob Brucato opened the store over Memorial Day weekend and now it seems there’s always a crowd inside – either from people walking past who can’t resist the scent or from private parties.

The business is the result of careful research, Rob Brucato, 54, said.

“Susie and I have both been in banking for many years and we talked about doing different types of businesses for a while,” Rob Brucato said.

Since the couple live on the west side of St. Charles and frequent Geneva’s downtown, they were taken with all the home goods and furnishing stores with unique products, Rob Brucato said.

“Because we like to shop and we like interesting things to do, we got to thinking about something for the home or personal life that ties into that experience,” Rob Brucato said. “We wanted an activity-based or experience-based business – something unique.”

As Geneva’s downtown is home to many unique shops, the Brucatos knew it would be the right place for their business.

And their idea for personalized candles that are activity-based, fits in with the feel of downtown Geneva, Rob Brucato said.

“With personalization, you create your signature scent and we do offer personalized labels,” Rob Brucato said. “Susie gets the credit for that.”

For private parties – birthdays, baby and wedding showers, wedding rehearsal dinners, girls’ nights out and corporate events – creating that personalized candle was instantly popular.

“I think one instance that really touched us was a girl who came in and smelled our summer lawn candle,” Susie Brucato, 40, said. “She said, ‘This reminds me of Grandma so much.’ Her grandma had passed away a couple of months ago. The candle was personalized with ‘Love, Grandma Lou.’”

Rob Brucato said they wanted a business that was different and what makes theirs different is the experience.

“Without any expectation or knowledge, we’ve had people walk out and tell their family and friends, ‘This is the coolest thing I’ve done. I had no idea what it was about,’” Rob Brucato said. “We think we created that – based on the feedback we got.”

Susie Brucato said they work with one supplier for fragrance oils.

And they use soy candles, Rob Brucato said, because they burn longer, cleaner and are more true to their scent.

If a customer wants to create a custom scent based on the fragrance oils available, Rob Brucato said they pick what they like and then are assisted in what scents go together the best.

The store’s employees pour the soy wax into the container, then give the container to the customer to put the fragrance in and they mix it up, Rob Brucato said.

“They are thrilled about the scent they are making that is unique and specific to them,” Rob Brucato said.

The store also offers wax tarts for scent warmers, reed diffusers, lotion, room spray and body mist.

Another area the business will be participating in is fundraising – such as when a local team or cheerleading squad needs money for uniforms or a trip.

The fundraiser can be based on a particular scent the group wants or a day when a percentage of sales goes to the group, as long as they help promote it, Susie Brucato said.

The store is also working with local businesses and salons that want a personalized scent with a private label.

“A lot of local salons want that scent when you walk into that business,” Susie Brucato said. “It’s theirs [but] we are supplying them with the product.”

“We want people to think about scent differently,” Rob Brucato said. “We want people to think of scent as an interior design element.”

Scentcerely Yours also has a liquor license, so a party can bring their own alcohol, and they can have it catered there as well, the couple said.

More information is available by calling the store at 630-730-9302, or online by visiting www.scentcerely-yours.com.