Ask An Expert

Workshop Apothecary is where we first learned that making fragrance is both art and science, and way harder (and cooler) than it looks. It’s a hands-on workshop space in Chicago where people learn how fragrances are built by exploring top, heart, and base notes and blending real ingredients into something completely their own. That experience showed us how powerful scent can be when it’s personal and well-balanced, and it helped inspire Essence By You. That’s also where the idea for Ask an Expert came from. Most people don’t want to become perfumers, but they do want a scent that actually feels like them. For a small additional cost, Ask an Expert lets customers have some of the best perfumers in the country review their custom AI-generated blend before it’s made, refining balance, strength, and overall vibe. It’s worth it because it combines the speed and creativity of AI with real human expertise—helping customers get a scent that truly defines them, not just one that smells “pretty good.” Our goal is simple: to give customers a fragrance that’s far more personal (and better than expensive designer brands), at a price that feels almost unbelievable.