Our Story

It all started with one brutal dad moment: Gabe asked for a $200 bottle of cologne, and his dad shot back, “Stone-cold crazy.” That savage honesty lit the fuse. Why pay luxury prices for someone else’s scent when you could create your own? Four Chicago-area 13-year-olds (Gabe Fiascone, Joe Bilshausen, Rayyan Abuhilal, and Ryan Joutras) turned that frustration into Essence By You. We were done with generic fragrances that cost a fortune to buy but a few dollars to make and smell the same on everyone. So we dove in: YouTube crash courses on top, heart, and base notes; a 34-note fragrance kit for Gabe’s birthday (over 10,000 possible blends!); wild experiments; and professional blending classes at Workshop Apothecary in Pilsen (our moms were surprisingly down for the adventure). We quickly realized most people don’t want to become perfumers. They just want a scent that feels like them, an invisible but powerful aura that shapes how they feel and how the world sees them. That’s why we built our custom AI quiz: Answer 20 fun questions about your personality, mood, lifestyle, and occasion, and in seconds it crafts your unique blend from 30+ core notes, explains why it works, suggests tweaks, and throws in name ideas. Not confident? Add our optional Ask an Expert review from real perfumers. Every bottle is made-to-order, custom-named by you, and shipped in our branded packaging. At its core, Essence By You is about empowering you to express your unique identity through scent in a market dominated by expensive designer brands. We make true customization affordable, accessible, and fun without sacrificing quality or style. We’re not just selling fragrance. We’re a movement: Stop buying their story. Start wearing your own. Create Your Scent. Elevate Your Aura.