Manufactured:  NYC, NY.

Ingredients:  Essential oils (from plants) of lavender, marjoram, cedarwood & ylang/ylang.

Brand: I am Valerie Bennis, founder and president of Essence of Vali.  The name of the company is very fitting as my nickname is Vali.  Creating blends that smell beautiful and are used in a sensual and healing way are a creative expression of who I am.  From an early age, I have loved self care and taking care of others.

In my thirties, I became interested in holistic healing and studied therapeutic touch, Reiki, nutrition, herbs, detox programs, homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, juicing, fasting, and aromatherapy.  I loved tinkering at home, making therapeutic formulas as well as creating recipes for my beauty regime.  It was always a source of pleasure and fascination for me.

I continued my career in the corporate world and evenings and weekends, continued my other life as an alchemist of sorts.  Then I went through some soul searching about my life and my future and decided to follow my heart and focus on an area of holistic healing.  That was when I decided to focus on “essential oils” also known as “aromatherapy”.  I loved all the ways the essences could be used – therapeutic, medicinal, beauty, and addressing all levels of mind, body, spirit.

Once I made my decision, I found the perfect teacher and studied as an apprentice for an intense six month period.  This was followed by a certification program and a diploma program.  I became a certified aromatherapist four years after I started my studies.  All this time, I was still at my day job, happily making customized blends for individual clients, evenings and weekends.  I lived a bit of a double life and people at work used to sneak into my office for advice and for their customized blends.

My recipe book was quickly being filled up with healing formulas.  To this day, I still have my original book with the person’s name for whom the formula was created.  In the year 2000 I left my corporate life and launched the Essence of Vali line of products. It has been an exciting journey that I am still on as I continue to focus on getting our products out there in the world.

Beyond the products, we love inspiring people to love themselves, age gracefully and experience a whole new way of life.  We believe in challenging your mind, honoring your body and celebrating your spirit.

May you always take impeccable care of your self,