Meet Cassidy Taylor & Shelby Lecometros | Soap Maker & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cassidy Taylor & Shelby Lecometros and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cassidy Taylor & Shelby Lecometros, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

Cassidy & Shelby have been making bath essentials since 2019 for family and friends! Cassidy took a soap making class and fell in love with the creativity aspect. When she was pregnant with her first baby in 2020, her husband told her, “I think you need a hobby.” Cassidy then decided to expand her knowledge and branch into bath bombs, lotions, and work with advance soap ingredients such as beer and wine. Shelby was always the ultimate tester of Cassidy’s new projects of bath essentials. Together, they formulated a recipe worth sharing with the world.
Both of the sisters have worked in healthcare for over 5 years. Cassidy is a nurse and Shelby is a Dental Hygienist. After the COVID-19 Pandemic, the sisters decided to take a leap of faith and follow their true passion. Both sisters are currently still working full time, but have dedicated any remaining free time to the business to make it a success.
With growing families the sisters want to spend more time with family while still benefiting others. Cassidy has a 15 month old daughter, Lively, while Shelby is 16 weeks pregnant with her first baby.
Shelby & Cassidy are both very passionate about natural ingredients, this was the main concept behind their recipes. Their dad, John Bute owns Nature’s Health Shoppe in Chandler, AZ. He raised them to embrace natural ingredients to benefit the body. Every ingredient is carefully considered when being added to our bath essentials. We want to benefit your health as well as your skin and the earth. Scentive also strives to help the planet- by using bar soap you are cutting down on plastic use. We also use more eco friendly packaging and are conscious to every ingredient we use to ensure sustainability.Together they strive for only pure ingredients that are phthalate, paraben, and sulfate free. No SH*T ingredient list here! You will not find any unnecessary additives or harsh chemicals in their bath essentials. Scentive products are hand made and crafted in small batches to ensure quality over quantity. Each product is hand poured with care in Mesa, AZ with high standards in mind. Say goodbye to plastic bottles and hello to ZERO WASTE! Help them save the planet one bar of soap at a time! Bar soap has 10x less of an environmental impact than liquid soap.
With a very successful start since the grand opening in September 2021, the sisters hope to just keep growing. They want to show the world a healthier alternative to store bought liquid body wash etc. Trust me, you need this. Scentive products are meant to make you smell good naked, smile, and share with your favorite people.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Shelby has been a dental hygienist for over 5 years. Cassidy has been a nurse for over 5 years and works in the Emergency Department. Both sisters have dedicated their careers to being healthcare professionals and love helping the health of the community. Though both working full time- we still found time to have an outlet and hobby that we decided to turn into a business.

After Cassidy took a soap making class, she fell in love with the process and outcome and decided to make a hobby and passion into a business opportunity with her sister, Shelby. We both are learning new things everyday about soap making and being business owners. We would not be where we are today if it weren’t for all the love and support from friends and family. Starting a small business is hard work. We have grown very close as business partners and even closer as sisters. The road to get where we are now was not easy and we have faced many challenges, as every business owner does. We have learned to just “go with the flow” as not everything goes as planned and by the books. This is especially true with soap making! No two batches of soap will ever be the same.

We want the world to know that we strive to make the best products we can. We care about every ingredient we use and want to make great products that smell great AND benefit the skin. We care about the planet and want to help reduce plastic and waste and use products that are sustainable.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is a great question! We both LOVE what Downtown Gilbert has to offer and would make that a priority if we have a friend come and visit. To start off the day we would have to go to Snooze! This is such a fun breakfast/brunch eatery. They have amazing breakfast options and their specialty pancakes are to die for. Don’t forget mimosas! Another great hang out place to relax and chill is Bergies Coffee Shop. They have amazing coffee drinks and teas. The atmosphere is extremely inviting and they have outdoor seating to soak up the AZ sun. Postino’s is also a really great stop for food. You cannot go to Postino’s without getting their famous bruschetta boards! For a great cocktail- we would take our friend to the White Rabbit secret speakeasy. Don’t forget you need a password for entry! The drinks, cocktails, and vibes are so unique at the White Rabbit. We would also take our friend to enjoy some beautiful hikes that AZ offers, such as the Hieroglyphics Trail (Cassidy’s favorite). We would also take our friend to any local farmer’s markets on the weekends! We love to support other small business owners. Fox cigar bar is also another favorite hangout. Another great place to take a friend in town would be to drive up north to Payson. Such a great forest getaway with cooler weather. Payson is beautiful and has many sights to see and great hikes. There are so many wonderful places and eateries Arizona has to offer, but these would be our favorites!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would love to dedicate and give a shout out to our entire family as they have all been so supportive and loving as we took a risk to start this business. They have been there from day one. From being our testers, to helping us package orders and prepare for markets. We are so lucky to have the support we do. Opening a business is risky and scary, but we have been so loved and supported throughout the entire process. Special thank you to our father for showing us the ropes to being a small business owner, as he has owned Nature’s Health Food Shoppe for over 36 years. He has been our voice of reason and has helped up through the ups and downs of owning a small business.

Website: www.scentiveaz.com

Instagram: @scentiveaz

Facebook: @scentiveaz

Image Credits
Nathan Sidoti