I was 36 years old and on my way to being an empty nester when I found out that I was expecting another baby. No I didn't just add another 18 more years to my clock. Y'all, I was almost done. Like, 7 more years and done, done. I knew I wanted to stop working for others and create something of my own so I could stay home with my baby. I just didn't know what that something would be.
Fast forward right before my 37th birthday, I moved my college freshman into her dorm on the Highest of 7 Hills. Just as I was about to turn around and cry my eyes out in the car, (because pregnancy + hormones + my first born becoming a woman = I was a mess) my daughter asked me how she could make her room smell good. So I'm like, "candles, what do you mean?" To which she presented me with the ban list: candles were the first thing listed. And it made sense, because who's entrusting a bunch of teenagers to NOT burn the whole building down? That's when I birthed the idea of creating a flame-free home fragrance company.
It took 3 more years before launching Reed the Brand, and 7 months after that before I decided to change my business's name to Vashti.
Room sprays that keep rooms fragrant for 6+ hours and wax melts that you can smell from your front door to your bedroom: I ain't gone hold you, I was making home fragrance that improves moods and makes you smile. Now I'm not trying to Christopher Columbus the wax melt crumble, but I did my Soulja Boy when I started making them: I wasn't the first, I just made them trend. Wanting to stand out from the crowd, when I renamed the brand I started making my wax melts in a whole new way. They were a hit!
In the summer of 2022, I began making scented body oils. I got tired of having ashy, dull looking skin and smelling like a basic bottle of lotion, so I did something about it and fell in love. Turns out, my customers did too. Better Glisten Body Oil enters the chat. I wanted to smell like the designer and niche fragrances that I love without having to spend designer and niche fragrance money, because I don't know about you, but while I wanna smell delicious, I also wanna collect more commas. I figured if I could create an oil that allows you to do both while making your skin feel nourished and glisten, that's like having your cake, your steak, and eating it too. And that is what Vashti is about: creating a quality product that smells amazing and expensive, but is shockingly affordable. Why the shock? Because ma'am, have you tried my body oils and crumbles?
I'm real extra and do a whole lot as evidenced by this About Page, but lucky for you, I take extra care to do a whole lot by making a product that your self care routine absolutely can't live without!