Scents and Sensibility with Phoebe Peacock’s owner Jennifer Hardaway

Upon entering Phoebe Peacock, an adorable store located on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, the vibrant colors of the store and the plethora of delicious fragrances are the first things that ignite your senses in the most delightful way. It is a playland for the aromatically inclined. Store owner and founder, Jennifer Hardaway curates the items according to a mandate: “If it isn’t uniquely gorgeous, it doesn’t belong in here,” she says.

Hardaway envisioned her store as an invitation to live a beautiful life and as a homage to her great-grandmother, whom the store is named after. Several years ago, Hardaway found her grandmother’s death certificate and upon hearing the name, “Phoebe Peacock,” she immediately felt an affinity for her great-grandmother, whom she had never met. She says, “I was quickly transported to a place where all things are beautiful, well-made and dear.”

All of the items in her store are thoughtfully chosen and finely crafted. There are artisan teas, gift cards, journals, home decor, and books. Although all of the offerings in her store are enticing, the main draw of the store is the scent bar where customers can make custom-made fragrances, as well as the line of bath and body products that Hardaway is internationally known for: KleanSpa. She describes herself as a “scentual mixtress,” and she guides her clients through making a tailor-made aroma with high-quality essential oils and natural ingredients. Customers can come in with a particular feeling they want to convey, a fully fleshed-out idea, or an already known scent that they just want to adjust. Hardaway or her assistants mix the formula and can then add the signature scent to anything that they make: perfume oils, candles, home diffusers, body scrubs, and lotion. They keep the recipe on file and customers can re-order their favorite fragrance as often as they want.

Hardaway also holds scent mixing parties at her Burbank location and has as a mobile service that can travel to alternate locations and events. Some of her mobile clients include the formidable showrunner Shonda Rhimes, as well as L.L. Cool J’s wife. Although women are her primary customers, Taye Diggs and Channing Tatum are also fans. “I wasn’t here to blend a scent for Channing — I was in Japan! But my assistant Caitlin got to blend a scent for him,” Hardaway recalls.

Many of her clients make themselves memorable by adding their signature scent to hand-poured candles and diffusers and give them away as gifts. Hardaway encourages citrus-based items as gifts since it is a scent that most people enjoy.

KleanSpa and Phoebe Peacock are official vendors for the Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions Pre-Oscar Party and Gifting Suite in Honor of our Veteran Heroes taking place at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City on February 23, 2019.