Grand Junction has a vast community of small businesses, all ready to be explored, and one of them is La Fleur by Livvy.
La Fleur by Livvy is a natural perfume and beauty company that focuses on using high-quality natural ingredients that are both animal and cruelty-free. La Fleur by Livvy sells a variety of exclusively scented perfumes, as well as one-of-a-kind handcrafted soaps and candles.
Originally from Kolkata, India, Olivia “Livvy” Larson, the owner of La Fleur by Livvy, was exposed to numerous tropical scents from a diverse selection of flowers, fruits and herbs. Larson explained her passion was rooted in her life experiences, especially when she lived in India as a child.
“[One of my] memories of my childhood in India is of Indian women in the marketplace with fragrant jasmine garlands in their hair,” Larson said. “The scent of attars, tuberoses, rose waters and sandalwood incense sticks, wafting through the air as they burn.”
Larson started out as a self-taught natural perfumer and became certified by the International Perfume Foundation. Shortly before starting her company, she started out by selling her products to friends and family around Colorado.
Opening in the summer of 2013, Larson chose the name of her company after her love for flowers, hence the name “La Fleur.” While Larson focuses on the emphasis of floral elements in her perfumes, each collection she creates is to represent the journey and travels of those specifically by women.
“The ‘Fleur Collection’ is about a woman’s journey in life. It’s about her dreams and aspirations, her faith, innocence and seductiveness,” Larson said.
Not only are her scents incredibly unique, but also completely natural and vegan. Larson also makes many of her extracts at home, using methods such as placing vanilla beans in alcohol to extract the full extent of the gorgeous scent to be placed into her perfumes.
Every perfume created is carefully crafted, with over 80-90% of each product being botanically raw ingredients. Essentially, this means that the ingredients are blended with a small percentage of high-quality aroma chemicals, natural isolates and synthetic musks, which are all phthalate, paraben and cruelty-free.
Larson prioritizes her community by giving a portion of her sales to two non-profit organizations, Covenant House and Shanti Bhavan. Covenant House focuses on helping children escape human trafficking by providing shelter and care. Shanti Bhavan is an organization that helps to educate the lowest socioeconomic classes of children in India.
“I feel it’s very important that we all make a difference in some way or another, and education is a process of learning, acquiring knowledge, values and virtue. It contributes to the development of better people around the globe,” Larson said.
As Larson’s business expands, she states that she is “extremely grateful” for having a physical shop, and can’t wait to continue growing La Fleur by Livvy in Grand Junction while upholding sustainably sourced ingredients and an eco-friendly business model.
The storefront for La Fleur by Livvy can be found at 310 N 7th St. Suite #7 and is open Tuesday through Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
