Red Bank's Sensorium Emporium Will Set A Higher Bar For Soap

RED BANK, NJ — DIY floor sanding and painting will soon transform 28 Monmouth St. into a serene oasis of soaps and aromatherapy, says Beth Allen, owner of the soon-to-open Sensorium Emporium.

She and her husband Christopher Allen are turning a high-ceilinged, vintage space near the Dublin House into the latest spot for a new business in the heart of the Red Bank business district.

It specializes in handmade soaps, essential oils for home and body and herbal products, such as teas and herb plants, she says.

For Allen, of Highlands, the space will be a new setting for products she has been selling for several years now at vendor markets through her signature Mother Nature's Beauty company - identifiable by her soft-hued school bus.

She already has 5,000 devotees on her customer list, she said.

Soon, they'll have a place to call home with the Sensorium Emporium's soft opening planned for April 10, says Allen. The official opening will come in May.

And coming to Red Bank - and particularly Monmouth Street - is a "touchstone" for her, Allen says.

In a life that has seen her move to Norway for three years and then to Highlands and to Columbus, Ohio and back to Highlands, Red Bank is where she has some of her fondest memories, she says.

Her child went to St. James School here, while she worked in an office in town for the Columbus headquarters of Highlights magazine.

And Femi Allen, now 21, actually got her parents into the soap business when they (Femi's preferred pronoun) became interested in soaps as a 12-year-old and sold them in a Highlands market from a wagon.

"After Sandy, money was tight and we stopped her allowance," Allen said of Femi. An American Girl book on entrepreneurship got Femi started, earning a tidy sum. Now Femi is studying animation in South Korea, says Allen.

The inspiration for the business may have started small, but the business has grown, says Allen.

And the new name of the store is meant to appeal to a broad range of customers.

Allen studied her list of 5,000 customers.

"I found 30 percent were men," she said, so she created the Sensorium Emporium name to reflect the mixture of products for many different clients. The business name of Mother Nature's Beauty "skewed female," she said.

But whether for men or women, the products will provide a special touch to any grooming regimen.

There are shaving soaps and beard oil; essential oils diluted for roll-on body scent or concentrated for diffusers.

And the soaps keep customers coming back for more, Allen said.

They are created by a Red Bank resident, Emily Grant, a professional in the field that Allen contracts with. She also works with an expert in essential oils, Allen says. And with Femi in South Korea, Allen is planning to work with K-beauty specialists to bring an international dimension to her products. Her products are overseen by the Food and Drug Administration and meet all labelling and other requirements, she added.

And she is known for providing customers free mini versions of her array of soaps to sample.

"Your soap is very personal," Allen says.

And Sensorium Emporium will be just the place to enjoy that personal touch, she adds.