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LAPLACE — From stunning wedding décor to the perfect fragrance, Shiela Best truly has what her customers need for any type of occasion.

A ribbon cutting ceremony for Any Type of Occasion LLC was held May 6 inside the Choice Marketplace at 1005 Cambridge Drive in LaPlace. Best said the new business combines her lifelong interior design and event-planning talents with a prophecy come to fruition.

Decorating has always been in her blood. Much like her mother Abbie Roussell, Best has the ability to turn an ordinary space into one resembling a magazine photo or movie set. She brings an air of extravagance to events, parties, weddings, home staging and more by working with clients to bring their visions to life.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year, event planning came to a standstill, and Best was left pondering what direction to take her business. She prayed and asked God for direction, secretly hoping His answer wouldn’t be to go back to working as a hairdresser. Before all of the details were clear, she felt an assurance from God that her breakthrough was coming, and she would be stepping forward, not backwards.

Now, every time she sets up her collection of prestige fragrances at Choice Marketplace, she’s reminded of the day Prophet Antoine Jasmine poked his head through the door and told her, “Time to start that business, Ms. Shiela.”

Jasmine’s words were a push in the right direction, and it wasn’t much longer before God opened her eyes to what her business would be. Halfway through a plane ride to visit her daughter in Texas, Best thought about the merchandise she had in her garage from her 29 years working in mall retail and realized her dream come true was right in front of her.

Through Any Type of Occasion LLC, Best works with distributors to bring Coach, Jimmy Choo, Dior and other luxurious fragrances to the St. John the Baptist Parish community. She has everything from men’s and women’s parfums to gift sets perfect for special occasions. If a set doesn’t already exist, Best can make her own to meet her customers’ needs.

Best enjoys studying her fragrance “notes,” which are the different scent layers making up the final fragrance. This way, she is able to match individuals with fragrances based on their likes and dislikes of various scents, and she can also assist customers who have allergies.

“I enjoy learning the history on a lot of the fragrances because every bottle of perfume actually has a story. It takes time to make a lot of these different fragrances. Sometimes it takes years of processing to make that one note in a fragrance and give it that smell,” Best said.

She added, “I’ve been doing this for 29 years, and this is my dream. It was a prophecy that came to life and a dream come true for me to be a part of the vision that Prophet Jasmine had. It’s been five months now that I’ve been in business, and it’s been doing pretty well.”

Choice Marketplace Director Dayna James is proud of Best for finding her niche.

“You cannot come into the Choice Marketplace and not buy from Ms. Shiela. When she’s not here, I miss her because she brings something different,” James said. “I’m so glad she’s here as a business owner, and she’s faithful to coming every Saturday.”
At last week’s ribbon cutting ceremony, District 6 Councilwoman Tonia Schnyder and River Region Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chassity McComack were pleased to welcome Any Type of Occasion LLC into the growing business community.

On behalf of Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Office, representative Ursula Anderson said, “We fully support economic development. In the midst of this pandemic, it is a blessing if anyone can open up a business. It goes to show that you have utilized this down time in a very positive manner.”

Best said she is eager to serve the community through both the fragrance and event planning aspects of her business.

“It’s Any Type of Occasion because I do a lot of different things. I do fragrances; I do events; I stage homes. Basically, if you need me, I can do it,” Best said. “Any type of celebration you have, no matter how big or how small, I’m your person. I live up to my last name; I’m going to give you the best.”

Any Type of Occasion LLC is located at 1005 Cambridge Drive from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each Saturday. For more information, call 504-202-1550 or email shielaroussell@yahoo.com.