Scent-imental Journey

In my Ah, Yes… Cold Season post, I mentioned a few of the essential oils and blends that I like to use when I’m being attacked by such germs. Today, as I was whipping up a batch of my favourite foot cream, I thought I’d expand on that information and do an entire post about essential oils/ aromatherapy. So, here it is. 😉

We’ve all heard how important our sense of smell is. It not only provides us with warnings about our environment (spoiled food, a fire, chemical dangers), but it also plays an important role in how we recognize and communicate with each other, enjoy our surroundings (a clean baby, a great meal, sexy perfume), and even recall memory. From my first bottle of “Love’s Baby Soft” in elementary school, I’ve been experimenting with scents, trying to find the ones that make me the happiest. It’s been a fun journey.

Nowadays, I tend to gravitate towards more “natural” or “green” products, as many everyday beauty/ cleaning/ lifestyle products often contain a multitude of chemicals that have been shown to be harmful or toxic. I haven’t quite gotten to the “make your own shampoo” or “scrub the sink with your own cleanser” stage yet (having a busy three-year-old makes that a little too lofty an ideal for right now), but I have found healthier products that I like to use. Some “eco” items smell amazing (see above), but others tend to be a little on the bland side for me, so I add my essential oils to “punch them up” a bit (like most eco-dishsoaps, for example).

You can find all sorts of information about essential oils and aromatherapy just about everywhere – books, online, even free pamphlets. And it’s important to do your research – even “natural” things like oils can be harmful if used the wrong way. Remember to take good notes. The one thing I have found lacking, however, is actual recipes for combining the oils (or ones that don’t require you to use 1/4 of a bottle of something to test it out, at least… which is a waste if you don’t like the result). Today, I thought I’d share a couple of the concoctions that I have come up with – in case you’d like to test them out for yourself.

First step, you’ll need to get yourself some essential oil(s), if you don’t already have any that is. Lavender is a safe bet if you want to start small and simple. As you build your collection, think of the scents you gravitate towards, check out the samples they have in the store, research what scents might combine well with each other, and go for it. ( I like to open the lids on two or three bottles and hold them together, wafting them under my nose, before I get around to actually combining them.) Or, just find a company that makes pre-mixed blends and get something you like – they tend to be “experts”, so why not take advantage of their knowledge? Over the years I have amassed quite a collection myself – keep in mind that I’ve been at this for almost 20 years – and I keep them in the lid of a photo box (I use the box itself as the lid), in a coolish place out of the sun.

The easiest and safest way to enjoy the oils is by adding them to your environment. I will often add a few drops of Lavender to my pillow before bed, or some “Meditation” blend to my shirt collar before a yoga practice. But you can also disperse the scent into the air via many techniques (from my least to most favourite): a light-ring diffuser, in water heated by a candle, mixed in water and sprayed (with the help of an emulsifier if desired), and via a “scent ball”. The “scent ball” just plugs right into a socket for a few hours, and you put a few drops of your oil on a felt-like pad that gets gently heated to release the scent. Simple. Tidy. Delicious-smelling. Seen above is one of my favourite room blends, which is supposed to have good anti-viral properties and is a bit “wintery” in flavour: mix equal parts Cinnamon + Clove + Pine + Orange. Disperse. Yum.

The next step would be to add oils to already existing products. Personally, I love the “Kiss My Face” lotions and the “Avalon Organics” bath gels as my “bases”. For a simple lotion, you can get those 4oz travel bottles or reuse an existing, clean bottle… fill it about 2/3 of the way with lotion and add about 30 drops of your favourite oil/ blend… shake well to incorporate the oil… then top up the last 1/3 with lotion and shake again. I always have a few pre-mixed bottles on the go: a simple lavender, a sultry “Tan/Van/San” mix (see below), and some awesome foot cream (see further below). For the bath gels, I just add oils directly to the bottle and gently invert to mix.

Sultry Lotion: 15 drops Tangerine/ Sweet Orange + 15 drops Vanilla + 10 drops Sandlewood in about 4oz of lotion. Give it time to really blend into the lotion. Sometimes, it still doesn’t smell strong enough to me so I double up the recipe. 😉

Amazing (and supposedly de-toxifying as well) Foot Cream: 15 drops Peppermint + 10 drops Lavender + 5 drops Geranium + 5 drops Rosemary in about 4oz lotion.

The final step would be to add oils directly to your skin. Personally, I like to add about 10 drops Lavender + 4 drops Tea Tree + a handful of salt to my baths…

But I also enjoy making some blends that I use as perfume. Like the Tan/ Van/ San blend. I usually test out blends in a little dish until I find one I like, then once I have a recipe, I make them directly in these cute glass bottles. The beauty of these blends is that you can dab them on pulse points (test them on a small area to make sure you’re not going to have a reaction first) or mix them in a carrier oil for massage, but you can also add them to products like lotions or bath gels or whatever, or use them in a diffuser. So. Much. Fun.

Now, I was considering leaving you with one last recipe – my personal “perfume” blend that I use most of the time – but I kind of like having a one-of-a-kind scent that people really seem to like. It’s so nice to give somebody a hug and hear “You smell great!”. So, I think I’m gonna keep that one to myself for now, and tell you to go and play with some oils and find your own. 😉 Well, I hope this was helpful and will encourage you to try something new, and I hope your creations are scent-sational! Let me know how it goes. Happy weekend, y’all!