”My Nanna is French, and when I was growing up, we'd often visit her and family over in France. A fond memory of mine is going to the bakery every morning to collect some delicious bread. Whenever I smell freshly baked bread, it brings me right back to the delightful scents that filled the street of my Nana's local bakery.”
“Burning essential oils at home gives me great comfort, using your sense of smell prompts your brain to release serotonin, inducing feelings of happiness. You can pick and choose your oils depending on how you feel; for example, I burn Bergamot, Eucalyptus and Rosemary when seeking encouragement and find the combination of fragrant Bergamot and Lavender particularly therapeutic.”
Our sense of smell is established to be 10,000 times more acute than other senses. Aromatherapy is thought to work by stimulating smell receptors in the nose, which then send messages through the nervous system to the limbic system — the part of the brain that controls emotions. Learning to pay more attention to scent can allow us to establish a far more grounding, immersive and multi-sensory experience of life. Scent can help bring character and emotion into a space, filling the space and transforming it. Whether it’s to help seek comfort and support, relaxation and calmness or create an uplifting atmosphere, scent will create a more mindful and wholly experience of our surroundings. Using scent as part of our daily, intentional routine can offer us moments of reflection and insight into ourself.
Each essential oil has its own unique healing properties, uses and effects. For example, Lavender symbolises silence, calmness and grace and burning lavender in your surrounding space helps to focus on peace, happiness and healing. Whilst the woody aromas of Ho Wood symbolise shelter, comfort and recuperation and will create a space that supports and nourishes you. However, the combination of both Lavender and Ho Wood blend perfectly together, promoting sleep and relaxation. Learning the properties of different essential oils can provide the knowledge of creating a synergistic blend of oils, which can withhold far more benefits. By blending just a couple of essential oils together you can then combine their unique nourishing properties. Once you’ve chosen your essential oils, whether it be just the one or perhaps you want to explore a blend, you’ll want to look into sourcing a diffuser or an oil burner. Both of these options will allow the scent of the oil to be slowly dispersed around your desired room. An oil burner is most likely to be a small ceramic device that you would pop a tea light in, add water to the dish on top and then add a couple of drops of your oil into the water. Whereas a diffuser can be electric and would also use water but will create a mist (please follow the instructions that come with your chosen device).
“A daily practice that I regularly do throughout the day is to burn incense. We can use scent to trigger specific responses, such as to aid sleep or stimulate creativity. I burn Earthy Agarwood, also known as oud, which is deeply nurturing. Before I go to bed, I drop soothing Lavender into the water for my evening cleanse, which helps me to relax.”
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Having a bath is a restorative ritual that clears the mind and helps soothe the skin. A simple soothing and relaxing oil blend to put into your bath can be made from combining 4-6 drops of Lavender and Cedarwood essential oil, with 1 teaspoon of base oil, Jojoba or silky Camellia for their hydrating and repairing properties.
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Growing fresh herbs on the windowsill is a great way of bringing nourishing scents into the home.
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If you have a log burner you can collect orange peel, sage or herbs from the garden and place them on top of the burner, the oils will defuse and scent your space wonderfully. Or add a few drops of your favourite essential oil to your firewood before burning. Grounding Juniper Berry which cleanses the air.
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If you're looking for a quick fix simply place a few drops of essential oil onto a radiator, as it heats up, it will diffuse.
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Adding a few drops of essential oil down your toilet after flushing is a simple way to help neutralise smells. Oils like Patchouli or Rosemary are both refreshing and balancing.