Is it me???

Can someone explain something to me?

What's up with those gifting emails that glamorize you into thinking that if you provide product (any product) to rich, Hollywood people, for free (you pay for the product, you pay to ship it) and you pay a fee to provide your free product, that you'll get recognized or that one of those "stars" will actually purchase something? Is it me, but, do rich people really need to have free stuff? I don't get it.

I'd love to hear your comments on this.

Herb of the Month - Chamomile

Being an aromatherapist, I'm naturally drawn to herbs and their healing properties. One of my most favorite herbs is Chamomile. It's a small but glorious flower.

Chamomile is very specific for children, especially the child who always insists on being held, and begins screaming the moment they are put down. This child will demand something for no reason and then immediately discard it. Chamomile will calm childhood temper tantrums, and will also calm adults displaying the same characteristics, which can often happen when one is going through a sensitive time in life. For both children and adults it makes one feel safe, loved, as if being held.

Chamomile flower essence allows us all to be kids again. It can help heal family issues that have been passed down through the generations. It will gently release family pain that is stuck in the physical or energetic bodies.

I use Chamomile for my skin care needs. I have ultra-sensitive skin and Chamomile does wonders for me. I also like Chamomile Tea, it's soothing scent and calming flavor is a wonderful treat at the end of a hectic day.

When I cleanse my skin, I make the following Skin Cleanser:

2 to 3 tablespoons of chamomile flowers
1 pint of water
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Place the flowers and water into a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Cool and strain the liquid. Add the lemon juice and store in the refrigerator in a sealed container (preferably glass). When I need it I gently cleanse my face and neck with a soft cotton pad.

Quick Guide to Making Natural Perfumes

I do workshops on Perfume Blending and have listed below a quick guide on making your own natural perfumes. Hope you enjoy it!

Getting Started

There are three basic types of blends:

1. Therapeutic
2. Environmental
3. Perfumery

You will need to decide which of the three basic types you want to blend.

You will need to determine what base you need. For perfumery, you might use a carrier oil like Jojoba.

You will need to decide whom the blend is for. Men and women tend to like different aromas. Young teenagers prefer something different than that of middle aged and/or older people. The reason for this is our changing body chemistry.

A well-balanced blend is composed of Top notes, Middle notes and Base notes, as in music.

The TOP NOTES are highly volatile, evaporate quickly and do not last very long (about 2 to 4 hours and include essential oils such as Citrus and Coriander). Top Notes are to be added LAST.

The MIDDLE NOTES last a little longer (about 4 to 6 hours) and include essential oils such as Lavender and Rosemary.

The BASE NOTES have a profound influence on the blend. They are very long lasting (come out 20 minutes to 2 hours later) and at the same time, fix other essences. This means they slow down the volatility rate of the Top and Middle Notes thus improving on the staying power of the blend. A good example of a Base Note essential oil is Sandalwood as it is regarded as a good fixative because it harmonizes well as a background to a wide variety of blends.

Although these guidelines help when you are first beginning, if you are adventurous with an artistic flair, you can prepare pleasant blends as you become more confident to experiment.

Learn Your Materials

Each oil has its own character and behavior, its own subtleties and complexities. Getting to know them is an endless process that will underlie all your blending adventures. The way an oil smells when you sniff the bottle is usually only the tip of the iceberg. How each oil performs in a blend is different over time in dilutions or on your skin. Be prepared for delightful surprises!

Write Down Everything You Do While You Are Blending

Blending is exciting, especially when it is going well. The wave of inspiration rushes in and you are an artist! You know just what to add and it is beautiful. Stop and make notes of everything you are doing. Record every drop of every oil you add to make that perfect blend while you are doing it. If you don’t, you may be sorry later when you want to duplicate the blend.

Take Breaks

Regular breaks are important for safety reasons and your mental health. Essential oils are very powerful and concentrated. Working with them for long periods of time in a closed area can be overwhelming or can make you ill.

Breaks will help in the creative process due to olfactory fatigue. Your nose can go blind and a brisk walk will do you the world of good. Each person’s nose is highly individualistic in this way and you have to learn which types of aroma you personally get immune to quickly and how often you need to take breaks from your blending.

Tricks of the trade include:

a. Taking a walk in fresh air
b. Running up and down the stairs, this heavy breathing will clear the nose
c. Sniffing your armpit or elbow
d. Sniffing coffee beans

Jojoba oil is an excellent carrier for a perfume blend since it has such a long shelf life and no aroma of its own. You can also use it immediately with no need to “age” it. The proportions you use depend on three things – how strong you want your perfume or blend to be, how you plan to use it and basic safety precautions.

The following mixtures are meant to guide your first steps into the fragrant world of perfume making. All are based on 1/3 oz. of Jojoba oil.

Woody
15 drops Cedarwood
5 drops Sandalwood
5 drops Rosewood
2 drops Lemongrass

Sweet
4 drops Neroli
4 drops Rose
4 drops Rosewood
4 drops Cedarwood

Sweet, slight aphrodisiac
4 drops Jasmine
4 drops Ylang Ylang
8 drops Rosewood
1 drop Vanilla
4 drops Neroli

Refreshing, not aphrodisiac
10 drops Bergamot
5 drops Melissa
10 drops Petitgrain
5 drops Verbena

Heavy, Exotic, Aphrodisiac
10 drops Patchouli
8 drops Frankincense
6 drops Ylang Ylang
4 drops Jasmine

Characteristic Fragrances of Essential Oils

Please note that not all Essential Oils smell like the flowers, herbs or plants from which they are extracted.

Basil: penetrating, sweet, spicy, fresh, anise-like
Benzoin: sweet, balsamy, warm
Bergamot: fresh, clear, fruity-sweet
Cedarwood: harmonious, soft wood fragrance, sweet and sour
Chamomile, blue: very sweet, herbal
Chamomile, Roman: fresh, sweet, herbal, tea-like
Clary Sage: light, slightly hay-like, spicy, similar to Bergamot
Clove: strong, warm, spcy-sweet
Cypress: fresh, spicy, lemony-fruity
Eucalyptus globulis: camphor-like
Frankincense: balsamy, spicy, lemony
Geranium: leafy, rosy, minty-fruity
Ginger: spicy-woodsy, warm
Grapefruit: light, fresh, bitter
Jasmine: honey-sweet, intensively flowery
Juniper: strong, herbal, scent of pine needles and gin
Lavender: sweet, balsamy, flowery
Lemon: fresh, bright
Lemongrass: fresh, similar to Lemon and Verbena, slightly bitter
Lime: intensive, sparkling-sweet, lemony
Marjoram: typical scent of the kitchen herb
Neroli: sweet, spicy-bitter
Orange, Sweet: bright, fruity, clear, sweet
Patchouli: strongly woody-balsamy-sweet, woodsy, earthy
Peppermint: minty-fresh, grass-like, balsamy sweet
Rose: sweet, rosy
Rosewood: flowery, slightly rosy, spicy-sweet
Sandalwood: balsamy-sweet, velvety-warm
Tea Tree: strong, camphor-like, spicy
Vanilla: Sweet, warm, balsamy
Verbena: fresh, fruity, citrus-like
Ylang Ylang: narcotic-sweet, strong, Jasminey

September Is Women of Achievement Month – Are You On-Board?

I've just come across this fabulous blog and wanted to share it with you.

Here’s where you come in. Write up a blog post (it could be a full blog post, or even just a few sentences) about what it is YOU want to achieve. Twice a week for the month of September, LBS will dedicate blog posts to helping you come closer to achieveing those goals. Whether they are steps you should take or people you should talk to, they want to help you.



Visit The Lady Bloggers Society the go to place for all blogging women to network, master their blogging craft and learn from one another.

Stress-Free Mornings By Waking Up to Relaxing Aromatherapy

How do you feel when you wake to smell bacon frying? Bread baking? Do you like the sounds of birdsong or ocean waves? How about the scent of lavender, to calm or energize your morning and provide the day's first pick-me-up? Natural, soothing sounds can wake you gently instead of an alarm blasting you out of bed. Aromatherapy scents with flowers and herbs, set up the expectation that maybe the world can be a beautiful place—even before your morning coffee.

The way you strt your morning tends to color your experiences of the day. There's no law that says your moment of waking should be stressful: don't you get enough stress in the daytime? Try a gradual awakening; soft sounds and a glowing light that grows gradually and a sweet, natural scent. Imagine that: starting your day with an experience that wakes you up-- without freaking you out.

If you’ve shopped for aromatherapy products before, you’ve probably noticed that most of them are lavender. It’s true that this herb is supposed to have calming and restorative properties, but lavender isn’t the only aromatherapy choice out there, and it’s not for everyone. You can get essential oils for nearly everything, and can experiment with spice, herbs, flowers and woodsy scents to find the things you like best.

Rules of Aromatherapy Blends
The first rule of aromatherapy is to know yourself. The part of the brain responsible for olfaction (sense of smell) is partly surrounded by the part of the brain that handles long-term memory, and is also part of the limbic system, which handles emotion. The central position of your olfactory sense is why when you smell something you smelled as a child, it will often bring a flood of memories and emotions with it. That’s why scent is a highly individual thing: we all have different associations to the smell of roses, to Old Spice aftershave and to baking bread. All this is to say that the smell of sweet orange oil may make one person feel cheery and another unbearably sad. It all depends.

Aroma researchers have found that in general, men like the smell of vanilla and the smell of lavender. That’s no reason to choose either scents as a perfume, though: men are also crazy about the smell of pizza! Most people love the smell of something sweet baking, and one do-it-yourself aromatherapy is to bake a loaf of bread. Other activities that have an aromatherapeutic element include taking a bubble bath, drinking a fragrant wine, walking through a eucalyptus grove, or hanging out in a cedar sauna.

Some years ago, psychology researchers found that piping the smell of the ocean in to the air significantly helped people feel less depressed. (They weren’t sure if it was going to the beach or just the smell of the beach that worked on depression, so they tried it with just the smell, and it worked).

Aromatherapy Product Information
When you choose aromatherapy products, try to get samples before committing to buy. Go with essential oils over synthetics, but if Aqua Velva reminds you of being a kid, happy and excited to be riding on your Dad’s shoulders, then buy a bottle of aftershave and sprinkle it around the room. Aromatherapy means using what works for you.

If you have allergies or asthma, chemical-based aromatherapy may be fraught with danger. Synthetic scents are derived from chemical compounds, many of which can cause strong allergic reactions such as wheezing, coughing, hives and itching or even nausea and vomiting. Don't fall into the trap of believing that, just because a product claims to be aromatherapy-based, it's automatically good for you. (I remember once reading that the flavoring that makes banana popsicles (the bright yellow ones that don't contain any actual banana products) was the same chemical used to tan leather.)

Many people have allergic reactions to perfectly natural products. I have a friend who is highly allergic to rosemary. His face balloons up, his eyes water and his nose runs if he gets anywhere near the fresh herb. Rosemary is an ancient herb that's been used in shampoos, skin care lotions, perfumes and nearly anything scented, but he can't stand the stuff. If you have allergies, make sure you read the back of any product you're considering before shelling out money for something that may make you sick.

Ideally, aromatherapy will help you feel happier, rejuvenated, stronger and more calm. Some of the scents I love are almond, cedar wood, clover and cucumber. I use peppermint oil in everything, from shampoo to foot cream because I love its clean, sharp fragrance.

Avoid scents that bring back unhappy memories or that make you feel heavy and sleepy (unless you’re using aroma for insomnia). Chamomile is commonly used for a sleep aid, but I prefer eucalyptus, myself because it reminds me of evenings on the cool, northern California coast...

All-Purpose Face and Neck Massage:
3 drops violet oil
+ 2 drops rose oil:
in 20 ml of carrier oil.
Add vitamin E for extra richness.

Anti-Tension Massage:
2 drops petit grain oil
+ 2 drops lavender oil
+ 2 drops sandalwood oil:
in 20 ml carrier oil.
Apply on the neck, shoulders, and temples.

Backache Massage:
2 drop eucalyptus oil
+ 2 drops lavender oil
+ 1 drop lemon oil:
in 20 ml carrier oil.
Focus on areas of tension with fingertips.

Bedtime Massage:
3 drop sandalwood oil
+ 2 drops chamomile oil:
in 20 ml of carrier oil.
Calming Back Massage:
4 drop ylang ylang oil
+ 3 drops jasmine oil
+ 2 drops geranium oil:
in 20 ml of carrier oil.

Circulation Improvement Massage:
6 drop lavender oil
+ 4 drops rosemary oil
+ 2 drops vetiver oil:
in 4 oz. of sesame oil.

Face and Neck Massage:
2 drop galbanum oil
+ 3 drops neroli oil:
20 ml carrier oil.

Hand Massage:
5 drops lime oil
+ 5 drops thyme oil
+ 5 drops eucalyptus oil
+ 5 drops cajuput oil:
in 4 tablespoons carrier oil.

Leg Massage:
2 drops cypress oil
+ 2 drop lime oil
+ 1 drop lemon oil:
20 ml carrier oil.
Massage on calves, using gentle pressure on varicose veins.

Mature Skin Massage:
2 drop myrrh oil
+ 2 drops lavender oil
+ 2 drops neroli oil:
20 ml wheat germ oil.

Pain-Relieving Massage:
3 drop pine oil
+ 3 drop eucalyptus oil
+ 3 drops frankincense oil:
20 ml carrier oil.
Apply on sore joints.

Relaxing Full-Body Massage:
3 drop neroli oil
+ 2 d jasmine oil:
in 20 ml of carrier oil.
Relaxing Massage:
2 drops geranium oil
+ 2 drops rose oil
+ 2 drops lavender oil:
20 ml carrier oil.

Sensual Body Massage:
2 drops patchouli oil
+ 3 drops geranium oil
+ 3 drops rose oil:
20 ml carrier oil.

Stimulating Body Rub:
1 drops peppermint oil
+ 1 drops myrrh oil
+ 2 drops lavender oil:
20 ml carrier oil.
This is an excellent winter rub.

Summer Stimulating Massage:
2 drop lemongrass oil
+ 3 drops orange oil
+ 1 drop rosemary oil:
20 ml carrier oil.
Good for back and shoulder massages.

Wrinkled or Puffy Face Massage:
2 drops rose oil
+ 1 drops violet oil
+ 1 drops geranium oil:
20 ml carrier oil.
Rub lightly on face, using only fingertips.

Have fun! Massages are great when shared with a partner too.