The Basics of Aromatherapy for Your Home
Aromatherapy is the art of creating ambience with natural scents and essential oils. But you don't have to be a chemist or perfumier to create a fragrant atmosphere in your home. All you need is a basic knowledge of the therapeutic qualities of certain scents and of the products that will help you achieve serenity.
Citrus Scents
This range includes lemon, orange, grapefruit and lime, but it also includes citrus-scented herbs such as lemon balm, lemon verbena, orange-scented bergamot and kaffir lime leaves. The wide range offers many options for creating citrus-based potpourri and sachets.
Save peel from your fruit snacks and gather citrus-scented herbs after the dew has dried in the late morning. Let the peel and herbs dry thoroughly in a warm place, such as a window sill or linen closet, then fill a potpourri container. For more lasting aroma, add a few drops of lemon or orange essential oil.
Citrus imparts freshness and contributes to mental alertness, especially in the morning. To get the most from its astringent qualities, use a citrus-scented shower gel and light citrus candles and incense to help you whiz through your morning routine.
Floral Scents
The aromas of flowers and flowering herbs are meant to be enjoyed as a balm to the senses, and there are many varieties to choose from. Rose scents are among the most popular, but you can also choose from lavender, jasmine, lily of the valley and violet, among many others.
Floral potpourri begins with dried flower petals and buds, which you can buy at craft shops or gather from your own garden after the dew has dried. The rich scent of these mixtures is aided by essential oils (usually rose or lavender), as flowers are delicate and start to lose their fragrance. Flowers with longer-lasting fragrance include the well-known apothecary's rose and exotic florals such as jasmine and frangipani.
Floral fragrances set the scene for relaxation (and in the case of exotics, seduction!). Adding floral oils and petals to your bath with lift your mood and eliminate stress, with the aid of scented candles and incense. But don't overdo it with the stronger florals, as the effect can be overpowering.
Woody
A term given to fragrances derived from woody sources, such as cedar, sandalwood and cinnamon, as well as pine and bay. Woody potpourri mixtures include cedar chips, pine cones and needles, dried bay leaves, nut shells and cinnamon bark. Add sandalwood oil to the mixture.
For a perfect holiday season mixture, add holly leaves, star anise, cloves and cinnamon oil. Use warm spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice in your baking to fill the house with enticing fragrance, and light sandalwood incense for a meditative touch.
Woody aromas are grounding and calming, bringing the great outdoors inside and acting as aromatherapy protection in the home.
Oriental
This is a family of fragrances so named because the ingredients were exotic to European perfume houses early in the 20th century. These seductive, sometimes heavy, aromas are less unusual than they used to be. Many, such as patchouli and sandalwood, became quite common during the "flower power" decade of the 1970s. They help create a sensual atmosphere in which languor and luxury play a large part. These aromas turn a bedroom into a seductive boudoir, a bathroom into a luxury spa and living areas into Middle Eastern courtyards.
Basic potpourri mixtures for these aromas have a vast range of ingredients, from cinnamon bark, star anise, crushed cardamom and grated nutmeg to legendary aromas like frankincense and myrrh. Oils such as patchouli, ylang ylang and sandalwood deepen the experience, especially if they are added to almond oil and used for a relaxing massage while burning ylang ylang or frankincense incense sticks.
While these four basic classifications are useful information for beginners, the aim is to create your own special aromatherapy blend that will be the signature of your home. Try experimenting by mixing different aromas, such as woody and floral blends, and citrus and oriental. This allows you to try other fragrances, such as ginger, rosemary, vanilla and chamomile. You will know you have succeeded the moment someone says, "Oh, your house always smells so nice!"
Citrus Scents
This range includes lemon, orange, grapefruit and lime, but it also includes citrus-scented herbs such as lemon balm, lemon verbena, orange-scented bergamot and kaffir lime leaves. The wide range offers many options for creating citrus-based potpourri and sachets.
Save peel from your fruit snacks and gather citrus-scented herbs after the dew has dried in the late morning. Let the peel and herbs dry thoroughly in a warm place, such as a window sill or linen closet, then fill a potpourri container. For more lasting aroma, add a few drops of lemon or orange essential oil.
Citrus imparts freshness and contributes to mental alertness, especially in the morning. To get the most from its astringent qualities, use a citrus-scented shower gel and light citrus candles and incense to help you whiz through your morning routine.
Floral Scents
The aromas of flowers and flowering herbs are meant to be enjoyed as a balm to the senses, and there are many varieties to choose from. Rose scents are among the most popular, but you can also choose from lavender, jasmine, lily of the valley and violet, among many others.
Floral potpourri begins with dried flower petals and buds, which you can buy at craft shops or gather from your own garden after the dew has dried. The rich scent of these mixtures is aided by essential oils (usually rose or lavender), as flowers are delicate and start to lose their fragrance. Flowers with longer-lasting fragrance include the well-known apothecary's rose and exotic florals such as jasmine and frangipani.
Floral fragrances set the scene for relaxation (and in the case of exotics, seduction!). Adding floral oils and petals to your bath with lift your mood and eliminate stress, with the aid of scented candles and incense. But don't overdo it with the stronger florals, as the effect can be overpowering.
Woody
A term given to fragrances derived from woody sources, such as cedar, sandalwood and cinnamon, as well as pine and bay. Woody potpourri mixtures include cedar chips, pine cones and needles, dried bay leaves, nut shells and cinnamon bark. Add sandalwood oil to the mixture.
For a perfect holiday season mixture, add holly leaves, star anise, cloves and cinnamon oil. Use warm spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice in your baking to fill the house with enticing fragrance, and light sandalwood incense for a meditative touch.
Woody aromas are grounding and calming, bringing the great outdoors inside and acting as aromatherapy protection in the home.
Oriental
This is a family of fragrances so named because the ingredients were exotic to European perfume houses early in the 20th century. These seductive, sometimes heavy, aromas are less unusual than they used to be. Many, such as patchouli and sandalwood, became quite common during the "flower power" decade of the 1970s. They help create a sensual atmosphere in which languor and luxury play a large part. These aromas turn a bedroom into a seductive boudoir, a bathroom into a luxury spa and living areas into Middle Eastern courtyards.
Basic potpourri mixtures for these aromas have a vast range of ingredients, from cinnamon bark, star anise, crushed cardamom and grated nutmeg to legendary aromas like frankincense and myrrh. Oils such as patchouli, ylang ylang and sandalwood deepen the experience, especially if they are added to almond oil and used for a relaxing massage while burning ylang ylang or frankincense incense sticks.
While these four basic classifications are useful information for beginners, the aim is to create your own special aromatherapy blend that will be the signature of your home. Try experimenting by mixing different aromas, such as woody and floral blends, and citrus and oriental. This allows you to try other fragrances, such as ginger, rosemary, vanilla and chamomile. You will know you have succeeded the moment someone says, "Oh, your house always smells so nice!"
