Educate your Senses

Recipes for Winter Stress

Last week on my radio show, Aromatherapist On-Call, I talked about essential oils that had
great calming qualities. I will list the oils that were discussed and I encourage you to research these oils more. Botanical is a good source for more facts.

Calming Essential Oils
- Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)
- Clary sage (Salvia sclarea)
- Frankincense (Boswellia carterii)
- Jasmine (Jasminum officinale)
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
- Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)
- Rose (Rosa spp.)
- Rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
- Sandalwood (Santalum album)
- Vetiver (Vetiveria zizaniodes)
- Ylang ylang (Cananga odorata)


I also said that I would post the recipes that I talked about. These recipes are for your bath, if you do not take baths, you can use the essential oils in these recipes with 2oz. of carrier oil such as grapeseed oil, sweet almond or olive oil to make a lovely moisturizer for your skin after your shower.

Stress-Relieve 
Lavender, clary sage and sandalwood make a deeply relaxing aromatherapy bath.

- 5 drops lavender essential oil
- 3 drops sandalwood essential oil
- 2 drops clary sage essential oil

Add essential oils to the bath water after the tub has filled and mix the oils into the water with your hand. (I would add about 4-5 tbsp. of Epsom and dead sea salt to the bath.) Remember to use intention and visualization as you are releasing your stress into the water, watching it go down the drain.

Restorative 
Frankincense, lavender and rose geranium help restore a sense of balance.

- 1/8 cup Epsom salts
- 1/8 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 5 drops frankincense essential oil
- 5 drops lavender essential oil
- 5 drops rose geranium essential oil

Combine the Epsom salts, sea salt and baking soda into a glass bowl. Add essential oils, mix well.  To use, fill the bathtub with warm water and add bath salts after the tub has filled. Mix the salts into the water to dissolve.

Sweet Dreams 
Try this bath just before bed to ensure a restful night's sleep. Lavender, vetiver, clary sage and ylang ylang have deeply relaxing effects on the body and mind.

- 1/4 cup Epsom salts
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 10 drops lavender essential oil
- 5 drops vetiver essential oil
- 5 drops clary sage essential oil
- 2 drops ylang ylang essential oil

Combine Epsom salts and baking soda into a glass bowl. Add essential oils, mix well. To use, fill the bathtub with warm water and add bath salts after the tub has filled. Mix the salts into the water to dissolve.

In all of these recipes, you can make batches and store them in nonporous sealed containers for future use. If you want to use the Sweet Dreams recipe for a child, cut the essential oils in half.

There are great essential oil bath salts available at Aroma Pharmica.

Deck the Halls with Aromatics - Part 3 - Holiday Firewood

Okay I am on a roll and want to share with you some the easiest and most effective ways to change your world and the world of the people around you through essential oils.

Let's Make Holiday Logs for the fire. Whether your fireplace is inside or outside, this will surely evoke memories of yesteryear and perhaps create new ones for years to come.

All you need is one drop of EO, that's right only ONE drop of Essential oil per log per fire. Surprisingly, this one drop will be enough to provide an aromatic boost to the Holiday ambiance. If you make a holiday blend from the essential oils below, simply use ONE drop.

Simply put the "Firewood or Holiday" oil onto the log and leave it to soak in before putting on the fire. I suggest 20-30 minutes, sounds good. The reason is that Essential oils are inflammable so unless the oil has been given time to soak in, you might see more sparks than you bargained for.  I usually prepare several logs at a time and set them aside and use as needed.

Firewood Essential Oils: Frankincense, Myrrh, Cedarwood, Cypress, Sandalwood

Holiday Essential Oils: Cinnamon, Clove, Bay, Pine, Cedarwood, Mandarin, Orange Tangerine, Frankincense, Myrrh

(Essential oils can be found at your local natural grocer or specialty store or my favorite source Aromatics International.)

Happy Holidays from the studio of Aroma Pharmica to your family...As always, thank you for your support throughout the year and as a way to show you our gratitude, use coupon code "thanks" for 20% savings when shopping with us at Aroma Pharmica, where we have better Synergy Essential Blends for diffusing or putting on logs throughout the year.

Deck the Halls with Aromatics - Part 2

Today I want to share with you the perfect gift, Chocolate Mint Cheesecake Truffles. In the world of texting and FB, let me just say OMG! These are the easiest to make and with a cute package, it looks and tastes like it is straight from an Aromatic Chocolatier. 

Makes about 25 truffles:


5.8 oz. sleeve of Oreo cookies
3.5 oz. full fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
5 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil

5.3 oz. cooking chocolate, broken into pieces ( I used white and dark chocolate)
1T butter

Put the Oreos in a food processor and whirl until they're powdered and then mix them with the cream cheese.

·         Put the mixture in the fridge for about two hours to chill.

·         Once cold, remove the mixture and roll it into small balls and place them on greaseproof paper.

·         Once you've made the balls, chill them again for about 20 minutes.

·         Melt the cooking chocolate and add the butter to it to help keep it smooth.

·         Then roll the Oreo/cream cheese balls in the melted chocolate and place on clean greaseproof paper to cool. ( I actually got creative and rolled half in the white chocolate and the other half in dark chocolate, then drizzled lines across the tops.)

  I made them last night and they are delicious.

***I tried a drop or two of hot pepper jelly  added to the Oreo/cream cheese mixture which made a lively variation.

From my studio to your home, Happy Holidays!