The best way of making your home / flat / cardboard box smell nice is to use an oil burner with some pure essential oils. OK, so you may prefer to dab a few drops on a piece of cotton wool, or use a ceramic ring on an electric light bulb, or use a clever device which attaches to your radiator - and all these are a good choice if you are a liability with candles, but when all's said and done, a heated dish or bowl is the way to go. The scent is powerful and can last for hours. I prefer not to heat oils directly by always placing them in some water. This lets them evaporate slowly rather than just burning which can turn the whole atmosphere very unpleasant. Likewise, some people drop oils into molten candle wax. But when oils burn on a wick, they lose all the gentle characteristics they were born with. You may as well heat up some goose fat because the smell is nicer.
I typically use around 10 drops of oil for a powerful room scent but some people may choose to use less. This is a particularly good idea if you have friends or family around as the sight of red, streaming eyes is likely to be regarded as a bad thing. But when you are by yourself with flu ( and feeling miserable because nobody appreciates how bad your cold, I mean flu, is ), you can shut the doors and windows and fumigate the place down. A full frontal assault with peppermint and eucalyptus sends the germs away.
Here are some recipes to make your home fragrant. Maybe it is already - I'm not insinuating anything. I have deliberately avoided quantities because there are no hard and fast rules. Aromatherapy is not a science - it is fun. If you like one particular oil more than another then bias your recipe towards that one. If one particular oil makes you go spotty then leave it out. Unless you want to be spotty. Some oils are strong and overpowering so reduce the number of drops in relation to the other oils. What are they ? As soon as you start buying some essential oils you will find out ! To start you off, eucalyptus, peppermint, patchouli, cinnamon, clove...
Been away ? Then welcome back with some cedarwood, jasmine, bergamot and geranium. A smelly welcome.
Try patchouli, clove and bergamot or benzoin, sweet orange and clove for that snuggle in a rug and lock the door, cacooning effect.
Mix vetivert and lime. Fresh lime essential oil has a wonderful fruity aroma but being a top note it is very fleeting. Keep the lime bottle handy and top up now and again. The vetivert is deeply relaxing and helps to let the brain focus on the task at hand. A nice alternative to rosemary and suitable for all.
Want to banish the bad vibes ? Nullify some heavy emotions ? It's time to get out the frankincense, juniper, rosemary and pine. Bye, bye moody blues.
Time to kill those nasty cold bugs. Fill the air with eucalyptus, peppermint and a little clove. At the very least, it should ease your stuffy nose.
Want some spiritual elevation over the dirty dishes ? Try sweet orange, palmarosa and rosemary.
Nasty niffs again ? Try cinnamon, peppermint, lemongrass and lemon for a full-frontal assault on the kingdom of the twitching nose. It may not get rid of the smell but it certainly masks it for a while.
Is there snow on the lawn ? If so, whip out the cypress, cedarwood and pine and transport yourself to a Norwegian forest. If you live in Norway, open the window.
It may be cold outside but it's warm around the fire with a glass of mulled wine. So why not mull the air with mandarin, nutmeg and cedarwood.
Mix cinnamon, clove bud and sweet orange. You can almost taste the xmas pud and hear Rudolf the Red Nose at the front door. Clove and cinnamon are exceptionally strong scents so avoid killing your guests with nerve gas.
OK, so you're the sort of person who regards relaxing as wasted dollar-earning time ( we don't have them in the UK ). Maximise your hyperactive potential with basil, sweet fennel, lime, ginger or cinnamon, sweet fennel and grapefruit. Never go to sleep - ever.
Are you on the Jane Fonda workout ? Hit the basil, rosemary, pine and bergamot and watch those calories drop off. ( Like hell... )
No, don't even think it. Put your feet on the poof and breath in black pepper, frankincense and lemon zing.
Don't bother - it's far too early for that sort of thing. Grill the bacon instead.
Clary sage, petitgrain and cedarwood should calm those after lunch moments and hasten the onset of dinner.
Make sure it's not a work day ( check the calendar ) and evaporate some bergamot, petitgrain, sandalwood and ylang ylang.
A blend of tagetes and red thyme should do the trick. It has a sophisticated aroma with considerable depth and the thyme gets those gastric juices flowing. Don't overdo the aroma or the smoked salmon hors d'oeuvre will taste like poultry stuffing.
It's ginger ( not Rogers ), palmarosa, black pepper and ylang ylang. Want to know why ? Just try it and watch your feet start to tap. Try Latin Music for best effect.
OK, get the sandalwood, patchouli and ylang ylang out but be discreet - he may think you are trying to dope him into submission. If his eyes water then you have made it a little too strong - best to start chopping some onions as a decoy or suggest you go out for the evening.
It has to be jasmine, geranium and ylang ylang unless you drive a Ferrari and can afford the rose oil. She cannot fail to be impressed with your knowledge of aromatic mood enhancers. Leave a few aromatherapy books lying around for good measure. Easy on the crystals though - you don't want to appear weird.
Use your favourite bubble bath but infuse the air with sandalwood, geranium, jasmine and a touch of cinnamon. Try not to sleep under the water for best effect.
Assuming you have a big enough bath, make out with sandalwood, ylang ylang and lime for a night to remember. Otherwise, ditch the oils and have a shower.
Pervert.
Try the old lemongrass, bay, ginger, lime and vetivert and turn up the Bob Marley. Why ? Why not.
It has to be coriander, lime, sandalwood and ylang ylang for a touch of Eastern mystery.
Do you have any favourite combos ? Then don't bottle it up - send me
an email and tell be what burns your wick.
