For many of us, naptime can feel like a luxury reserved solely for responsibility-free toddlers. As adults, the complexities and pressures of everyday life (aka “adulting”) all too often drive a hard wedge between staying afloat and being well-rested. When we do find those rare moments of peace and quiet, the rambling chatter in our brains can make a power nap feel more like a worry session. With the seemingly endless obligations and expectations that arise from work, relationships, and life in general, it’s no wonder that restlessness is an all-too-familiar theme in the modern human experience.

With summer right around the corner, many of us are gearing up for adventurous journeys to familiar or undiscovered destinations. Hitting the wide-open road with a car packed to the brim, blasting your most beloved sing-along tunes, and playing endless games of I Spy or license plate bingo on a long road trip can sometimes be more rewarding than the destination itself. As enjoyable as driving many hours through winding forested roads and picturesque hills can be, road trips are not without their own set of challenges. Everything from stuffy air, motion sickness, backseat bickering, and impatient irritability are all too familiar nuisances when traveling in a car for a prolonged time. 

Each year when Mother's Day rolls around, I seek gifts that will make Mom feel loved and appreciated. I also aim to get her gifts that she will actually use. You would think I'd have it down to a science by now, but as May rolls around each year, finding the right gift seems to get even harder. Maybe it's because the older I get, the more I appreciate my Mom and want her to know that, or maybe it's that I've gifted her so many things over the years that I want it to be different. What I do know is that she most enjoys my homemade gestures of love. She knows I took my time to make her something, tailored it to her preferences, and created things she can use instead of things that will collect dust or create clutter. 

I love the shoulder seasons—spring and fall, planting and harvest—because they connect me deeply to the earth. This year, I wanted to celebrate that connection with an aroma change-up to my usual body lotion recipe. I tend to be a keep-it-simple sort of woman when using essential oils in skin- and haircare recipes. For my purposes, I usually reach for lavender and call it good.  So, to create the earthy, fertile aroma I wanted this season, I turned to an essential oil blend formulated by someone with more expertise in blending aromas: Mountain Rose Herbs’ marketing lead, Jessicka. I combined my tried-and-true lotion recipe with her Earth Goddess perfume essential oil blend. The result is luscious and season-perfect!

First impressions play an important role in shaping our perception of the world around us. Although lasting a mere few moments, our initial encounters with a new person, place, or thing, can leave a lasting impact that sets the tone for how we make decisions in our day-to-day interactions. First impressions are particularly persuasive when our sense of smell is involved, as our emotions and memories are tied closely to our olfactory system.  

We love lemon essential oil for its wellness benefits, its bright and sugary citrus aroma, and its uplifting and energizing constituents. It’s a wonderful oil in skin and hair care formulas and for diffusing in homes and offices. We also love that this cost-effective oil makes an excellent cleaning agent and leaves our homes smelling deliciously like freshly cut lemons. It’s the 76% (=)-Lionene in lemon oil that makes it so good at polishing furniture and cutting grease and sticky residues. We’re revisiting five of our favorite lemon oil-based cleaning recipes that are easy to make, safe to use, and leave our homes smelling citrus good.

In my last blog on understanding aroma notes for essential oil blending, I dove into the foundation of a blended fragrance, known as the base note or fixative note. In this article, I’ll be delving deeper into what is considered the heart of a fragrance, commonly referred to as the middle note or mid-note.

Since I started sharing recipes for my aroma melts, people have asked me for a beeswax-free version. I was initially reluctant because the vegan wax alternatives can be a bit finicky, and I have always had great luck with beeswax. I finally decided to accept the challenge and took a retreat to my creative space to formulate a vegan wax melt recipe. After a few dozen rounds of trial and error, I discovered that carnauba wax is my preferred beeswax alternative. It has no aroma and is a much harder wax, so I don’t have to use as much of it as I would in a typical wax melt.

The art of essential oil blending is a delicate and thoughtful process that I often compare to the individual layers added to a painting. Just as each brush stroke on a canvas gradually builds on the layer of paint underneath to create a harmonious result, crafting essential oil blends applies the same principle. In the world of perfumery and essential oil blending, the three commonly recognized “paint” layers are known as fragrance notes, which encompass top notes, middle notes, and base notes. At the foundation of these blended layers, you will find base notes.

Over the past few months, I have been working on an elemental perfume series. I first tapped deep into the soil to find inspiration for an Earth Goddess blend. From there, I dove into the sea to create a whimsical Mermaid Blend made with “juicy” ylang ylang and brisk bay laurel. Then I soared amongst the clouds to create a blend with “go-with-the-flow” vibes that was crafted with ravensara and coriander. The last stop on this aromatic journeywas to be fire, and I had been waiting patiently for inspiration to strike me. Boy did it ever! My community was hit with a bad ice storm that resulted in hundreds of fallen trees and dangerous conditions. I was stuck at home without electricity or internet for several days and was fully reliant on my wood-burning stove for heat, cooking, and entertainment. During this time, I became deeply reacquainted with fire. 

Shower time is sacred to me. These precious moments wash away the physical grime of the day and offer an emotional reprieve from just about anything that is going on in my life. The act of bathing has long been known as a ritualistic expression of self-care. It is a time to slow down, to inspect your skin, and to give it the attention it needs. It’s a time with little to no distraction and where you can envelop yourself in the warmth and comfort of flowing water. It’s truly a meditative practice and is a key reason that DIY skin care is one of my favorite things.