2020 has been a year of rediscovery. As we have all been limiting trips to public places, many of us have found more interest in cooking and in creating DIY products to use around the home. It was fascinating to take a look at our top recipes of the year and reflect on just what our herbal community has found to be the most helpful in 2020. The silver lining to this year is that, although it has been difficult, we are more resilient than we were yesterday, and we will continue to learn and grow every day forward. We hope you enjoy this recipe roundup as living proof of our collective vision for a healthy and sustainable tomorrow. Cheers to a hopeful new year!

When life gets a bit madhouse, it can significantly impact our ability to process information efficiently. With so much “noise” all around us, it becomes hard to create a space where we can focus and nurture mental and emotional clarity. The folks who are home-schooling or working from home these days know this all too well! Many of us are turning to our favorite herbal allies as we negotiate these challenging days, and here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we’re seeing more questions from people who are exploring aromatherapy as part of the actions they are taking to create a calm in the storm. With that in mind, we put together this list of ten essential oils that have long-established reputations for supporting clarity and focus.

 Over the years, I’ve noticed that many natural fragrances don’t last quite as long as their chemical-laden counterparts. So, what is one to do when you don’t want to compromise a natural lifestyle to achieve an enjoyable, long-lasting fragrance? In my years-long journey of creating and testing homemade skincare and aromatherapy products, I’ve learned that not only are solid perfumes incredibly handy, but their texture also helps them stay on the skin longer.

Olfactory memories are powerful things. The other day I was at the feed store picking up cat food, and as I walked out, I caught a waft of chewing tobacco. Even before I could identify what I was smelling, my feet stopped walking and my Grandpa Albert—who is many years gone—popped into my head. There in my mind’s eye, he was in his overalls, with a plug of tobacco in his pocket, snuggling small-me in his lap, playing the penny counting game we used to play. This relationship between scent, emotion, and memory is hardwired in our brains—our olfactory bulb routes the smell information it receives to the limbic system, including the areas of our brain directly related to emotion and memory. This is why just a whiff of scent took me back decades and flooded me with the same warmth and comfort I experienced playing games with my beloved grandpa. These powerful connections are a fundamental factor in why aromatherapy can be supportive in managing mood and stress because what we smell literally impacts our brains… all of which brings me in a roundabout fashion to potpourri.

Candlelight is an element of winter holidays all over the world. Whether part of someone’s deeply held spiritual or cultural practices—as during Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Diwali—or representative of age-old Winter Solstice and Christmas traditions, candles are, for many of us, a fundamental part of our winter festivities… which means it’s a perfect time to make easy homemade scented candles in preparation for the celebrations, decorating, and gift giving.

Hydrosols are pure botanical extracts produced by distilling fresh leaves, fruits, flowers, and other plant material to create aromatic waters. Although they have similar properties to their essential oil counterparts, they are more delicately scented. These high-quality flower waters are loved for their ease of use and versatility in aromatherapy and body care formulations. Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with the husband-wife team who craft our certified organic hydrosols. During a brief lull in the harvest season, they graciously took a moment to tell us more about how they create these delightfully fragrant waters.

Stress impacts the human body and behavior in predictable ways. Chronic stress increases heart rate, elevates stress hormones, raises blood pressure, and causes a rash of affects that can include headaches, body pain, fatigue, nausea, sleep issues, emotional distress, etc., all of which, when left unchecked, contribute to serious health issues. We know that a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and rest, mindfulness, and relaxation are all key to long term stress-relief strategies. Together, they lower cortisol, increase endorphins, promote sleep, reduce negative effects of stress, and improve mood. The devil, of course, is in the details. Trying to carve out the time to exercise, cook a healthy meal, get more sleep, or do something we enjoy can be… well, stressful. Sometimes we just have time for something small and meaningful. And that, in a nutshell, is the beauty of incorporating essential oils into our lives; aromatherapy doesn’t require us to carve out extra time. Like firelight and relaxing music, these oils can gently boost contentment and relaxation while working quietly in the background of our days.

One of my favorite things about working with essential oils, besides their amazing properties, is blending them together. So, when it came time to craft our line of pure essential oil blends I was thrilled! Looking to the little bottles of oil filled with inspiration in my office, thinking about a Mountain Rose Herbs line of functional blends, I was able to focus not only on their aromas and how they work together, but also on their purpose. There are six inspirational blends in this line, each of which focuses on a specific need.

Eventually, we all need to roll out of bed. Whether you are naturally a get-up-and-go type person, or you’re the sort who needs a cup a coffee to start functioning, invigorating essential oils are a simple way to jumpstart your morning routine. Some of our favorite scents for getting going include citrus oils for their sweet and sunshiny top notes, evergreen oils for their grounding aromas, and bright oils for their stimulating and motivating qualities. With endless possible combinations, it’s easy to create a custom blend to kick-start your morning with aromatic goodness (we’ve included some of our own favorite morning oil blends to get you started!).

On golden summer nights, it is so nice to come home, pour a cup of tea, and get the diffuser going to refresh your space and spirit. Diffusing pure essential oils into the air allows you to enjoy the many benefits of herbal aromatherapy.

If you use a natural laundry detergent, or if you make your own laundry liquid, you probably have realized that the scents of the essential oils you used do not last quite as long as their chemical-laden commercial counterparts. Many of us really do appreciate that long-lasting clean smell, and it can feel like a trade-off of making the switch to natural alternatives—that is, until you learn how to incorporate organic linen sprays to enhance your earth-friendly laundry care routine.