Tag: perfume

Categories
herbal skincare willow & sage

Spring Floral Perfume Oil

There are few better ways to celebrate the delicate blooms of springtime than with a lovely tea party. A tea party in a flower garden? Even better. Or perhaps you can conjure up the feeling of such an occasion with a natural perfume oil incorporating the scents of spring blossoms. 

This recipe combines lavender-infused almond oil with some lovely essential oils: geranium, lemon, ylang ylang, and ho wood. This combination of scents is dreamy and floral, with hints of tart citrus and sweet earthiness. It’s nourishing to the skin and has a lovely calming effect. 

These mini perfume oil rollers would make sweet gifts at a flower garden tea party of your own. 

You Will Need:

To Make:

To make the lavender-infused oil, fill a pint jar about three-quarters full with dried lavender buds. Pour sweet almond oil to cover flowers, leaving about 1 inch of headspace in the jar. Use a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon to push the plant material into the oil so it is fully submerged. Cover with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Allow to infuse for four to six weeks, then strain out the lavender buds and put the remaining oil in a clean jar. Add 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil to extend the shelf life of this oil. 

To make a perfume roller, fill a 5 ml roller bottle about halfway with lavender-infused almond oil. Add a pinch of dried lavender buds if you’d like. Add 3 drops of geranium essential oil, 2 drops of lemon essential oil, 1 drop of ylang ylang essential oil, and 1 drop of ho wood essential oil. (If you have sensitive skin, you can adjust and use less of the essential oils. If you want a stronger scent for aromatherapy, you can add 1-2 more drops of each oil.) Fill the remaining space in the bottle with more of the lavender-almond oil, leaving a little headspace for the roller. Insert the roller and screw on the cap, giving the bottle a swirl to mix the oils in. 

Store any unused portion of the lavender-almond oil in a cool dark space. 

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This recipe can be found in the spring 2024 issue of Willow & Sage magazine!

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For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare Recipes

Orange, Coffee and Rose Oil Aromatherapy & Eye Serum Roller

We’re in the thick of winter, and it is a time to cozy up with both bright, invigorating aromas to bring a spark of sunshine, and rich, earthy scents for grounding and comfort. Orange and coffee both certainly fit those descriptions!

Orange’s sweetness and tartness give a vibrant boost during the dreary winter. Not only is it a potent reminder of the sun, boosting our mood just like the sun’s rays, but it provides antioxidant and antibacterial benefits that can aid skin. This makes it ideal in both skin and aromatherapy treatments.

Coffee is a botanical that energizes from the inside out. The caffeine in coffee can be invigorating and rejuvenating in skincare, especially tired and delicate under-eye skin. Use an under eye serum with coffee to brighten, awaken, and de-puff. 

The scents and properties of orange and coffee pair excellently with rose, cardamom, and jojoba oil. So excellently, in fact, that this botanical-infused oil roller can also double as an aromatherapy perfume oil. Jojoba is nourishing and moisturizing, as is rose. While the scent of sweet orange essential oil enhances the uplifting and awakening scent of coffee, cardamom adds a spiciness that imparts earthy complexity. You’ll feel a calming and joyous energy every time you inhale this lovely and luxurious oil. (It would also make a sweet gift or treat to yourself for Valentine’s Day!)

Materials

Directions

To make the rose-infused oil, fill a pint jar about three-quarters full with dried rose petals. Pour jojoba oil to cover petals, leaving about 1 inch of headspace in the jar. Use a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon to push the petals into the oil so they are fully submerged. Cover with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Allow to infuse for four to six weeks, then strain out the rose petals and put the remaining oil in a clean jar. Add 1 teaspoon of vitamin E oil to extend the shelf life of this oil. 

To make an aromatherapy / eye serum roller, fill a 10 ml roller bottle about halfway with rose-infused jojoba oil. Add 5 drops of coffee essential oil, 5 drops of sweet orange essential oil, and 3 drops of cardamom essential oil. (If you have sensitive skin and plan to use this as an eye serum, you can adjust and use less of the essential oils. If you want a stronger scent for aromatherapy, you can add about 3 more drops of each oil.) Fill the remaining space in the bottle with more of the rose-jojoba oil, leaving a little headspace for the roller. Insert the roller and screw on the cap, giving the bottle a swirl to mix the oils in. 

Store any unused portion of the rose-jojoba oil in a cool, dark space. 

For educational purposes only. Not intended for medical advice. Always consult your physician.

*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare Hygge Recipes

Happy Vibes Perfume & Aromatherapy Oil

A few friends close in heart but far geographically exchanged holiday gifts recently. It was so much fun to send homemade gifts to each other! Some were gifts that we had made to give to friends and family for the holiday season, but I wanted to include something that made me think of them specifically.

So I created us each a Happy Vibes essential oil perfume / aromatherapy roller to convey the joy I get from our friendship!

The scent is very reminiscent of orange blossom: floral, sweet, creamy and citrusy, with a touch of green. Uplifting and happy! Just like our friendships. The intention infused in the making of these rollers conveys that joy each time I apply a bit to my wrists and experience the scent!

Would you like to make some of your own rollers for friends who make you feel happy vibes?

You Will Need:

To Make:

To make a perfume roller, fill a 5 ml roller bottle about halfway with jojoba oil. Add 4 drops of ylang ylang essential oil, 3 drops of benzoin essential oil, 2 drops of tangerine essential oil, and 2 drops of cypress essential oil. (If you have sensitive skin, you can adjust and use less of the essential oils. If you want a stronger scent for aromatherapy, you can add 1-2 more drops of each oil.) Fill the remaining space in the bottle with more of the jojoba oil, leaving a little headspace for the roller. Insert the roller and screw on the cap, giving the bottle a swirl to mix the oils in.

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*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to buy something from a link that I share, I will make a small percentage of the sale *at no extra cost to you*.

Categories
herbal skincare Herbs and Herbalism Recipes

Flower Garden Tea Party: Perfume Oil

Are you as ready as I am for spring? Late February seems to always be like that for me, with sneaky early warm days making me itch for the real thing. And the fact that the first crocuses are beginning to pop up doesn’t help!

Between that and reading books about Beatrix Potter lately, I am in a distinctly flowery-tea-party mood. Not the fancy or stuffy kind, however; the unfussy, cozy, enjoying the bounty of nature and the comforts of home with friends kind. The sort with lavender Earl Grey in mismatched cups and a fresh-picked garden bouquet in a jam jar on the table. The type of flowery tea party I think Miss Potter herself would have enjoyed.

Imagining this scenario brings me to the simple little perfume oil I recently made to capture that feeling. I combined lavender-infused almond oil that I made recently with a few essential oils: geranium, bergamot, cardamom, and benzoin. This combination of scents is dreamy and floral, with a hint of sweet vanilla and warm spice. It’s nourishing to the skin and has a lovely calming effect.

The particular botanicals I chose also relate to this tea party I dreamed up. Geranium figured prominently into Beatrix Potter’s gardens and especially window boxes, with their cheery flowers and lovely rose-like scent. Bergamot, of course, is the key ingredient in Earl Grey tea, which was a bit of a special-occasion luxury to those in the Lake District at Beatrix’s time. Cardamom is more of a personal addition, but it’s my favorite and is the spice that I think ties florals, fruits, and musky scents together just right. And benzoin resin oil is an affordable alternative to vanilla with a distinctly vanilla creaminess; it also is traditionally used in incense to lift the spirits.

If you are also interested in folk and spiritual associations of botanicals, here are a few of the many associations I found for these:

Lavender: love, protection, calm, peace, insight

Geranium: uplifting and protection, balance, joy, beauty

Bergamot: happiness, harmony, love, courage

Cardamom: creativity, strength, focus, healing

Benzoin: purification, prosperity

If you’d like to join me at this imaginary tea party, here is the recipe!

Materials

One 10 ml essential oil roller bottle

Lavender-infused almond oil, or your carrier oil of choice

3 drops geranium essential oil

2 drops bergamot essential oil

2 drops cardamom essential oil

1-2 drops benzoin resin essential oil

Method

Add lavender almond oil to the roller bottle until it is half full. Add the drops of essential oils. Top with more lavender almond oil, leaving about 1/4 inch head space. Securely place the roller top and lid on the bottle, then shake to mix. I like to let a perfume oil sit and infuse for a few days before using so the scents develop fully, but you wouldn’t have to.

Wear this perfume oil where you’d normally place perfume, and dream about springtime tea parties on sunny days! Just don’t forget to send me an invitation and let me know when teatime begins!